pixar的renderman pro server 12即将发布

Pixar的RenderMan Pro Server 12即将发布
Pixar的RenderMan Pro Server 12即将发布

Emeryville, CA - June 2nd, 2004 - Pixar Animation Studios (Nasdaq: PIXR) today announced the upcoming release of its Academy Award® winning RenderMan® (PRMan) 3D rendering software. The new features, performance optimizations, and general enhancements in RenderMan® Pro Server Release 12 represent a major evolution of the 3D rendering system widely recognized as the industry standard for film and video production.
Pixar‘s RenderMan® Pro Server Release 12 is entering beta now, with the final release expected Q3, 2004.

Highlights from Pixar‘s RenderMan® Pro Server Release 12:
Major Features
主要性能提升
3D Baking（烘烤）  The point cloud file format has been extended to support arbitrary data, and Pixar‘s innovative format, the brick map,
supports data of arbitrary size. Together, any kind of data can be baked to disk and then retrieved with great efficiency.  New point cloud filtering tools support the computation of subsurface scattering and open the door to many special effects and optimizations.
提升粒子渲染效果 Volume effects, like fire, smoke, and haze, can now be created within arbitrary shapes. Tricky atmospheric effects, like smoke obscuring moving mirrors, are now made possible by decoupling the computation of the atmosphere from the traditional shading positions.
性能优化
显著减少内存消耗  Aggressive optimizations have reduced memory requirements up to 30% for large scenes.
几何优化  The Loop subdivision scheme is now supported. Loop subdivision surfaces are optimized for triangular meshes and henceforth is the recommended representation for meshes used typically to represent cloth and fluid simulations. The Catmull-Clark scheme has also been optimized resulting in significant memory reductions. Catmull-Clark remains the recommended representation for characters and other meshes comprised of facets with 4 or more sides.  Dense polygon meshes render much more efficiently.
其他改进
改进了渲染语言  Forward Message Passing allows shaders to send arguments to downstream shaders prior to their execution.  Support for Varying Length Arrays has been added to the shading language.
灵活的输出变量  General AOV improvements, including support for the subpixel hider and the ability to output multiple AOVs to a single file.
"Ri" 过滤 "Ri" filters provide a powerful mechanism for customizing 3D data, including RIB files, read-archives, inline archives, and procedural primitives.
支持OpenEXR Added support for OpenEXR, allowing the creation of custom channels and providing support for HDRI via float and half formats.
减少了光线跟踪中的误差光线 Greater fidelity for ray tracing bias has significantly reduced bias artifacts.
Dicing Camera and Strategies Improved control over the camera and strategies used for dicing.
About Pixar‘s RenderMan®
Leading digital effects houses and computer graphics specialists use Pixar‘s RenderMan® because it is the highest quality renderer available anywhere and has been production tested through successful use in feature films for nearly fifteen years. Pixar‘s RenderMan® is stable, fast, and efficient for handling complex surface appearances and images.
RenderMan‘s® powerful shading language and anti-aliased motion blur allow designers to believably integrate stunning synthetic effects with live-action footage. In addition, RenderMan® is backed by Pixar‘s technical staff who know the challenges of creating digital effects.
For more information on RenderMan®, including product descriptions and price lists, please visit www.pixar.com/renderman
About Pixar Animation Studios
Pixar Animation Studios (Nasdaq: PIXR, www.pixar.com) combines creative and technical artistry to create original stories in the medium of computer animation. Pixar has created and produced five of the most successful and beloved animated films of our time: Academy Award®-winning Toy Story (1995); A Bug‘s Life (1998); Golden Globe-winner Toy Story 2 (1999); the Academy Award®-winning Monsters, Inc. (2001); and the Academy Award®-winning Finding Nemo (2003), the highest-grossing animated film of all time. The Northern California studio‘s next two films are The Incredibles (November 5, 2004) and Cars (holiday 2005).
_xyz