Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 4, 2005. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Illuminate Labs’ Global Illumination renderer Turtle 2, fully integrated into Maya, has a completely new shader system. The new shaders can be operated like Maya shaders, produce realistic surfaces and, according to manufacturer information, now work twice as fast as in the previous version.
The new render pass system gives users more compositing possibilities. It is also possible to create custom passes – for example Motion Vectors, Reflection Occlusion and Normal Maps.
The Global Illumination uses a new algorithm for Final Gathering, IES lights and global settings for brightness and contrast. The improvements in Texture Baking permit the transfer of surface properties from high-resolution to low-resolution meshes. Batch Baking allows the baking of multiple objects at the same time.
Turtle 2 is available now for US$1,199. The network licence costs US$999 per computer.
Further Links:
- Manufacturer’s website
