NewTek LightWave Changelog

What's new in NewTek LightWave 2020.0.2

Jul 16, 2020

Mirror in Modeler addressed to keep from flipping polygons and creating 'bad polygons' while mirroring.
Changed the Ambient and Environment light intensity to percentage.
Changed the Ambient light default to 25%.
The ambient light was not disabled when "Affect Diffuse" is off.
LB-5928 LW2020_OpenGL Overlay & OpenGL WireFrame is slow compared to LW2019
LB-6031 color info is not updating in OpenGL when fibers are create in modeler.
LB-6276 OpenGL Transparency is not working properly with this scene
LB-6326 Color correct OpenGL not working
LB-6327 Use Background Color not working in OpenGL
LB-6328 OpenGL Fog causes to loose textures in OpenGL view
LB-6414 OGL Transparency Disappears
LB-6431 Rendering does not progress.
LB-6536 GE no longer shares motion modifiers or expressions with other tool.
LB-6537 Modeler errors when loading objects with cycler on surfaces
LB-6538 Particle Blur is broken
LB-6539 Distribute tool doesn't work as expected
LB-6549 Layout - Numeric Counter Sliders are delayed when scrubbing
LB-6552 VPR lockup (maybe volumetrics related?)
LB-6568 restarting windows with the hub ON clears LWEXT .CFG
LB-6575 There is no Calculate Weights button on Vertex Paint.
LB-6581 Set Value tool - Multilayer Crash Problem
LB-6582 Background Layer wireframe BUG
LB-6584 Particle Blur transform wrong
LB-6587 Bad shading on principled hair
LB-6590 Tiny values appear to be zero
LB-6592 Refraction broken
LB-6593 selecting multiple objects in current list does not update graph editor
LB-6595 ClipMap Label BUG
LB-6596 Too many clones of certain light types crash Layout
LB-6597 Dispersion in dielectric seems broken
LB-6605 Modeler Wireframe FG/BG Texture BUG
LB-6606 Advect Points node crash. reject incorrect grid types.
LB-6615 Using 1% or 100% in the dispersion in dielectric makes no difference
LB-6620 "TIFF32" output is garbled.
LB-6624 Importing scene with FiberFX elements crashes Layout.
LB-6626 Fiber FX - Fiber V seems flipped.
LB-6627 Fiber FX - Any textures seems to crash FFX on reloading scene.
LB-6631 Clamp Camera Property value Filter Radius to a minimum of .5
LB-6632 OpenVDB not finding files stored outside of content folder.
LB-6633 FFX and OpenVDB wont work together on load scene.
LB-6635 OpenImageDenoiser plugin not loading on Mac
LB-6654 No Spotlight cone angle and soft edge angle options
LWB-5953 Node still renders preview if toggled from NPT_CUSTOM to NPT_OFF
LWB-6019 Digital Confusion Crashes when Making a Preview with this scene.
LWB-6027 error export to .LWO 5
LWB-6028 FiberFX render freeze in LW2020
LWB-6042 Contains 1 point polygon on UV and crashes
LWB-6043 Collapse Obj tool From Directory issue returned.
LWB-6048 Instances inverted on flat plane
LWB-6057 If start frame is <-99 image sequences break and won't load properly
LWB-6059 Loading/Converting old Scene in Layout crashes the application
LWB-6064 OpenVDB file-paths do not work outside content directory.
LWB-6073 Volumetric VPR problem if material applied to null is animated.
LWB-6081 I can't add images to the UDIM
LWB-6085 Environment Light doesn't render properly over LWSN
LWB-6119 Removed the Lib/*.pyc files from the Python SDK archive.
LWB-6137 Deleting Weight Map Crashing Error

New in NewTek LightWave 2020.0.0 (May 14, 2020)

NewTek LightWave 3D® is a complete 3D solution to model, render and animate. LightWave is used extensively in television and film production, video game development, print graphics and design, and LightWave artists have won more Emmy® Awards for visual effects and animation than any other CG artists. Plus, LightWave is designed to be used by a single artist, a small team, or a major facility, with seamless integration into diverse pipelines.
LightWave™ 2020 gives you the workflow and functionality you’ve heard about, along with new interactive tools for a real-time experience. You get the speed, flexibility and control you need to create quickly, easily and affordably.
LightWave 3D combines a state-of-the-art renderer with powerful, intuitive modeling and animation tools. Tools that may cost extra in other professional 3D applications are part of the product package, including 999 free cross-platform render nodes, support for Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, free technical support, and more. LightWave is enjoyed worldwide, as a complete 3D production solution for feature film and television visual effects, broadcast design, print graphics, visualization, game development, and Web. LightWave is responsible for more artists winning Emmy Awards than any other 3D application.
Major studios and post-production houses can spend years assembling custom pipelines. And it doesn’t end there, as these complex pipelines require large numbers of technical staff to maintain. While this may suit companies with hundreds of employees, the majority of studios around the world employ fewer than 40 employees. For them, extravagant, complex workflows are not just overkill; they pillage budgets and impose bottlenecks on both creativity and productivity.
LightWave fits seamlessly into large multi-software pipelines - with its powerful interchange tools including FBX, ZBrush GoZ, Collada, Unity Game Engine Support, and Autodesk Geometry Cache. Unlike other software packages, LightWave offers artists and studios a complete end-to-end solution right out of the box.
Robust polygonal and subdivision surface modeling.
Splendid PBR texturing tools, with powerful dedicated material shaders.
Powerful animation and rigging tools.
Eye-popping volumetric and dynamic effects systems.
A production proven, award-winning Global Illumination render engine - built in.
You decide what workflow or pipeline suits you best and LightWave puts all of the tools in your hands.
LightWave has been the choice of countless studios and artists for nearly 30 years. Chances are LightWave was used to create many of your favorite films, television programs, and games.
This wiki will help you learn the basics of 3D with LightWave - from installation and operation, to accessing and using the essential tools to model, animate and render. Once you’ve installed the software, please watch our tutorials, and the thousands more on sites like YouTube to learn the landscape. You should also join the online forums, where a passionate community of LightWave users from all over the world help each other to elevate their craft. Our 3D team also provides valuable tips and tricks for you to increase your knowledge and expertise, so visit our website often for the latest information at: www.lightwave3d.com.

New in NewTek LightWave 2019.1.5 (Jan 15, 2020)

New in NewTek LightWave 2019.1.4 (Jan 15, 2020)

New in NewTek LightWave 2019.1.3 (Sep 13, 2019)

New in NewTek LightWave 2018.0.2 Build 3065 (Mar 2, 2018)

Physically Based Rendering System: Completely rewritten rendering, shading and lighting architecture for greater realism, accuracy and ease-of-use
Render and Light Buffers: Expanded workflow for render and light buffers that simplifies compositing and offers more flexibility, including real-time preview of new buffers in any viewport using VPR, as well as custom buffers using the node editor
Volumetric Engine and Open VDB Support: Using the new volumetric render primitives, artists can specify physically based properties, Scattering, Absorption and Emission parameters, along with powerful node networks
Light Capabilities: New lighting architecture brings physical lights that can be optionally visible to the camera, and improved loading of IES web files to better match the intensity of real manufactured lights
Surface Editor, Material Nodes and Surface Preview: The Surface Editor has been overhauled for the new shading system with powerful node-based materials that are presented with a familiar interface
Virtual Reality Camera: Includes both cylindrical and spherical modes for creating stereo 360-degree renders and animations for VR applications
Modifier Stack with New Deformation Nodes: Unlocks and simplifies the previously order of operations for Bones, Morphs, Subdivision and Displacements with the ability to drag and drop to re-order mesh deformations interactively
Cel Shader and Enhanced Edge Rendering: Offers flexible non photoreal render control over material shading and allows gradient-based cel shading, while Edge Rendering uses any material available in the Surface Editor to shade any line
More Integrated FiberFX: Expanded to integrated closely with the new lighting and shading system and can use any material on the fibers. Fibers are now generated using the new primitive object architecture
Layout-based Parametric Shapes: Parametric shapes allow for creation of virtual primitive shapes in Layout that can be displaced, surfaced and rendered without needing any geometry
Noise Reduction Filter: Speeds up render times by using less Global Illumination rays and samples, while allowing for clean up of the resulting noise using filters instead of increased render settings
New Modeler Features: Layout View viewport shows the current camera view from Layout. Also new are fully interactive tools including Lattice, Smoothing, Array and Spline Bridge
Additionally, LightWave 2018 includes new enhancements to the Viewport Preview Renderer (VPR) and introduces many additional new features and improvements such UDIM texture support, more supported presets, FiberFX, Unity 5 support, and more.

New in NewTek LightWave 2015 Update 3 Build 2847 (Aug 11, 2015)

New in NewTek LightWave 2015 (Dec 3, 2014)

LightWave 2015 introduces new features that are ideal for character animation, visualization, dynamic simulations, and more. It also extends the functionality of popular features like the Genoma character rigging system, Bullet Dynamics, dynamic parenting, rendering enhancements, and more.
LightWave 2015 includes new enhancements to the Viewport Preview Renderer (VPR) and introduces many new features and improvements such as Interactive Dynamic Parenting, Textured Falloffs in Modeler, Fiber FX, GoZ Multi-tool and Unity 5 support, and more. It also supports the latest interchange formats such as Alembic 1.5 and FBX 2015.
Bullet Constraints:
Take control of dynamic simulations with new constraint types such as Point-to-Point, Hinge, Slider, Cone Twist, Spring and six degrees of freedom (DOF) constraint types. Whether it's a car rolling over a terrain with fully working suspension, or a rag doll falling down the stairs, constraints help make the movement believable.
Importance Sampling:
Greatly improve the quality of scenes lit by GI and HDR images or background lighting. Importance sampling intelligently concentrates rays into important areas and eliminates the noise and splotches that arise from highly differing light intensities for cleaner, more predictable renders.
Match Perspective Tool:
Whether matching plates or simply placing objects in photographs, matching the camera position and rotation can be a time consuming process. The new Match Perspective tool can quickly sync the LightWave camera to an original photo or plate.
Genoma 2 Character Rigging System:
This rapid modular rigging system, which at the base level is a complete rigging development kit (RDK), can be used to quickly rig characters for animation without the need to set up complex rigs from scratch. Genoma 2 can create expert rigs and generate custom presets that perfectly fit into any character animation pipeline. It supports the use of Math Expressions and Scripts and includes new and improved human, feline, and arthropod preset rigs.
Edge Rendering:
Intersection Edges can now be drawn where geometry intersects on the same object and/or separate objects, allowing for more creative control over cel rendering. Use Patch Border Rendering to make Sub-Division patch borders visible in the renderer with the click of a button. It is perfect for modelers who want to showcase their mesh topology combined with the full render. Edge Buffer can be used to render all edges into their own buffer, allowing for post-process manipulation in a compositing software.

New in NewTek LightWave 11.0 (Apr 9, 2012)

New in NewTek LightWave 10.1 (Dec 16, 2011)

New in NewTek LightWave 9.6 (Jan 21, 2009)

Corrected the reference counting used for managing BRDF instances to ensure that instance data, and the BRDF settings Master plug-in, are not removed until no further references exist. LightWave's depth buffer always "normalizes" between the closest point to the camera and the farthest point tothe camera. As objects come into or go out of frame, that causes the entire depth buffer to "shift" which makes it impossible to use in compositing. The most common workaround was making a separate white-fog-with-black-objects pass for use with the compositor.
Controls have now been added on the Render Globals Panel/Render Tab that allow the user a way to specify a "minimum" and "maximum" zDepth value. These are for export only, and do not affect Lightwave's internal depth calculations.
Added option to use double-clicking to enter and exit bone selection mode. The option is in the General Preferences tab ("Dbl. Click Bone Mode"). When on, a double-click is needed to select a bone when not in bone mode. And when in bone mode, a double-click is needed to select a non-bone. The default is off.
When pixel filter multi-threading is forced on, non-multi-threaded pixel filters are now cloned per render thread, allowing for fully multi-threaded rendering when using such filters.
The render buffers are now averaged when requested by a pixel filter plug-in in the ray traced camera modes. This is consistent with the way the buffers are treated for image filter plug-ins. Pixel filters can now set the z buffer depth and alpha when the primary ray does not hit any polygons.
Snapping to item position (specifically to pivot point) when dragging items has been added in Layout. Holding down the Alt key during a drag (not before a drag) will cause the item being moved to snap to nearby items. "Closeness" to an object is identified by the plane of view, so you determine which object to snap to by moving the view, which changes the relative weight of the objects available to snap to. The snapping will be done such that the items will appear to overlap in the viewport. Axis locks are taken into account.
You can now determine if the new OBJ exporter will or will not merge points in export with a new option, OBJ Merge Points. When checked on, vertices will be merged; when off, then none of the vertices are merged.
During Layout's bone re-parenting process, it now notifies plugins of the new bone item being added as well as the old bone item being removed.
Came up with a better way to do the z-buffer.The reason it is better, it that it is backwards compatible.
Added user interface for the refraction buffer. The buffer itself is still under construction.
Collada: moved scale to be exported last.
In FBX I/O, converting the filename to utf8 for the FBX library to save non-ASCII filenames has been implemented.
Replaced "bone merge" and "bone split" with newer "split bone" and "merge bone" tools on Setup Tab.
The bone weight caching now also works with "Use Bones From" and with nulls in bone hierarchies.
Some memory optimization was done as well, by only caching non-zero weights.
Some inconsistencies in what settings are used when "Use Bones From" is used have also been removed: both "Faster Bones" and "Use Morphed Positions" are taken from the object the bones comes from.
Based on user requests, Package Scene has undergone a significant rewrite, adding the ability to preserve a proper content structure, and an option to reload the original scene.
A new option is presented in the interface, to "Preserve Existing Structure". If the user checks this on, Package Scene will attempt to preserve all directories and subdirectories that are under the current Content directory when copying assets to the new content directory. Using this option will cause Package Scene to ignore the Subfolder field and manually-typed paths for any assets below the Content Directory. Any assets 'outside' the content directory will be copied and pathed using the subfolder and manually-typed paths, as had been the case before.
nother new option is the "Reload Old Scene" option, which will cause Package Scene to reload the original scene after it's done exporting.
Handling of Radiosity cache files has been changed to work with the new Radiosity path behavior. This will also respect file structure if Preserve File Structure option is selected. An option has been added for Radiosity cache files to be included in the package or not.
In Layout, an option has been added to draw wireframe handles and gizmos using antialiased lines. This improves the look of bones quite a bit. The "Handle Wire Smoothing" setting is in the Handles&Icons tab of the Display preferences panel. 0 (default) is off, larger values make the lines thicker (7 seems to work well). If set, this value also controls the line thickness of the grid, if grid antialiasing is enabled.