Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 7, 2015. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
At the end of 2013, Paris-based Mercenaries Engineering released the first full version of the new renderer: the tool is intended to be particularly powerful in lighting. The Guerilla Render GUI is optimized for look development and lighting tasks, and the renderer has also been optimally integrated into the GUI. Because the renderer uses the Alembic format, which can be brought into the renderer by drag and drop, it is also intended to work with many other 3D software packages.
There is one Guerilla Render license free of charge per IP address, which can also be used for commercial purposes – just as was already the case with version 1.0.
Optimizations in Version 1.3
Key improvements in version 1.3 are an overall increase in renderer performance and fast opacity for transparent leaves, hair and particles. The render graph has also been revised and, according to Mercenaries, now works 700 percent faster than in previous versions.
Several optimizations have also been added in the volumetrics area: It is now possible to raytrace volumetrics of any kind using the easy-to-use volume shader, which includes Maya Fluid, OpenVDB, FumeFX and volume-filled objects.
In addition, every point-cache file format can now be rendered in a wide variety of formats, and a new particle shader has also been added. The quality of indoor scenes has likewise been improved, and procedural geometries such as hair or fur can be generated with the new procedural options. Another important feature is the Python scripting option in the Guerilla API.
Also added are Render OpenEXR 2.0 for deep images, new shaders such as rough glass, eye and volume as well as particle shaders, and a camera lens shader; render nodes can also be displayed in a web browser, allowing render processes to be observed live.
System Requirements and Availability
Guerilla runs on Windows 64-bit and Linux x64. In addition, an Nvidia graphics card is required, as well as a permanent internet connection for the free connected license.
The renderer has already been used for projects such as the animated feature film “The Little Prince”, “Mune” and the children’s TV series “Super 4”.
For DP issue 07 : 2015, we have planned a major renderer comparison in which we will also cover the Guerilla renderer.
