Allegorithmic has released Substance Painter 2017.2, the latest update to its 3D texture painting software, adding a new ‘Anchor Points’ system for referencing layers and masks within projects.

The update also makes loading or switching a texture set “up to 4x faster”, and is accompanied by a new free live linking plugin for Unity, enabling Painter to exchange data continuously with the game engine.

New Anchor Points referencing system lets users create ‘truly smart multi-layered materials’
The main addition in Substance Painter 2017.2 is Anchor Points: a new system for exposing any element in a material’s layer stack and referencing it elsewhere in the project file.

Allegorithmic describes the system as a way to create “truly smart multi-layered materials”, enabling users to link layers and masks together, or to have a single layer control multiple aspects of a material.

Suggested use cases include using painted normal or height details to create procedural wear and tear by linking the painted maps to filters and generators; and using the height or displacement channel of a material as its own mask, making it easier to blend scanned materials together.

Free live-linking plugin for Unity, performance improvements
Substance Painter’s scripting API also gets an update to enable the software to be live-linked to other apps.

The first proof of concept is a free Unity live-linking plugin enabling users to see the results of changes they make to Substance materials updated in-game in real time.

In addition, loading projects and switching texture sets is now “up to 4x faster”: something Allegorithmic describes as the “first phase in a series of performance improvements planned [for] the next few months”.

Pricing and availability
Substance Painter 2017.2 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.

Since Substance Painter 2017.1, the cost of a floating Pro licence has gone up by $400, to $990.

 
Read a full list of new features in Substance Painter 2017.2 on Allegorithmic’s blog

Visit the Substance Painter website

 
Homepage image: Zhelong Xu

Tags: 3D painting, Allegorithmic, Anchor Points, free, layer linking, layer referencing, live link, material blending, multi-layer materials, new features, performance, plugin, price, speed boost, Substance Painter, Substance Painter 2017.2, texture painting, texturing, Unity