Roadmap

What has shipped, what is coming in the next release, and what is planned. Later items are directions, not promises.

Shipped

Released, or coming in the next release.

Rendering and lighting

  • Solstice: real-time light and reflections

    Light bounces around the scene live: sun, sky and glowing surfaces light everything they face, and reflections include objects that are off screen. It needs a graphics card with ray tracing; without one, the scene uses simpler lighting and the editor says why. Available in the high-definition renderer.

    • Shipped in v0.6.0
    • First version
  • A row of eight spheres: glossy red paint, chrome, gold, teal, dark brown, blue, tan and one glowing white

    Physically based materials

    Metal, clear-coat car paint with flakes, back-lit leaves and cloth, and correct overlapping transparency in the high-definition renderer. Upscaling and multisampling keep edges clean.

    • Shipped in v0.6.0
    • First version
  • Facet: detail without triangle budgets

    Meshes with millions of triangles draw only the detail the screen can show, so you stop hand-making lower-detail versions. Rocks, trunks and scanned props stay sharp up close and cheap far away. Geometry streams from disk as the camera moves. Available in the high-definition renderer.

    • Shipped in v0.6.0
    • First version
  • Far-away worlds that stay cheap

    Distant objects turn into baked billboards and merged stand-ins automatically, so long view distances stay affordable. Available in the high-definition renderer.

    • Shipped in v0.6.0
    • First version
  • Sharp, stable shadows at any distance

    Sun shadows are cached and only redrawn where something moved, so wide views stay sharp and cheap. Point and spot lights cast shadows too. On graphics cards with ray tracing, the high-definition renderer can trace shadows, and swaying trees and animated characters show up in them as they move.

    • Shipped in v0.6.0
    • First version
  • Physical sky and clouds

    A sun-driven sky with volumetric clouds, cloud shadows and distance haze. Available in the high-definition renderer. Optional automatic exposure, where the camera adapts like an eye between shade and sunlight, arrives in the next release.

    • Shipped in v0.6.0
    • First version
  • Write shaders with guard rails

    A shader code panel with colors, sliders generated from the code, error hints, a cost meter and a live preview. One shader file works in both the standard and high-definition renderers. From the next release, desktop exports prepare every shader while loading, so play does not stutter the first time an effect appears.

    • Shipped in v0.6.0
    • First version
  • A good look by default

    A scene that sets no exposure or grade gets automatic exposure and a light grade, and both renderers share the same tone curve, so a first scene looks right in either.

    • Coming in next release
    • First version

Now

Being built now.

Rendering and lighting

  • Sharper terrain and distant forests

    More terrain detail, better distant forests, and the standard and high-definition renderers looking alike.

Next

Planned to follow.

Rendering and lighting

  • Local exposure

    Bright skies and dark interiors both readable in the same view.

  • Volumetric light and better skin

    Light shafts through fog and haze, scenes with many lights, and better translucency and skin.

Later

On the list, further out.

Rendering and lighting

  • Hair and fur

    Hair cards first, then individual strands.

Plans and their order can change.