Cinema 4D S26 Release
On April the 20th, 2022, Maxon Computer released Cinema 4D S26. Alongside that release, the new SDK and documentation have been released, reflecting the API changes for S26.
Cinema 4D S26 now provides the ability to integrate Visual Studio Code with the Script Manager of Cinema 4D to load, run, and debug Cinema 4D scripts from VS Code. The features are documented more extensively in the Cinema 4D Connector documentation. Added was also an SDK asset database which contains assets used by the C+ SDK. Please refer to the release notes of S26 for an overview of the newly introduced features of S26 itself.
S26 C++ SDK and API Documentation
- Extended S26 C++ SDK
- Online S26 C++ Documentation
- Offline S26 C++ Documentation
- Offline S26 SDK Asset Database
S26 Python++ SDK and API Documentation
- Extended S26 Python SDK
- Online S26 Python Documentation
- Offline S26 Python Documentation
- Cinema 4D Connector – Visual Studio Code Extension
- Cinema 4D Connector – Cinema 4D Plugin
SDK Asset Database
The SDK asset database is currently only used by the C++ Asset API examples in the C++ SDK. It is therefore only necessary to provide access to that database when the Asset API examples must be run. The C++ SDK can be built without access to that database.
On systems with unrestricted internet access, no further steps are required to run examples that make use of the SDK asset database, as the database will be downloaded and mounted automatically on such machines. On systems with no or restricted internet access, users can download the database and mount it manually to run all SDK examples. The provided database archive must be unpacked, and the contained *.db file must then be mounted in the preferences of the Asset Browser (see Fig. 1).
Cineware SDK 22.008 (Build #355130)
A Cineware SDK update for Cinema 4D R25 has been released and it’s available for download.
Main changes (see full changelist) in the new release are:
- Support for Apple Silicon-based hardware
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.
Comments can be posted on PluginCafe
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.