Insydium has shown previews of NeXus for Blender, its GPU-based particle simulation system that was previously exclusive to Cinema 4D. The Blender version promises to be faster than the original, while maintaining all features: particles, granular fluids, liquids, and gases. It will be available under a perpetual license and is compatible with AMD, Apple, Intel, and NVIDIA GPUs via Vulkan.
Vulkan as the foundation for cross-platform performance 🚀
NeXus leverages Vulkan to run on GPUs from different manufacturers without relying exclusively on CUDA or Metal. This allows particle and fluid simulation to run smoothly on varied hardware, from AMD cards to Apple's M chips. The fact that the Blender version surpasses Cinema 4D's in speed suggests a deep optimization of the calculation engine, something C4D users might view with some surprise.
Cinema 4D users eye their own rearview mirror with suspicion 😅
While C4D artists faithfully pay their subscription, Blender users are preparing to receive a faster NeXus with a perpetual license. The irony is that the flagship simulation plugin for Cinema 4D now runs better on the free competing software. Some C4D users are already calculating how much it costs to switch programs, and the calculator isn't giving them happy numbers.