We are excited to announce Real IES 3.4, a major update that introduces two brand new utilities requested directly by our users: Real IES Duo and the Real IES Metadata Tool. These additions mark a significant milestone in the evolution of Real IES, opening up new possibilities for technical artists, lighting designers, and developers alike.
Real IES Duo is Now Fully Integrated
Real IES Duo is no longer in Beta. First introduced as a lightweight experimental tool, it has now been fully integrated into the Real IES installer starting from version 3.4. Duo allows the combination of two photometric .ies profiles into a single light emitter, enabling more advanced and realistic lighting setups with just one light source, provided your target rendering software supports 360° emitters.
The benefits of Real IES Duo include:
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Greater creative control: Merge multiple photometric distributions to achieve complex lighting behaviors that were previously difficult or impossible with a single IES file.
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Optimized performance: Maintain a low number of draw calls while using realtime rendering (if your engine supports 360° feature).
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Experimental lighting workflows: Easily test new combinations of IES profiles for custom artistic or technical lighting solutions.
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Time-saving for artists: Quickly combine and adjust IES lights without duplicating geometry or scene complexity.
With Duo fully integrated, users now have access to a seamless workflow, directly from Real IES, that was previously only available in private beta. The tool is ideal for technical artists, lighting artists, and video game developers who demand precision and efficiency in their photometric lighting setups.
Real IES Metadata Tool as a User-Requested Integration
The Real IES Metadata Tool is a feature requested repeatedly by our user community. This utility provides a clean, intuitive interface to edit, manage, and backup metadata inside .ies files, such as manufacturer, issue date, and custom tags, while keeping the photometric data intact.
Key features include:
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Traceable edits: All modifications automatically preserve references to the original metadata, ensuring transparency and compliance.
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Automatic backups: Every edited file is accompanied by a backup copy of the original, safeguarding original data.
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Seamless integration: The tool can be launched directly from Real IES, enabling an uninterrupted workflow.
By integrating this tool, we respond directly to user feedback and provide greater control over photometric file management, a necessity for professional workflows in design, lighting, and simulation.
A Milestone in Real IES Development
Both of these new utilities represent a new era for Real IES. The Metadata Tool and Duo open doors for future expansions, enabling more complex workflows and custom lighting solutions. Real IES has been in development since 2015, and after years of stable releases, this update brings a substantial expansion of capabilities while keeping the core reliability our users have trusted for years.
As always, all updates, minor or major, remain free for users who purchased Real IES. This is a policy we have maintained since version 1.0 in 2015. This ensures that everyone who has supported the project over the years continues to benefit from our latest features and improvements.
