You can see side-by-side comparison images with OctaneRender’s existing PMC and path tracing kernels in this forum thread.

The new kernel uses a “novel combination of GPU photon mapping and path guiding” to generate sharp, non-noisy caustics even at very low sample counts. New features in OctaneRender 2022.1 include a new photon tracing kernel, which Otoy describes as making rendering caustics “about 1000x faster” than the previous implementation. New photon tracing kernel makes rendering caustics ‘nearly free’ OctaneRender 2022.1’s new photon tracing kernel (right) generates less noisy caustic effects than the existing PMC system (left) even at lower sample counts, speeding up calculation of caustics.

It’s also only of the CUDA edition for Windows and Linux users: at the time of writing, the current build of Octane X, the Metal-based edition of the software for macOS, is based on OctaneRender 2020. OctaneRender 2022.1 XB0 is the first ‘experimental build’ – that is, public beta – of Octane 2022, and it’s presumably an early one: it’s the first time we can recall Otoy having started with XB0 rather than XB1. In addition, Otoy has updated its subscription packages, with all subscribers now getting a range of other apps for free, including Architron, a renamed version of hard-surface modelling toolkit LWCAD.Ī very early preview of Octane’s 2022 feature set, currently only for Windows and Linux users Otoy has unveiled Octane 2022, the next major set of updates to the GPU production renderer, with the release of OctaneRender 2022.1 XB0, the first experimental build of the CUDA edition.Ĭhanges include a new photon tracing kernel, making rendering caustics “about 1000x faster”, a new layered ubermaterial based on Autodesk’s Standard Surface specification, and better handling of volumes.įeatures scheduled for later in the Octane 2022 release cycle include Brigade, Otoy’s long-awaited real-time path tracing engine, and its new multi-render system.

Octane render standalone bassics