Octane Render review

Instancing

Though the VRam limitation can be restrictive, Octane supports geometry instancing so enormous polygon counts are possible provided objects are reused. To instance an item is as simple as setting it as a Movable Proxy from the quad menu or the buttons mentioned earlier, there’s no need to export an external proxy file. Octane instancing is supported automatically by MultiScatter and Forest Pack Pro, making the creation of complex scenes even easier. Movable proxies also have the benefit of updating without the need to voxelise the scene for every frame.

Conclusion

Octane is not the only unbiased GPU renderer on the market, in fact most users already have access to this technology. 3DS Max has included IRay since the 2011 Design version, and V-Ray RT in GPU mode also provides easy unbiased rendering. Both these offer some features comparable to Octane, but to simply rank one above the others is difficult since there are many differences. Very few people at this time seem to be using V-Ray RT GPU as a production renderer, preferring to use it to simplify scene setup before switching to standard V-Ray.

IRay is being used in production, though with some lengthy render times. When used as an Activeshade renderer, IRay can’t quite match up to V-Ray RT or Octane’s interactivity. It doesn’t currently update on the addition or deletion of lights, camera setting modifications, exposure and DOF changes, object or light parameter adjustments.

Octane is sold from the outset as a production renderer and works well in that capacity. Where it may lack some features, it’s worth remembering it’s a relatively young product compared to the competition and development is very active.

What is clear though is that GPU renderers are gaining traction. Limitations in hardware still remain the biggest obstacle to the widespread adoption of GPU rendering, but as video cards become more powerful, the renderers that take advantage of them become better optimised and GPU cloud computing takes off, we may see that change.

At the time of review the 3DS Max plugin for Octane Render costs 199€, however it is necessary to have a licensed copy of the standalone edition installed to use it. If you are a new customer this brings the total cost to 359€. This approach is not uncommon, Thea for example charges 320€ for the plugin and standalone, while Arion does not require the standalone edition but charges 595€ for the Max Plugin. With Maxwell, probably the best known unbiased renderer for Max at 895€, Octane’s price point is at the lower end of the scale.

For your money you get a renderer that produces excellent results, fast. It still can’t match the speed of a well set up V-Ray render, but that’s not the point, the interactivity is an impressive time-saver. In Octane the live view IS the final render, and though it takes a little while to converge to a usable final image, the results of your modifications take place in real-time, allowing for very rapid iteration. This is WYSIWYG rendering, a revolution worth upgrading your graphics card for.