What's new in RailClone 5

RailClone 5 included several impressive new features designed to open up he posibilities of the plugin. Here's what's new.

Enhanced Deformation Control with Banking Controls​

In the latest version of RailClone 5, deformation control has been significantly enhanced with the introduction of banking controls. Now, you can easily manipulate the banking angle along any point of a spline by using the RC Spline modifier and adding easy-to-edit gizmos. Twisting, turning, and smooth deformations are now as simple as rotating a marker. Moreover, banking interpolation is not rigid; it's a flexible value that can range from linear to smooth.

The flexibility extends to overriding or disabling banking per segment. This feature is particularly useful for situations where you need to combine banking and non-banking geometry, as demonstrated in the rollercoaster example. In addition, if you're looking for further granularity, RailClone 5 allows you to add multiple RC Spline markers and dictate the generator's banking angle, enabling separate objects on a single spline to have completely different banking angles.

Introduction of Light and Group Distribution​

Since the addition of light scattering in Forest Pack 7, there has been a high demand for similar functionality in RailClone. RailClone 5 fulfils this demand by enabling the distribution of lights and other non-geometric objects. This feature is especially robust when using rendering engines like Corona and V-Ray, where MultiTexture or RailClone Colour maps can be employed to randomise the light colours.

Notably, RailClone 5 doesn't just stop at distributing lights; it also allows you to distribute groups containing a mix of geometric and non-geometric objects. For instance, lampposts and cars can now be grouped and then effortlessly distributed along pavements.

"Caching Options" for Improved Workflow​

When working with complex RailClone objects, the process of rebuilding can be a drag on file operations. To mitigate this, RailClone 5 introduces several caching options that retain the geometry's instancing power and advanced effects without sacrificing speed. Two modes are available: one saves the cache directly into the scene, affecting the file size but cutting down on calculation time; the other saves the cache to an external file, thus preserving the scene's file size while eliminating calculation time. The latter also enables re-use of the object in multiple scenes.

Refined Evenly Modes and Drop-Down Lists​

RailClone 5 now allows you to distribute objects at regularly spaced intervals along the spline with either an odd or even number of objects, thanks to its Adaptive Evenly modes. Moreover, the software now supports drop-down lists in the Modify panel, allowing users to select from predefined terms for a variety of attributes, thus streamlining the modification process.

Advanced Markers and Clipping Features​

In addition to the new banking controls, the existing markers have been improved to control a range of generator parameters. This is particularly useful when working with features like Extend X/Y Size to Area mode. Clipping has also seen significant changes, especially in how composed segments and nested generators are handled in relation to booleans.

Versatile Limit by Material ID Lists​

One more notable feature in RailClone 5 is the newly flexible Material ID lists. You're no longer confined to a single ID value; now, you can enter a text-based, comma-separated list of IDs or even define a range.

Additional Features and Enhancements​

RailClone 5 is also packed with other minor features and improvements that extend its capabilities and usability. From removing segment limits and improved tangent alignment on curved splines to new section count variables in expressions, there's a lot more to explore in this new version.