RailClone Lite/Pro 7.1.4

[Paul Roberts]

RailClone 7.1.4 is out now!

RailClone’s latest update adds non-rendering Segment and Transform nodes so you can use geometry for layout that doesn't appear in the final render, a new Randomize Order and Count mode in the Sequence operator for more sophisticated pattern creation, expressions gain new attributes, and texture paths are now easier to manage with automatic relinking and support for UNC paths.

See what's new in RailClone 7.1.4

Changelog

Segment and Transform Operators:
Added a "Renderable" option to the Deform rollout. When disabled, segments are used for construction but remain hidden in the viewport and during rendering.

Sequence Operator:
Introduced a new Randomize Order and Randomize Count options that give you much finer control over variation in sequences. With Randomize Order enabled, objects still repeat according to their Count settings, but the order in which they appear is shuffled within each group. With Randomize Count enabled, the order remains fixed, but the number of repetitions varies randomly up to the value defined in Count. If both modes are enabled, then both the number of repetitions and the order of the items are randomized, providing highly varied yet predictable results.

Spline Ops operator
Add a new mode to the Change Material ID function to increment the existing spline IDs by 1 for each sub-spline. This better mimics the same features in the SplineOffset modifier

Viewport Display:
The "Draw Spline" option under Display → Viewport now applies only to terminal generators, ie those not connected to other nodes.

Expression Attributes:
- Added "XMarkerPosition" and "YMarkerPosition", returning the normalized position of the latest RC Spline Marker.
- Added a "Seed" attribute, allowing access to the RailClone object’s Seed parameter.

Link Node Styling:
- Added the ability to modify the style of multiple Link nodes simultaneously. To use, select the desired Link nodes in the Style Editor, open the right-click menu, and choose "Link Nodes".
- Added a default Link Node style setting in Options → Preferences.

Expressions Initialization:
Expressions now default to `return 0;` as a reminder that a return statement is required

V-Ray Proxy improvements
Added registry option to use full mesh for V-Ray proxies (required for V-Ray GPU/Vantage), or the mode defined in the proxy (RC6 behaviour):

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Itoo Software\RailClone Pro\fullMeshProxy. By default is 1 (full mesh)

Update Manager Improvements
New options in Preferences allow you to change the location of the Assets folder, including support for shared network paths commonly used in studio environments. The Download folder location is now fixed to ensure consistent installation behavior, and the previous Network shared folder setting has been clarified and renamed to Packages Cache folder. Stability has also been improved when cancelling downloads or installations.

Fixes

• Corrected the evenly calculation when using multiple closed sub-splines.
• Fixed incorrect width computation for Macro nodes with multiple outputs.
• Exported UVW parameters are now correctly labeled as "U, V, W" instead of "X, Y, Z".
• Resolved an issue where a new node could be unintentionally added to the chain when dropped over a hidden wire.