Corona Renderer 5.2 for 3ds Max

• Reminder: We changed how we name our releases – this is Corona Renderer 2rather than Corona Renderer 1.8!
• Heterogeneous media (Phoenix FD, FumeFX, OpenVDB, new “Inside Volume” mode in the CoronaVolumeMtl)
• The first phase of V-Ray compatibility
• 5-15% lower memory usage in most scenes
• Advanced camera/bokeh effects
• New material override options to preserve certain materials
• Updated Material Library (over 110 new materials!)
• Corona Toolbar
• Improved denoising of bump maps
• A focus on tweaking, debugging, and lots of small feature improvements

Just in case you missed our announcement about that in 2017, we want to remind you that we have changed how we number our releases. Every release of Corona Renderer brings with it many new features and major improvements, and we realized that really we should never have used a “point numbering” system. We decided now was the time to bite the bullet, throw out the old point numbers, and switch to naming each release with a whole number increase!

That means this release is Corona Renderer 2, and not Corona Renderer 1.8. Our next release will be Corona Renderer 3. We will continue to release smaller fixes and vital updates as hotfixes in between main versions, if necessary.

MAJOR FEATURES :
Added support for heterogeneous media shading

Support has been added for heterogeneous volumes, which means Corona Renderer now supports Phoenix FD, FumeFX, OpenVDB, and 3ds Max texture maps. This includes full support for multi-bounce GI inside the volumes and motion blur, so now you can render smoke, fire, liquids and more in your favourite render engine!

Details for  each individual application are shown below:

Phoenix FD

The same technology that lets Corona Renderer create 3D volumes using the CoronaVolume material also enables rendering of volumes from other specialist simulation plugins, such as Phoenix FD.

Limitations:

• Supports only Phoenix FD 3.10.00 or newer (3.10.03 required for using in Interactive Rendering)
• Foam rendering is currently not supported (there is no API for this in Phoenix FD yet, but we will be working on it)
• Isosurface rendering mode is currently not supported

FumeFX

Again, the same underlying functionality allows Corona Renderer to render FumeFX simulations.

Limitations:

• Supports only FumeFX 5.0 or newer
• Motion blur, space warps, illumination maps and the channel data shader are currently not supported.

CoronaVolumeGrid (OpenVDB support)

For a quick guide on using the Corona Volume Grid, see: How to use the Corona Volume Grid?

Corona Renderer can work with OpenVDB files. These are files which allow you to store “voxels” in a 3D grid, along with optional additional data such as density, velocity, temperature, etc.

OpenVDB files can be created in a variety of software, for example SideFX Houdini, Phoenix FD, Blender, etc. These can be loaded and rendered using the CoronaVolumeGrid object, which then allows you to set Absorption, Scattering and Emission properties for the VolumeGrid. These properties can be driven by the density, velocity, temperature, and other extra data contained within the OpenVDB file.

3D volume material (e.g. using native 3ds Max noise maps)

The CoronaVolume material now has two modes, the old “On Surface” mode, and a new “Inside Volume” mode.

This new mode allows the CoronaVolume material to render actual volumes inside objects, rather than just calculating the result at the surface of the object. It can work with native 3ds Max noise maps, in Object or World XYZ mode, which calculate noise in 3D space.

The potential uses are limitless, allowing you to create low lying mist, clouds, ice, and more, either used on its own or in combination with things like the CoronaDistance map. Previously, with the old mode, creating low-lying mist would require you to create specific geometry for it – now with the new Inside Volume mode you can use a CoronaVolume in the Global volume material slot, and with some CoronaDistance and noise magic, get the desired result!

Added support for core V-Ray features:

• Are you a freelancer who keeps finding those perfect assets for your project… but they are V-Ray scenes, andyou don’t have V-Ray installed so can’t use the converter?
• Are you a studio that uses both V-Ray and Corona depending on a project’s needs (or even depending on department)?
• Do you use V-Ray but want to try out Corona Renderer in your existing scenes to see what all the fuss is about?

If so, then the good news is that now you can render V-Ray assets (created in V-Ray 3.60 or newer – assets from earlier versions may also work, but this is not guaranteed) without having to run any sort of conversion – even without V-Ray being installed!

Limitations:

• Supports only assets created in V-Ray 3.60 or newer (assets saved from earlier versions may work, but it is not guaranteed; we will look into the possibility of adding support for assets from older versions as part of the ongoing updates and improvements to compatibility with V-Ray!)
• Include / Exclude list for VRayLight requires V-Ray to be installed

Corona Camera, new bokeh controls:

The Corona Camera now adds advanced Bokeh controls for Center Bias, Vignetting and Anisotropy.

Positive values of Center Bias expand the bokeh into rings, while negative values compress the bokeh highlights. Positive values of Vignetting give a harder edge to the Bokeh toward the outside of the image, while negative values create a harder edge to the Bokeh highlights toward the center of the image.

“Affects exposure” checkbox for custom (texture) bokeh
You can now specify whether using a custom texture map to define the bokeh will affect the exposure or not. When checked, the shape of the texture map may let in more or less light than the default circular aperture. When unchecked, exposure is unaffected by the custom map (the same as in earlier versions of Corona Renderer).

Bladed bokeh now has the same area as the circular bokeh
In earlier versions of Corona Renderer, the Bladed bokeh option had a different area than the default Circular bokeh, and this has been corrected. Also, the rotation of Bladed bokeh is now consistent, independent of the camera view.

Material Library Updates:

We have updated the Material Library, mostly based on your feedback regarding tiling. Here is the changelog:

• Added around 110 new materials
• Real World Scale is now used in most materials.
  (e.g. materials which follow specific direction – such as wood)
• CoronaTriplanar map is now used wherever it makes sense.(e.g. materials which have the texture applied uniformly regardless of the surface curvature – e.g. scratches, dirt)
• Resized and fixed tiling of Wall, Concrete, Leather, Metal, Rubber, Stone, and Wood materials.
• Fixed the scaling of CoronaTriplanar maps used in Fabrics and Leathers.
• Previews are now rendered in a larger resolution
• Fixed unit-dependent properties (such as displacement and absorption) changing depending on the selected system and display units. (now if it’s 5cm, it will always render as 5cm, regardless of the units setup!)

Material Override Settings to preserve certain materials:

Material override options are now in a pop-up dialog, accessible from the Scene tab of the Render Setup window. The Material Overrides now let you exclude glass materials, light materials, portal materials and / or unsupported materials. Note that Corona will determine what counts as a glass material based on the material’s combination of Reflection and Refraction settings (primarily, any material where Refraction plays a significant contribution to the look of the material).