Next Limit ships RealFlow | Cinema 4D 3.0
Next Limit has released RealFlow | Cinema 4D 3.0, the latest version of its fluid simulation software for Cinema 4D, adding a new daemon for simulating the look of macro photography.
The update also introduces the option to use sub-frame sampling during simulation, adds support for quad meshing, and makes it possible to stitch the output of multiple simulations into a single Alembic file.
(Full disclosure: the software was actually released at the start of the month, but we’ve only just spotted it: it doesn’t seem to have received much coverage online.)
New Macro daemon, plus new ways to adjust the overall form of simulations
The headline feature in RealFlow | Cinema 4D 3.0 is the new Macro daemon, shown in the video above.
It’s designed to mimic the kinds of effects seen in high-speed photography of real-life liquids, with individual droplets and jets breaking away from the main body of the fluid.
The update also introduces spline control circles: a new system for adjusting the properties of simulations generated from splines.
The results can be adjusted directly in the viewport by dragging the control circles along the spline, or dragging on their own control points, as shown in this video.
Other new features include a global force scale parameter to adjust the intensity with which daemons affect a simulation, and the option to apply translation, rotation and scale transformations to sims.
The software also now supports sub-frame sampling to improve simulation accuracy.
Faster, more controllable simulation meshing
Improvements to simulation meshing include the option to set the volume being meshed using the new Fields system introduced in Cinema 4D R20.
Fluids can also be meshed as all-quad geometry rather than all triangles, and performance has been improved: the release notes state that Mesher Auto Build mode is “2x faster”.
Alembic stitching and improved simulation caching
Other new features include a built-in stitching system, which combines the output of multiple simulations into a single Alembic file. It works with both particles and meshed geometry.
There are also a number of improvements to simulation caching, listed in the online release notes.
Pricing and system requirements
RealFlow | Cinema 4D 3.0 is available for Cinema 4D R15+ on 64-bit Windows 7+ and Mac OS X 10.9+. A node-locked licence costs $795.
Read a summary of the new features in RealFlow | Cinema 4D 3.0 on Next Limit’s website
Read a full list of new features in RealFlow | Cinema 4D 3.0 in Next Limit’s online documentation