LuxRender v0.7RC1 released

[jeanphi]

Hi all,

The LuxRender team is please to bring you the first pre release of the upcoming 0.7 version.

While this is not a final version, we've done our best to make it as stable as possible, however we'd be very grateful if you could thoruoghly test it and report bugs in our bug tracker. Don't forget that the quicker we release the final v0.7, the quicker we will work on integrating LuxRays into LuxRender.
Thanks to all those that have made this release possible either by providing source code and ideas or patiently helping us track down issues.

As before we've prepared a set of archives containing everything packaged.
Please download the relevant archives for your platform:
Windows:
32 bits SSE1 zip
32 bits SSE2 zip
64 bits SSE2 zip

MacOS:
32 bits installer (MacOS 10.5 and above)
64 bits installer (MacOS 10.5 and above)

Linux:
32 bits SSE1 archive
32 bits SSE1 statically linked luxrender executable
32 bits SSE2 archive
32 bits SSE2 statically linked luxrender executable
64 bits SSE2 archive
64 bits SSE2 statically linked luxrender executable

Changes since v0.6.1:
- the behaviour of some features has changed in this version, you should reexport your scenes with an updated exporter and check all your materials, the list of user visible changes is available here
- new Qt GUI (not yet packaged for windows, dynamically linked for linux, that's why there's an additional package for a statically linked version of the luxrender executable)
- new version of the QBVH accelerator, should be faster but might still have issues on 64bits
- new supersample option (default on) to the mitchell filter providing both sharp results and almost no ringing artifacts
- lots of improvements to the metropolis sampler
- improved bidirectional integrator
- more direct lighting sampling schemes available for the path integrator
- the previous glossy material has been renamed glossy_lossy and the new glossy material should give better results by having less energy loss
- environment lighting now has importance sampling options to improve convergence
- volumetric objects supporting absorption for glass through the new glass2 material and volume properties (more options should be available in upcoming versions)
- vastly enhanced brick texture
- new tabulated data texture to allow loading of spectral data from files (including PBRT2 spectrum files)
- various speed enhancements
- lots of fixes

---------------------------

Source Code

People who want to download the source code can download the v06 tag files of our HG source code repository here:
http://src.luxrender.net/lux/rev/015ad0a30053

And luxblend: http://src.luxrender.net/luxblend/rev/bf063c3b45ce

---------------------------

Cheers,

Jeanphi

[jeanphi]

Hi,

If you get warnings about inconsistent normals, check that you don't have flipped normals in your models, but it might also be a false alarm due to a bug that has just been found and fixed.

Jeanphi

[Lord Crc]

Weeee! Now lets find those bugs *pops a bottle of sparkling wine*

For those who want to try out the new volumetric glass, I've written a short post on it here: http://partialgeek.net/2010/03/26/physi ... luxrender/
Since it was written there has been a few minor changes in the exporter, I'll try to update it. However it shouldn't be hard to figure out the differences.

[SurfingAlien]

Great news! Thanks Jeanphi and all Lux crowd!
downloading right now...

cheers,
Alessandro

[wavk]

I have been using LuxRender since a couple of months now, I am impressed! My experience
is that LuxRender is fast and stable, especially compared to other standalone rendering software,
both free and commercial.

In that, it is a perfect tool besides Blender's internal renderer. The exporter is also well
done, it almost feels built in. Development is steady, great!

This release candidate has some problems on my machine.

I opened up a scene I'm currently working on, and it takes a veeeery long time
for this release candidate to open up the textures and start rendering.
Simple 2000x2000 pixel JPG images. I run the 64 bit OSX version.

Will the final release have a smaller QT packaged? I work from a solid state disk, which is
lightning fast, yet small. For people installing QT, be sure to do a custom install and
deselect the docs and other files only useful to developers, it saves 300 Mb of space.

Keep up the good work on Lux and have fun!

Wybren

[jensverwiebe]

@ Wybren

I still think of the last clue with QT.
Having only needed QT-components bundled in app, blows it huge.
Just installing needed in frameworks could mess up former QT-intstall and could be incomplete for other apps like QTFSGUI.

To spare memory on HD atm, you can remove all QT-subframeworks but QtGui, QtCore, and QtOpenGL.

Thats what i dislike with SSD atm, they are all a step back space-wise ( unless you spend the amount of money similar to a small car )

Jens

[pinko]

Tnx!!!!!
ciao
Luca.

[tokiop]

Thanks for the great work, and Jens for the build ! The new UI looks really clean in screenshots but I can't see it myself :

on macbookpro intel / 10.5.6, Lux crashes and the console says :

Code: Select all

01/04/10 15:52:11 [0x0-0x24024].org.luxrender.luxrender[1013] dyld: Library not loaded: QtOpenGL.framework/Versions/4/QtOpenGL
01/04/10 15:52:11 [0x0-0x24024].org.luxrender.luxrender[1013]   Referenced from: /Applications/LuxRender/LuxRender.app/Contents/MacOS/luxrender
01/04/10 15:52:11 [0x0-0x24024].org.luxrender.luxrender[1013]   Reason: image not found
[...]


..both with 32 and 64bit builds.

I have QtOpenGL in /opt/local/libexec/qt4-mac/lib/QtOpenGL.framework/Versions/4/QtOpenGL , it might be installed there by macport, what should be it's location for luxrender?

[SATtva]

Congratulations everybody! :) Team with a huge new milestone, and our great user community with a vastly improved their favorite tool. ;D

[jensverwiebe]

tokiop

Folks, i put a direct link directly into the installer, what can i do more to keep it easy ?

For the record: It must be mandatory the so called cocoa-type for 64bit.
For 32 bit it should not matter, but QT_carbon is untested atm.
Actually this is @ 4.6.2, not backwardscompatible to QT 4.5 afaik.




Jens