Refractive Software LTD is proud to announce the availability of version 1.00 beta1 of Octane Render for Linux.
This release archive contains a complete illustrated PDF Manual of the software.
We recommend new users to read it carefully.
Linux Specific Notes
The machine ID which the software presents to the user to activate the copy is identical to the windows version,
therefore, if you dual-boot between windows and linux, you can share your license,
provided you use the same hardware on both OSes.
This archive must be placed in a location that's writable to the user using the software,
as it writes the license activation next to the binary, in the same directory.
If this proves problematic, we will change the location of the license file in the next release,
if you have any problems with it, please let us know on the forums.
New Features & Changes
This new release has a manual, loading and saving of projects, saving the rendered image, an improved UI, 3d stereo rendering, and many fixes and enhanchements.
This is a commercial release, accessible to our licensed users who participate in the beta program.
We will release an updated DEMO version with load/save and save image disabled, on the weekend.
Physically based sun and sky daylight lighting was originally scheduled, and nearly finished,
but is not included in this release due to time constraints.
Known Issues
We will provide a 2nd beta release in approx 2 weeks, with more bugfixes (specifically nodegraph editing issues) and features.
The next beta will focus on adding daylight lighting, material/channels and render kernel features.
Download
Please read the readme below (or included in the release archive) before use,
as it contains some vital information you should know to use this version,
we cannot help you by answering questions that are already answered in the readme document,
then download the release zip file for your MS Windows Operating Systems here:
Windows: http://www.refractivesoftware.com/custo ... ux_x64.tgz (26 MB)
To use, extract the files to a directory on your hard drive that is writable to by the user using the software,
and start one of 2 executables for your GPU (see 'Which Version of Octane Render to use' in the README)
Release Notes
Code: Select all
Octane Render v1.00 alpha Release Notes
---------------------------------------
Released on: Sunday 07 March 2010 (Linux)
Changes since v0.81a
------------------
- Included PDF User Manual
- Save Renders to PNG images
- Load / Save Octane Project to OCS Scene file
- 3D Anaglyphic Stereo viewing mode
- Updated User Interface & Popup Help facilities
- Many bugfixes
Limitations
-----------
- No Import of RenderMan RIB files. (supported in next beta versions)
- No MLT Sampling, this means some scenes present 'fireflies' eg bright pixels/dots,
which are a natural side effect of unbiased algorithms.
The commercial versions of Octane Render will feature MLT and other options which take care of this issue.
Please note that this release is an incremental update towards the complete v1.0 with all planned features as on our product page.
System Requirements
-------------------
This release requires a PC with a Cuda capable video card
and the MS Windows Operating System (Windows 2000 or higher),
or a 64bit Linux Distribution.
To check if you're GPU is Cuda capable, please refer to this list:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/cuda_learn_products.html
This release requires the any of the following Cuda/Video Drivers to be installed:
*** Geforce ***
http://www.nvidia.com/object/cuda_get.html
Geforce Desktop Cards: NVIDIA Driver 190.38
Geforce Notebook Cards: Beta Notebook Driver for Developers (190.38)
***************
***************
*** Quadro ***
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index5.aspx?lang=en-us
Quadro Desktop Cards: NVIDIA Driver 191.78 WHQL
Quadro Notebook Cards: NVIDIA Driver 195.62 WHQL
***************
We cannot guarantee that the software will function correctly with any other driver,
including newer beta drivers.
Users with low-end video cards, such as most low-end laptop GPU chipsets,
or cards like 8400, 8600, 9400, 9600 series should'nt expect any decent performance,
we suggest upgrading to a newer mid-range or high-end GPU in the GTX260 or higher class.
Linux Required Dependencies
---------------------------
The package FreeType (freetype2) needs to be installed.
Please use your distribution's package management system to install it prior to running Octane Render.
(FreeImage is no longer a dependency as it's not included in the binary, linked in statically)
Linux users also need to install the CUDA toolkit available here:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/cuda_get.html
Download and install the CUDA toolkit version 2.3 for your distribution.
Which Version of Octane Render to use
-------------------------------------
This release comes with 2 executable versions of Octane Render.
octane9000.exe
This is the full featured release that requires a 9000 series or higher GPU.
We recommend all users with 9000 series or higher to use this version.
Should you experience poor performance when using a low-end card like the 9400 or 9600 series,
try using the octane8000.exe below:
octane8000.exe
This is a backwards compatibility release that runs on any Cuda enabled GPU.
At present this release does not support image filter reconstruction,
so users might see slight aliasing/jaggies in the resulting renderings produces with this version.
A solution to this problem is to render at a higher resolution,
then downscale your image in a 2D image editing application.
This release is also a bit faster than octane9000 so it can be used
by people who are experiencing poor performance with the latter.
Refractive Software is currently working to solves these issues and provide
a consistent executable and experience accross all Cuda enabled products.
Known Limitations and other issues
----------------------------------
Please note that this is an alpha version, there are still a few rough edges that we are ironing out.
- We recommend changing the render resolution before loading any mesh object/starting the engine.
changing the resolution during rendering might cause problems with some cards.
- Keep an eye on your Device Manager's memory usage graph (File -> Device Manager),
when working with large scenes or scenes with lots of textures.
The engine will alert you when you're trying to load more data into your GPU than can fit.
We are working on intuitive solution to automatically take care of these situations.
- Please report any major problems on our forums, situations where you can't get octane to work.
With your help we can make sure these issues are solved as fast as possible.
- Note that we have not done extensive testing with various 3d modeling applications
with regards to export/import of OBJ files.
Please report any issues you might have on our forums.
Refractive Software Forums: http://www.refractivesoftware.com/forum
USE
---
Please consult the included PDF Manual: OctaneRender_v1.00beta1_UserManual.pdf
We will be supplying some documentation regardin the use of Octane Render,
and tutorial videos on the Refractive Software Website during the weeks following this release.
We would like to point you to the demo video on the website's videos page for a quick introduction on how to use the software,
and don't hesitate to ask questions about it's use on our forums.
Some quick tips to get you started:
To load and object, right click in the nodegraph editor window (bottom left),
and add -> object -> mesh.
You can fine tune your import settings with File -> OBJ Import Preferences.
To Access the preview configuration, and change the renderer configuration,
double click on the 'macro' node that's visible by default in the nodegraph editor,
which will open this macro and give access to the different nodes that make up the render preview configuration,
by clicking on these nodes, you can change the parameters in the node inspector panel on the right.
Use the material picker on your render to select materials. (little glass ball with pipette icon on top of render viewport)
Use the 3 buttons with small to large checkerboards to change the subsampling resolution, if the navigation gets too slow with a more complex model.
Disclaimer
----------
Refractive Software LTD cannot be held accountable for any financial loss,
hardware or software damage/loss or injury caused by use of this demo release.
Users who damage hardware by modifying, upgrading or overclocking CPU's or GPU's
or any other hardware do so at there own risk.
This software and included documentation, demo scenes, textures,
HDRI maps are the sole property of Refractive Software LTD,
and can not be redistributed, puclished, modified or sold by any 3rd party in any form,
unless with permission from Refractive Software LTD.
CREDITS
-------
Octane Render uses the FreeImage library, available at: http://freeimage.sourceforge.net/
The Refractive Software Team
