Cinema 4D 2024.0.0 Release
On September the 13th, 2023, Maxon Computer released Cinema 4D 2024.0.0. Alongside this release, a new Cinema 4D SDK and SDK documentation have been released, reflecting the API changes for 2024.0.0. For an overview of the features of Cinema 4D 2024.0, please refer to the fall release announcement.
The major SDK related changes in this release are:
- The Cinema 4D C++ API has been modified substantially to improve scene execution timings. Most changes revolve around a more rigorous handling of the mutability of data. Heavily modified has been the
cinema.framworkand particularly theNodeDatatype. See Migrating Plugins to the 2024.0 API for a detailed overview on how to migrate your plugins. - C++ change notes are now presented in a new (and automated) style in the C++ documentation.
- Minor changes have been made to OCIO handling.
- Cinema 4D 2024.0 updates its CPython interpreter to version 3.11.4.
For a more in-depth overview of the changes, please refer to the Python and C++ change notes.
| C++ API | Documentation online offline |
Extended C++ SDK Win/Mac Project Tool for S24+ |
| Python API | Documentation online offline |
Extended Python SDK Cinema 4D Connector 1.0.2 |
| Cineware API (S 22.0) | Documentation online offline |
Quick Start Guide |
| SDK Asset Database | offline | – |
About the Upcoming Changes of the Cinema 4D C++ API
Dear Development Community,
As we continue to work to provide customers with industry-leading 3D solutions, Maxon will make significant changes to the API of Cinema 4D in its next major release.
This does not only include the feature additions and minor technical changes you might be accustomed to from past API releases, but also substantial changes to existing parts of the API. These changes are of technical nature and revolve around the const-correctness of the API. Primarily affected are the plugin hooks derived from NodeData and its derived interfaces in the cinema framework.
The Python API is not impacted by these changes as they do not translate into the mutable world of Python.
All developers who wish to publish their C++ plugins for this future version of Cinema 4D must make significant changes to their C++ code for it to compile. One should expect two to five times the normal workload of updating one’s plugins compared to a regular ABI breaking release such as 2023.0.0. We encourage all C++ developers with published plugins who wish to adopt their plugins early to apply for the Maxon Registered Developer (MRD) program, granting early access to future APIs and development pre-documentation. There will be no information exclusivity associated with the MRD program; non-enrolled developers will receive the same information as enrolled developers once the new API has been released.
We understand the difficulty in maintaining compatibility as we continue to make ongoing adjustments to the SDK to improve Cinema 4D and wish to assure our customers and development community that these changes are necessary and valuable. Thanks for continuing to enhance the Cinema 4D community.
Happy coding and rendering,
the Maxon SDK Group
Cinema 4D 2023.2.0 Release
On March the 29th, 2023, Maxon Computer released Cinema 4D 2023.2.0. Alongside this release, a new Cinema 4D SDK and SDK documentation have been released, reflecting the API changes for 2023.2.0. For an overview of the features of Cinema 4D 2023.2, please refer to the spring release announcement.
The major SDK related changes in this release are:
- The Visual Studio Code (VS Code) bindings for the Script Manager have been integrated into Cinema 4D, making the formerly provided Cinema 4D plugin obsolete. Required is still the VS Code extension which can be found here. For the integrated features, please refer to the user documentation of the Script Manager.
- Cinema 4D 2023.2 updates its CPython interpreter to version 3.10.8.
- The online documentation has new entry points. Please update your bookmarks. This also fixes the issue of browser caches shadowing newer content. Users will now always see the latest content while all content remains cached.
- developers.maxon.net/docs/cpp: Points to the latest Cinema 4D C++ API documentation.
- developers.maxon.net/docs/py: Points to the latest Cinema 4D Python API documentation.
- developers.maxon.net/docs/cw: Points to the latest Cineware API documentation (still S22).
- With release 2023.2, the online documentation of the Cinema 4D C++, Cinema 4D Python, and Cineware C++ APIs have been re-exposed for past versions, covering the version range R21.2 to 2023.2. Now all documentation products offer an API and version selection element in the top right corner to switch between APIs and versions.
For a more in-depth overview of the changes, please refer to the Python and C++ change notes.
| C++ API | Documentation online offline |
Extended C++ SDK Win/Mac Project Tool for S24+ |
| Python API | Documentation online offline |
Extended Python SDK Cinema 4D Connector 1.0.2 |
| Cineware API (S 22.0) | Documentation online offline |
Quick Start Guide |
| SDK Asset Database | offline | – |
The Visual Studio Code extension Cinema 4D Connector is also being published on the Extensions for Visual Studio Code marketplace. Simply search for “Cinema 4D Connector” in VS Code (Fig. I) to find and install the extension.
CMD/Ctrl + Shift + X) and type “Cinema 4D” to find the extension; then click “Install”.
Cinema 4D 2023.1.0 Release
On November the 9th, 2022, Maxon Computer released Cinema 4D 2023.1.0. Alongside this release, a new Cinema 4D SDK and SDK documentation have been released, reflecting the API changes for 2023.1.0.
The major changes in this documentation update are in C++ the addition of the Color Management and OpenColorIO manuals. In Python, the documentation of native Python magic methods such as __init__, __iter__, or __getitem__ has been updated and the c4dpy interpreter now supports more of the native CPython command line arguments.
2023.1.0 C++ SDK and API Documentation
- Extended 2023.1.0 SP1 C++ SDK
- Online 2023.1.0 C++ Documentation
- Offline 2023.1.0 C++ Documentation
- Offline 2023.1.0 SDK Asset Database
2023.1.0 Python++ SDK and API Documentation
- Extended 2023.1.0 SP1 Python SDK
- Online 2023.1.0 Python Documentation
- Offline 2023.1.0 Python Documentation
The Cinema 4D to Visual Studio Code bindings for 2023.1.0 are accessible under the following links.
2023.1.0 Extended SDKs on GitHub
- Extended Python SDK: Only minor changes in scripts/05_modules/node have been carried out reflecting changes in the Nodes API.
- Extended C++ SDK: Two plugins in example.image have been added, documenting Color Mangement and OCIO workflows with the Image API. These examples align with the two new manuals in the C++ documentation.
Cinema 4D 2023.0.0 Release
On September the 7th, 2022, Maxon Computer released Cinema 4D 2023.0.0. Alongside this release, a new Cinema 4D SDK and SDK documentation have been released, reflecting the API changes for 2023.0.0.
The major changes in this documentation update are in C++ exposure of OCIO interfaces and the added legacy plugin type symbols. In Python, minor bug fixes have been carried out and an updated version of the VS Code plugin for Cinema 4D 2023.0.0 has been provided.
Please refer to the Maxon One Fall Update notes for details on the changes of the application itself.
2023.0.0 C++ SDK and API Documentation
- Extended 2023.0.0 SP1 C++ SDK
- Online 2023.0.0 C++ Documentation
- Offline 2023.0.0 C++ Documentation
- Offline 2023.0.0 SDK Asset Database
2023.0.0 Python++ SDK and API Documentation
- Extended 2023.0.0 SP1 Python SDK
- Online 2023.0.0 Python Documentation
- Offline 2023.0.0 Python Documentation
The Cinema 4D to Visual Studio Code bindings for 2023.0.0 are accessible under the following links.