 | |
 LuxRender 0.7 rendering aDesert Eagle model | |
| Developer(s) | Jean-Philippe Grimaldi, Jean-Francois Romang, David Bucciarelli, Ricardo Lipas Augusto, Asbjorn Heid and others.[1] |
|---|---|
| Initial release | June 24, 2008; 16 years ago (2008-06-24) |
| Stable release | |
| Repository | |
| Written in | C++,Python |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Type | 3D computer graphics |
| License | Apache 2.0 |
| Website | www |
LuxCoreRender is afree andopen-sourcephysically basedrendering software. It began asLuxRender in 2008 before changing its name to LuxCoreRender in 2017 as part of a project reboot.[3][4] The LuxCoreRender software runs onLinux,Mac OS X, andWindows.
LuxCoreRender features a3D renderer; it relies on other programs (3D modeling programs) to create the scenes to render, including the models, materials, lights and cameras. This content can then be exported from the application for rendering. For Luxrender, fully functional exporters are available forBlender,Daz Studio; partially functional ones are available forCinema 4D,Maya,SketchUp andXSI.[5] Luxrender is also fully supported as a production renderer in3DS Max.[6] For LuxCoreRender, Blender is supported through the BlendLuxCore plugin.[7] After opening the exported file, LuxCoreRender renders the scene. Various tweaks to post processing settings can be set via graphical user interface and the scene control file.[8] A significant feature of LuxCoreRender is that the user is able to change the balance of different lights while the image is still being processed.[9][10]
LuxCoreRender originally started as LuxRender in 2008. LuxRender was based onPBRT, a physically based ray-tracing program.[11] Although very capable and well-structured, PBRT focuses on academic use and was not easily usable by digital artists. As PBRT is licensed under theBSD License, it was possible to start a new program based on PBRT's source code. With the blessings of the original authors, a small group of programmers took this step in September 2007. The new program was named LuxRender and was to focus on artistic use. Since its initial stage, the program has attracted a small handful of various programmers around the world.[1]
On 24 June 2008, the first official release was announced, version 0.5.[12] This was the first release that is considered to be usable for the general public.
The plan for LuxRender 2.0 was defined during the 2013 summer and one of the major components is a new engine based on the C++ and Python APIs. The old C API suffered from many limitations when it came to modern features like dynamic scene editing and interactive rendering, so it was decided to write a completely new API instead of improving the old one. LuxCore is the name of the new C++/Python API. It offers all the features shown by SLG (SmallLuxGPU),[13] including a dynamic camera,texture, material, and object editing, and more.
Why Lux(Core)Render v2.0?
Because LuxRender project was dying under the weight of a lot of old abandoned code. All active developers had the strong feeling a fresh start was required. The "Core" between "Lux" and "Render" is there to highlight the new project focus. However the "v2.0" is there to re-mark the continuity with 10 years of development and experience.
During the 2017 winter,LuxCoreRender 2.0 was defined as a LuxCore API focused render package, dropping any old code related to LuxRender 1.x. A new website, forum, wiki, Blender exported, etc. were developed in order mark a new fresh project restart.
Although the original LuxRender is a fullspectral renderer, the new LuxCoreRender drops full spectral rendering in favor of simulating spectral dispersion when required.[14][15] However, this leads to some inaccuracies when rendering caustics in some circumstances.[16]
Features included in the LuxCoreRender 2.5 update include:[17]
Features included in the LuxCoreRender 2.4 update include:[18]
Features included in the LuxCoreRender 2.0+ project reboot (current version) include:[19]
New features included in LuxRender 1.0 include:[28]
The main features of LuxRender as of version 0.8 include:[11][30]
