Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 13, 2017. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
To coincide with the release of Autodesk 3ds Max 2018, Solid Angle is releasing its Arnold Renderer in version 5.0. We summarize the most important new features here:
Arnold 5 New Features
Alongside faster render times, Arnold 5 comes with updates for shaders, sampling, colour management, API revision and more.
New Shaders
The release includes several new standard shaders that you can use as a starting point for creating your materials. Among other things, there are new Standard Surface shaders, Hair shaders, Volume shaders and various Utility shaders. In addition, the open-source shading language OSL is now also supported.
C++ API
The C++-based interface allows you to create custom tools for Arnold relating to shaders, geomtry or plug-ins. You can read additions and changes to the API in detail here.
Improved Sampling
Arnold 5 contains several sampling improvements that improve the distribution of noise artefacts at lower sampling rates, especially with soft shadows, indirect lighting and depth of field. In addition, noise reduction for direct lighting with various light types has also been optimized.
Colour Management
Arnold now supports both synColor and OCIO for better handling of colour transformations and can be extended with custom nodes. Furthermore, effects such as dispersion, black-body radiation and physical sky are now more accurate. You can read the full technical details in the release notes here.
Compatibility and Costs
You can buy the renderer here for €1,095 as a full licence or as a rental variant for €6.50 per day. The purchase guarantees use within your preferred 3D software. Version 5 is currently supported for Maya, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D and Katana; Houdini and Softimage will follow soon. Details on integration with the respective software and your operating system can be found here and in the official documentation.
More information at http://www.solidangle.com
