The next major generation of WinOSi will have complete new density estimation algorithms for better image quality and more speed!!!

New Features:
- stochastic reflection model (see Tips & Hints)
- Multimaterial PolyMeshes now fully supported
- PolyMesh Smoothing (see Gallery)
- enhanced color balancing for stochastic reflection

Optimizations:
- Octree memory management optimized by Nathan Cain:
- = resulting speed factor: ~120%

Bug fixes:
- scenes without lights don't make the renderer crash
- missing textures don't make the renderer crash
- color balancing works correct now when continueing render
- buffer overflow at long tokens fixed

New stochastic light distribution routines:
- higher physical accuracy
- faster convergence
New fast and precise random number generator
Some small bug-fixes, optimizations and clean-ups
= resulting speed factor: 110-150%

Optimizations: (thanks to Dmitry Omelchenko aka tigra)
- fresnel formula
- random direction generation
- photon search
- = resulting speed factor: 107-117%

Bug fixes:
- Backface culling works now in C++ mode too.

New Features:
- Texture filenames can be given without extension
- new modular vmd-loader for better compatibility

Optimizations:
- complete new BSP-tree accelerated raytracing engine "RaVi":
- = resulting speed factor: Illum2 (20 Primitives) >130%, Bighouse (12,000 Triangles) >14200(!)%

Bug fixes:
- Bugs in generating random directions fixed.
- Normal calculation on cone fixed.
- absorption is now used in lighting pass.
- many small fixes and enhancements

Other changes:
- simple raytracing and direct OSi rendering modes are not supported any more.
- function primitive doesn't render in this release.

New Features:
- automatic white balance for faster color convergence
- JPEG and TARGA images can be used for textures now.
- better wavelength/RGB conversion for brighter mixcolors (yellow, cyan, ...)

Optimizations:
- unified and optimized raytracing engine for all tracing tasks:
- = resulting speed factor: Ray3: 125%, Prism6: 144%

Bug fixes:
- handling of .vmd-files with phong-normals and smoothing groups
- normal directions / face orientations of triangle/polygon-meshes
- renderer is stopped when closing window, instead of crash
- cos_Z distribution now actually uses the z value instead of y!

Bug fixes:
- TriMesh object works now (but must not have smoothing groups)
- ring primitive can be used as light source now

New Features:
- Merge Projects (see Parallel Computing)
- Matrix transformations in scene files
- seperate SpecDepth setting for viewing pass (see ..Sample..)

Optimizations:
- DiffShots Setting fixed to 1 (see Performance)

Bug fixes:
- cube primitive can be used as light source now

New Features:
- higher image-resolutions than 320x240 are now supported
- new primitives: Torus and Paraboloid
- new polygon-mesh object
- u/v-texture coordinates for all primitives
- math-formula-interpreter for the function primitive

Optimizations:
- normal calculation at light sources and intersection points
- hits on perfect absorbers or purely specular surfaces are no longer stored in the hitbuffer
- = resulting speed factor: Ray1: 120%, Prism6: 213%

Bug fixes:
- color-transformation
- display of rendering times >99 hours
- crash at image settings without image
- menu disabling prevents crash at loading project or start/continue rendering without scene
- clipping of 'out-of-screen' hits in direct mode
- refraction at near perpendicular angles
- light transport between two points on the same surface
- total inner reflection

Other changes:
- complete new, modular, object oriented internal primitive handling routines
- file format has changed (sorry, old scene-files must be translated by hand.)
- coordinate system is now right-handed with Z-axis pointing up like in AutoCAD or 3D-Studio

This was the first public release after three years of development.