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11 Chaos Corona

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Chaos Corona 11

Realism without the headaches.

Corona is the only render engine built from the ground up with a specific focus on the needs of the archviz community. While capable and well-liked in the fields of automotive and product visualization, its UI, feature set, pricing, and ease of use are primarily driven by what architectural visualizers require.

While remaining unique with its own development team, code, and community, Corona now also benefits from being part of the Chaos platform, giving its users access to many of the industry-standard tools created by Chaos.

Corona

Corona At a Glance

Realism without the headaches.

  • What it is: Intuitive, easy-to-use rendering engine optimized for designing high-quality, ultra-realistic projects that can be used for still images and animations.
  • Who uses Corona? Architectural visualization, Automotive and product design, Television ads, and title sequences.
  • Why Corona? Usability is Chaos Corona’s most powerful feature. Render setup is as simple as pressing “Render”.

What is the difference between Chaos’ Renderers?

Chaos V-Ray, Corona, Enscape, and Vantage are all rendering and simulation software products, but they differ in their features, industry, and user needs. Learn which renderer is right for you!

V-Ray
Corona
Enscape
Vantage

Corona comes in 2 tiers: Solo and Premium.

Solo is for artists who want to render on a single computer. Premium is ideal for customers who want access to floating licenses so they can move from computer to computer, and also have access to Chaos® companion products such as Phoenix, Player, and Scans.

Easy to use

Usability is Chaos Corona’s most powerful feature. Render setup is as simple as pressing “Render”. Most new users learn Corona in just one day — and fall in love with it in two.

Affordable

We aim to keep Chaos Corona affordable and accessible to as many people as possible, without compromising on its development and features.

Part of an ecosystem

As a Corona user, you are backed by the award-winning Chaos family. Expand your capabilities with Chaos tools guaranteed to integrate smoothly with your favorite render engine.

What’s new in Corona 11

More creative freedom and faster results with procedural tiles, new Scatter controls, detailed Edge Map/shader, Pyro simulations, streamlined workflows, improved denoising, filtering, and more.

Corona Tile Map

Easily create stunning bathrooms, kitchens, walls, and floors with procedural tiles thanks to the Corona Tile Map.

Now, you can use bitmaps or procedural maps to define the colors of the tiles and repeat, randomize, or even “pixellate” an image onto the tiles, depending on your needs. The Corona MappingRandomizer and MultiMap now come with “by tile id” modes, so that you can randomize results by each tile if desired.

Corona Tile Map also lets you create multiple inputs and outputs, which means one tile map can be used to control results for color, glossiness, bump, displacement, and more, rather than having to keep several different tile maps in sync.

Scatter Altitude

Define upper and lower limits for scattering, creating more realistic and captivating nature scenes with Scatter Altitude. For example, you can set upper and lower limits for treeline, and waterline, and scatter some clouds around mountain tops without affecting the lower part of the scene.

Scatter Look At

You can now have scattered items look in the same direction quickly and easily using Scatter Look At.

A prime example would be scattered people looking at a stage, or fish in a tank swimming in the same direction.

Edge Map/Edge Shader

Easily apply effects like weathering and staining to the edges of objects with Edge Map/Edge Shader. This is particularly useful for objects with no thickness like leaves, photos, maps, paper, etc.

The new Edge Map/Edge Shader creates a color gradient based on how far away a point is from a geometric edge.

Pyro

Add an extra layer of action to your scenes with smoke, fire, and other simulations thanks to Pyro. With our new Pyro support, you no longer need to run the simulation, export it to OpenVDB, and then load it back into the scene. Everything is done seamlessly directly in Corona for Cinema 4D.

Corona Power Tools

Corona 11 for 3ds Max comes with a set of handy scripts called Corona Power Tools, designed to speed up and replace repetitive and tedious design adjustments.

For example, the Replace Selection tool, allows you to easily swap a set of similar objects with different ones (i.e. chairs in a room).

In addition, with the randomization feature in Corona Power Tools, you can jiggle these objects around to achieve higher realism.

Other abilities in the Corona Power Tools allow the adjusting of pivot points, and more, and are quite useful in many different scenarios.

Other improvements

  • Improved Normal / Bump filtering reduces the loss of detail in those channels that can come with using a smaller render resolution or moving an object further away from the camera.
  • Experience enhanced results with the new Intel Denoiser, now compatible with CPU and NVIDIA GPU.
  • Users can now take advantage of the color management options offered by the latest versions of Cinema 4D and 3ds Max.
  • Corona 11 for Cinema 4D also comes with an improved Lister feature.

Chaos Corona 11 Overview

Ease of use

Usability is our most powerful feature. Render setup is really as simple as pressing “Render”. Most new users learn Corona in just one day — and fall in love with it in two.

Rendering

Chaos Corona delivers predictable, reliable, and physically plausible results with no compromises in quality. Realistic lighting and materials, including caustics, are yours right out of the box. Our Forum and Gallery section provide great examples of this.

Powerful workflow tools

The output quality and speed are not the only things that make a great renderer. That is why Corona comes with many “little” workflow tweaks that will make your life much easier.

Render-ready content

chaos corona 11 render ready

Time is money, so you need to create your scenes quickly and easily. Corona comes with a substantial collection of premade content – from models and assets, to skies and materials – which will help you build your world in record-quick time.

Lights

corona 10 lighting

The whole process of creating lights is designed to give artists complete control over their scene, while being fast and intuitive. Corona pioneered the most modern procedural Sky in any render engine, creating everything from dawn/dusk to full noon. A variety of other light types and support for many native 3ds Max and Cinema 4D lights give users all the options they need, while LightMix lets them adjust the color and intensity of lights before, during, and after rendering.

  • Accurate lights
  • Global Illumination
  • Procedural sun and sky
  • Adaptive light sampling
  • LightMix

Speed & interactivity

A usable renderer must always deliver final results as fast as possible and react to the user’s actions in a split second. And that is what we are always looking for.

Materials

corona 11 materials

Our design goal for Corona materials is to make them physically based, yet intuitive, flexible, and easy to set up. Many V-Ray materials can be rendered without conversion. Presets within the Physical Material and complete materials in the Corona Material Library, Chaos Cosmos, and Chaos Scans mean users never have to start from scratch.

  • Physically based materials
  • Corona Hair material
  • Metalness
  • Displacement
  • Corona Converter
  • Corona Material Library
  • Chaos Cosmos
  • Chaos Scans

Flexibility

We understand how important it is to be able to “bend” physical laws to deliver the results your clients expect. So Corona supports numerous reality hacks which allow you to get exactly the effect you desire.

Ecosystem

Welcome to the Chaos family! As a Corona user, you are backed by the Oscar and Emmy award-winning brand, and you can expand your capabilities with essential tools, guaranteed to integrate smoothly with your favorite render engine…

Atmospheric & volumetric effects

corona atmospheric

Users can choose between simple and fast-rendering volume effect in the Corona Sky to simulate atmospheric haze or the full control of a volumetric material for more complex results.

  • Volume rendering
  • Aerial Perspective
  • Crepuscular rays
  • fog
  • mist

Distributed rendering

chaos corona 11 distributed rendering

Rendering with multiple computers at once is essential for any real production. Corona facilitates this in multiple ways – for example it has its own distributed rendering system, and it is compatible with the Backburner and Thinkbox’s Deadline render farm management systems.

Proudly CPU based

Chaos Corona does not need any special hardware to run. It uses the CPU and you can run it on any processor from Intel or AMD released in the past decade.

3ds Max Full Feature List

Cinema 4D Full Feature List

Ecosystem – Chaos Corona Premium subscription

Your Chaos Corona Premium subscription includes several powerful Chaos tools that will expand what you can tackle in your projects and help with your workflow.

The following three Chaos tools are included in your Corona Premium subscription, though they are also still available to purchase separately too.

Chaos Phoenix (3ds Max only)

Add drama and interest to your scenes with realistic simulations of fire, water, oceans, and more. Chaos Phoenix is an artist-friendly tool for creating all types of dynamic effects.

And it’s not just for VFX. In arch-viz, it’s perfect for creating pools, fountains, and fireplaces. For automotive specialists, it can help you burn some rubber in your next car animation. There are a million ways to use the power of the Phoenix!

Chaos Scans

There are some materials that are impossible to recreate with any number of parameters and maps in a generalized material, as they have a unique way of responding to light. This is where Chaos Scans comes in. Each material in the library is meticulously scanned to capture how it interacts with light so that you can drag and drop it into your scene for 100% accuracy in both look and scale.

This comes into its own with materials such as leather, clothing fabrics, car paints, and reflective and holographic materials. With just a click you can add these materials to your scene, confident that you are recreating reality without spending hours trying to build the material for yourself.

Chaos Player

Your frames just finished rendering. Now you want a fast and easy way to review your animation. That’s what Chaos Player is built for. Simply load your rendered sequence and hit play.

In addition to its smooth and fast playback, Chaos Player includes tools for quick compositing, color corrections, and collaboration. It’s perfect for reviews and approvals.

Corona – Which tier is right for you?

Corona Solo

$358.80 / Year

Fixed license on one computer
All Corona integrations
Support
Chaos Cosmos content library
Chaos Phoenix
Chaos Player
Chaos Scans

Corona Premium

$478.80 / Year

Floating license on any computer
All Corona integrations
Support
Chaos Cosmos content library
Chaos Phoenix
Chaos Player
Chaos Scans

Basic Facts

  • Corona Renderer is entirely CPU-based (with optional GPU denoising which requires a compatible NVIDIA GPU)
  • Offers unbiased and biased rendering
  • One license works with both 3ds Max and Cinema 4D

Hardware Requirements

  • Corona requires a CPU that supports the SSE 4.1 instruction set.
    Only very old CPUs don’t support it: Here is a list of compatible CPUs.
  • To use our optional Preview Denoisers during interactive rendering, you need:
    • For the NVIDIA GPU AI denoiser: an NVIDIA GPU with Maxwell or newer architecture and the newest GPU driver. Not all mobile GPUs are supported.
    • For the Intel CPU / GPU AI denoiser: an NVIDIA GPU with Volta, Turing, Ampere, Ada Lovelace, Hopper, or newer architecture or an AMD GPU with RDNA2 (Navi 21 only), RDNA3 (Navi 3x), or newer architecture.
      Note: these denoisers are optional, and Corona works fine even if they are not installed. We also offer a High Quality denoiser, which utilizes purely the CPU, and this denoiser can be used on any computer which can run Corona.
  • There are no further specific hardware requirements.

Software Requirements

3dsMax version

  • Autodesk 3ds Max x64 version 2016 -2024
  • 64-bit Microsoft Windows (10 or newer)
  • Installation requires administrator privileges
  • Distributed rendering also requires Autodesk Backburner, available for free from Autodesk

Cinema 4D version

  • 64-bit MAXON Cinema 4D R17-2024
  • 64-bit Microsoft Windows (10 or newer) or macOS (10.14 or newer)
  • Installation requires administrator privileges

AI Denoiser

  • To ensure smooth operation and best performance for Interactive Denoisers (NVIDIA OptiX and Intel OIDN), please make sure you are using the newest driver available for your graphics card. The drivers can be downloaded from nvidia.com and amd.com.

What hardware do you recommend?

Corona is a CPU-only renderer, so the more powerful CPU you use, the faster renders you get. You can compare the performance of various CPU models here: https://corona-renderer.com/benchmark/results

Another well-known website with various CPU benchmarks is https://www.cpubenchmark.net/

The above benchmark results are proportional to the rendering performance in Corona, so you can define your budget and pick a CPU with the highest score within that budget.

 

You will also need a decent graphics card, however, it’s only needed for good viewport performance in your host software (3ds Max or Cinema 4D). Rendering in Corona is purely CPU-based

You will also need as much RAM as possible. Nowadays, 32 GB is the bare minimum and 64 is the standard. If you can get even more, you will be able to render even more complex scenes without running into any issues.

 

We do not really have any recommended hardware manufacturers or partners. You are however welcome to post on our forum, where our users can suggest some specific hardware manufacturers and models: https://forum.corona-renderer.com/index.php?board=32.0

Corona 11 (Hotfix 1) for 3ds Max

This hotfix addresses some specific issues and all Corona 11 users for 3ds Max are recommended to download it.
Download now: https://corona-renderer.com/download

The issues are:

  • Fixed a crash with the nodes group replacement in ObjectReplacer.
  • Fixed issue where sun is disconnected from its target after loading a scene.
  • Fixed DrServer crashing, when passing `–noGui` switch.
  • Fixed color picker stuttering when changing values via HWB.
  • Fixed crash when Chaos Scatter distributes empty Corona Proxy.
  • Fixed issue where color picker was causing infinite restarts of IR and could display value with alpha < 1, when alpha was not being modified.
  • Fixed rare crash in Scanned Material.
  • Fixed issue where switching from one color swatch to another would change to color of the original color swatch.
  • Fixed issue in DR where the values for 3ds Max version and maximum directory size were not remembered between sessions.
  • (Scatter) Fixed issue where using Isolate would lead Scatter to recompute and thus slow down viewport interaction.
  • (Scatter) Fixed an issue with the improper display of the edge trimming tip.
  • (Scatter) Fixed incorrect edge trimming for instances of hierarchical/group models.
  • (Scatter) Fixed edge trimming map usage detection for the hierarchical/group models.
  • (Improvement) Added Gamma Correction tone mapping operator.

There are no other changes.

 


New in Corona 11

  • Easily create stunning bathrooms, kitchens, walls, and floors with procedural tiles thanks to Corona Tile Map
  • Define upper and lower limits for scattering, creating more realistic nature scenes with Scatter Altitude (i.e. treeline, waterline, cloudy mountaintops)
  • Fast and easy way to have scattered items look in the same direction using Scatter Look At (i.e. people watching a movie screen, fish swimming in a tank)
  • Easily apply effects like weathering and staining to the edges of objects with Edge Map/Edge shader
  • Enhance your scenes with smoke, fire, and other Pyro simulations directly in Corona for Cinema 4D
  • Take advantage of our new Corona Power Tools in Corona for 3ds Max allowing you to speed up the design process, including Object Replacer, Selection Randomizer, and adjusting of pivot points
  • Reduce the loss of detail in those channels that can come with using a smaller render resolution or moving an object further away from the camera by using the Improved Normal / Bump filtering
  • Enjoy improved results with the new Intel Denoiser which can run on CPU or NVIDIA GPU.
  • Take advantage of the color management options offered by the latest version of 3ds Max and Cinema 4D

Full Release Notes

Corona 10

  • Easily add cracks, dirt, stickers, etching, embossing, and more thanks to individual control over the material channels (Diffuse, Displacement, Metalness, etc.) affected by a Corona Decal.
  • Fly cameras through smoke and clouds, or have them half-submerged in water with accurate rendering from Cameras inside volumetric materials such as those from Phoenix simulations.
  • Brighter, more accurate Caustics when rendering to large resolutions.
  • Greatly improved highlight blurring when using Depth of Field.
  • Easily find and adjust scatters, lights, proxies, displacement, and cameras using the new Listers.
  • Apply the same Triplanar, Color Correction, or Mapping Randomizer to multiple maps at once with new multi input and output options. No longer will you have to edit multiple nodes or spend time setting up control nodes to keep different maps in sync.

Full release notes

 

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