This is a scan of a photocopy of an article that appeared in the November 1997 issue of Digital Magic magazine. If you didn’t know already, now you know where XSI got its UI 😉

November 1997 First Look: SOFTIMAGE|DS

SOFTIMAGE|DS is not like anything else out there–it’s the next step. Because of its nature and $100,000 price point, customers say the decision to purchase DS was a “no brainer”.

This is a huge, feature rich application–its full install consists of 1.9 million lines of code.

The interface has a beautiful, organic look. The ransport controls, although a conventional layout, look like little pillows, quite an inviting metaphor that begs you to dive in. The overall impression is one of friendly, all natural comfort.

Softimage does say that Sumatra, the code name for the company’s next-generation 3D animation system, will not only be available as a stand-alone system, but will also be built as an integral component of the final, shipping version of Softimage|DS.

Softimage users will recognize the “Rooms” concept of the interface, now carried foward with DS. On the left are buttons for NLE, Paint, Compositing, Audio, and Media I/O.