Taitopia v1.5: Magic Scene and Reworked Credit System

Taitopia 1.5 marks two pivotal updates to Taitopia: the Magic Scene feature and a completely reworked credit system.

At Taitopia 1.5, we are starting to embrace the transformational power of generative machine learning systems, or "Generative AI". With a line of text prompt or a reference image, Taitopia's latest Magic Scene feature turns your solo product render into a full scene ready for eye-catching marketing posters, eliminating tens of hours of work or significant outsourcing expenses on setting up a scene suitable for your product. Unlike pure-AI workflows that tend to have inconsistencies with the hero product, we seemlessly combine physically accurate rendering with AI-generated environments to ensure no compromise on fidelity and quality.

On the other hand, we’ve reached a point where sustaining and scaling Taitopia's services is becoming increasingly difficult as the resources we rely on to power Taitopia are in higher demand than ever. The scarcity of cloud GPU resources, coupled with their high costs, is putting a strain on our ability to maintain the level of service you’ve come to expect. We are exploring all possible avenues to navigate these challenges without compromising on the quality and reliability of Taitopia, but we have to acknowledge the reality of these industry-wide constraints and their impact on our operations. Combined with the the launch of the Magic Scene feature that introduces a new series of AI generation tasks, we have also determined to completely update the Credit system in Taitopia.

Magic Scene

A "Magic" tab is introduced as the 5th option in the right sidebar, leading directly to the Magic Scene generation panel.

• Magic Scene Panel and Animation Timeline are mutually exclusive. Entering the Magic sidebar tab with timeline turned on will automatically collapse the timeline, and vice versa.

• You can select an object or group within the scene to preserve as the Main Object during Magic Scene generation. After generation, the models and materials in Main Object will still be preserved exactly as rendered, while its lighting is affected by the AI-generated background.

  • When generating a Magic Scene, the object or group currently selected in the viewport or outline will be set as the Main Object.
  • You can also include lights in the group as the Main Object for more control over lighting. Models in the Main Object will be lit by both included lighting and the AI-generated background.
  • The name of the Main Object is also displayed in the Magic Scene Panel.
  • You can deselect all objects to clear the main object. Without a main object, the entire scene will be generated by the AI, therefore you will be prompted to confirm this choice.

• There are three ways to guide the generation of a Magic Scene. All three types of inputs are optional.

  • Draft Scene: Apart from the selected Main Object, everything else visible in your current Taitopia viewport becomes the Draft Scene. Geometries and colors in the Draft Scene will be used to guide the generation.
  • Text prompt: You may enter a text prompt to describe your desired style of the Magic Scene.
  • Reference image: You may upload an image as the reference to your desired style of the Magic Scene.

• You can also make use of Taitopia's template scenes as presets of prompt and reference image. By clicking the 'Use Template' button, you can select among some of Taitopia's official scene templates with predefined prompts and images.

• The Magic Scene is activated after generation is complete.

  • When the Magic Scene is active, a highlighted border is displayed around the 3D viewport to indicate Magic Scene status.
  • You need to exit the Magic Scene to interact with other parts in your Taitopia file, or generate a new one.
  • You can render images with an active Magic Scene with slightly limited render settings.
  • A Magic Scene cannot be activated if the Main Object has been deleted. However, if the Main Object is a group, the Magic Scene can still be activated after changing the child objects of the group.

New Taitopia Credits

Taitopia Pro is Now Subscription-Only

To better manage the Magic Scene generation capabilities of Taitopia and the necessary cloud resources, we're transitioning to a subscription-only model.

Taitopia WeekPass is no longer available for purchase. Users on an active WeekPass will stay on Pro tier until the WeekPass expires, but they need to purchase a monthly or annual Taitopia Pro subscription to continue accessing Pro features.

Taitopia subscriptions are recurringly billed and are not prorated. However, in an unfortunate event of extended service suspension of Taitopia due to circumstances beyond our control, we will offer partial refunds for Taitopia Pro subscriptions and remaining purchased Taitopia Credits.

Using and Obtaining Credits

The consumption of render exports and AI generation has been unified into Taitopia Credits. Taitopia Credits can be spent on image rendering, video rendering, and Magic Scene generation tasks. In the Render Export window, you will be able to view the cost of the task in Credits before rendering an image or video:

• Image Rendering below 2000x2000 resolution consumes 5 credits for Free users and does not consume credits for Pro users.
• Image Rendering between 2000x2000 and 4000x4000 consumes at least 5 Credits for Pro users. Although 4K renders has become not unlimited, our free Credits awarded through a Taitopia Pro subscription would be still sufficient for your projects requiring 4K renders at most cases.
• Video Rendering is calculated per frame where the Credit cost of each frame is the same as in image rendering.
• Magic Scene tasks cost a constant 5 Credits per task.

Taitopia Credits can be obtained as follows:

• Initial Credits: New users receive 100 free credits on sign up.
• Pro Subscription: Each Taitopia Pro account is awarded 500 Taitopia credits per month. If you purchase an annual Taitopia Pro subscription, a total of 6,000 credits for the 12-month billing cycle will be awarded in a lump sum.
• Additional Credits: Available for purchase at $5 for every 100 credits. Additional Credits purchase is only accessible with a Taitopia Pro subscription.

Taitopia Credits do not expire. If there are existing Relaxed Render Credits prior to the Taitopia 1.5 release, they are automatically converted to new Taitopia Credits on a 1:1 basis.

We are deeply grateful for your support as we enhance Taitopia, striving to overcome the operational challenges and continue delivering an exceptional product visualization experience. Thank you for being a part of Taitopia's journey.

Taitopia v1.2: Region Rendering, Motion Blur, and Touchpad Controls

🚀 Features & Improvements 🎨

• Region rendering: Taitopia now supports region rendering for faster rendering response when tuning material and lighting, or fixing part of an already rendered image.

  • Press the shortcut R on the keyboard or click the "Region Rendering" switch on the viewport settings menu (dots icon menu on the bottom right) to toggle region rendering.
  • Within region rendering mode, you are able to select or adjust the rendered region of the 3D viewport.
  • After confirming the render region, you may continue working on your Taitopia file.
  • With a selected render region, you can also toggle region render in the render export window.

• Camera motion blur: Taitopia’s cameras now support motion blur effects!

  • A "Motion Blur" switch is added to the settings of each camera. When there is animation in the scene and motion blur is turned on for the current camera, motion blur effect will be displayed in both the 3D viewport and rendered images or videos.
  • The strength of the motion blur effect can be adjusted by the "Shutter" parameter. A higher shutter value gives stronger motion blur.
  • Please note that turning on motion blur will significantly slow down rendering because a motion trajectory is rendered in each frame instead of a completely still scene.

• Touchpad viewport controls: Now you can use touchpad gestures to navigate your view in a Taitopia file!

  • Slide with two fingers when holding Shift to pan the viewport camera.
  • Slide with two fingers when holding Alt/Option to orbit the viewport camera.
  • Slide with two fingers without holding any key to zoom in or out.

• Workspace home page: Upon logging in to Taitopia, you are now presented with a Home page where you can easily access our templates and tutorials as well as recent files.

  • If you still prefer to directly visit the Files page, you can bookmark the link https://app.taitopia.design/en/workspace/file and use it to directly land on the Files page.

• When activating box selection mode with the Alt/option key, parameter settings on the right sidebar are kept displayed.

As we continuously strive to refine and enhance your rendering experience, your creative potential knows no bounds. Explore, create, and render with ease and precision in Taitopia!

Taitopia v1.1: Folders

🚀 Features & Improvements 🎨

• Folders: Taitopia Workspace now supports multi-selection and folders.

  • A Folders section is added to the Files page of the Workspace, where you can create folders and move your Taitopia files into the folder.
  • Alternatively, you can enter multi-select mode by clicking the empty checkbox on the top left of each file and select multiple files, then pack selected files into a folder.
  • You can also merge multiple folders into one.
  • The Folders feature is now only available for the Files page and subfolders cannot be created within a folder.

• More clearly displays supported file formats when uploading models and textures from the Workspace or the Asset Library.

• Displays the error message and recommended actions when a Render Queue task fails to complete.

• The Network Health panel is automatically expanded when the system detects an unstable connection.

As we continuously strive to refine and enhance your rendering experience, your creative potential knows no bounds. Explore, create, and render with ease and precision in Taitopia!

Taitopia v1.0: We are Out of Beta!

We are excited to announce the release of Taitopia v1.0, a major milestone marking the end of our beta program and the beginning of a new era. This version signifies a leap forward in our commitment to providing a robust, user-friendly, and innovative 3D rendering and collaboration platform. Step into a world where your imagination leads the way, and Taitopia brings it to life with ease and precision.

Early Bird Program Phasing Out: Last Chance for Pro Discount!

As Taitopia embarks on its new journey with the release of v1.0, we would like to inform our valued users that our Early Bird Program during Taitopia Beta versions will be concluding. With the previous introduction of our Free plan, some Pro features had also been made available for Free users as part of the Early Bird Program. As of the release of Taitopia v1.0, these features are now exclusive to the Pro plan:

• Up to 4000×4000 resolution or 10,000 samples per pixel Instant Render
• Render passes
• Frame sequence rendering

The early-bird pricing discount for Pro subscription and WeekPass will also be terminated on January 15, 2024. The Pro pricing without discount is $19/WeekPass, $59/month, and $540/year.

• If you purchase a monthly or annual Taitopia Pro subscription before January 15th, your early-bird discount will still be available and remain effective for all renewal payments thereafter.
• If you have purchased a Taitopia WeekPass and would like to switch to a subscription after January 15th, Email Us for a promo code to continue enjoying our early bird discount.
• If you cancel your discounted Taitopia Pro subscription and resubscribe after January 15th, your early-bird discount will no longer be effective.

Again, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to all our Beta users who have been an integral part of this journey. Your invaluable feedback, support, and enthusiasm have been pivotal in shaping Taitopia into what it is today. As a token of our appreciation for your contribution during our Beta phase, we are extending an exclusive invitation to our Beta users to participate in feedback interviews. As a thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and helping us grow, each Beta user (registered on or before December 31, 2023) who completes a feedback interview will receive one month of Taitopia Pro for free. If you are interested, please use this Calendly link to schedule an one-hour user feedback session with our team. We can't wait to hear from you and continue building a better experience together!

🚀 Features & Improvements 🎨

• Scene Stats: Provides detailed and intuitive insights into your scene's performance, helping you avoid crashes, manage resources more effectively, and optimize your workflow in Taitopia.

  • The Scene Stats icon is located next to the network status icon in the top toolbar. The icon displays different color statuses based on memory usage. We display memory usage as the maximum percentage of CPU and GPU memory for simplicity.
  • When you hover your mouse over the Scene Stats icon, a simplified scene data bar appears. This bar includes a low/medium/high status of resource usage, total number of triangles in the scene, and total number of objects.
  • Clicking the Scene Stats icon expands a detailed information card. The Scene Stats card displays the memory usage percentage, total number of triangles/vertices/objects, current FPS of rendering, and rendered number of samples per pixel.
  • The Scene Stats card also includes a pin icon to pin the the stats display onto a small panel on the top-left of your 3D viewport.
  • When the current memory usage exceeds 90%, the Scene Stats card will be automatically expanded as a warning of high resource usage. It also gives recommendations on reducing resource usage. Additionally, a warning will also appear in the render output window.

• Triplanar Mapping: Introduces the Triplanar mapping type for the material graph. Compared to the Box mapping, texture transforms of the Triplanar mapping is independent to the position, rotation, and scale of the object, i.e., the world-space texel density remains constant. Triplanar mapping is useful when mapping the same texture uniformly to objects with different scales.

As we continuously strive to refine and enhance your rendering experience, your creative potential knows no bounds. Explore, create, and render with ease and precision in Taitopia!

Taitopia v0.9: Link Sharing, Version History, and Units!

🚀 Features

• Link Sharing: Sharing your work with others has never been easier. The new link sharing feature enables users to generate shareable links for their Taitopia files.

  • You can access sharing options from the top-right corner of your Taitopia window or the File Menu from the Taitopia icon on the top-left corner.
  • After turning on Link Sharing in the sharing options dialog, any Taitopia user will be able to make a clone of your current file through the sharable link.
  • Using the sharable link, other Taitopia users can make a clone of the most recent version of your file, even if you edit the file after turning on Link Sharing. However, their clones are separate from your file and please use the Teams feature if you wish your collaborators to directly access your file.
  • A special icon will appear on the upper-right corner of the shared file in your Taitopia Workspace. You can also share or turn off sharing for files in the file settings of the Workspace.

• Version History (Pro Feature): Introducing the "time machine" for Taitopia! This feature allows you navigate through the history of changes made to your files, revert to a previous version of a file, or manually make file backups.

  • Taitopia Pro users are able to fully access the version history feature. Free users can view the file history but are not able to create, restore or clone backups.
  • After clicking the "File History" option in the File Menu from the Taitopia icon on the top-left corner, the File History panel will appear on the right of your Taitopia window.
  • In the File History panel, you can view all auto-saved versions and manually saved backups of your files. A file is auto-saved every 15 minutes and at most 20 auto-saves can be stored in your history.
  • You can revert your current file to any history version or clone the history version into a new file.

• More Model Import Settings: Model import has been significantly improved for better user experience and less unexpected results. We have revamped our model import settings to include the following features:

  • Taitopia now supports SLDPRT files up to Solidworks 2023.
  • Automatically detect the unit and the orientation of the model file. In case these data are not included in the model file, you can directly select your modeling software when using the model for the first time to ensure that the model is imported with the correct size and orientation.
  • Allows for adjusting the tessellation quality for NURBs file formats, such as STP, STEP, and SLDPRT.
  • When the number of objects in the model file exceeds 500, Allows for reprocessing the model and revert merging objects by material.

• Unit System: Taitopia now supports changing scene units, offering enhanced precision and customization in project measurements. Whether you are an industrial designer, an interior designer, or an architect, you can work in units that you are most comfortable with.

  • When creating a scene file upon an imported model or adding a model to a newly-created scene file, the scene will automatically used the unit specified in the model.
  • In the Settings menu (the rightmost icon of the bottom toolbar), you can switch the unit of the scene. Supported choices include m (meters), cm (centimeters), mm (millimeters), ft (foot), and in (inch). Taitopia always displays measurements in decimals, even when using imperial units.

• Contribute to Taitopia: A Contribution menu is added to the top of the Help menu on the left sidebar. You can get a free WeekPass by contributing to Taitopia with the following options:

  • Submit your scene for consideration as an official scene template for Taitopia. You will get a free Weekpass as long as you submit a valid template scene.
  • Share your thoughts about Taitopia on Twitter (now X) or Instagram! Please make sure to mention our official accounts (@TaitopiaRender on Twitter or @taitopiarender on Instagram) and include your beautiful renders.
  • Schedule an online meeting with the Taitopia team to talk about your experience.

🎨 Improvements

• Left and right sidebars can be now hidden to allow for larger viewport space. Press 1 on the keyboard to hide the left sidebar and press 2 to hide the right sidebar. You can also access those options in the right-click menu of the viewport when the mouse is not hovering over any scene object.
• When Taitopia runs into an error and displays the error page, a feedback link is added to directly report the problem to the Taitopia team.

Taitopia v0.8: Introducing Team Collaboration

Taitopia v0.8 marks a significant milestone for Taitopia with the introduction of team collaboration, transforming the way teams work together on rendering projects. This version sets the foundation for a more connected and collaborative workflow, making it a game-changer for team-oriented projects.

🚀 Features

• Team Collaboration: Say goodbye to looping back and forth Google Drive or Dropbox files! The team collaboration feature allows multiple users to share a team workspace with scene files and assets accessble to everyone within the team.

  • Creating a team requires an active Taitopia Pro plan, either by Subscription or WeekPass. The team will become inaccessible to all members if the Pro plan is expired. Team members are invited through email.
  • Joining a team does not require a Pro plan.
  • Currently, a Pro user is limited to creating one team with at most 3 members.
  • The team workspace is independent of your personal workspace. However, you can clone your personal files to the team workspace.

• Light Texture: Allows for uploading a texture to area lights or using a texture from the asset library. When a texture is added to an area light, the color of the light will be overlayed onto the texture to produce lighting.

• Color Picker: Supports picking a color from the browser window when selecting colors. Color picker is only supported on Chrome and Chromium-based browsers.

• Duplicate Scene Objects: Objects can now be directly duplicated with the Ctrl/Cmd + D shortcut or from the right-click menu of the viewport or scene outline.

• Batch Light Adjustment: When selecting multiple lights of the same type, the parameters of all selected lights can be adjusted simultaneously.

• Template Categories: Scene templates now include categories. In the Templates page of your workspace, you can filter available scene templates with one or more categories.

🎨 Improvements

• Saves render quality parameters in the export window when saving a scene file.
• Allows adding materials and textures from personal asset library into the Material Graph Editor.
• Displays the number of other queuing users ahead of the current Render Queue task before the task is started.
• Added a pop-up notification for backplate images not displaying in free roam.

As we continuously strive to refine and enhance your rendering experience, your creative potential knows no bounds. Explore, create, and render with ease and precision in Taitopia!

Taitopia v0.7.5: Elevating Creativity with Displacement Mapping, Round Corner Shading, and Node Preview

We are thrilled to unveil the latest enhancements in version 0.7.5 with new features to elevate your rendering experience including displacement mapping, round cornder shading, and node preview.

Besides, we wanted to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude for your unwavering support of Taitopia. Your enthusiasm and trust in our platform have been instrumental in shaping its evolution. We're excited to have you on this journey with us, and we can't wait to continue creating Taitopia together.

🚀 Features

• More easily navigate your project's entire structure with the new "Expand All/Collapse All" option in the Outline's right-click menu.
• Preview the results from a single node in the material graph with the 'C' key shortcut or from the right-click menu.
• Toggle object visibility with the new 'H' key shortcut. Additionally, press 'Alt/Option + H' to show all objects and press 'Shift + H' to hide all non-selected objects.
• Introducing Displacement Mapping: transform the vertices of your geometry with a single texture map.
  • Displacement map feature is currently experimental. It is undergoing continuous testing and refinement to ensure optimal functionality and performance and may have occasional issues or limitations.

• Round corner shading is now available as a material setting. Corner radius can be adjusted after turning on the "Rounded Corner" switch in the material tab.

• The origin of object gizmo is now switchable between "Use Object Center" and "Use Object Origin" toggle at the bottom toolbar.

• The camera list now features a duplicate camera button.
• Email notifications will be sent when render queue tasks are completed.

🎨 Improvements

• Optimized the position of filter and sorting components in the Workspace.
• Texture transformation parameters are brought back into the texture upload popup panel.
• Added additional prompts when attempting to add a texture to a measured metal material.
• Removed angle range limit from rotation preset animations.

🔧 Bug Fixes

• Fixed quick tips still being displayed after loading is completed.
• Fixed the Material Output node cannot be selected with a single click.
• Fixed inconsistent texture transformation after using material nodes.
• Fixed camera parameters changing after opening and closing the animation panel.
• Fixed "Keep Size of Focused Object" switch not working when animations are present.
• Fixed images saved in the Material Graph Editor not being displayed in the personal asset library.

As we continuously strive to refine and enhance your rendering experience, your creative potential knows no bounds. Explore, create, and render with ease and precision in Taitopia!

Beta 0.7.0: Full-featured Animation Timeline, brand new Personal Asset Library, Texture Library and many more!

We're excited to announce the release of Taitopia v0.7.0, with major new features that will enable more creativity and flexibility for you to render everywhere!

🚀 Taitopia is now FREE to use!

Taitopia is now free to use for everyone! With Taitopia v0.7.0, we are introducing the new Taitopia Free tier where you can enjoy unlimited interactive rendering, our asset library with 1000+ models, materials, and template scenes, as well as advanced features such as the material graph editor. We hope this makes Taitopia more accessible to hobbyists, students, and anyone who wants to occasionally render projects without investing in expensive hardware. On the other hand, our Taitopia Pro subscription and WeekPass still remain your best choice for professional or extensive rendering needs. Features exclusive to the Pro Plan include:

• Render without watermarks (a Taitopia logo watermark is included when rendering with the Free plan)
• Unlimited scene files in your Workspace (Free users are limited to 10 files)
• Unlimited uploaded models in your Workspace (Free users are limited to 10 uploaded models)
• Unlimited saved models, materials, textures and environments (Free users are limited to 5 saved assets of each type)
• Unlimited saved renders (Free users are limited to 10 saved renders)

As part of our early bird program, features below are designed for the Pro Plan but will be temporarily available for Free users throughout Taitopia v0.7 versions. These features will be made exclusive to the Pro plan in the next major Taitopia release.

• Up to 4000×4000 resolution Instant Render
• Up to 10,000 samples per pixel (or equivalent noise level) Instant Render
• Render passes
• Frame sequence rendering

For our existing users:

• If you are a Trial user of Taitopia, your Trial account, whether active or expired, will automatically be converted into a Free account. If your existing Workspace items have exceeded the Free Plan limit, you may delete unused scenes, models, and renders to continue using Taitopia.
• If you have an active Taitopia Pro subscription, your early bird pricing at the time of subscription will remain valid regardless of currently posted pricing.
• If you have purchased a Taitopia WeekPass and would like to switch to a monthly or annual subscription, Email Us for a promo code to continue enjoying our initial early bird pricing at $39/month or $348/year.

🎨 Animation Timeline Editor

Next, we've introduced a brand new animation timeline that gives you full control when creating animations. To activate the animation timeline editor, click the animation button on the top-right corner of your Taitopia window, next to the Render and Render Queue buttons.

The animation timeline will appear at the bottom of your window, where you can:

• Play and pause animations, and scrubbing the timeline
• Edit animation presets and keyframes
• Render animation preview videos

After activating the animation timeline, keyframe buttons will also appear to the right of each property that can be animated, such as object transformation and camera settings. Also, please stay tuned for our future documentation and tutorials for the animation timeline!

🎨 Personal Asset Library

With Taitopia v0.7.0, you can now build a personal collection of assets including models, materials, textures, and environments that can be used across multiple scenes. This makes it faster than ever to start new projects using high-quality assets you've already built with Taitopia.

• To save a model or group with its materials and animations, right click on a model from the viewport or the outline panel and select "Save Model".
• To save a material, right click on a model from the viewport or the material list and select "Save Material".
• To save a texture, click the bookmark icon on the top-right of the texture pop-up window.
• To save an environment, right click on the environment list and select "Save Environment".

All saved assets can be found and in the bottommost "My Assets" tab of the Asset Library on the left sidebar and then used in the same way as official assets. Additionally, you can also view your saved assets or directly upload textures from the Assets page of the Workspace.

🎨 Texture Library

Our Taitopia official asset library has now included textures. You can view the texture library from the second tab from the top on the Asset Library, where both image textures and material-graph-based smart textures are available. Same as materials, textures can be directly dragged onto a model in the viewport, after which you will be prompted by a window to select the texture channel you would like to apply.

🔧 Improvements and Bugfixes

As Taitipia v0.7.0 is a significantly large release, numerous bugfixes and improvements have been made throughout the development of this version. We find it hard to give an exaustive list for them, but we definitely take care of each and every piece of your feedback. As always, keep sharing your amazing creations with the Taitopia community! We can't wait to see what you build next using these new features and the power of next-gen cloud render, and happy rendering everywhere!

Sign-In with Google Support!

To further smooth the login process, we have rolled out the Sign-In with Google feature and made it compatible with existing and returning users. If you already have an email account with us, and want to try this new Sign-In method, please make sure you FINISH the auto-link process without refreshing the page or clicking the "Back" button on your browser, interrupting the linking process will result in 2 completely different accounts and you will not be able to find your existing files or models from your new account.

If you accidentally interrupted the linking process and cannot find your existing files, feel free to contact us (at team@taitopia.design), we are here to help!

Beta 0.6.12: A new shortcut with a bunch of user experience improvements

What's new in Taitopia Render?

🚀 Features

• Repurposed Q as a new shortcut for swapping among all cameras. Pressing Q will loop through the list of cameras in order, starting with the current camera

🎨 UX Improvements

• Added a HDRI preview when the cursor hovers over HDRIs in the Environment Library
• Improved the user interactions with selecting locked and hidden objects
• Improved the box select feature. Added a toggle between single and box select on the top of the viewport; holding Option/Alt will also temporarily activate box select
• Added support for changing the object order in the Camera List, Environment List and Lighting List in the HDRI Editor
• Improved the appearance of the Color Ramp node and added parameter input fields
• Changed the parameter value ranges of HDRI Lighting Brightness, HDRI Brightness, HDRI Solid Color Brightness, HDRI Color Gradient Brightness and HDRI Image Brightness to 1-10

🔧 Bug Fixes

• Fixed the yellow highlight on objects not disappearing after using copy material
• Fixed the incorrect thumbnails for uploaded EXR Environment textures
• Fixed the occasionally inverted Y-axis camera control
• Fixed the hard-to-remove yellow highlight on objects after selecting an object as the Rotation Pivot for Object Rotation Animation Presets
• Fixed Instant Render outputs being different from the Viewport Render display
• Fixed the incorrect relative position between the cursor and the material preview when dragging materials
• Fixed the incorrect distance between nodes when the cursor is operating the Material Output node in the Material Graph Editor
• Fixed an error when selecting a Smart Texture node when editing in the Material Graph Editor

Beta 0.6.11: Enhanced workflow and user rxperience

We're delighted to share our latest updates, designed to enhance your user experience and streamline your workflow. New features include the ability to drag material previews to objects, duplicate nodes in the Material Graph Editor, adjust ray bounces for viewport renders, duplicate and lock environments, and adjust multiple object parameters simultaneously.

We've also made UX improvements like graying out the Image Format parameter when no Render Passes are selected, enhancing error report screens and "get started" recommendations, moving the status bar to the top of the viewport, and renaming the Normal parameter in the Material Graph Editor to Bump. We've also fixed several bugs, including restoring the World Grid parameter setting, fixing the inverted material gizmo, improving material gizmo scaling, ensuring Ray Bounces consistency, and correcting object rotation after scene loading.

As always, we're committed to providing you with an ever-improving render platform!

🚀 Features

• All the material previews in the interface can now be dragged to quickly assign them to objects
• You can now duplicate nodes by holding down Option/Alt and LMB drag in the Material Graph Editor
• Made ray bounces parameter adjustable for viewport renders
• The Environment List on the right now supports environment duplication and locking
• It is now possible to adjusting the position, rotation, scale parameters and use Snap to Ground when multiple objects are selected

🎨 UX Improvements

• The Image Format parameter will now be grayed out if none of the Render Passes are selected
• Improved the visuals of error report screens and the "get started" recommendations
• Moved the status bar to the top of the viewport and added corresponding animated effects
• The Normal parameter in the Material Graph Editor has been renamed to Bump

🔧 Bug Fixes

• Restored the unintended removal of the World Grid parameter setting in the Outline panel
• Fixed inverted material gizmo for newly created label materials
• Fixed the material gizmo scaling slowly when adding labels (can be observed in Template Outdoor Product D)
• Changed the default value of Ray Bounces in the Viewport to 8 to be consistent with the Render Output
• Fixed the bug of occasionally incorrect object rotation after loading a scene

Beta 0.6.10

🎨 UX Improvements

• Improved the functionality of View Helper at the bottom right of the viewport. Users can now change view by dragging on it
• The overlay for idle timeout and peak hours now only covers the viewport; sidebar items will remain visible
• Improved the presentation of material previews
• Improved the interface dimensions of the Material Graph Editor and over character limit notification for node names
• Texture file names will now be used for naming Image Texture nodes

🔧 Bug Fixes

• Fixed search results in the Asset Library obstructing the top-left menu
• Changed the button text in the Import section
• Fixed the animation timeline remaining on screen in the Animation panel after deleting all animation from the scene
• Fixed the display of enlarged material and model previews

🎨 Assets

• Added 50 new plastic materials and 15 car paint materials

Beta 0.6.9: A new "Replace Model" feature, support EXR files for texture and improvements to Material Graph

In this release, we're thrilled to introduce our latest updates, featuring a host of new features such as the Replace Model feature, context and Duplicate Node features in the Material Graph Editor, support for .exr files, and customizable environment lighting parameters. We've also enhanced user experience by improving node copy-pasting functionality and introducing a list view in the Material section. Several bugs have been addressed to ensure smoother operation. Our assets have been expanded with 50 new plastic materials and 15 car paint materials. Look forward to the upcoming additions of an animation timeline and a personal asset library.

As always, we're committed to continually enhancing your experience with Taitopia!

🚀 Features

• Added a Replace Model feature. After selecting an object/camera/light in the Viewport, simply right click on a model in the Asset List or one of your imported models to replace the selected model
• Added a context menu to the Material Graph Editor. It is now possible to add or edit nodes by right-clicking on the graph editor. The Add Nodes menu is also accessible by pressing the Tab key
• Added a Duplicate Node feature to the Material Graph Editor, accessible via CTRL/CMD + D. Duplicates will be added to the bottom right to the currently selected node
• Added support for .exr files for texture upload
• Added a Viewport Settings section to the bottom right of the Editor. Currently, it allows for adjusting the number of ray bounces for viewport rendering
• Added the parameters for adjusting the height and ground-flattening scale of environment lighting

💻 UX Improvements

• Improved the usability of copy-pasting nodes in the Material Graph Editor. Now the pasted nodes will appear under the cursor or at the center of view
• Added list view for the Material section of the Asset List, as well as the Material List in the - Material panel on the right

🔧 Bug Fixes

• Fixed objects with glass materials turning black when intersecting with the ground plane
• Fixed incorrect ground shadows
• Fixed denoising not applying to files exported from Render Queues
• Fixed only being able to delete an animation when the playback progress is at 0 s
• Fixed incorrect background color when rendered with a pure white background and environment lighting

🎨 Assets

• Added 50 new plastic materials and 15 car paint materials.

🚧 Under Development

• Animation timeline
• Personal Asset Library

Beta 0.6.8: A new "Place Texture" feature and estimation of remaining time to Render Queue tasks

🚀 Features

• Added support for uploading .sldprt files. Currently, only .sldprt files from Solidworks 2021 and earlier versions are supported. The model will be divided into separate blocks based on different appearance
• Added a new "Place Texture" feature. When a texture in the Material Graph is using planar projection, by clicking or dragging on the surface of an object, users can place the texture at the corresponding location
• The Node List Menu on the left of the Material Graph Editor can now be collapsed and expanded
• Added an estimated remaining time to tasks in the Render Queue

💻 UX Improvements

• Updated the layout and design of the Render Settings pop-up window to allow more settings to be shown simultaneously
• Updated the value range of the Temperature parameter in the Color node to 1000-20000
• Improved the parameter settings and UI of some material nodes
• Adjusted the order of items in the left menu, adding groups and dividers to improve legibility.

🔧 Bug Fixes

• Fixed the sudden change in blurriness if the F-stop parameter is changed after adjusting the focal length of the camera
• Disabled view adjustment when using the "Pick Focal Point in Scene" feature

🚧 Under Development

• We are working on bringing you a much wider selection of plastic and car paint materials

Beta 0.6.7: Render Queue tasks can now be cancelled

🚀 Features

• In-progress tasks in the Render Queue can now be cancelled

💻 UX Improvements

• Users can now change the material to be copied after initiating Copy Material by clicking on the list of materials
• Uploaded multi-component models will now be properly separated. Components will be assembled at world origin when they are added to the scene
• Users can now change the Texture Mapping and Texture Transform of multiple Image Texture Nodes simultaneously in the Material Nodes Editor

🔧 Bug Fixes

• Fixed OBJ model imports missing smoothed normals
• Fixed the exported depth channel render being pure black
• Fixed an issue where if the mouse cursor stays stationary while dragging a node connection, the nodes would keep moving further away from view
• The UV Coordinate Transform scale of the Color Texture Node will be locked by default
• Fixed an issue where objects may be incorrectly highlighted when Copy Material is active

Beta 0.6.6: Rename-able materials and user feedback entries

In the latest release, We've added support for Rename-able Materials. We also added user feedback entries to the question mark icon in the bottom left corner, streamlining the user experience for reporting bugs and feedbacks. What's more, 5 brand-new scene templates are added to the Official Asset Library!

🚀 Features

• Increased the file size limit for model uploads to 500 MB
• Materials can now be renamed in the Properties Panel. Items in the Environment List, Lighting List and Camera List can now be renamed by double-clicking them in the Properties Panel
• Added user feedback entries to the Help & Feedback section, streamlining the user experience for reporting bugs and feedbacks

🎨 Assets

• Added 5 new scene templates

💻 UX Improvements

• The Asset Library will now remember the user's scroll position when switching between tabs
• Improved toast notifications by automatically closing some notifications that were previously not closed.
• Changed the Denoise parameter in the Render Settings window to a slider between 0 and 1
• Improved the appearance of gizmos when selecting an object

🔧 Bug Fixes

• Fixed not being able to exit box select state
• Fixed incorrect camera F-stop simulation

Beta 0.6.5: STL files support

What's new in Taitopia Render?

🚀 Features

• Added support for uploading .stl files

💻 UX Improvements

• Improved the responsiveness of adding animations. Newly added animation will automatically playback once.
• Added error message display for file upload errors.
• Improved camera depth of field control to support up to f/128 ¹.
• Improved parameter display of paint materials.

🎨 Assets

• Added 6 new library templates.

🔧 Bug Fixes

• Fixed ring-like rendering artifacts appearing on models with large dimensions.
• Fixed locked camera changing view while adding models by clicking on the Asset Library.
• Fixed opening a new browser window while changing the scale parameters of an object by holding down CTRL/CMD and dragging the cursor.
• Fixed the name of the object not appear in visible range in the Outline menu when selecting by clicking in the Viewport.
• Fixed not being able to delete the last character in the File Name field of the Render Settings window.

Beta 0.6.4: User onboarding guides and Material Graph Editor improvements

🚀 Features

• Added more quick start guide items to assist users in onboarding Taitopia. Tips have been added to the renderer loading page to familiarize users with operations in Taitopia. Quick start guide can be now replayed in the help menu from clicking the question mark icon at the bottom left corner.
• Added a quick scaling feature for model upload. When a model's dimensions are found to be inappropriate, the user can quickly rescale the model via the options menu in the model's bottom right corner. This scaling does not affect the scale value in the properties panel.
• Added five types of grunge textures in the material graph editor.

💻 UX Improvements

• Optimized the precision of numerical inputs in the material graph editor. It now supports up to six decimal digits.
• Added a switch for background transparency in viewport render settings. Users can now quickly toggle transparent background from the bottom toolbar.
• Added a feature of duplicating HDRI pin lights, including those that are hidden or locked.

Some latest improvements and fixes

• Significant performance optimization on noise texture and smart textures for material graphs by up to 90% in terms of graph update speed
• Do not carry over depth of field properties when activating free roam from a camera with depth of field
• Optimized the default position of added light sources and basic geometries to the center of current view.
• Optimized the maximum magnitude of movement of gizmos to 2000.
• Viewport navigation by mouse control does not reset camera roll angle.
• Fixes the color picker being unable to modify the color mode.

Beta 0.6.3: A brand new visual identity!

Some of you might have already noticed that the server icon has changed and wondering what happened. We are happy to announce that we are giving our product a new visual identity to represent our functionality improvements during the closed alpha period and the first few weeks of open beta. Meanwhile, a new logo with several new features of Taitopia:

🚀 Features

• Context menu: quickly access common operations, such as material linking/unlinking and aim view, from a context menu by right clicking on the 3D viewport or the properties panel (right sidebar).
• Quick start guide( continuously updated): tooltips for common features are presented when a new user enters Taitopia editor or access parts of the editor interface for the first time.
• Internet health meter: allows users to check their current network status.
• Updated the view helper at the bottom right corner of the 3D viewport. Users can now quickly switch the camera to common views by clicking corresponding faces of the helper cube.
• Added a separate copy material shortcut Alt + C. This allows for quickly activating the copy material state.
• Added separate undo/redo view shortcuts Alt+Z/Alt+Y. In case of of accidental view changes, users can quickly restore the previous view using the shortcuts. We generally recommend locking cameras that do not require further adjustments from the viewport.

Beta 0.6.2: Orange highlight for active materials and a new help menu

🚀 Features

• Added an orange highlight for materials which indicates objects bound to the current material. In the material tab, simply hover over a material ball with your mouse to view all objects attached to the material highlighted in orange.
• Added size control for environment lighting that allows for scaling the rendered environment background. Note that the lighting effects on objects do not change with environment size.
• Added a help menu in the lower left corner.

💻 UX Improvements

• Optimized the scene outline position and naming of copied and pasted objects.
• Increased the scrollable area of HDRI editor in the environment tab.
• Allows for up to 8 decimal digits in the numerical input for object translation, rotation, and scale.

🔧 Bug Fixes

• Fixed the problem of hidden objects in the model file being parsed and broken faces after applying subdivision.
• Fixed an empty ZIP file being exported when using instant render with channels combined into one PSD file.
• Fixed the problem of smooth shading not applied to uploaded STP model files.
• Fixed the render export resolution window being partially covered.
• Fixed the problem of incorrect naming of new environment light sources after a light source has been deleted.

🚧 Under Development

• Animation timeline is now under development; any suggestions are welcomed!
• Development of personal material library has been scheduled.

Beta 0.6.0: Taitopia Render is in Open Beta!

We are excited to announce that Taitopia Render is now in Open Beta! We have been working hard to bring you a better experience in Taitopia Render in the past few months in its alpha stage. In this release, we have added a lot of new features and improvements to the existing features, such as the brand new Material Graph Editor.

🚀 Features

Use a node-based workflow to create complex procedural materials and bring your products to life with stunning color, material, and finish (CMF) design.

❤️ We would love your feedback as we continue improving it!

Footnotes

Footnotes

1. This serves as the mitigation to a bug in the camera simulation of Taitopia. The full bugfix for camera depth of field is expected to be delivered next week. ↩