Act-3D ships Lumion 2023.0 | CG Channel
Act-3D has launched Lumion 2023.0, the following main model of its real-time visualisation software.
The compatibility-breaking replace provides a brand new hybrid render engine with help for real-time ray tracing on each AMD and Nvidia GPUs, and extends the software program’s PBR materials system.
Act-3D has additionally now discontinued perpetual licences of the software program, making Lumion subscription-only.
A straightforward-to-use near-real-time instrument for architectural visualisation work
First launched in 2010, and now one of many three most generally used renderers for arch viz work, Lumion creates renders of architectural scenes in close to actual time.
The software program is meant to supply architects with little background in visualisation with a extra simple approach to create life like stills and animations than typical DCC apps.
Customers import constructing fashions from different software program, both in commonplace 3D file codecs like FBX, OBJ, SKP and MAX, or through built-in reside hyperlinks to main CAD functions.
They’ll then edit supplies inside Lumion, arrange lighting and climate results, costume the scene utilizing readymade fashions from the accompanying asset library, and create easy digicam animations.
Lumion 2023.0: GPU-agnostic real-time tracing
The important thing change in Lumion 2023.0 is help for ray tracing: its new hybrid rasterisation/ray tracing render engine makes it doable to create bodily correct lighting, shadows and reflections in renders.
The change will deliver Lumion into line with different real-time visualisation instruments like Enscape and Twinmotion, which already help hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
Based on Act-3D’s blog post, “whereas ray tracing know-how has been round for some time, the choice to deliver it into Lumion now’s guided by [principles of] accessibility, stability, velocity and expertise”.
The brand new Ray Tracing Effect is supported on both AMD and Nvidia GPUs – though not at the moment Intel Arc – with renders falling again to rasterisation on older playing cards.
Presumably on account of the brand new render engine, the replace is compatibility-breaking, so initiatives and fashions saved in Lumion 2023.0 can’t be opened in older variations of the software program.
Supplies: new PBR map sorts, subsurface scattering and clearcoat supplies
Lumion 2023.0 additionally extends the software program’s PBR materials system to help eight map sorts, now together with metalness, emissive energy, reflectivity and opacity.
Each editions of the software program get help for subsurface scattering, for recreating translucent supplies like marble; and the Professional version will get a clearcoat materials layer for recreating automobile paint and varnished surfaces.
As well as, there’s a new unified Glass materials, changing the outdated Normal Glass and PureGlass supplies, though it isn’t but suitable with ray tracing, and at the moment requires a workaround.
Enhancements to scene structure, digicam paths, rendering and publish results
Different key modifications embrace a brand new remodel gizmo for positioning objects extra exactly within the viewport; and enhancements to the Auto Snap function, for snapping objects to different surfaces.
It is usually now doable to import digicam paths in FBX or Collada format, or to select from 4 new preset digicam behaviours, together with commonplace dolly and pan/tilt photographs, and choices to orbit or observe an object.
Customers may select from a variety of preset aspect ratios when rendering nonetheless photographs or video.
The Colour Correction Impact will get a histogram show to regulate the color stability of renders extra exactly.
Updates to the asset library and LiveSync plugins
Outdoors the core software, the accompanying asset library will get 227 new property, together with 98 supplies.
The software program’s LiveSync plugins, which reside hyperlink Lumion to CAD apps together with SketchUp and Rhino – can now substitute supplies with native Lumion equivalents based mostly on file names.
Now accessible subscription-only
The discharge additionally marks a change in model numbering – below Act-3D’s outdated system, it might have been Lumion 13.0 – and of licensing, with the software program now accessible subscription-only.
One- and three-year subscriptions have been launched in parallel with perpetual licences final yr, and gross sales of recent perpetual licences have been then stopped in February 2023.
Perpetual licences used to price €1,499 for the usual version and €2,999 for the Professional version: roughly equal to the price of two years’ subscription below the brand new pricing mannequin.
Launch date, pricing and system necessities
Lumion 2023.0 is accessible rental-only for Home windows 10+. One-year subscriptions have a MSRP of €749/yr for the usual version; €1,499/yr for the Professional version. See a comparison table for the two editions.
Read an overview of the new features in Lumion 2023.0 on Act-3D’s blog
Read a full list of new features in Lumion 2023.0 in the online release notes
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