U-Render - Has closed

#1

I’m very sorry to read the news that U-Render has closed its doors especially as their latest release was such a strong release which had so many stand out features.

When I was a C4D user and Tachyon render was announced I contacted the developers and asked them to make a realtime NPR rendering solution but they wrote back and said they were focussing on the PBR market. I thought a real time sketch and toon renderer would’ve carved itself a decent sized market, their latest release had a great toon/NPR rendering toolset.

The European wide economy is being tanked by the idiots in charge unfortunately good people and good companies are going to pay the price for the enormous sanctions blowback we’re experiencing, and it hasn’t even hit Winter yet.

Thoughts with those who’ve lost their income and hope they get back into work ASAP. Maybe a buyer could be found for U-Render to keep the tech alive?

#2

i think the problem is small market, so “buyer” will not save them.
and market small because of many other professional solutions. so this in-between renderer didn’t needed to pro.
maybe as free and open platform they have chance at least to increase user base.

#3

That’s sad to hear. I was always on the fence to get it, but never actually did.

Mostly because I’m using Unreal Engine when I need to do something in realtime (thanks to the datasmith plugin) and I didn’t want to redo all the materials each time, but I always hoped this could be native to C4D.

It could have been C4D’s Eevee-like viewport renderer, and maybe Maxon could buy the tech or hire the talent, but I doubt it with their investment in Redshift RT.

#4

You missed it. U-Render is way easier to use than Unreal with Datasmith.
And it came with a quick converter of standard materials to U-render materials, no need to redo the materials.
It’s a shame they are gone.
Redshift RT is not really an alternative. U-Render is as fast ass Unreal.

#5

There’s absolutely no doubt C4D needs U-Render but unfortunately it’s a tough sell at almost the same price as a third party pathtracer.

I only began using Blender because of Eevee, I found I could make use of it in production and on some projects do final renders. RT renderers have their place, I mostly use Eevee for client previews, I can rapidly prototype looks and get feedback then do a final render in Cycles. It’s a huge boost to the workflow but getting someone to pay nearly the same price as Redshift is a big ask. I can’t live without Eevee but getting people to make that first step is difficult especially if seen as another expense.

I don’t see many people using Redshift RT, when it was originally announced it was going to be a game engine style renderer like Eevee then it went quiet for two years and re-emerged as this odd looking hybrid system that has all the issues and none of the benefits of a game engine nor pathtracer.

The U-Render developers are doing right by their customers and giving them all perpetual licenses. I hope there can be a positive end to the story and someone pick this tech up along with some of the developers.

I thought about Insydium. I think Cycles4D is probably dead, I looked at their staff list and they don’t appear to have anyone working on Cycles4D so maybe they could acquire U-Render and offer that as part of the Fuse package. I think it would work nicely in that context and be a better selling point for Fuse than the extremely slow and dated version of Cycles they’re shipping.

If Insydium are still working on Cycles4D then U-Render could be their version of Eevee, make U-Render support he Cycles4D node system and bingo you’ve got a great pairing of renderers.