Radzilla core

Radzilla started with alternative versions of the classic Radiance rendering programs rpict, rvu and rtrace which provide additional features and modules. Below, some characteristic aspects are summarized. For more info, click on the 'Features' link above.
Schematic overview (rendering core)

Code restructuring
The majority of the Radzilla core consists out of original Radiance code, which is just rearranged, modularized and grouped into C++ classes. The idea was to get aquainted with C++ and object oriented programming, nothing more. Radiance itself is highly optimized, so there is simply no need to rewrite everything.
Increased Flexibility
Radzilla offers a higher degree of flexibility and modularization, e.g. with the possibility to set individual render parameters for each light source, or with the 'scene' primitive, which lets you insert a full scene including light sources and a different set of render parameters.
New Material and Modifier Primitives
A handful of new modifiers have been introduced, offering more (or easier) ways to modify surface and medium properties, generate falsecolor output for selected objects, perform semitransparent image mapping etc.
New Modules
Radzilla currently contains the 'Photon Map', a forward raytracer routine written by Roland Schregle at Fraunhofer ISE, Freiburg, an optional 'New Source Partitioning Scheme' and the 'Direct Cache', an optimization strategy for scenes containing many light sources.
Full compatibility with classic Radiance
Radzilla supports all geometry and material/modifier primitives, all parameters and the octree structure of Radiance classic, i.e. it accepts any valid Radiance input. It also produces the same output format (a Radiance 'pic').
The word 'full' has to be taken cum grano salis. In turn of continuing development on both branches, you will unfortunately find the one or the other newly added Radiance classic option which is not supported yet by Radzilla.

GUI frontend

Since end of 2005, a GUI frontend is available, which now contains interfaces for octree generation, previewing, rendering, parameter and viewfile editing, image viewing, filtering, exporting/importing and tonemapping. Additional features like a file editor, a (currently very limited) project management and configuration options provide some extra convenience.