The only real criticisms I can come up with so far are:
1) 'Smooth' and 'polygon reduction' are both locked in xsi foundation. To me these are very useful tools (one might almost say essential) and it was something of a kick in the teeth when I realised they weren't there. Definitely a bad decision on Avid's part.
2) Although you get heaps of documentation, tutorials, dvds etc with the software, it all seems a bit random. There is a frustrating shortage of tutorials which demonstrate basics in an efficient and rewarding way. For example if you follow the tutorials on the 'media cd' sequentially, it will be days or even weeks before you've been shown how to render anything, even just a cube. Be prepared for a steep learning curve...
That said, it 'handles' nicely in many ways, has lots of impressive features, and it feels good to know that you're working with 'proper' software - it makes the huge investment of time and effort seem more worthwhile. I'd say go for it.
1) 'Smooth' and 'polygon reduction' are both locked in xsi foundation. To me these are very useful tools (one might almost say essential) and it was something of a kick in the teeth when I realised they weren't there. Definitely a bad decision on Avid's part.
2) Although you get heaps of documentation, tutorials, dvds etc with the software, it all seems a bit random. There is a frustrating shortage of tutorials which demonstrate basics in an efficient and rewarding way. For example if you follow the tutorials on the 'media cd' sequentially, it will be days or even weeks before you've been shown how to render anything, even just a cube. Be prepared for a steep learning curve...
That said, it 'handles' nicely in many ways, has lots of impressive features, and it feels good to know that you're working with 'proper' software - it makes the huge investment of time and effort seem more worthwhile. I'd say go for it.