These release notes are for the following products:
- Autodesk Flame® Premium 2013
- Autodesk Flare™ 2013
- Autodesk Flame 2013
- Autodesk Smoke Advanced 2013
- Autodesk Lustre® 2013
- Autodesk Inferno® 2013
- Autodesk Flint® 2013
- Autodesk Backdraft® Conform 2013
Important information for this release:
System Requirements for Linux Workstations
The following tables list the hardware platforms supported in this release, including Linux stand-alone workstations, Incinerator workstations and Lustre Media Servers.
| Workstation | BIOS | AJA Firmware | Operating System | DKU |
| HP® Z800 Workstation with NVIDIA® Quadro 6000 graphics card | 3.15 or 3.54 (see Note) | 2011/12/02_13:05:45 | Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® Desktop 5.3 with Workstation Option (64-bit) | 7.0 |
| HP Z800 Workstation with NVIDIA Quadro FX5800 | 3.07 | 0x75 AJA OEM 2K | Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® Desktop 5.3 with Workstation Option (64-bit) | 7.0 |
| HP xw8600 | 1.35 | 0x73 | Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 4, Update 3 (64- bit) | 7.0 |
| HP xw9400 | 3.05 | 0x73 | Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 4, Update 3 (64- bit) | 7.0 |
| HP xw 8400 | 2.26 | 0x73 | Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 4, Update 3 (64- bit) | 7.0 |
Note: HP Z800 workstations shipped before April 2012 use BIOS version 3.15 or 3.07. Workstations shipped as of April 2012 use BIOS version 3.54.
System Requirements for Lustre on Microsoft® Windows®
The following table lists the Lustre Windows workstations supported in this release, as well as the certified BIOS version, NVIDIA graphics card driver version and operating system version for each platform.
| Workstation | BIOS | Graphics Driver | Operating System |
| HP xw8600 | 1.35 | 186.18 | Microsoft Windows XP SP2 |
| HP xw 8400 | 2.26 | 186.18 | Microsoft Windows XP SP2 |
System Requirements Lustre Render Nodes
The following table lists the supported hardware platforms for Incinerator Render Nodes, with the certified BIOS versions and operating system distributions for HP ProLiant Burn Render Nodes.
| Render Node | BIOS | Operating System | DKU |
| HP ProLiant DL160se G6 | 07/05/2009 | Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 5.3 with Workstation (64-bit) | 7.0 |
| HP ProLiant DL160 G5 | 04/09/2008 | Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 4 Update 3 (64-bit) | 7.0 |
| HP ProLiant DL140 G3 | 1.09 | Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 4 Update 3 (64-bit) | 7.0 |
Important Notes
New AJA Firmware Update
If your workstation is equipped with an AJA Kona 3G video card, you must update the firmware for this release.
* Make sure to perform these steps after installing DKU 7.0.0.
To update the firmware:
- Go to /usr/discreet/DKU/current/Utils/AJA_firmwareupdate/
- Run the AJAfw_Update command
- Shut down your workstation
*It is important to shut down your workstation and not restart it for the update to be performed correctly.
Hardware Limitations
CPU Burn Limitations
Keep in mind the following limitations when working with non-GPU Burn render nodes.
Action CPU Burn Limitations:
- Action setups cannot be rendered if the output format is set to 16-bit fp.
- Action setups cannot be rendered if one or more layers are 16- bit fp.
- Action setups cannot be rendered if Clamp Colours is disabled.
- Action - Lights profile with range outside of 0,1 are not supported.
- Action Old Blending modes (Subtract, Multiply, Exclusion, Spotlight) when they are used with Surface blending curves or lens Distort are not supported.
- Action Point or Spot lights are not supported.
- Action New Lights are not supported
- Action New Blending Modes are not supported.
- Action Shadows are not supported.
- Action Ambient Occlusion is not supported.
- Action IBL is not supported.
- Action Lens Flares are not supported.
- Action Blooming is not supported.
- Action Rays are not supported.
- Action Hardware Displacement is not supported
- EWA filters in Action cannot be applied.
- Anisotropic filters in Action cannot be applied.
- Action Substance and Substance Materialize cannot be rendered.
Batch CPU Burn Limitations:
- Batch Exposure node cannot be rendered.
- Batch Matte Edge node - Noise functionality cannot be rendered.
- Batch - Substance- 16 bit fp output resolution cannot be rendered.
- Batch - Substance Noise node cannot be rendered.
- Batch - Substance Splatter node cannot be rendered.
- Batch | Desktop - RGB Blur Directional and Radial modes 16- bit fp output resolution cannot be rendered.
- Batch | Desktop | SoftFX - Text 16-bit fp output resolution cannot be rendered.
- Batch | Desktop - Auto-Stabilize 16-bit fp output resolution cannot be rendered.
- Batch | Desktop - Burn-In 16-bit fp output resolution cannot be rendered.
- Batch | Desktop - Glow Node Directional Blur 16-bit fp output resolution cannot be rendered.
- Batch | Desktop - Distort 16-bit fp output resolution cannot be rendered.
- Batch | Desktop - Color Frame Gradient cannot be rendered.
- Batch | Desktop - Gradient node 16-bit fp output resolution cannot be rendered.
Soft Effects CPU Burn Limitations:
- SoftFX - Axis 16-bit fp output resolution not supported.
- SoftFX - CC 16-bit fp output resolution not supported.
- SoftFX - Wipe 16-bit fp output resolution not supported.
Flame Effects CPU Burn Limitations:
- FX Tools -Damage cannot be rendered.
- FX Tools -Pixel Spread cannot be rendered.
- FX Tools -Bump Displace cannot be rendered.
- FX Tools -2D Transform cannot be rendered.
- FX Tools -Deform cannot be rendered.
- FX Tools -Denoise cannot be rendered.
- FX Tools -Glow in 16 bit fp in directional mode cannot be rendered.
- FX Tools -Match Box cannot be rendered.
- FX Tools -Depth-Of-Field and Blur additive blooming mode cannot be rendered.
- FX Tools -Motion Blur cannot be rendered.
- FX Tools -Depth-Of-Field and Blur additive blooming mode cannot be rendered.
- FX Tools -Recursive Ops cannot be rendered.
- FX Tools -Strokes cannot be rendered.
- FX Tools -Motif cannot be rendered.
Other CPU Burn Limitations:
- Hardware Anti-aliasing is not supported.
- 3D Blur cannot be rendered.
Limitations with Old Graphics Cards
- Action - Only projected Shadows are available on x500 series and before due to hardware limitation that result in lower quality shadow.
- Action - Only one IBL map per object on x500 series and before as opposed to 2 on more recent cards.
- Action - Seamless cube map (part of the IBL feature) are currently not working on x600 Series and before. For end user, this means results will be smoother on 5800s. There is no loss of functionality on older platforms.
- Action - Hardware Displacement is disabled on x500 series and prior cards. If you import a setup containing hardware displacement, it will be switched to software displacement. In a case where a substance map is loaded, its displacement map will not be visible on the schematic because it is hardware only.
- Action - No ambient occlusion available on x500 series and prior cards.
- Flame FX Tools - Pixel Spread Stretch and Motion modes may present artefacts due to the lower precision on x500 Series and before. We had to use 16f instead of 32f because of limitations on these cards.
- Flame FX Tools - 2D transform- Artefacts may show up if motion blur or anti-aliasing are activated on x500 Series and before. We had to use 16f instead of 32f because of limitations on these cards.
- Flame FX Tools - Motion blur - Interactive performance and rendering problems on x500 Series and prior cards.
Compatibility with Previous Versions
Keep in mind the following information on software compatibility and limitations before upgrading to the latest version.
Projects and clip libraries created in previous versions of the software are read-only in the current version. Previous releases cannot read clip libraries from the current version.
To access media in projects created in previous versions, you must first create new projects in the current version. Then, you must transfer the media from your old projects to the new ones using the Network panel in the Clip Library.
Autodesk recommends archiving your media and project data before you upgrade.
Consult the following table for information on resource compatibility when upgrading to the current version.
| Previous Version | Current Version |
| Projects and clip Libraries | Are read-only. Framestores from previous versions are identified as incompatible in the network library. - If the original project is on the same system, create a project in the current version and then copy the clip libraries from the old project to the new project. You can use the project upgrade script to create the projects for you.
See the Upgrade projects sections in this topic: Configure Visual Effects and Finishing Software. - If the original project is on another system that has any version from 2007 installed, create a project in the current version of the software and then transfer the clip libraries from the previous project to the new project.
See the Transfer clip libraries section of this topic: Configure Visual Effects and Finishing Software. - Alternatively, you can archive the project from an older version and restore the archive in the latest version.
See Archiving in Flame Premium - Flame or Archiving in Flame Premium Timeline - Smoke. Note: You can only delete projects and clip libraries with the application version that created them. |
| Archives | Are read-only. |
| Users | Are incompatible. Create a user in the latest version. See the application help for instructions. |
| Settings | Are compatible (including most Sparks® setups). |
Compatibility between Smoke SAP 2 and Flame Premium 2013
Smoke 2012 SAP 2 is compatible with Flame Premium 2013.
Archive Compatibility
Archives created using any 2013 Flame Premium application are fully compatible with all other 2013 applications.
Archives from the current version cannot be restored in earlier versions.
Archives created using previous versions are read-only when restored to the current version. That is, you can restore an archive from a previous version in the current version, but you cannot append material to the archive (you must create a new archive).
There are some differences in how your software restores archives. The following table summarizes these differences.
| Archive Type | Behaviour when restoring to Inferno, Flame and Flint | Behaviour when restoring to Smoke and Backdraft Conform |
| Selection (Part of a project) | Archives can be restored to the Desktop or to the clip library. | Archives can only be restored to the clip library. |
| Whole Project | The Desktop is restored as a reel in a new library. | The EditDesk is restored as a reel in a new library. |
Feature Compatibility
You can view and render clips created in any current Flame Premium product. However, if a clip was created using features exclusive to a particular product, you can only edit those features in the product in which it was created.
Similarly, if you load setups that contain settings that are not available in your product, the values appear, but they are not editable.
Autodesk Flare Compatibility
Note that, when using Autodesk Flare in a remote workflow, the Autodesk Flame or Autodesk Inferno application to which the Autodesk Flare workstation connects must be the same version as the Flare software.
See the Autodesk Flare Installation and Configuration Guide for information on upgrading Autodesk Flare software to the latest version.
StoneFS not Supported in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
Note that the StoneFS filesystem is not supported in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.
If you plan to upgrade to the HP Z800 workstation running Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 5.3, you can only use a standard filesystem (on a Stone Direct array or SAN device) for media storage. Autodesk recommends the XFS filesystem. See the Installation and Configuration Guide for information on setting up a standard filesystem as media storage for your application.