Hi everyone, we have some important news to share today!

Starting January 1st 2024, Substance 3D Stager will no longer be available for sale on Steam anymore as we are refocusing our steam offering on our 2 flagship apps: Substance 3D Painter and Substance 3D Designer.

As a show of gratitude for those of you who have purchased Stager during the past year, we will be extending the maintenance period, and you will keep receiving free updates all throughout 2024.

Your license will remain valid after the end of 2024 (even if no new updates will be released through Steam).

Thank you for your support and keep an eye out for new announcements around the Substance products in the coming months.

Release Notes[helpx.adobe.com]

Changed

• Update the CC Libraries panel
  
• Add the default environment light “Studio black light soft” as a selectable item in the starter assets panel
  
• Add a tooltip with the name of the environment light on the image swatch in environment light properties

Fixed

• Fix various minor issues with USD import and export
  
• Fix a rare issue where visible-if properties from sbsar materials would not reveal when expected
  
• Fix an issue that would cause importing meshes from glTF files to fail
  
• Fix an issue where imported lights were recognized as cameras
  
• Update the Sketchup files importer for security fixes

Release Notes[chl-author.corp.adobe.com]

Changed:

• Removed parametric Substance models (.sbsm) from the assets panel
  
• Added a warning about upcoming Structure library deprecation
  
• Added a workflow to bake Substance models into meshes when saving a document
  
• Added a preference to delete unused materials when saving a document
  
• Hid the max CPU threads option for raytracing, which isn’t working, and will be fixed in a future update

Fixed:

• Fixed an issue that could cause the gizmo to disappear when scaling down large objects
  
• Fixed a crash that could occur when using .ai files with decals
  
• Fixed a crash that could occur when auto-saving saves
  
• Fixed a rare GIF export issue
  
• Fixed an issue where a specific character would cause trouble in number inputs
  
• Fixed an issue where material opacity was unintentionally affecting material base color

Support for parametric models is being removed from Substance.

What is changing?
Substance 3D Designer has removed the functionality to create parametric objects using model graphs (called Substance models). This technology was the foundation for many parametric objects found in Substance 3D Stager’s starter assets, and allowed users to create their own graph based objects which could be saved as an SBSM format model and imported into Stager.

As the functionality for creating these objects has already been removed from Designer, Stager is now also ending support. Functionality will be removed in the next major release of Substance 3D Stager. This does not affect the rest of your saved scene, text, or basic shapes. Please convert Substance models to standard models to continue using them in future releases. (see below)

What changes will happen in Stager?

• Stager will remove Substance models from the starter assets.
  
• Stager will no longer be able to import Substance models (SBSM format).
  
• Existing documents that have saved Substance models in them will need to be converted to standard models for continued use.
  
• After the removal of Substance model support, existing documents with Substance models will continue to load, but the Substance model will be missing.

How do I convert my Substance models to standard models?
When opening a saved Stager scene (SSG format) file, Stager will automatically detect if there are Substance models in the document and offer to convert these models to standard models. This prompt will also run a second time when the document is saved.

Choose convert all in the dialog to automatically convert all Substance models to standard models.

To manually convert your objects

1. Select your parametric model in the Scene panel.
   
2. In the Actions panel, select the convert to standard model action.

2.1.1
(Released August 8th, 2023)
Summary: Security update & Bug fix release.

Changed:

• Refined denoiser and render settings
  
• Added visible-if UI for Substance properties (hides inapplicable properties)
  
• Improved handling of constants from SBSARs
  
• Updated USD schemas to include ground plane and camera backplate

Fixed:

• Fixed rendering of decals with repeated transformation
  
• Fixed USD issues with background color and spotlight
  
• Fixed disappearing environment light shadows
  
• Fixed an issue with toggling the subsurface scattering property
  
• Addressed glTF vulnerabilities
  
• Prevented circular dependencies for orbit animation

This update adds fast AI denoising, cutting render times by up to 99%. Also included are improvements to the animation and turntable authoring workflow as well as video and gif exp
AI Denoiser
The new AI denoiser leverages the GPU to deliver high quality renders in a fraction of the time it would typically take to render an image. It is now enabled by default in Render mode and should result in blazing fast renders.
Animation Polish & Video Export
Animations and turntables can now be exported directly as MP4 videos or GIFs. Editing while animating a scene is also no longer restricted to the first frame.

USD Support
USD support has been improved and now supports import and export of Stager specific elements such as the ground plane, backplates, lights and more.

V2.1.0 Full Release notes
CHANGES

• Allow scene editing while animation is playing (frame 0 editing restriction was removed)
  
• Add MP4 and GIF export for animations
  
• Update animation export time range options to allow rendering a range of frames
  
• Improve timeline time display with editable time and fps display options
  
• Update raytracing engine for bugfixes and performance enhancements
  
• Integrated faster denoiser (experimental) option for exported renders making renders faster when enabled
  
• Improve USD export/import parity
  
• Allow adding models/scenes as USDz to CC Libraries panel while objects are selected
  
• Update to Substance Engine 9
  
• Enable reading physical size data from sbsar materials
  
• Allow importing sbsar atlases (not fully supported, but now importable)
  
• Show bundled sbsar presets as items in the assets panel
  
• Show large thumbnail previews when hovering over assets in the assets panel
  
• Update to CC Libraries panel 3.23.28
  
• Add the group select button to the viewport header when a select tool is active
  
• Prevent the app from sleeping while rendering in render mode
  
• Show new busy states making it clearer that the app Is busy with tasks like displacement, shader compilation, physics collision solving

FIXES

• Fixed issues relating to decal quality
  
• Fixed an issue with USD export when the export name included spaces
  
• Fixed an issue with USD import for file exported from Maya
  
• Fixed an issue with glTF import handling of anisotropy scalars when converting to Adobe Standard Material
  
• Fixed an issue with object snapping not behaving in rare circumstances
  
• Fixed an issue with meshes with displacement not being animated while rendering in render mode
  
• Fixed issues with quality levels and anisotropy when using the real time renderer
  
• Fixed a graphics error that could happen when changing a material color while raytracing is enabled
  
• Fixed crashes that could happen when deleting, undoing, duplicating converted basic shapes with decals
  
• Fixed crashes that could happen when cutting and pasting then undo or redo
  
• Fixed an issue where animation properties would sometimes not update when expected
  
• Fixed an issue with the load textures modal was overly sensitive about casing
  
• Fixed an issue that can cause the UI to jump upward on Windows
  
• Fixed an issue where the wrong busy cursor was appearing on Windows
  
• Fixed an issue with the busy cursor remaining in a busy state
  
• Fixed an issue where the UI would freeze when adding a three-point light to the environment light
  
• Fixed an issue with the camera not behaving as expecting when zooming far out
  
• Fixed an issue where the app would crash when using the box tool on a malformed mesh
  
• Fixed an issue where exporting animation frames was making more images than necessary when the output is PNG

2.0.2
(Released April 04, 2023)
Summary: Security update, bug fix, and minor enhancements release.

Changed:

• Allow number input drag to be vertical or horizontal, only allowed horizontal before
  
• Allow 3D text font family dropdown to be navigated with up and down arrow keys
  
• Group model file extensions into a single group to make it easier to use the file picker on Windows when importing models
  
• Reduce the default gizmo size for new users
  
• Add an enable auto scroll preference in the preferences modal
  
• Make the “assign material to selection” context menu item in the project materials panel into two more explicit actions: “assign material to selected objects” and “replace selected material”
  
• Remove hard max cap from lights’ intensity properties
  
• Allow the “fit to screen” preview option in render mode to work in many more situations than before

Fixed:

• Resolved several security issues for import/export filetypes: USD
  
• Fixed a crash involving importing EPS files, the app does not support importing this type of file; importing this filetype is also removed from the UI
  
• Fixed a crash that could happen with animation and using revert to save
  
• Fixed a crash that could happen for text models converted into standard models that are duplicated
  
• Fixed an issue where ground plane information was missing when exporting as glTF
  
• Fixed an issue with loading of glTF files with draco-compressed data where the data could appear incorrectly
  
• Fixed an issue with exporting glTF where decals would not appear properly in Aero
  
• Fixed an issue with rotation order when exporting USD
  
• Fixed an issue where USD exports unexpectedly included unused materials
  
• Fixed an issue with match image where results were not correct after creating a second document in the same session
  
• Fixed an issue where a GPU could be unintentionally blocklisted preventing GPU rendering
  
• Fixed an issue where confirming dialogs could cause the UI to move upward and hide the menubar on Windows
  
• Fixed an issue where OBJs would not get imported
  
• Minor localization fixes

2.0.1

(Released March 9th, 2023)
Summary : Security update & Bug fix release.

Changed:

• Disabled file import for SVG & PCX

Fixed:

• Resolved several security issues for import/export file types: USD, SKP, OBJ, GLTF, FBX

With Substance 3D Stager 2.0 you can layout and render photorealistic 3D scenes with intuitive placement tools, material management, and image based and physical lighting systems. Stager 2.0.0 introduces new animation workflows with orbit and spin presets, CAD format import, USD format export, and more.

Turntable animations

Showcasing products and designs in 360 degrees is one of the first things needed to get stakeholders, clients, and customers aligned. Stager's newest workflows include streamlined but powerful features for producing turntable animation renders. With animation presets for both orbit and spin, you can choose to generate simple animation without any manual keyframing. Simply select the object you want to animate, apply the spin or orbit preset, and adjust the animation properties. Use the new timeline panel to preview the animation in design mode, and export image sequences in render mode. Image sequences can be combined into video in many editing apps including Adobe Premiere and Adobe Photoshop.

Learn more about Stagers animation presets[substance3d.adobe.com].

CAD import

Stager allows for the import of CAD (computer aided design) formats from many industry standard modeling tools. While import has been available for some time, it was initially restricted to users with the Substance 3D Collection plan for Enterprise companies only. This release makes CAD import available to all customers, so you can bring in your CAD data format models directly to Stager!

Supported CAD formats are: 3DM, ASM, CATPART, CATPRODUCT, IGES, IGS, JT, PRT, SLDPART, SLDASM, STP, STEP, X_T.

More format support may be added in the future and the updated list of formats can be found on the import & export formats page[substance3d.adobe.com].

Learn more about working with CAD data[substance3d.adobe.com] in Stager.



Universal Scene Description (USD) is a definition and format developed by Pixar to describe 3D data. As an open-sourced format, it's gained popularity through the 3D industry with support in Blender, Maya, Unreal Engine, Houdini, and many more tools, and is even the native file format for NVIDIA Omniverse. Substance 3D Stager can import USD files, and in the latest release can now also export data into USD format files as well. We will continue to invest into USD to make the exchange of data between Adobe and other industry standard tools seamless!

Mirror objects & negative scaling support

Working in 3D, it's quite common to want to create symmetrical or matching assets. Imagine modeling and texturing a sneaker. Rather than going through the work of doing it twice, you can simply model once, then duplicate and mirror the object. Stager now supports negative scale, which allows objects to be inverted along any axis from the properties panel. In order to facilitate quick edits, you can also use the new mirror action to mirror objects in local or global space for quick changes.

Enhancements

Stager has two rendering methods: the real time renderer exclusively specializes in lighting fast interactive preview mode, while the raytracing renderer focuses on photorealistic quality for interactive preview and final quality offline renders. The real time renderer, while not as high quality, is still often good enough for final outputs, and can be especially helpful in getting quick drafts of animations. In the latest update of Substance 3D Stager, you'll be able to choose the real time renderer as your render engine when working in render mode.


Stager now has in-app crash detection and reporting, making it easier to notify the development team about issues. Adobe, Substance, and the Stager teams are committed to creating exceptional quality software that is reliable and stable. Reporting your crashes in-app will help the team to isolate and resolve issues faster.

Release Notes

Version: 2.0.0
(Released January 31, 2023)
Summary : Animation presets, CAD import, USD export, mirror action, and more.



[Animation] Added new orbit animation preset with duration, target, reverse, and easing controls.
[Animation] Added new spin animation preset with duration, target, reverse, and easing controls.
[Animation] Added new timeline panel for previewing animation with play, stop, and scrub controls.
[Animation] Added new interface controls in render mode for exporting animations as image sequences of PNG or PSD (one image per frame of animation).
[Render mode] Added ability to use the real time rendering engine while in render mode for quick exports and fast animation previews.
[Import] CAD formats are now available for import for all users.
[USD export] Added support for exporting geometry, normals, transforms, and hierarchy information.
[USD export] Added support for exporting materials in USD preview surface definition. Best for use with external apps.
[USD export] Added support for exporting materials in Adobe Standard Material definition. Best for use with Adobe apps.
[USD export] Added support for exporting cameras including transform, field of view, and depth of field information.
[USD export] Added support for exporting environment lighting. Multiple layers in Stager's environment system will be baked on export to a single environment light.
[USD export] Added support for exporting physical light objects (spot, point, area, and directional light objects).
[USD export] Added support for exporting ground plane information. Note, Stager's ground plane is unique and may not import to other apps.
[USD import] Added support for reading visibility of objects when importing USD files.
[Crash reporting] Added new workflows for in-app reporting of crashes. The crash reporting window will show on application restart.
[Actions] Added new actions for mirroring selected objects in global and local space. Choose axis orientation (X, Y, Z).
[Properties] Added support for negative scale in the properties panel. Allows inverting and flipping meshes.
[Rendering] Added support for negative scaling in the rendering engine. Previously inverted meshes would render with graphic issues.
[Preference] Added a preference for setting the default resolution of SBSAR materials. The default preference is 1024.
[Starter assets] Updated and added new parametric models to the starter assets.


[Rendering] Fixed an issue where background images would move position` when completing a render.
[Rendering] Fixed an issue where background images could get distorted when rendering with cameras of different resolutions.
[Memory] Fixed an issue where editing a decal with raytracing on would consume GPU and not release it after the edit.
[Crash] Fixed a crash when converting parametric objects to standard objects then using undo/redo.
[Crash] Fixed a crash when using the revert to save command then using undo/redo.
[CC Libraries] Fixed an issue where images from CC Libraries didn't refresh or update after being edited.
[Cameras] Fixed a bug where depth of field setting sometimes could not be edited.
[Publish] Fixed an issue where the default name for publishing scenes was not using the current document name.
[UI] Fixed an issue where drawing with a shape tool could sometimes disable the ability to switch to render mode.