Allegorithmic (www.allegorithmic.com) has launched Substance Designer 5, the new iteration of its node-based texturing hub for the next generation of game artists. It introduces new features dedicated to next-gen procedural art, as well as pipeline enhancements designed to ensure consistency for large-scale teams as they share and reuse assets. Non-linear and non-destructive.

Substance Designer lets you create PBR materials for real-time 3D projects. New features in version 5 include:

° Substance Engine 2.0, the new generation of Allegorithmic's core tech "will push Substance Designer’s power of expression to new heights";

° Pixel processor node: this true image processor allows you to read input images and apply any custom effect or treatment using visual programming;

° Transfer Baker, which lets you transfer textures from one mesh to another without worrying about UV changes;

° Tri-planar projection: any image can be applied to a mesh with no visible seams, helping to control the scale and rotation of the projection;

° Dependency Manager, which is designed to make asset management and sharing of Substance files across artists and studios intuitive and painless;

° A new template system for creating starting templates tailored to custom engines and pipelines.

Substance Designer 5 is available for pre-order now for Mac OS X and Windows platforms. It will be officially released on March 4 with prices that run US$149 for an indie and $590 for a pro ($749 floating).

The indie version is available for a pre-order discount of $99, down from $149 until March 4. Indie upgrades can be purchased for $50 instead of $75 until release, with a new revenue limit set at $100,000 (up from $10,000). Until release, pro upgrades can be purchased for $200 instead of $300.