Vue Xstream 2016 R4 build 404061

E-on software, a leading global developer of software for the creation, animation, rendering, and integration of natural 3D environments in the computer graphics, VFX, architecture, and gaming industries, today announced the immediate availability of Release 4 (R4) of its Vue Xstream 2016.

New in Vue 2016 R4: support for stereoscopic rendering, including 180° and 360° output

The main new feature in Vue xStream 2016 R4 is stereoscopic rendering. Stereo renders can be generated in standard or panoramic formats, including both 180° and 360° output. The system works with “most of” Vue’s render options, including multi-pass and HDR rendering; and users can define interaxial distance and choose from three standard parallax convergence modes. The new hybrid CPU/GPU path tracing renderer added in Vue 2016 also gets an update, adding support for normal mapping, plus the option to set the engine to use only CPU or GPU cores.

Other changes include better handling of semi-transparent materials during multi-pass rendering, minimising colour bleed around the edges of object masks, which should lead to cleaner mattes for clouds and trees. The UI has also been further updated to display better on HiDPI displays; and on Windows, the software now supports CPUs with more than 64 cores.

Key New Features in VUE 2016 R4:

Stereoscopic Rendering:
- Available for both panoramic (360° and 180°) and non-panoramic renders
- For Stills and Animations
- User defined Interpupillary Distance and final image layout (top/bottom or left/right)
- 3 convergence modes for handling parallax: Parallel, Converged and Off-axis
- Automatically recognized by Stereo-compliant platforms (such as Youtube) and can be played on stereo compliant devices such as Occulus Rift, HTC Vive, Nvidia 3DVision, Sony PSVR, Google DayDream, Google Carboard etc.
180 Degree VR Panoramas (VR180)
- Render a 180° vertical and horizontal FOV
- Automatically recognized by VR180-compliant platforms (such as Facebook and Youtube)
Multi-pass Rendering Improvements
- Optimized handling of semi-transparent materials to prevent background color to bleed within object mask color data
- Embed alpha channel for each mask pass (when the output format supports it)
Path Tracer renderer improvements:
- Adds support for normal mapping
- Selection of OpenCL devices: All Available Devices, GPU Devices Only, or CPU Devices Only
UX/UI improvements
- Added support for CPUs with more than 64 cores on Windows
- Improved 4K/HiDPI display compatibility
- Better responsiveness and faster computation of Procedural Terrain within the Terrain Editor
- Alembic compatibility updated to version 1.7.3
xStream Integration:
- Adds support for Maya 2018 (MentalRay and VRay - incl. viewport 2.0)
- Adds support for Cinema 4D R19.

About Vue Xstream 2016. E-on software has released Vue Infinite 2016 and Vue xStream 2016, the latest versions of its professional digital nature tools, adding a new GPU renderer, heightfield terrains and a range of new export options. Vue xStream users also get the option to convert Vue assets into the native format of the host 3D software to which xStream conneects, making it possible to render them with third-party renderers. The update also adds support for Preset Variations, a new feature of e-on’s PlantFactory plant-generation software, the 2016 edition of which has also just been released.

The updates are the first in over 18 months, e-on having been acquired by Bentley Systems in 2015.

- New GPU render engine for interactive viewport previews
One key addition to the Vue 2016 product line is the new hybrid GPU/CPU-based path tracing renderer. It’s primarily intended as a fast interactive viewport preview: although the video above notes that it can be used as a final-quality renderer by increasing its sampling setting, at the minute, there is quite a long list of features it doesn’t support, including procedural materials, volumetrics, clouds and multi-pass rendering.
- New heightfield terrains: faster rendering and more controllable
The update also introduces a new heightfield terrain system. Like Vue’s existing procedural terrains, heightfield terrains are based on a function graph, but are baked on a fixed-resolution grid. According to e-on, heightfield terrains make it possible to add effects “that were previously impossible to achieve, such as hydrological and thermal simulations”, and are faster to render. The new terrains come with their own dedicated set of controls, including nine erosion presets and Slope, Convexity, Blur and Terrace nodes. All of the parameters are fully animatable, and graph outputs can be used to drive material properties directly from within the Terrain Editor interface. As well as being manually sculptable, it is possible to design the layout of the terrains using freehand splines or simple 2D shapes like circles, rectangles and rounded rectangles.
- Improvements to EcoSystems and instancing
EcoSystems, Vue’s instancing and surface scattering technology, also gets an update, with the option to populate scenes with multiple global EcoSystem layers. Global EcoSystem populations can also now be saved as EcoPainter brushes, enabling users to paint customisable groups of plants or other objects into scenes, rather than individual models. The software ships with 12 preset EcoPainter brushes and 20 EcoPainter effector brushes. To minimise memory use in complex scenes, any object selected in the World Browser can now be converted to an EcoSystem instance, and plant species imported from PlantFactory can be baked out. Vue also now supports the Preset Variations functionality introduced in PlantFactory 2016, enabling users to generate instances of plants with small variations such as variant flower colours.
- More export functionality, particularly for xStream users
Export functionality has also been further extended, mainly in Vue xStream. As well as exporting individual assets, xStream users now have the option to export entire scenes or EcoSystems as FBX or Alembic files, with the option to include the sky as a cube map in FBX files. There is also an OpenGL preview for exported assets to give some idea of how they will look in other apps. In addition, xStream’s new Conversion tool converts exported assets to the native format of the host application. Scenes are baked out, and EcoSystem instances converted to standard objects. Conversion makes it possible to share assets with artists who don’t have xStream installed; to render them with third-party renderers like V-Ray or Arnold; or to render them on renderfarms that don’t support Vue. The process is currently available to 3ds Max, Maya and Cinema 4D users, but not in LightWave or Softimage.
- User interface and workflow improvements
Both versions of the software get a number of workflow and UI improvements. Key changes include the option to save thumbnail previews of a scene while rendering, and more options to customise Vue’s default interface layout, as shown in the video above. There are also a number of smaller changes, including better compatibility with HiDPI displays.

About e-on software. E-on software is the leading developer of solutions for the creation, animation, rendering and integration of natural 3D environments (VUE, PlantFactory, CloudFactory Ozone and Carbon Scatter). E-on software products are used worldwide by the film, television, architecture, game, science, educational and entertainment industries. E-on software was founded on the premise that powerful graphics tools should never get in the way of the designer's creativity. By investing significant resources in research and development, e-on software is able to deliver cutting-edge, user friendly technologies that produce stunning digital nature scenery.

In 2015, e-on software was acquired by Bentley Systems and now operates as an internal venture subsidiary.

Product: Vue Xstream
Version: 2016 R4 build 404061
Supported Architectures: x64
Website Home Page : www.e-onsoftware.com
Language: english
System Requirements: PC
Supported Operating Systems: Windows 7even or newer
Size: 1.0 Gb