Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 1, 2012. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
According to RandomControl, Arion 2.0 is a hybrid renderer because CPU and GPU are intended to be used during rendering. According to reports, the capabilities of Arion 2.0 sound no less interesting. Physically correct motion blur and, on top of that, photometric data profiles (IES) are said to be supported. According to the developers responsible, an option is also available to draw custom gradients, which can in turn be used as a replacement for IES maps. A so-called Warm-up Cache has also been implemented that eliminates warm-up time in continuous renders.
A short video series shows some of the key features in action:
Max Live features include native support for animations and the Material Editor. Active Shade and Render Passes are also supported, with unlimited network rendering among the main features.
Short tour of Max Live:
Anyone who wants to use the package needs at least Autodesk 3ds Max 2010 (32-bit/64-bit). A commercial licence for both tools together costs EUR 595, while an educational edition is available for 195. Other licensing models can also be selected and purchased via the official website.
