Allegorithmic releases Substance Painter 2017.1
Allegorithmic has released Substance Painter 2017.1, the latest update to its 3D texture painting software, adding support for Horizon Based Ambient Occlusion, plus a range of new filters, alphas and procedurals.
First of a new program of continuous, more even updates
Allegorithmic describes the update as the first in its new “numberless release cycle”, following its decision to switch from major annual updates and smaller intervening releases to a continuous, more even cycle.
However, it does have a version number, at least internally: the online changelog lists it as 2017.1 – you do need some way of determining which update new features were added in, after all.
Support for HBAO, eight other new effects filters, 230 new alphas
New features in the release include support for Horizon Based Ambient Occlusion, the Nvidia-developed physically based AO system also supported in sister tool Substance Designer.
HBAO offers a more accurate, if more computationally expensive, way of calculating AO than traditional Screen Space Ambient Occlusion.
It is one of nine new filters added in the update, alongside a new live edge wear system, which enables users to generate worn edges for surface details created with custom normal or height maps.
There are also new Photoshop-style glow, drop shadow, colour balance and colour correction filters, the latter enabling you to adjust the colour of the shadows, midtones and highlights of a texture independently.
In addition, the update adds 50 new procedural textures and 230 new alphas – many themselves with procedural controls – ranging from generic stains and splatters to Celtic knotwork and barcode patterns.
Other new features
Other changes include a new Substance Source plugin, which enables users to download physically based materials from Allegorithmic’s Substance Source online library directly within Substance Painter.
The update also adds four new fonts, including Japanese and Simplified Chinese; and introduces new presets for exporting textures for use with the Arnold 5 renderer, released earlier this year.
Pricing and availability
Substance Painter 2017.1 is available for Windows 7+, CentOS 6.6 or Ubuntu 12.4 Linux and Mac OS X 10.10+.
New Indie licences of the software, intended for artists and studios earning less than $100,000 per year, cost $149, including 12 months’ maintenance. Further updates cost $75/year. Full Pro licences cost $590.
Read a full list of new features in Substance Painter 2017.1 on Allegorithmic’s blog