Blender LTS 4.2 is Now Available
The large-scale update is headlined by a rewritten version of rendering engine EEVEE, and also arrives with improvements to Cycles, a new "Extensions" platform, and more.
The Blender Foundation has released an update for Blender LTS, bringing new features and improvements that run the gamut, from lighting to a new, drag-and-drop “Extensions” platform.
Headlining Blender LTS 4.2 is a “completely rewritten” version of rendering engine EEVEE, which now supports global illuminations and real displacement, improves subsurface scattering, and enables users to view motion blur through the 3D Viewport.
Cycles have been improved, by way of “thin film interference” for reflections and transmission, ray portals for the transport of light in scenes, and other features that together aim to help users create better renders more quickly.
A new “Extensions” platform compiles add-ons and themes into a singular location, and offers drag-and-drop installation from extensions.blender.org, an offline mode, and automatic updates.
The Compositor is now faster, Blender Foundation says, with the ability to use GPU acceleration. It also supports additional nodes – Fog Glow Glare, Legacy Cryptomatte, Fast Gaussian Blur – in the Viewport.
Geometry Nodes have been given some love, with a new matrix socket type that helps with “custom geometry operations”, multi-threading optimizations, and new interactive features that help users more precisely control Node Tools.
A holistic facelift to the Video Sequencer encompasses “design, tools, and performance” – with Strips now featuring rounded corners for improved visibility, for example, and tools that help users streamline editing, be notified of missing source files, and create better text strips.
Additionally, Blender LTS 4.2 has integrated Khronos’ new tone mapper into the software, which helps more accurately represent colors in renders. It also arrives with improvements, optimizations, or new additions to Collections, Constraints, Armatures, the Outliner, Motion Paths, and the UI – among many others.
As with most Blender releases, you’ll need to take some time with the full release notes to fully appreciate the scale and specifics of just how the software has evolved, so be sure to head over and give them a read when you’ve got the time.
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