Version: 5.2
Build Date: 2015.0716
Release Date: 23 July 2015
Requirements
Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10
Mac OS X 10.7 or later
Linux Fedora 13 and above
Cinema 4D connection, build 2015.0626
LightWave 3D connection, build 2015.0707
Maya connection, build 2015.0630
MODO connection, build 2015.0625
3ds Max 2014, 2015, 2016 connection, build 2015.0625
Houdini 12,13,14 connection, build 2015.0706
VRED 2014, 2015, 2016 (Windows only) - no plug-in connection required.
New Features
A Houdini connection has been released with this version of HDR Light Studio. This connection supports Houdini 12, 13 and 14 on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
The 3ds Max plug-in connection now supports the Corona renderer.
The Cinema 4D plug-in now supports the Arnold renderer and the Thea renderer.
The Maya plug-in connection now supports the Renderman 20 environment node (new named node - PxrStdEndMapLight)
Alembic scene export has been added to the MODO connection to support animated content. Artists can choose to transfer the proxy environment map from HDR Light Studio to MODO as an EXR file (as an alternative to the HDR format currently supported). EXR proxy files support transparency via the alpha channel.
Saving Layouts - users can now save up to 4 of their favourite window/panel layouts.
The Render View image can be saved as an image file on the file system.
Improvements
Render View
The resolution of the render view image is set in the Render Settings rather than from the size of the user interface panel. Changes to the position and size of the panels no longer triggers a re-render of the model and makes layout changes much more responsive.
Added Ctrl left click and drag to zoom into an area of the render view.
The layout of the Render Settings panel has been improved. There are two sections, one for parameters that do not trigger a re-render and the other for settings that do.
Keyboard shortcuts to switch LightPaint modes have been added.
Ctrl-1 switches to Reflection.
Ctrl-2 switches to Illumination.
Ctrl-3 switches to Rim.
The default display LUT (None, sRGB, rec709) for HDR Light Studio can be globally set in the Preferences panel, rather than individually set in each panel.
Picture Lights - Image files can be dragged from the file system directly onto the image path in the Light Properties panel, rather than browsing for the image.
Up and down arrow keys on the keyboard can now be used to nudge numeric values in edit boxes.
Sky Background
Added a vertical alpha ramp to control the softness of the horizon.
Added sun disc softness.
Energy conservation - changing the size of the sun varies the brightness to preserve the same illumination of the model.
When duplicating a light a dialog allows the user to enter a name for the copied light.
Duplicated lights appears directly above the source light rather than at the top of the list.
On deleting a light, the light below is automatically selected allowing users to rapidly delete lights down the light list.
Added "Arrange" and "Rename" options to the right click context menu on the light list.
The user interface of all plug-in connections have been tweaked to improve consistency of terminology and function, making it easiest to switch between them.
Fixed Bugs
Pausing the rendering in the Render View panel would not actually stop the rendering. This has been fixed. Pausing now stops the collection of samples but allows users to update the lighting. When the Render View panel is hidden no rendering occurs.
The LightCam mode in the Render View did not show the correct 3D camera controls. This has been fixed.
When using the 3ds Max or MODO plug-in connections, the scene data would be lost when hiding or pausing HDR Light Studio. This has been fixed.
BUG 340 - if HDRLS_LOG_FILE was set to a path that did not exist, HDR Light Studio would crash. This has been fixed.
BUG 465 - if HDRLS_LOG_FILE was set to a directory, HDR Light Studio would crash. This has been fixed.
BUG 823 - it was not possible to change the OCIO settings from Nuke Default in the Preferences panel. This has been fixed.
BUG 894 - if you loaded a project containing lights and then deleted a light, that delete operation was not undoable. This has been fixed.
BUG 966 - when running HDR Light Studio 5.0 with VRED, some customers would occasionally get an error saying "Listening Error: Failed to send over header and raw data for [HDRLS_NOTIF_LIVEUPDATE_RAW] notification". This has been fixed.
BUG 845 - when using KeyShot or VRED with HDR Light Studio 5.1, if you launch the Production Render dialog, select Destination=Live and render, HDR Light Studio will crash. This has been fixed.
Known Bugs & Workarounds
BUG 961 - on Mac OS X and Linux there is a bug that can result in connection errors when using plug-in connections. It has been observed on MODO, Houdini and Cinema 4D but may affect other plug-ins too. The workaround is to force quit HDR Light Studio, save your scene and quit your 3D application. Then start it up again.
