JangaFX releases EmberGen 1.1
JangaFX has shipped EmberGen 1.1, the first major update to the real-time volumetric fluid simulator for game development, VFX and motion graphics since its official release.
The update improves interactions between sims and scene geometry, particularly in cases like smoke flowing through pipes, and makes it possible to parent emitters to bones in characters.
A popular real-time volumetric fluid simulator for games and VFX
Publicly available since 2020, and officially released last year, EmberGen is a GPU-based volumetric fluid simulator that makes it possible to create fire and smoke effects of a complexity previously only seen in offline tools in real time.
Data can be exported to other DCC apps in OpenVDB or Alembic format, or rendered within EmberGen as flipbook image sequences for use in game engines like Unity and Unreal Engine.
The software is GPU-agnostic, and has fairly low minimum hardware requirements: a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD equivalent.
EmberGen 1.1: better interaction of smoke and fire with collider geometry
The release focuses on simulation quality, particularly for fluids interacting with other objects in a scene, with “massive” improvements to collisions and mesh voxelization.
Announcing the release on Discord, JangaFX CEO Nick Seavert commented: “In the past, you’d have a collider that moves eat your smoke, or have trouble filling up pipes with smoke. We’re proud to say that this is no longer an issue”.
As evidence, you can see side-by-side comparisons between the current and previous solvers in the video at the top of the story.
And to help with setting up hollow objects like pipes or engines, the Shape Modifer now has a new Shell option (shown above) to control internal thickness.
New control options let skinned characters drive simulations
In addition, users can now control transforms for colliders, shapes, emitters and forces with imported meshes, including the option to parent them to bones in skinned characters.
In the image above, you can see the new control system being used to simulate a creature breathing fire.
Workflow improvements to the node graph, color picking and rendering
Workflow improvements include a ‘minimap’ option in the node graph, showing the location of the current view within the node graph as a whole, plus improvements to force masking, the gradient color picker, and rendering.
There are also 32 new simulation presets, and 30 existing presets have been updated or reworked entirely.
Pricing and system requirements
EmberGen 1.1 is available for Windows 10+ and Linux.
Indie subscriptions, for artists earning under $1 million/year, cost $19.99/month, with users qualifying for a perpetual licence after 18 months. Indie perpetual licences cost $299.99.
For studios with revenue up to $100 million/year, perpetual node-locked licences cost $1,399.99; floating licences cost $2,299.99. See more pricing options here.
Read a full list of new features in EmberGen 1.1 on JangaFX’s Discord server
Read more about EmberGen on JangaFX’s website
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