LightWork Design has released an update for LightWorks, bringing it to version 7.4. LightWorks is a 3D rendering app designed for use by engineering and design professionals in CAD environments. The update features several major enhancements including HDRI support and advanced shading functions. According to LightWork Design:

LightWork Design, the worldis leading supplier of rendering solutions for developers of advanced 3D computer graphics software, has today released a new version of LightWorks. Version 7.4 continues the company’s mission to provide customers with maximum performance, quality and cost-efficiency, and contains a range of new features including:

• Shaders in LightWorks Real-time: first rendering engine with shaders that seamlessly work in both software rendering and hardware rendering
• HDRI support: easy, accurate and photorealistic lighting plus matching lighting with real-world backgrounds
• Fast GI Sky Light: highly efficient and controllable sky light effects
• Plug-ins: ability for customers to add new shaders and new functionality without having to recompile their application

A major development in version 7.4 is a significant re-engineering of the LightWorks Real-time product to bring the power of the LightWorks shading architecture to the new generation of programmable graphics hardware. The advanced LightWorks shading architecture makes it possible to use LightWorks shaders on programmable graphics hardware supporting the OpenGL Shading Language or Cg, as well as in software rendering.

LightWorks 7.4 supports HDRI (high dynamic range images) for easy creation of subtle and real-world lighting set-ups and image-based lighting. This lets users create more accurate images faster. It allows high dynamic range images to be used as light sources, as an alternative to complicated lighting set-ups, and allows lighting to be perfectly matched to background images and environments.

LightWorks 7.4 allows new shaders and new functionality to be plugged directly into applications without customers having to recompile their software. It opens up the exciting opportunity for developers that use the LightWorks engine to incrementally upgrade the rendering functionality of their products without any development work or recompilation of the application.

You can find more information about the LightWorks update at the LightWork Design Web site. LightWorks pricing information can be obtained by contacting the LightWork Design sales team.