AQSIS TEAM RELEASE AQSIS RENDERER 1.6.0
Latest release of open source 3D renderer focuses on major performance improvements and adds multi-layer support to OpenEXR display driver along with Houdini plugin.
LONDON, UK - October 9, 2009 - Aqsis Team, the developers of professional open source rendering software, announced today the immediate release of Aqsis Renderer 1.6.0; its leading cross-platform 3D rendering solution adhering to the RenderMan standard.
This is the accumulative effort of many developers and community members around the world, resulting in a leaner and more competitive solution.
General optimisation and performance has been the primary focus for this release, with improvements including:
[ul]
[li] Avoiding sample recomputation at overlapping bucket boundaries.[/li][li] Refactored sampling and occlusion culling code.[/li][li] Enabled “focusfactor” and “motionfactor” approximation by default, for depth-of-field and motion blur effects repectively.[/li][li] Improved shadow map rendering speed.[/li][li] Faster splitting code for large point clouds.[/li][/ul]
In addition, key feature enhancements have been made with improvements including:
[ul]
[li] Multi-layer support added to OpenEXR display driver.[/li][li] Side Effects “Houdini” plugin.[/li][li] New RIB parser, supporting inline comments and better error reporting.[/li][li] Matte “alpha” support, for directly rendering shadows on otherwise transparent surfaces.[/li][li] Refactored advanced framebuffer (Piqsl).[/li][li] Texturing improvements.[/li][li] Enabled “smooth” shading interpolation by default.[/li][/ul]
Further information regarding the changes in this release can be found within the release notes distributed with the software.
Aqsis Renderer 1.6.0 is freely available to download from the Aqsis website, with installers for Windows, Linux and OS X:
[www.aqsis.org](http://www.aqsis.org)
[b]About Aqsis Team[/b]
Aqsis Team are a group of international software developers which, in conjunction with its community and partners, produce professional open source rendering software for use within production environements.
Their open source approach allows many new and original ideas make it to market sooner than rivals, with its flagship solution; Aqsis Renderer; becoming a popular choice for both enthusiasts and professionals alike since its public release in April 2001.
Aqsis Renderer has a strong presence in its field and earned a reputation as a reliable solution for those requiring tools which adhere to the RenderMan Interface Specification (RISpec).
[www.aqsis.org](http://www.aqsis.org)
Press Contact
Leon Tony Atkinson
Public Relations
Aqsis Team
[email="http://forums.cgsociety.org/press@aqsis.org"]press@aqsis.org[/email]
RenderMan is a registered trademark of Pixar. The RenderMan Interface Procedures and Protocol are Copyright 1988, 1989, 2000, 2005 Pixar, All rights reserved. OpenEXR, Industrial Light & Magic and ILM are trademarks and service marks of Lucasfilm Ltd. Side Effects Software, the Side Effects Software logo, Houdini, Houdini Master, Houdini Escape, Houdini Select, Houdini Mantra, Houdini Halo are trade marks of Side Effects Software Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.