Bifrost 2.7.0.0 introduces MPM gel simulations, improved volume rendering in the viewport, and many other new and improved features.
Here are some selected highlights of Bifrost 2.7.0.0:
- The new source_mpm_gel node is useful for simulating many materials such as icing, toothpaste, ketchup, melted chocolate, and foam, just to name a few possibilities. The yield_stress property controls the overall behavior — the larger the value, the more the gel will clump together and resist yielding under shear force.
- NanoVTT is the new default renderer for volumes in the viewport. Volumes in the viewport match Arnold renders more closely, with support for colored volumes and physically-based thermodynamic emission scaling. Viewport volumes are rendered with an alpha channel, which is useful for playblasts that can be composited. Optimizations let you view larger, more complex simulations without encountering time-outs from your graphics card, and you can use set_viewport_volume_settings to strike the optimal balance between render quality, features, and performance. Note that NanoVTT does not support DirectX 11 or volumes using Power5 subdivision.
- Bifrost now runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel Mac computers. The installer and installed plug-in are universal binaries (UB2). Additionally, Bifrost's JIT compiler Amino generates native Arm64 code when run on Apple Silicon.
- Several other new compounds have been added, including some that were formerly available in the Rebel Pack:
- aero_einstein_influence
- aero_erode_density_influence
- aero_noise_transport_influence
- aero_pyroclastic_influence
- get_from_interpolated_array
- resample_strands
- sample_any_array_by_weighted_sum
- set_transferred_properties
- set_voxel_fog_density
- set_voxel_signed_distance
- set_voxel_velocity
- transfer_properties_by_2d_indices
- transfer_properties_by_weighted_sum
- update_face_tangent
- Bifrost-USD now supports USD 22.11. There are also new USD nodes, add_applied_schema and remove_applied_schema.
- The bifcmd utility for executing Bifrost graphs outside of a host application like Maya has also been improved.
See the Bifrost Release Notes for a complete list of features and bug fixes included in this version.
Remember that you can always download the latest version of Bifrost by visiting the Autodesk Accounts Portal.