Next Limit ships RealFlow 10.5

Next Limit has released RealFlow 10.5, the latest update to its fluid simulation software, adding a new Macro daemon to mimic the look of high-speed photography, and a curvature-cohesion mode for surface tension.

The release is the first significant update to the standalone product in two years, Next Limit having been focusing on the new integrated 3ds Max, Cinema 4D and Maya editions.

New Macro daemon mimics the look of high-speed fluid photography
The main new feature in RealFlow 10.5 is the Macro daemon, intended to mimic the look of fluids seen in real-world high-speed macro photography.

In particular, the daemon helps to recreate the form of crown splashes, including the thickening that occurs around the upper edge of the ‘crown’, as shown in the video above.

A second video shows the daemon in use on a slightly larger-scale shot, including some of the control options available.

Updates to the Surface Tension daemon, plus support for image denoising via Maxwell
Other changes include a new curvature-cohension mode for RealFlow’s Surface Tension daemon.

The product website describes it simply as providing an alternative look for fluid simulations, and notes that it works with either standard particle simulations, or RealFlow’s Dyverso multiphysics solver.

The update also makes RealFlow compatible with the current release of Maxwell, Next Limit’s physically based render engine, including the Altus denoising system introduced in Maxwell 4.1.

At the time of posting, Next Limit’s online documentation is down, but we’ll update if it lists any further features once it comes back up.

Pricing and availability
RealFlow 10.5 is out now for 64-bit Windows 7+, Mac OS X 10.9+ and Linux.

New node-locked licences of RealFlow 10 cost $1,095; a floating licence costs $1,295. Both prices include one simulation node. One year’s premium support costs $645.

Other bundles containing different numbers of workstation and simulation nodes are also available.

Read an overview of the new features in RealFlow 10.5 on Next Limit’s website