Cinema 4D R25 SP1 Release
On Dec the 13th, 2021, Maxon released Cinema 4D R25 SP1 (version 25.113). Please refer to the official article on the Maxon Website for further details. You can find the updated documentation for both the C++ and Python Cinema 4D SDK under the following links:
Major changes:
- Search box now accept special characters
- Improved documentation for messages with the new Message System manual.
- Added Symbols manual, explaining what symbols are and how they are imported.
C++:
Python:
Cinema 4D R25 Hotfix 01
On October 25th, 2021, Maxon released Cinema 4D Release 25 Hotfix 1 (R25.015). Please refer to the official article on the Maxon Website for further details. You can find the updated documentation for the C++ under the following links:
C++:
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Cinema 4D R25 Release
On September 14th, 2021, Maxon released Cinema 4D Release 25 (R25.010). Please refer to the official article on the Maxon Website for further details. You can find the updated documentation for both the C++ and Python Cinema 4D SDK under the following links:
C++:
Python:
Concerning plugin binary compatibility, plugins that were built for previous version should be recompiled with R25. S24 ProjectTool should be used and is available in the download section. See C++ documentation for more information.
Python plugins are compatible however 1000 symbols are deprecated. Find 25 Python Deprecated Symbols Finder, a utility tool aimed to find all Python symbols being deprecated in R25.
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Cinema 4D S24 SP1 Release
On June the 23rd, 2021, Maxon released Cinema 4D S24 SP1 (version 24.111). Please refer to the official article on the Maxon Website for further details. You can find the updated documentation for both the C++ and Python Cinema 4D SDK under the following links:
C++:
Python:
Cinema 4D S24 Released
Cinema 4D Subscription Release 24 (S24) includes functionality to easily browse and obtain models, materials and other assets, and to intuitively place them within the scene. The release also includes key workflow enhancements and a sneak peek at the continued progress on the Scene Nodes and Scene Manager interfaces to the new core.
- new Placement Tools,
- new Asset Manager,
- new Scene Manager / Scene Nodes (Technology Preview),
- new moves version, and
- enhancement on animation, viewport, exchange, UV, workflow, and more.
Visit Maxon’s website for a complete list of new features and updates.
Concerning the C++ and Python APIs, the most significant changes are:
- Python update to 3.9.1
- Node API is public for both C++ and Python:
- implementing custom user nodes
- providing an interface for a graph
- iterating over each node and port in a graph
- instantiating a node
- removing a node
- grouping nodes
- setting and getting a node property
- retrieving the value of a port.
- C++ list of changes
- Python list of changes
Concerning plugins binary compatibility
Plug-ins that were built for R23 should work with S24. They require to be rebuild against the R24 API in only a few cases. See C++ documentation for more informations.
A new ProjectTool is available in the download section.
Examples on GitHub have been updated.
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first time around?
Pick the right API for the right job
The very first thing you will need to do is choose which API will suit your needs.
Cinema 4D has… three APIs, the first two may be used to add functionality and are part of the product’s distribution:
- C++
The C++ SDK is what is used internally by the development team to write all our product’s functionalities. It is robust reliable and the obvious choice for commercial plugins. The C++ SDK offers the most extended capabilities of all APIs. Yet, if you are new in software development the learning curve may be a bit too steep. Then you probably want to have a look at the scripting languages. - Python
Python is a scripting languages. It is a good choice for TDs, easier, more flexible to use than the C++ API, but the feature set exposed is a bit less extended. In general Python provides the means for very rapid development. On the other hand your sources are harder to protect in Python, your algorithms are easily exposed to all for reading. - Cineware
Cineware is a bit different, as it provides means to exchange data with the “outside world”. It can be downloaded on this site.
Find information
All APIs have their own documentation which can be downloaded from this website. That documentation contains two things: articles explaining concepts and a functional documentation of the header files. The later is generated directly from our sources and is written by our development team. We publish relevant articles on our plugin development blog. These articles eventually find their way into the API documentation.
The first place to look is on your chosen API’s page. We will explain how to setup your development environment and get results fast.
Find help
We all need help once in a while. For this we have the Plugin Café forum where all are invited to ask questions and provide answers. Our support engineers will do their best to provide a solution to your problem.