A new version of LuxRender, a popular free 3D renderer, was released yesterday with new features and bugfixes.

Main changes:

• new icons set;
• QBVH is now used instead of Grid as last resort accelerator for the mesh shape;
• correct default extension is now used when saving an FLM file;
• luxconsole got a new option to force writing an FLM file to disk before transmitting it over the network;
• bigfixes in point light, especially important re IES data, a spotlight fix;
• improvements in photon mapping
• no more using OpenGL in the GUI;
• new velvet material and a new option to the glossy material to get a more velvety look;
• new matte translucent option to enforce energy conservation;
• various other fixes.

Download builds:

• Linux 32bit SSE1;
• Linux 32bit SSE2;
• Linux 64bit SSE2;
• Windows 32bit SSE1 installer (with new Qt GUI);
• Windows 32bit SSE2 installer;
• Windows 64bit installer;
• Mac OS X Universal installer (10.5 and above).

Other download links are here.

More on this topic:

• 3Delight exporter for Blender updated to feature new global illumination method
• Mitsuba 0.3.0 released with new sun/sky model and other improvements
• CGRU v1.5 released with more sophisticated support for Houdini
• LuxRender 0.8 released with new features and GPU rendering
• New "Secret Spaces" competition from LuxRender