Open Letter to Autodesk Regarding the Softimage Acquisition

"We, the undersigned, would like the management at Autodesk to be
aware of our views in respect to the recent acquisition of Softimage.

As a community of 3D users we have invested heavily in the
products created by Softimage, most notably the 3D software XSI. This
investment has components of much greater impact than the financial
outlay. Many years of training, pipeline integration and custom tools
development affect not only our expenditure, but our capacity to
generate income. XSI has been our 3D product of choice for many
reasons and we wish for this to continue going forwards. The
acquisition and how Autodesk work with the community in the future
will play a key role in determining that. Our success, and yours with
relation to XSI, depend on maximizing our current investment and
extending it into the future. We write this with a view to developing
a mutually beneficial relationship with you, as we've become
accustomed to with Softimage.

We would like Autodesk to support the on-going development of XSI.
Keeping the current functionality is a key concern for us, as well as
XSI continuing along its development roadmap from before the
acquisition.

Softimage's excellent product support, both technical and
sales/licensing, has been a major factor in keeping many of us using
XSI as our facilities have expanded. Maintaining this level of support
going forward will be essential to our continued success with XSI.

Though the results achieved with XSI should speak for themselves,
unfortunately our clients do not always see things that way. To that
end we request the Softimage name and brand is retained. Its heritage
in the visual effects industry and name recognition assist in
reassuring clients that we are as professional as our results
demonstrate.

Softimage has provided many community resources including mailing
lists, a wiki, netview and the community forums. These are used daily
by many of us and we request they continue to be maintained.

The XSI UI is the most used aspect of the program for almost all of
us. Keeping its visual aesthetic through future versions is important
to us as it is the most significant factor in our productivity with
XSI.

Softimage has become more than a name to us through our years of
working with Softimage. We associate it with speed, efficiency,
flexibility and beauty. Most of all though, it means community, and it
is in that spirit that we invite you to join our community.