For those who don’t know the tool: Dash runs inside Unreal Engine as an asset browser plus world-building toolkit. The Fab build ships the Content Browser only, while the website installer can also unlock the wider toolset with a paid license.

Two installs, one idea

Polygonflow now offers Dash in two distinct ways: as a free plugin on Fab and as the full Dash installer from the Polygonflow website.

The Fab listing calls the package “Dash – Advanced Asset Manager” and in this version, it is “just” a content browser that lets you search and drag and drop local assets into any UE5 project. It includes tagging for your own assets with a stated limit of up to 1,000 assets tagged per month, plus a Smart Collection System for organizing assets.

The website installer route matters more, because the Dash Content Browser itself has been available for free since Dash version 1.9.0, but the free license is limited to the Content Browser side of the toolset. The free license includes the supported libraries, the tagging system, and the centralized browsing experience across UE5 projects, but not other Dash tools such as Easy Scattering, Procedural Meshes, Physics Tools, or Material and Atmospheric Tools.

What is actually different between Fab and the website build

The Fab version includes the Content Browser only, and explicitly points to the website download if you want the full plugin toolset. The website build splits into two experiences. The free license stays content-only, meaning you use the Content Browser, library integrations, tagging, and centralized asset browsing. A paid license can unlock the other Dash tools, Easy Scattering, Procedural Meshes, Physics Tools, and Material / Atmospheric Tools. So the practical difference is not the content browser UI, it is how far you want to go beyond asset browsing once you are inside the same plugin shell.

Included libraries, and why that matters more than the tagline

Both the Fab listing and the Dash docs have the same core set of integrated libraries: Quixel Megascans via Fab or Quixel Bridge downloads, Amazon Berkeley Objects with 6,900 models, ambientCG with 2,300 textures plus HDRIs and decals, Poly Haven with 1,900 assets plus textures and HDRIs, The Base Mesh with 1,400 models, and the IES Library with 1,300 lighting presets.

On the website side, the Dash Asset Marketplace lives inside the Content Browser, with the Dekogon library and a Sierra library entry that includes one free pack.

Polygonflow also supports browsing and importing content across multiple UE projects from inside the project you are currently working in. The docs add a warning on version compatibility for external browsing: UE5 projects are forward compatible but not backward, so you can browse content from the same or older UE5 versions, not newer.

Custom assets, right now

In the Project Library tab, you can currently add your own static meshes, textures, and blueprints. The tagging flow focuses on making assets searchable beyond filenames and folder names, and the content browser adds collections for grouping assets into reusable sets.

Pricing and the usual production warning

On Fab, Dash – Advanced Asset Manager is free. Commercial pricing for paid Dash licenses is 8€ for students, 20€ per Month for professionals below the 250.000$ barrier, and 95€ per month for bigger studios. Test any new browser, tagging, or library workflow on a non-critical project before it touches production depots and shared team setups.

https://www.fab.com/listings/865301e9-2d26-425d-8f3c-e0aadf35da61
https://docs.polygonflow.io/advanced/free-content-browser

The post PolygoFlow Dash asset manager goes free on Fab first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: Nature Generator is a procedural asset library add-on that lives inside Blender via the Asset Browser and an N-panel, sold on Superhive Market, so you can kitbash nature without leaving your DCC.

The whole point is staying in your scene

Nature Generator builds natural assets directly inside Blender. Rocks, terrains, plants, water, and other environment bits all come in as editable, generated assets rather than fixed meshes. You drag an asset into the scene, the side panel recognizes it, and the controls you need show up without a detour to another app. The comparison to Quixel Megascans is obvious, being fully procedural and customizable.

The minimum version requirement is Blender 4.1 or higher. Hardware requirements call for a modern GPU from NVIDIA, AMD, or Apple Silicon. There is an optional texture options folder with 1K, 2K, and 4K texture resolutions. By default, the add-on uses low resolution preview textures, and the guidance recommends keeping the texture folder on a fast local SSD because it affects performance.

Installation stays simple. You drag and drop the zip into Blender, click OK, and the library sets up inside the Asset Browser. The Nature Gen panel appears in the side panel and opens with the N key. From there, drag and drop assets into the scene and start tweaking.

Geometry controls that reward restraint

Every asset follows a similar structure: shader settings and geometry settings, with slightly unique controls per asset. Geometry includes a resolution section, and most assets support a low-poly option. Viewport and render resolution can be controlled separately, and resolution can be subdivided or voxelized depending on the asset.

The documentation also includes the most honest feature statement possible: resolution can go infinitely high, and every asset can crash Blender if you push it too far. That makes the control powerful, but it also makes self-control part of the user interface.

Base shapes come from primitive forms you can alter in edit mode. Some assets follow the structure of a mesh and react to topology. Some are planes. Some are driven by curves. Displacement settings include multiple texture and noise displacement controls, with patterns such as noise breakup, stratification lines, and crack patterns. Many categories expose basic settings and an advanced subcategory for deeper tuning.

At around the moment you start dialing prcoedural detail like it is free, that crash warning stops reading like documentation and starts reading like prophecy.

Custom shaping can use a gradient with its own displacement, falloff, location, and scale settings, with viewport gizmos available when the modifier is selected. Alternatively, a custom curve object can influence the terrain, with a radius setting and a distance based falloff where farther from the curve means weaker influence. A secondary custom shape can be added, such as one curve for valleys and another for mountains.

Scatter was rebuilt to be more direct

The latest update changes how the scattering system works. If you have an older version, the update workflow shown is to download the new version from Blender Market and drag and drop it into the scene so it overrides the old version.

The new scatter setup aims to be simpler with fewer settings. The key change is the import flow. You import the specific assets you want to scatter, then assign them into the scatter collection. After importing, you can toggle an exclude option so the collection does not sit visibly in the scene, while still being used by the scattering system.

Core scatter behavior remains familiar. You can adjust density, and you can still use slope based scattering, altitude based scattering, and noise based scattering. Scatter zones remain part of the tool, controlled by empties with viewport gizmos so you can define a local area for scattering.

The update also introduces threshold softness controls across settings. The stated purpose is scaling down scattered assets toward the edges of masks. That creates a smoother falloff where a hard cutoff would look like a stamp.

Draw where the scatter goes

A major addition in the update is a scatter curve or grease pencil option. You can assign a curve or a Grease Pencil object and use it to decide where scattering appears and where it does not.

The workflow shown is straightforward: create a blank Grease Pencil object, draw directly on the surface, then select that drawing as the scatter guide. The same idea works with a curve object. You get controls for draw radius and radius softness, and the falloff scales down scattered assets toward the edges. There is also a noise option to distort the shape and avoid a too clean, too perfect outline.

Remove the draw object, and scattering returns to the default behavior. That makes the feature easy to test and easy to abandon if a shot changes direction.

Viewport survival mode, now with choices

Scatter can get heavy. The update adds a display mode control in the instance settings. You can display instances as originals, as boxes, or as wire box. Instance scale stays, but the update adds a secondary scale and a secondary scale probability. That lets a minority of instances become much larger than the rest, adding variation without requiring a second scatter layer. Rotation controls remain.

There is also a new wind animation option for scattered assets. Wind time is a value you animate, with an example workflow of adding a driver expression using hashtag frame and optionally dividing to slow it down. The update explains why this stays manual: using a scene time node inside node trees made performance drop sharply, including an example of frame rate dropping to around seven. Removing the time node restored smooth playback. With many scattered objects each carrying the scatter system, the update keeps wind time explicit to protect performance.

Terrains, water, and the new step look

Terrain and mountain assets use a separate X and Y resolution, because resolution on those axes influences the shape and form of erosion. Terrain maps include a random seed, and terrain can generate from noise or be influenced by a custom shape.

Noise displacement includes control over influence on X, Y, and Z, plus a noise seed and standard noise settings. Texture displacement adds rock detail. Erosion settings apply erosion from a selected height, with placement, falloff, and an option that can add mountains and inverted valleys. Boundary falloff can flatten edges.

Water effects add a cube with a procedural water shader. Controls include height and depth, and rivers can be created by combining a water effect value with custom curve shaping that pushes terrain down so water appears in selected areas. Water shader settings appear in the shader tab, including animated noise controls to create the illusion of moving water with separate speed controls on X and Y.

The update adds terrain presets, including a forest preset and a canyon preset. The forest preset uses the scattering system, and trees can default to box display for performance on lower-end systems, with the option to switch back to originals. The update also adds a terrain steps feature on some presets, described as a stepping effect. Controls include the number of steps, detail, strength, and blur, with noise-based selection and influence. Terrain steps can be found in erosion settings, in noise settings, and when drawing along a custom curve.

Trees arrive, and snow gets more physical

The update adds tree assets. Tree shaders follow the same structure as flowers, including leaf color controls and translucency. Leaves can be pushed toward an autumn look by changing colors. There is also a setting for a leaf mask, and leaf shapes are generated procedurally, with controls for scale and mask threshold.

Scatter categories shown include plants such as flowers, wheats, grass, ground cover, shrubs, plus rocks, snow, and trees. Scattered rocks are procedurally generated and have their own settings such as resolution, shape distortion, size ratio, and a seed.

Snow scattering gets a notable twist. Importing a snow object can be recognized and turned into a volume style approach for creating snow on objects rather than only shader based snow. Snow settings sit in the geometry tab, including resolution and displacement settings. Particle detail adds small particles with alpha textures, intended to improve realism for close-ups. The tool also notes that foamy snow detail may require higher transparency bounces.

Materials, uniqueness, and the new override option

Materials are shared by default. The tool includes Make Material Unique to create a new copy of a material for the selected object, and Revert to return to defaults. The update also adds a use custom material feature for the new scatter effect. The workflow shown duplicates a material and assigns it as an override for the scattered assets, so you can make unique changes without affecting the original material used elsewhere.

Scatter effects can stack, and the update shows renaming modifier labels to organize multiple scatter effects. This is the part where it starts feeling less like an asset pack and more like a small ecosystem.

Pricing and what is actually specified

Pricing is specified on the product page. A Personal License costs $99. A Commercial License costs $169. A Studio License costs $259.

https://superhivemarket.com/products/the-nature-generator?ref=586

The post Nature Generator update brings procedural nature to Blender first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Quixel / Epic has officially discontinued Quixel Mixer and published a final version as an offline application. Quixel describes this release as the last one and states that there will be no further updates. The same announcement also makes clear that the software is provided without official support, which is the polite corporate way of saying: archive it now, because nobody is coming back with a hotfix later.

What was Quixel Mixer?

For anyone who has not used it: Quixel Mixer is a standalone material and texture authoring tool for building PBR texture sets via layers, masks, and blends, typically used for game assets, VFX props, and environment work. In a pipeline it sits in the “author texture maps for a mesh” slot, exporting standard texture maps that can be consumed by DCC tools and renderers. The discontinuation does not change what the tool is good at, it changes the expectations around maintenance and long-term compatibility.

How to get it?

Quixel states the final offline build is available via Quixel account login, and secondary coverage notes an installer option to download free Mixer asset packs, described as including 800+ assets. Older Mixer versions remain downloadable, but with no guarantee they will keep working. For production, this boils down to a familiar rule: if Mixer is still part of your workflow, lock the installer, lock the asset packs, and treat the whole thing like legacy software that must be reproducible rather than “kept current”.

The post Quixel Mixer dead, final offline version released first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Starting January 2025, Quixel’s Megascans will no longer offer free access to its vast library of 3D assets. Artists must adapt their workflows and budgets accordingly.

Quixel has announced that its popular Megascans asset library will shift from free to a paid model beginning January 1, 2025. The news marks a significant change for artists who have been using the assets cost-free in Unreal Engine, but now must consider subscription plans. This development impacts VFX professionals, game designers, and 3D artists who rely on Megascans for high-quality photogrammetry-based assets.

The Shift in Access and Pricing

For years, Megascans has been a go-to resource for professionals seeking realistic textures, 3D models, and vegetation. Its integration with Unreal Engine allowed free access to all assets, streamlining workflows in film, VFX, game production, and more. From 2025 onwards, the free model is set to be discontinued. Artists working with other engines or custom workflows will need to evaluate new pricing plans, as Megascans will introduce paid subscriptions to continue accessing the library.

It’s important to emphasize that Quixel’s assets have been critical for streamlining asset creation in VFX and game design, reducing the need for custom model generation or expensive photo shoots. While Unreal Engine users have enjoyed seamless integration, non-UE users will now need to assess the financial implications of Megascans becoming a paid service.

For those interested in keeping their current assets, Quixel recommends downloading and saving assets directly to their local accounts before the switch. The option to save all Megascans assets directly can be found in the Quixel Bridge tool, which connects users to their library of assets. More details on the process can be found here on 80lvl. Give the script a try!

PSA: I used a script made by JaimePhan on GitHub to add ALL current 18,876 MegaScan assets to my account so I can keep the forever.

Took me 5 minutes from start to finish, super easy, see my purchased account below.

Share to let others know!

Link: https://t.co/c5qbx3HXcc https://t.co/i8vA8mhCAK pic.twitter.com/ybWv3w5K1w

— Tyson Butler-Boschma (@TJATOMICA) September 18, 2024

New Pricing Model

Quixel has yet to officially release the full details on subscription costs. However, the pricing will likely follow a tiered model based on asset usage or the number of downloads, similar to other industry-standard asset libraries. While some pricing options may cater to smaller studios or individual artists, larger VFX studios and game development teams will need to budget accordingly. Until final pricing is announced, it’s advisable to stay updated by regularly checking the official Megascans documentation.

Conclusion

As of 2025, Quixel’s Megascans library will no longer offer free access, impacting artists and studios who depend on its vast library of 3D assets. Details about pricing remain sparse, but users are advised to stay informed and download assets prior to the shift. Evaluate all new pricing plans carefully to ensure seamless workflow integration.

For more information on Quixel’s Megascans, visit the official Quixel website. More details on asset saving can be found in the documentation.

The post Quixel’s Megascans No Longer Free After 2024 first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

In nuce: Quixel, the developer behind the PBR scan library Megascans and the asset tools Bridge and Mixer (Digital Production reported on13 November 2019 on the acquisition of Quixel by Epic Games), has released the latest version of its material authoring tool: Mixer 2022.1. cgchannel.com says Mixer is a non-destructive, layer-based toolset tailored for multi-channel painting and sculpting.

In toto: The new functions of Mixer 2022.1 will follow shortly.

• Support for emissive and opacity maps: For example, rendering of opacity maps is now user-definable; materials assigned to a model can be set regarding rendering. This includes the ability to render hard or soft hidden masks.
• How are materials displayed on 3D models? There are now new selection options for this. In some cases, materials can now also be rendered transparently or on both sides.
• A new Bloom effect has also been added, with settings for intensity, radius and threshold values.

How will Mixer evolve? Mixer 2022.1 is described on cgchannel.com as “one of the last updates to Mixer” in its current form, based on a comment from Quixel Community Support Lead Jonathan Holmes. Quixel will continue to be developed in the future, positioning itself even more strongly than before. According to cgchannel.com, Jonathan Holmes is currently unable to disclose specific details. In our report from 13 November 2019 , author Tom Jansen emphasised that Mixer was originally “seen as a competitor to Substance Tools” by Epic Games. An indication of how the development of Mixer could continue?

Click further: The corresponding release note provides further information on Mixer 2022.1

Source: cgchannel.com ( message from Jim Thacker)

The post The material authoring tool Mixer 2022.1 is released! first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.