Autodesk + Softimage XSI = Big News!

Holy smokes Batman! Yet another acquisition by Autodesk. Visit here for the full scoop. In a nutshell though this is big news. XSI seemed to be one of the last few programs out there to truly be able to stand up to 3ds MAX and Maya. It will continue except now be under the same roof as the other leading applications used in films, games and TV. My hope is that this will spread enhancements to the other existing applications in this area as it intergrated at Autodesk. This is especially promising since they directly stated that they plan to add increased functionality to the FBX format to acheive greater interoperability between these applications. They also mentioned that a plugin previously offered by Softimage for use in 3ds MAX will be incorporated into the program. Quote:

"SOFTIMAGE|Cat: This advanced character animation system is a plug-in for Autodesk 3ds Max software. It is intended to be integrated into the 3ds Max product line."

This is looking to be rather promising especially since the biped system in 3ds MAX hasn't received a whole lot of tweaking over the years.