Render Farm Software updates roundup - May to July 2026

Cinema 4D plugin

v158

• Standardized font sizes across Setup tab input fields for better UI consistency.
• Improved overall usability and readability.
• Fixed missing prompt buttons.
• Improved duplicate camera conflict handling by listing duplicate camera names in the warning prompt.
• Improved Magic Bullet Looks handling:
  
  • Redshift scenes can now be sent to the farm without Magic Bullet blocking submission.
  • Other render engines remain blocked with prompts.
• Improved Corona CXR output support:
  
  • Scenes using CXR output can now be submitted, including strip rendering setups.
  • Corona Frame Buffer corrections can be used with strip renders.
  • Full CXR support is still in development.

Blender plugin

v105

• Introduced Project Check to replace multiple warning popups.
  
  • Blocking issues stop submission early with clearer next steps.
  • Non-blocking issues are collected into a single report before upload.
  • Checks include missing assets, scripts, render regions, camera markers, unconnected nodes, large textures, UDIM tiles, and other scene warnings.
  • Project Check reports can be copied for easier support requests.
• Added the ability to start renderBeamer directly from Blender.
• Improved UDIM and TILED texture handling to reduce duplicated upload data.
• Improved support for packed and unpacked UDIM assets.
• Standalone textures larger than 2 GB are now packaged automatically.
• Added large UDIM tiles to Project Check.
• Improved error dialogs, including persistent errors in newer Blender versions and easier copying of diagnostic information.
• Improved missing asset detection before packaging.
• Reduced false positives in Python script detection.
• Improved macOS support for VDB volume datablocks.

v106

• Completely redesigned linked library handling.
• Added new linked library workflows:
  
  • Keep Linked, Merge on Error
  • Keep Linked, Abort on Error
  • Existing Merge Libraries into Scene workflow remains available.
• Improved packaging of nested and shared libraries.
• Automatically collects and relinks linked textures, volumes, simulations, Geometry Nodes assets, fonts, sounds, video clips, and caches.
• Added validation of prepared libraries and final scenes before upload.
• Previously prepared libraries can be reused to reduce preparation time and upload size.
• Added supervised background Blender processing for large and complex scenes.
• Added full headless submission support for Deadline, render managers, command-line automation and batch workflows, using the same Project Check, packaging, validation and upload pipeline as interactive submissions.
  
  • Includes command line options, JSON reports, stable exit codes, logs, and offline documentation.
• Added optional Limit Cache Upload to Scene Frame Range.
  
  • Supports particles, cloth, soft body, rigid body, fluid and smoke, FLIP, ocean, mesh cache, Geometry Nodes, and simulation bakes.
• Refactored the plugin into a modular architecture.
• One release package now supports:
  
  • Blender legacy add-ons from 2.80 to 4.1.
  • Blender Extensions for 4.2 and newer.
• Improved Pack All processing and duplicate payload prevention.
• Added camera OSL support for .oso and .osl files.
• Improved protection of particle caches and original project paths.
• Added live preparation progress, percentage completion, estimated remaining time, and supported cancellation.
• Expanded asset support:
  
  • .otf and .ttf fonts.
  • Video Sequencer image strips.
  • VDB sequences.
  • Geometry Nodes imports including OBJ, STL, PLY, CSV, TXT, and VDB.
  • Additional movie formats.
  • Blender 4.3 Grease Pencil v3 objects.
• Improved linked cameras, packed images, Project Check diagnostics, and renderBeamer handoff validation.
• Improved installer support for multiple Blender installations and automated ZIP deployment.

3ds Max plugin

v198

• Added a new Assets Tracker directly to the main plugin interface.
• Missing scenes assets now automatically open Assets Tracker.
• Added detailed missing asset information and missing asset counts.
• Missing asset counts are also visible from the main plugin view.
• Added Show only missing assets.
• Added Search directory to automatically scan folders and relink missing assets.
• Added manual asset replacement and relinking through Browse.
• Added sorting by:
  
  • File path
  • Name
  • Asset type
  • Browse
  • Status
• 3ds Max 2025 and newer use icons for Browse and Missing columns.
• 3ds Max 2024 and older use status colors for easier asset tracking.
• Assets Tracker no longer opens automatically when all assets are available.
• Added confirmation when no missing assets remain.
• Users can still submit while intentionally ignoring missing assets after reviewing them.
• Submission is temporarily blocked while Assets Tracker is open.
• Assets Tracker is supported in 3ds Max 2021 and newer.
• 3ds Max 2020 and older continue using the previous missing asset workflow.

v199

• Fixed .xml and .mc assets referenced through XRefs not uploading correctly.
• Assets inside merged XRef scenes are now detected and included in uploads.
• Removed duplicate Assets Tracker entries after XRef merging.
• Original XRef .max files are no longer uploaded when their contents have already been fully merged into the main scene, avoiding redundant upload data.

Maya plugin

v144

• Fixed Phoenix FD .aur cache paths incorrectly replacing the #### frame token with the current timeline frame during submission.
• Added an Arnold renderer warning explaining the required BYOL licensing workflow.
• Added a recommendation for Xesktop as an alternative for GPU rendering projects.

SketchUp plugin

v47

• Added support for SketchUp 2026.

V-Ray Standalone plugin

v18

• Fixed texture and asset detection inside .vrscene files.
• Referenced textures are now correctly identified, uploaded, and relinked.
• Fixed cases where missing asset transfers caused incomplete renders on farm nodes.
• Refreshed plugin UI:
  
  • Unified text field sizing and alignment.
  • Improved spacing and panel layouts.
  • Better organization of asset controls.
  • More consistent buttons, labels, and renderer controls.
  • Improved Light and Dark mode appearance.
  • Better readability.
• The UI improvements were also rolled out to other V-Ray Standalone based plugins, including SketchUp and Rhinoceros 3D, as well as plugins operating through renderBeamer such as Cinema 4D and Maya.

renderBeamer

v1.701

• Updated guide links in the Plugins tab.
• Updated scene submission and Purchase Credits links for Web Manager 2.0.
• Added more diagnostic information to logs for troubleshooting.

Web Manager 2.0

Beta update

• Merged Billing and Account Settings into one shared window.
• Added organized account tabs for:
  
  • Purchase
  • Billing and Invoices
  • Profile
  • Notifications and Preferences
  • Usage and Spending
  • Team account
• Added unique URL hashes for direct navigation to account sections.
• Added a Top up balance shortcut to the account menu.
• Updated My account to open the Profile section directly.

Official production release

• Web Manager 2.0 officially exited beta and became the default interface.
• Previous Web Manager remains available as the Legacy UI.
• Completely reworked job management:
  
  • Faster editing and cloning.
  • Better batch operations.
  • Improved filters and search.
  • Streamlined queue controls.
• Improved job progress and status tracking:
  
  • Redesigned progress bars.
  • Clearer job states.
  • Better successful and failed frame tracking.
  • Improved cost estimates.
  • Remaining time indicators.
  • Clearer node usage statistics.
• Modernized the overall UI and visual hierarchy.
• Added integrated Dark Mode.
• Redesigned the user account panel.
• Improved file and project management, including drag and drop uploads.
• Improved queue controls and workflow navigation.
• Improved responsive layouts, icons, dialogs, priorities, and rendering state visibility.
• Maintains support for applications previously supported by Web Manager 1.0.

Welcome screen and upload update

• Reworked onboarding into three pages:
  
  • User profile and workflow preferences.
  • Resources and support.
  • Trial account and rendering limits.
• Refreshed the Download/Upload panel.
• Added clearer empty-state actions for new accounts.
• Added direct access to:
  
  • Add new job.
  • Upload project.
  • renderBeamer download.
  • Browser upload.
• Improved File Browser navigation.
• Improved browser upload warnings and explanations.

Node configuration update

• Changed the default CPU node group from 62 GB RAM to 121 GB RAM.

Payment and error handling update

• Added dedicated icons for Credit Card and Alternative Payment Methods.
• Login and registration errors now remain visible in confirmation prompts instead of disappearing as temporary notifications.
• Improved CAPTCHA error explanations and troubleshooting guidance.

Xesktop highlight - Corridor Key benchmark

• Published a benchmark comparing Mac M4 with an RTX Pro 6000 on Xesktop.
• Xesktop was reported as 284% faster for the tested Corridor Key AI workflow.
• Demonstrated 4K AI video processing.
• Highlighted access to GPUs with 96 GB VRAM.
• Demonstrated reduced alpha hint generation and inference processing times.
• Showed how cloud GPUs can support Macs, older PCs, and lower-spec systems.
• Highlighted the pay-per-use model for AI and VFX workloads.