Octane beta 2.4 intermittent release next week

[radiance]

Hi all,

Since there's been a lot of speculation about the new release we're preparing i will fill everyone in with this post.
We will be releasing beta 2.4 (we changed the versioning scheme a bit to make it simpler, eg instead of the intermediate 2.3 v5b it is 2.4, then 2.5 etc...)

We have hit a major issue with cuda 3.2.

Cuda 3.2 works, it allows the use of the 1/3rd extra cores in the latest compute model 2.1 cards (GTX460 and 5xx),
but nvidia have made some changes to the opengl interoperability in cuda 3.2 which completely breaks multi-gpu support.
I'm not sure as to the motives of nvidia changing this but i assume it's something that's a non-issue with quadro and tesla product fermi chips/drivers.

So, currently we have a working cuda 3.0 build that supports multi-gpu fine, but not the extra cores of GTX460+,
and a working cuda 3.2 build that does support GTX460+, but when rendering with multiple GPUs, there is no speedup at all.

After researching the issue we have come to the conclusion that a rewrite of the multi-gpu code (which is fairly complex) is in order.
This is a big task, which will take at least 4-6 more weeks.

As our current version has a lot of bug-fixes and many optimizations and new features, we've decided to release it in 2 versions (cuda 3.0 and 3.2 builds) early next week.
This will be called beta 2.4 intermediate.

When 2.4 is out of the door, we will continue on the multi-gpu code, and at the same time developing the new code in such a way that it brings more flexibility (such as network transparency for example), and continue on the render kernel for finals.
The next release incorporating these features will then be versioned beta 2.5.

The new 2.4 version will have UI updates (compacter so you can have more nodes visible in the node inspector), alpha shadows, alpha output (for compositing), a dynamic gradient node (like blender colorbands, but not just for colours, any textures can be used), support for panning in the nodegraph editor (the graph sheet will expand infinetely), automatic alphaimage detection (on obj import, instead of floatimage), viewport lock, performance updates to the UI, and performance updates to the engine, marble texture is fixed, and shift lens support and chromatic abberation in the tonemapper.

Most known bugs are fixed too, including the annoying export material relinking bug.
2.5 will be backward compatible with 2.3 v5 scenes.

I understand it's not fun to wait for long times, but we've had multiple bouts of real bad luck the last 3 months and we appreciate your patience.
We will also extend the competition for another 2 weeks so people have time to use the new version for the competition.

Radiance

[tchoa]

That's great news!
It will be a nice 'beta' release.
The material relinking bug fixed...

Seems that the team begins to warm up
Have a nice day!
F

[teecee2107]

Nice to hear !

[Elvissuperstar007]

Please fix the camera!
http://www.refractivesoftware.com/forum ... =33&t=4780
this is very annoying ((

[Faizol]

Thanks for the update. Hoping this release will also have a true silent rendering mode (no more splash screen pop ups).

cheers.

[abstrax]

Please fix the camera!
http://www.refractivesoftware.com/forum ... =33&t=4780
this is very annoying ((

What exactly is wrong with it?

[Elvissuperstar007]

after import in octane, I want to move the camera angles as I like, but the camera starts to pull in the sides .... horizon falls
sorry for my english!
Video Uploading wait!

I want to do the import once, and move the camera without distortion

[radiant]

sweet, i have 5 more weeks of holidays so it is all good.

[face]

after import in octane, I want to move the camera angles as I like, but the camera starts to pull in the sides .... horizon falls
sorry for my english!
Video Uploading wait!

I want to do the import once, and move the camera without distortion

Why you don´t change the up-vector to 0,1,0?

face

[matej]

The new 2.4 version will have UI updates (compacter so you can have more nodes visible in the node inspector), alpha shadows, alpha output (for compositing), a dynamic gradient node (like blender colorbands, but not just for colours, any textures can be used), support for panning in the nodegraph editor (the graph sheet will expand infinetely), automatic alphaimage detection (on obj import, instead of floatimage), viewport lock, performance updates to the UI, and performance updates to the engine, marble texture is fixed, and shift lens support and chromatic abberation in the tonemapper.

Wow, nice list! Santa is coming to town,.. again.

Thumbs up, guys!