Real-time User Interface

Octane Render provides a true WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) rendering environment that allows the user to focus on creating stunning images without bouncing back and forth between a modeling view and then waiting for a render to complete.

The viewport on the screen IS the final render. Any changes to the scene are instantly updated on the screen allowing the user to tweak any setting and know immediately how the result looks.

Full Spectral/Unbiased Quality

Octane Render is a fully physically based, unbiased render engine. It cuts no corners and all computations are done at the same accuracy as traditional CPU unbiased render engines.

Octane Render simulates light not as RGB colors but as an electromagnetic wave. Since it is based on the physics of light, it captures all light interactions in the scene just as in reality. It does it in minutes instead of hours as with traditional CPU based render engines.

Alternatively, users who want an even faster rendering experience can use Direct Lighting / Ambient Occlusion modes in Octane Render to produce traditional ray traced renders in seconds.

True GPU Based, Not Accelerated, Not Hybrid

Octane Render uses the untapped muscle of the modern GPU compared to traditional, CPU based engines.

With current GPU technology, Octane Render can produce final images 10 to 50 times faster than CPU unbiased render engines, or even more with multiple GPUs (depending on the GPU(s) used)

Octane Render is a true GPU based engine, not a hybrid CPU/GPU, nor a CPU based engine that was modified with GPU acceleration. Since a CPU adds a negligible speedup (1/10th to 1/50th) to the total rendering speed, having your CPU free for other tasks while rendering with Octane Render allows you to use your system for other tasks while rendering.

Octane Render was developed from the ground up to run on a GPU, making it much faster than traditional engines that have been updated with GPU acceleration.

First to Market, at a Realistic Price

Refractive Software was the first company to release a GPU based spectral / physically based render engine to the public, setting a new trend in the market and pioneering many new concepts in interactive physically based rendering.

We decided to adopt a pricing scheme that would enable everyone to switch to GPU based rendering and as a result Octane Render is one of the most affordable and popular interactive render engines on the market while keeping the lead in development.

Real-time, Accurate Materials

Fine-tuning materials in Octane render allows the user to focus on results without guessing on what the final appearance will be.

Adjust the bump depth and know that it's the right level without having to wait for a render to be sure.

Scale image textures, adjust the index or refraction, tweak the specularity: It's all updated in real-time which allows the user to quickly set-up their materials with confidence.

Since Octane Render utilizes physically correct reflection models (BRDFs), you know that the results are accurate and realistic.

Built-in Animation, The Easy Way

Octane Render has built-in turntable and daylight simulation animation with true physically correct motion blur.

Product designers or architects can render turntable animations or full daylight cycle animations at the click of a button straight from the Octane Render user interface.

No complicated animation keying, exporting, intermediate files, batch scripting, or other complex and time consuming processes are needed. Just configure your required duration, frame rate, options and hit the render button. Your scene stays in your GPU memory so no re-computation is required to render the next frame after the current one.

Alternatively, Full animations can be exported and rendered with Octane Render with plug-in scripts available for various 3D modeling/animation packages as explained in the next chapter..

Or Integrate, The Flexible Way

Octane Render (Commercial Version) includes free plugins for:

Autodesk 3D Studio Max
Autodesk Maya
Autodesk Softimage XSI
Blender
Maxon Cinema 4D, Sketchup and modo are in development and will be available soon.

Octane Render Plugins allow for complete integration for single frame or automatic animation rendering.

Further more, the workflow for the plugins allows you to edit your materials and lighting in Octane Render in real-time, instead of having to use the traditional and tedious workflow of editing materials in your host application plugin, and then export and await the results.
Once your scene is configured in Octane Render's User Interface, you can re-render a new frame or animation using the plugin, keeping your Octane Render settings intact.

Compatibility and Integration without plugins

Octane Render is not tied to just a few modeling packages but instead utilizes common scene formats.

This allows users from just about every modeling package to use Octane Render, even when no plugin is available, using the Wavefront OBJ file format and Collada**.

Octane Render is also available for the big three operating systems as well (MS Windows© XP/Vista/7, GNU/Linux© and Apple Mac OS X© 10.5 and 10.6) so that users don't need to worry about multi-boot environments just to enjoy the power of GPU based rendering.

One Octane Render license can also be shared between multiple Operating Systems running on the same machine.

Flexible Node Graph.

Since everything in Octane Render is represented by Nodes, complex scene and material settings are possible allowing advanced control of your scene.

The Nodes can also be bundled as "macros" which allows them to be shared between users or reused in other scenes.

However, Octane Render does not require the user to use the nodes, and allows for interacting with every aspect of the scene and materials simply by picking materials off the rendered image and fine tuning parameters in the node inspector window.

Lights

Just as in photography, the lighting of the scene is crucial. Whether it's using an HDRI file, mesh emitters** or a sun/sky system, lighting in Octane Render allows for complete control.

Adjust the position of the sun to perfectly place the shadows in a room, not by guessing, but by fine tuning the lighting in real-time with direct visual feedback. Control the daylight system with calendar and global position parameters also.

Rotate an HDRI file to position it to compliment your scene in seconds. Adjust the powers of lights and see the results immediately.

Real-time Tone Mapping

Tone mapping in Octane Render is also performed in real-time using the power of the GPU.

This allows for smooth tuning of the tone mapping settings of the final render. Adjust vignetting in real-time along with f-stop and other realistic camera controls.

The inclusion of over 50 camera response curves allows the user to quickly tone map the image with measured camera data and enjoy even more photo-realism in their renders.

Specifications

Currently implemented features in OctaneRender, features marked with a '**' are planned for implementation in the upcoming v1.0 Final release. Features will be added throughout the V1.0 Beta period.