Uppercut releases U-Render 2019.11 for Cinema 4D
Uppercut broadcast & visual technologies has released U-Render 2019.11, the latest update to its physically based ‘really real-time’ render engine for Cinema 4D, adding support for volumetric rendering.
The release is the first major update to the software since leaving early access in October.
A genuine real-time render engine with good support for Cinema 4D’s native features
Originally known as Tachyon Render, U-Render launched last year in early access.
It promises genuine real-time rendering – the software is designed more like a game engine than a conventional offline renderer – with good support for Cinema 4D’s core features, including MoGraph.
As well as its own PBR materials – it supports specular/glossiness and metallic/roughness workflows – U-Render automatically converts standard Cinema 4D materials.
The feature set is still evolving, with the main current missing features being particles and hair.
New in U-Render 2019.11: support for volumetric rendering
The latest release ticks another major feature off the list of things to be added: volumetric rendering.
The update makes it possible to add volume objects to a scene – there are currently two: a cube and a layer, suited for effects like ground fog – and adjust density and scattering parameters.
The look of the volume can be further customised by assigning animatable 3D procedural noise.
Volumes can be illuminated by all of U-Render’s direct light types, and the implementation supports both shadows cast onto volumes by other scene objects, and self-shadowing.
There is still scope for development – currently, volume shadows are only supported for Spot lights, and there’s no mention on the website of VDB support – but you can see what’s possible in the video above.
Pricing and availability
U-Render is available for Windows 10 only. The integration plugin is compatible with Cinema 4D R16+. As the renderer is OpenGL-based, it should support any modern Nvidia or AMD GPU.
A node-locked licence has an MSRP of €299 (around $329).
Read a full list of features in U-Render 2019.11 on Uppercut’s blog