ATI's RenderMonkey Version 1.5 Released!

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Seems that with Siggraph 2004 coming and going, ATI has finally released the 1.5 version of RenderMonkey. If you are using RM 1.0, i strongly recommend that you upgrade to version 1.5 as it has many more features and is way more stable. For those who have a copy of my book (Shaders for Game Programmers and Artists), you may have noticed that version 1.5 WAS included on the CD-ROM. However, this was the "developer preview version" and there seems to have been some improvements since the release I've included on the CD-ROM (which is about 4 months old).

Here is the list of improvements from version 1.0. I've highlighted in red the features that i think weren't present in the preview version included with my book.

New Application Features:

  • Support for OpenGL.
  • Support for Unicode.
  • Improved Microsoft DirectX .FX file export. The exporter now minimizes namespace collisions and uses the standard annotations defined in the latest DirectX SDK. (Improved from preview version) 
  • Support for Microsoft X meshes for both OpenGL and DirectX workspaces.
  • A workspace, including all referenced models and textures can now easily be exported as a single zip file to facilitate workspace sharing. The equivalent import functionality has also been added.
  • Improved docking window support and support for generic docking window layout.
  • The application window state is now saved with each workspace which allows window positions and sizing to be persistent for each user.
  • Support for procedural geometry and texture generation
  • Addition of texture preview thumbnails for both static and dynamic textures.
  • Predefined variables use semantics, rather than names, for identification by the program. Users are now free to rename the predefined variables to match those used in their application.
  • Many new sample workspaces

New DirectX preview window features:

  • Added preview window preferences allowing users control over specific settings such as:
    • Back buffer/depth buffer/stencil buffer control
    • Multisampling type
    • Setting clear color
    • Setting default camera parameters.
  • Support for shader models 2.0a, 2.0b and 3.0
  • Multiple render target support
  • Added support for HLSL include files
  • Added an RMInclude.h file which contains RenderMonkey-custom constant definitions.
  • Added more predefined variables, see RmPredefinedVariables.txt for a list of available predefined variables.
  • Ability to take screenshots in the preview window (press 'i')
  • Ability to pause rendering in hardware-acceleration mode

New Shader Editor Features:

  • More efficient shader text syntax highlighting
  • The ability to control tab/space settings.
  • Improved find/replace operations.
  • New interface for adding / removing shader parameters to shaders.

New Workspace Features:

  • Drag and Drop now supported for nodes.
  • Node order can be adjusted using Drag & Drop
  • Addition of new data types of multiple dimensions (N-vectors and MxN matrices)
  • Better menu organization for adding new nodes, such as variables and textures from the workspace tree view.  
  • Automatic creation of reference nodes  

You can find the latest version of RenderMonkey HERE!