Review: Maxwell Render 2.5

Maxwell used to be powerful but slow. Can its fast new interactive preview set artists’ hearts on fire?

Price: £778 / $995 / €895 | Developer: Next Limit Technologies | Platform: Windows / Mac / Linux

Main features:

• Maxwell Fire interactive renderer
• Improved SSS performance
• New scripting functions
• Workflow enhancements

Watch 3D World’s video on the render-quality interactive preview system in the latest release of Maxwell Render 2.5

Review:

It doesn’t feel that long since Next Limit released Maxwell Render 2.0.

The developer’s last full update to its unbiased render engine improved bump map handling, raised refraction quality and reduced render times.

But even with this speed hike, Maxwell remained a slow beast.

Exporting a scene from your 3D application to the renderer, adjusting Multilight setups and heading back to the host application all took time, meaning that the incredible render quality the software is capable of came at a cost.

Now, however, it seems that Next Limit has finally addressed these shortcomings.

Version 2.5 improves on 2.0 in overall speed and quality, but also adds a feature that may make the update worthwhile on its own.

Maxwell Render 2.5 provides a noticeable performance boost. Physical Sky, fluids, caustics and glass all render very quickly

Maxwell Fire opens up a new window within your host application, but shows unbiased render results straight
from the Maxwell engine.

The view updates almost instantly, with material changes, camera moves and even the switch from Physical Sky to HDRI taking little more than a second at most.

Making changes on the fly without leaving your host app is a joy, and really makes Maxwell a useful tool for the artist on a deadline.

Another tool of note is the standalone material editor, which enables you to concentrate on creating materials without the distractions that using the host application or Next Limit’s own Maxwell Studio might pose.

The built-in browser makes it possible to access your entire library of Maxwell materials, or obtain more via integration with the developer’s online gallery, with over 3,500 materials available.

SSS materials work really well and now render much faster

Powerful legacy features

Although it’s not a new feature, it’s worth mentioning Multilight in any assessment of Maxwell Render.

It’s a godsend to any 3D artist, offering the ability to change the colour and intensity of any light source in your scene.

This isn’t limited to emitters but extends to physical skies and image-based environments as well.

This shows its value when you start making changes to a render: whether you change the colour of a light or reduce sky brightness, the image simply updates at the end of the pass.

The improvements in version 2.5 make Maxwell Render a serious proposition.

The performance boost and updates to the export plug-ins – with noticeable improvements in Maya, LightWave and Cinema 4D – are valuable, but it’s the Fire interactive preview that may take Maxwell Render from a luxury tool to an essential part of your studio pipeline.

Verdict

PROS
• Fast new interactive preview
• Huge online materials library
• Other performance improvements

CONS
• Price may still be prohibitive for some

A point-level update isn’t usually much to shout about, but the inclusion of the Fire interactive preview may just make Maxwell a valid tool for your studio for the first time

Posted on Friday, July 8th, 2011 at 3:49 pm under Applications, Reviews. You can subscribe to comments. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

Tags: Maxwell Render, rendering, review