How Software Evolves
Fortunately, not everyone was asleep at the wheel. First out the gate were Avid/Softimage's XSI and Maxon's Cinema 4D, followed soon after by Newtek's LightWave.
All three of these programs are wonderful. XSI is a world class character animation tool, and LightWave and Cinema 4D are used by many production houses. But lagging behind in the 64-bit sweepstakes were the two most widely disseminated 3D production tools, Autodesk's 3D Studio Max and Alias's Maya (now Autodesk Maya).
Softimage XSI, Maya, and Max have an interrelated history that goes back a decade. Before then, serious 3D was mostly done on SGI boxes that cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, with software that cost additional tens of thousands. Then came a triple whammy that transformed the industry:
- First, the Windows NT operating system came out. Despite its many flaws, NT was the first Microsoft OS that transformed PCs from toys into tools.
- Next, graphics board makers like Intergraph and Elsa released powerful NT-savvy 3D accelerators.
- Third, Autodesk, Alias, and Softimage released Windows versions of their software.
3D production was turned on its head.
Established companies like Boss Film, who produced effects for top-tier films like Ghostbusters, Die Hard, and True Lies, were in hock to the tune of millions of dollars to support their SGI mainframes and minis. Overnight, they found themselves competing with small nimble teams of smart kids with cheap PC networks and mimimal overhead, and the kids were winning the contracts.
It was dinosaur versus mammal time. PCs and accelerator cards became more powerful every year, and soon SGI, the once undisputed ruler of the 3D universe, was effectively dead. Still, there was significant stratification on the software side.
Maya, which was designed to replace Alias's aging PowerAnimator software, missed one release deadline after another, and in its absence the film community adopted Softimage's $17,000 Softimage 3.5 as the 3D animation standard. Meanwhile, the PC game designers rallied in force around 3D Studio Max, sold for a comparably inexpensive $3495.
3D Studio Max was the clear leader in the transition from mainframes to desktops. Where Softimage 3.5 was a port of UNIX code to the PC, Max was coded from the ground up to integrate seamlessly with NT. It observed all PC conventions and played nice with other Windows apps. The program's architecture was conceived such that every element was in effect a plugin, making it a snap for third parties to extend its capabilities with addon software. It quickly became the biggest selling 3D program of all time.
By contrast, Softimage 3.5, which was actually owned by Microsoft at the time, took over your entire system with its "special needs." No other software could run at the same time or your system would crash. I recall it took us over a week simply to install it. Softimage realized the program was getting long in the tooth, and so was born XSI, coded from the ground up like Max and Maya, which had finally made it to market.
Like Maya, XSI missed a long series of release dates, during which time Maya (also priced at $17,000) took the high end of the market by storm, displacing Softimage to become the film industry's standard 3D program. Meanwhile, 3D Studio Max continued to garner market share by adding heaps of new features to every release while maintaining its original $3495 price tag.
Then a couple years ago Alias sent shock waves through the industry by cutting the price of Maya to $2000 for its Complete version, and $7000 for its Unlimited version, which includes advanced Hair, Cloth, and Fluid dynamics. Softimage, now owned by Avid, followed suit with the finally released XSI, reducing it to a similar price (there are various versions, each priced differently).
The latest fillip to the story is that Autodesk recently purchased Alias, making them the owners of the two most used 3D programs in film, television, and gaming production. The entire 3D community is scratching its head about what comes next. I'll offer a couple thoughts on that in a minute, but first let's take a look at what these programs do.
