Chaos releases Corona 15 for 3ds Max and Blender
Chaos has released Corona 15, the latest version of its production renderer for architectural visualization and portfolio rendering in 3ds Max and Cinema 4D.
The update makes Veras, Chaos’s generative AI ideation tool, free with all Corona subscriptions, with users able to export images from the Corona frame buffer directly to Veras.
Other changes include a new light override material, a Glints layer in the Physical material, and the option to click directly in the VFB to position the sun or moon lights.
Now comes with generative AI ideation tool Veras
The main change in Corona 15 is that Veras, the generative AI ideation tool that Chaos acquired last year, is now integrated with Corona, and included with all subscriptions.
Users can send a screenshot of a scene from the Corona VFB to Veras to use as the starting point for generating new images.
Suggested workflows include using AI to generate variant looks, iterate on materials and lighting more quickly than would be possible in Corona alone, or turning static renders into short animations.
Updates to Chaos’s other AI tools
The other AI tools introduced in Corona 14 last year have also been updated.
The updates improve the visual quality of the output of the AI Enhancer, and increase the maximum resolution of textures generated by the AI Material Generator to 4K.
Both 3ds Max and Cinema 4D editions: updates to materials, lighting and the VFB
Outside the AI tools, new features include a light override material to control how materials look under different lights in a scene: suggested use cases include materials that respond to UV light.
The Physical material gets a new Glints layer for creating small reflective flecks mimicking real-world materials like car paint, snow or sand.
Imported 3D Gaussian Splats can now bounce light from global illumination onto surrounding objects, making it possible to visually integrate them more realistically into a scene.
There are also several updates to the VFB, including the option to click directly in the VFB to position the Corona Sun or Corona Moon lights, and a new set of composition guides.
3ds Max only: faster rendering of animation
In 3ds Max, the update also reduces render times for animations, with Corona now only processing changes between frames, rather than re-parsing the entire scene each time.
Cinema 4D only: initial support for Cinema 4D particles
Cinema 4D users get “initial support” for native Cinema 4D particles, and better interactive viewport performance when displaying Gaussian Splats or Corona Proxies.
Updates to other tools included with Corona subscriptions
Online collaboration and review platform Chaos Cloud Collaboration, included with all Corona subscriptions, gets support for video files, and the option to share 3D streaming links.
There are also updates to Anima and Vantage, the crowd animation tool and real-time renderer included in Corona Collection bundles: you can find details in the links at the foot of the story.
Price and system requirements
Corona 15 is compatible with 3ds Max 2016+ and Cinema 4D R17+. It is rental-only.
Named-user Corona Solo subscriptions cost $62.90/month or $414/year. Floating Corona Premium subscriptions cost $72.90/month or $514.80/year.
Read a list of new features in Corona 15 on Chaos’s blog
Find more details of the new features in Corona 15 in the online documentation
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