Download the first public demo of Redshift 3.0
The Redshift demo reel. Redshift Rendering Technologies has just released a public demo of Redshift 3.0, making it possible for new users to test the latest version of the GPU renderer for the first time.
Redshift Rendering Technologies has released a demo version of Redshift 3.0, the next major version of its GPU production renderer for 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Houdini, Katana and Maya.
The free trial edition makes it possible for new users to test Redshift 3.0.x – previously only available as a series of experimental builds for existing users – for the first time.
Features available in the current demo build include hardware-accelerated ray tracing on new Nvidia GPUs, and integrated versions of the Altus denoiser and the Cinema 4D noise shader.
RTX-accelerated ray tracing, new integrated technologies and support for key third-party plugins
Redshift 3.0 has actually been available to existing users for over a year, albeit in a form not recommended for production work, via a series of incremental experimental builds.
Major changes to the core renderer include support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing on Nvidia’s current-gen RTX GPUs, and for pooling GPU memory on Nvidia cards that support NVLink.
In addition, the Altus denoising software, previously a third-party add-on costing $149/year, is now integrated into the renderer for free.
Cinema 4D’s procedural noise shader is also now available to users of any of Redshift’s host applications, after its developer, Maxon, acquired Redshift Rendering Technologies last year.
Key changes to the individual integrations include support for tyFlow and FumeFX in 3ds Max, support for Ornatrix for Maya, and support for Redshift as a viewport renderer in Houdini’s Solaris look dev toolset.
The complete feature list is too long to include here, but we’ve been covering the new features added as each experimental build is released, so check out this story for more details.
Still no OSL or Metal support in the current demo build
Although it doesn’t include all of the features currently in development, the new public demo brings Redshift 3.0 a step closer to an official release.
It’s based on Redshift 3.0.28 – at the time of writing, the latest experimental build – and includes all of the functionality listed above.
Other important features that are still in progress include Redshift RT, a new near-real-time render engine for interactive previews, support for Open Shading Language (OSL), and the new Blender plugin.
In addition, the current demo isn’t the long-awaited native Metal edition for users of current Macs – now in closed beta – so it will only run on older versions of macOS.
Pricing and system requirements
The free demo edition of Redshift 3.0 is available for Windows 7+, Linux and macOS 10.12 and 10.13. It uses the CUDA and OptiX APIs, so you will need a compatible Nvidia GPU.
Integration plugins are available for 64-bit 3ds Max 2014+, Cinema 4D R16+, Houdini 16.5+, Katana 2.6v1+ and Maya 2014+. A new Blender integration plugin is in development.
The trial version watermarks output, but is otherwise functionally identical to the commercial version, and is not time-limited. It can be installed on an unlimited number of machines.
The current stable release, Redshift 2.6, costs $500 for a node-locked licence; $600 for a floating licence.
Download the free demo edition of Redshift 3.0
See an overview of the new features in the 3.0.x releases on the software’s Trello board