Glare Technologies has just released a new version of their Indigo Renderer, veresion 2.2 .  In this version they’ve doubled the speed on virtually all scene renderings, and increased the speed by 10x when using environment maps.  Also, tone-mapping, aperture diffraction, and subsurface scattering all got some attention leading to improved performance and better results.  They’ve also introduced a new Material editor:

The all-new Indigo Material Editor, introduced with Indigo 2.2, allows fully featured creation and editing of materials in a graphical environment. All material functions are available in the Indigo Material Editor, with Indigo Shader Language able to control any attribute. The Indigo material editor also allows direct uploads to and downloads from the online Indigo Material Database.

However, in a somewhat odd announcement, they’ve decided to raise the price to ‘compete’ with other renderers.

In addition to the 2.2 release announcement, Glare Technologies is also announcing that from the 1st of February, the cost price of Indigo licenses will rise to compete with other unbiased renderers on the market. A single full license will cost 595€ and node license will be 195€, with options for bulk discounts.

I’ve heard of lowering prices to compete, but never raising prices.  See the full press release after the break.

Indigo Renderer 2.2

Press release

Wellington, New Zealand, January 2010: Glare Technologies, a world leader in 3D rendering, have released the latest version of their photo-realistic rendering package: Indigo Renderer 2.2. Indigo 2.2 is at least 2 times faster than Indigo 2.0 on all scenes, and up to 10 times faster on scenes using environment maps.

Subsurface scattering (used for skin, candles and rubbery materials) has been improved to render faster and with less noise. Tone-mapping and Aperture Diffraction are now fully multi-threaded, allowing for more rapid tweaking of the scene’s mood.

The all-new Indigo Material Editor, introduced with Indigo 2.2, allows fully featured creation and editing of materials in a graphical environment. All material functions are available in the Indigo Material Editor, with Indigo Shader Language able to control any attribute. The Indigo material editor also allows direct uploads to and downloads from the online Indigo Material Database.

Many small improvements have been made to the Indigo interface to make it more intuitive and responsive.

The specular material has had absorption layer transmittance added, to allow for stained glass-like effects and blemishes on materials like skin.

The Indigo exporters for Blender, Cinema4D, SketchUp, and 3ds Max, have all seen many improvements, making the Indigo workflow fast and easier.

In addition to the 2.2 release announcement, Glare Technologies is also announcing that from the 1st of February, the cost price of Indigo licenses will rise to compete with other unbiased renderers on the market. A single full license will cost 595€ and node license will be 195€, with options for bulk discounts.