We are super excited to get back to experimental builds with the release of the 2017.30000 series!
Since we didn’t have Experimental builds during the 088 to 099 switch (beta 099 took the place of that), here’s an explanation of Experimental builds for those who are new to them.
Experimental builds contain new features and developments that are still in testing. As such, these builds may contain bugs, be unstable, or may change in non-backward compatible ways going forward. Therefore, we do not recommend using these builds for delivering projects or mission critical scenarios where stability is important. Use Experimental builds when you have time to experiment and want to test new features and improvements we are working on.
For production-ready, stable builds, you should use 099 Official builds. Official builds only receive safe bug fixes to keep them reliable for delivering projects.
[size=150]What’s New[/size]
[size=150]Faster Python, Expressions, and Startup[/size]
The biggest focus on this branch has been engine optimizations. Startup and opening files should be faster, as well as the addition of a python parser and expression caching system to improve performance of python throughout your projects. It would be extremely helpful to us to get feedback on the performance of your projects in Official vs. Experimental so we can gauge how effective these optimizations have been and where we can further improve them. I have attached a component that you can drop into your projects to measure frame time in milliseconds. Any Official vs Experimental comparison would be appreciated!
showCooks.tox (5.04 KB)
[size=150]New OPs[/size]
We have exciting developments in SOPs. First, the new Alembic SOP lets you load Alembic geometry streams into TouchDesigner finally! What’s more, there is a Straight to GPU mode that streams the Alembic file directly to the GPU offering an amazing performance advantage.
The long requested C++ SOP is also finally here! You can also look forward to loading geometry Straight to GPU with it as well.
The new Layout TOP takes multiple TOP input and lays them out in row, column, or grid format, similar to the layout options you find for children Panel components.
[size=150]More Additions[/size]
GPU performance monitoring is now possible. All nodes not only report their CPU cooking time but now also report the time they take up on the GPU. Middle-click on any node to see this, or access it through new python members to integrate this data into your systems.
What else? PBR MAT can send any of its maps to any color buffer. GLSL TOPs get Atomic Counters, Geometry COMP Instance page can now accept a SOP directly for instancing onto the SOP points, Event CHOP got new callbacks, List and Select Panel COMPs got reworked, and tons of new python features for Matrix and Quaternions.
The list is absolutely too long for this post so please read through the Release Notes!
We are happy to once again have Official and Experimental builds available for TouchDesigner. Expect new builds for experimental as often as necessary and new builds for Official approximately every 2 weeks. Please remember to post the build you are using when reporting issues or asking questions.
ENJOY the new toys! (and let us know what you like)