This page regroups all the changes that happened to Substance Alchemist, from new features to bug fixes.

Version 2019

(Released: November 04, 2019)

Added:

• [Project] Creation of a project
• [Project] Introduction of the .alch file format that contains project data
• [Project] Export a .alch project containing the collections and their materials
• [Project] Import a .alch project
• [Project] Open recent projects
• [Welcome Screen] A welcome screen is displayed at the launch
• [Welcome Screen] Create a project from the welcome screen
• [Welcome Screen] Access the list of all your projects in the welcome screen
• [Welcome Screen] Quick links to access the documentation, the about popup and license management
• [File Menu] Integration of a file Menu
• [File Menu] Access the project commands from the File tab and the save of the layer stack
• [File Menu] Access the undo and redo commands from the Edit tab
• [File Menu] The previous help menu moved in the file menu under the Help tab
• [Layers] New architecture of the layer stack
• [Layers] New UI of the layer stack
• [Layers] Select the blend mode directly on the toolbar
• [Layers] Access separately the blend parameters and the material parameters
• [Layers] Add materials directly in dedicated inputs of the Splatter filter in the layer stack
• [Layers] Change scan order directly in the Image import layer
• [Viewport] Control of the camera field of view
• [Viewport] Possibility to switch between orthographic or perspective camera
• [Viewport] Display resolution and bit depth information for each channel
• [Resources] Base Materials is opened per default
• [Cache] Locate your thumbnail cache folder
• [Cache] Locate your render cache folder
• [Panels] Material Settings panel is temporarily hidden
• [Workflow] Specular/Glossiness temporarily deactivated
• [MacOS] Catalina OS version notarization
• [Content] New version of the Delighter filter
• [Content] New Image Content Aware Fill filter
• [Content] New Material Content Aware Fill filter
• [Content] Transform filter has a safe transform option

Fixed:

• All previous bugs related to Create are invalid today with new UI and architecture release
• Tooltips don't hide the icons in the top bar (3D, 2D, 2D/3D)
• [Content] Splatter filter accepts Atlas with complete height map
• [Content] Transform filter works on images (scan1, scan2,...)

Known Issues:

• Use of multiple delighters in one material is not recommended
• Delighter crashes with older NVIDIA drivers (Less than 400.x)
• Coma or point can be ignored when typing a specific value in a slider
• Normal to Height filter can crash on MacOS

Beta

(Released: August 19, 2019)

Added:

• Ability to send Substance Source assets from the launcher to Project Substance Alchemist

Fixed:

• [Create] Some filters were listed in the quick accessor but not in the filter panel
• [MacOS] Fixed some crashes at exit

Known Issues:

• Use of multiple delighters in one material is not recommended
• Delighter crashes with older NVIDIA drivers (Less than 400.x)
• Fast visibility toggle of a Delighter stage is not recommended
• Tif images are not showing in Properties panel in the Image import layer
• Coma or point can be ignored when typing a specific value in a slider
• Normal to height filter can crash on MacOS
• Can still crash randomly when exiting on MacOS

(Released: August 08, 2019)

Added:

• [Resources] Connect and mirror your material folders on your local disks
• [Resources] Browse your materials folders and their subfolders
• [Resources] Detach your material resources panel in a separate window to see your resources in full screen
• [Resources] New Resources panel Layout to support folders and subfolders navigation
• [Resources] Use the breadcrum to navigate through your folders
• [Resources] Force the synchronization of your local folder with the Sync option accessible via righ-click
• [Resources] Disconnect your local folder with the Disconnect option accessible via righ-click
• [Manage] Display embedded tags of Substance files
• [Manage] Add, edit and delete tags of your materials
• [Manage] Rate your materials
• [Layers] Support Panorama output
• [Layers] You can delete Image inputs in the Image Import layer
• [Layers] Automatic selection of the new added layer
• [Layers] Automatic selection of the layer below after a layer deletion
• [UX] Keep left panels visibility when switching to another Lab
• [UX] Do not create a base layer or open the Material Workflow popup when importing images in a non-empty layers stack
• [UI] New Textfield style
• [UI] New SearchBox style
• [UI] New Panel header style
• [UI] New Busy indicator style
• [UI] New Layers stack background style
• [UI] Use Adobe Clean font
• [UI] Remove eyedropper icon placeholder of color input parameter
• [Performance] Busy indicator optimization
• [Content] New Pattern Generator filter
• [Content] New Blur filter

Fixed:

• [Inspire] Fix crash when using more than 10 colors
• [2D View] Fix scrollbar on the channel list of the 2D view
• [Viewer] Fix crash when importing a non power of 2 environment map
• [Content] Fix PNG import for custom pattern of Embossing and Perforation filters
• [Export] Fix normal and height 16 bits per channel export
• Fix an infinite loop when importing a material with two presets that have the same name
• Fix long file path display in the Base Material Layer

Known Issues:

• Use of multiple delighters in one material is not recommended
• Delighter crashes with older NVIDIA drivers (Less than 400.x)
• Fast visibility toggle of a Delighter stage is not recommended
• Tif images are not showing in Properties panel in the Image import layer
• Coma or point can be ignored when typing a specific value in a slider
• Normal to height filter can crash on MacOS
• Can crash randomly when exiting on MacOS

(Released: June 13, 2019)

Added:

• [Filters] Access quickly to your filters by pressing the space bar
• [Filters] New dedicated panel to manage, browse and import your filters
• [Metadata] Right click on a material to see its metadata
• [Metadata] Right click on a material to see its location on your disk
• [Sliders] Animate sliders when you hover them by pressing Ctrl
• [Sliders] Stop and restart your sliders animation by pressing P
• [Export] SBSAR export follows Substance Source guidelines
• [License] Activate Substance Alchemist using an environment variable
• [UX] File dialog remembers the last file path selected
• [UX] Folder dialog remembers the last folder path selected
• [UI] Update Resources panel UI
• [UI] Update Search bar UI
• [UI] Create New material icon is updated
• [Help] URLs are updated to substance3d.com domain
• [Mesh] A Cloth mesh is now available
• [Content] New Corrosion Filter
• [Content] New Oxydation Filter
• [Content] New Moss Filter
• [Content] New Dust Filter
• [Content] New Brickwall pattern Filter
• [Content] New Stonewall pattern Filter
• [Content] New Wood Finish Filter
• [Content] New Metal Finish Filter
• [Content] New Snow Filter
• [Content] New Randomizer Filter
• [Content] You can now import your textures directly in the Base Material filter

Fixed:

• Fix a crash when saving the layer stack
• Possible to add a value above 1 in the environment rotation slider
• Do not lose blend parameters when a blend layer is transformed back and forth from blend layer to material layer
• Fix duplicates when generating variations of the same layer stack multiple times
• When re-opening a material, Alchemist remembers the modified ranges (min and max) of your sliders

Known Issues:

• Use of multiple delighters in one material is not recommended
• Delighter crashes with older NVIDIA drivers (Less than 400.x)
• Fast visibility toggle of a Delighter stage is not recommended
• Custom Environment Import can become black
• Tif images are not showing in Properties panel in the Image import layer
• Coma or point can be ignored when typing a specific value in a slider
• Normal to height filter can crash on MacOS

(Released: June 13, 2019)

Added:

• [Engine] Substance Engine update to be compatible with the latest Substance Designer version
• [License] Update license folder for first installations
• [Layers] Reload at any time your layer stack to update your custom filters

Fixed:

• [Data Compatibility] Preventive fix to limit data corruption at upgrade time

Known Issues:

• Use of multiple delighters in one material is not recommended
• Delighter crashes with older NVIDIA drivers (Less than 400.x)
• Fast visibility toggle of a Delighter stage is not recommended
• Custom Environment Import can become black
• Tif images are not showing in Properties panel in the Image import layer
• Coma or point can be ignored when typing a specific value in a slider

(Released: April 18, 2019)

Added:

• [Metadata] See and fill materials metadata in a dedicated tab
• [Collection] Create a collection directly from the search results
• [Media Publishing] Export a board of a collection
• [UX] Undo a tweak change or image import by pressing Ctrl+Z
• [UX] Redo a tweak change or image import by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Z
• [UI] New icons with a new style
• [Performance] New Session manager to better handle the tabs switching
• [Performance] Faster opening of the Image Import layer
• [Content] New Metal generic material
• [Content] New Rust material
• [Content] New Stone generic material
• [Content] Embossing filter update
• [Content] Embroidery filter update
• [Content] Paint filter update
• [Content] Delighter filter update

Fixed:

• [Content] Water filter is working in the Specular/Glossiness workflow
• Fix greyscale radio button in the activation pop-up
• Accept files containing coma character
• Fix small font issues on pop-up windows
• Fix transparency UI issue due to a conflict with the FXAA parameter of some NVIDIA cards
• Remove the focus of the field after entenring a value in a slider
• Allocate the minimum amount of VRAM to the delighter to reduce crashes
• Fix window freeze when resizing the application window
• Fixed a crash when the layer stack was deleted while being evaluated

Known Issues:

• Use of multiple delighters in one material is not recommended
• Delighter crashes with older NVIDIA drivers (Less than 400.x)
• Fast visibility toggle of a Delighter stage is not recommended
• Custom Environment Import can become black
• Tif images are not showing in Properties panel in the Image import layer
• Coma or point can be ignored when typing a specific value in a slider

(Released: March 26, 2019)

Fixed:

• [Stack] Crash when removing a splatter layer
• [Data] Asset database gets corrupted when application crashes
• [Data] Substance Alchemist cannot start when the asset database is corrupted
• Random crash when importing Substance materials

Known Issues:

• Use of multiple delighters in one material is not recommended
• Delighter crashes with older NVIDIA drivers (Less than 400.x)
• Fast visibility toggle of a Delighter stage will affect performance
• Custom Environment Import can become black
• Tif images are not showing in Properties panel in the Image import layer
• Coma or point can be ignored when typing a specific value in a slider
• Default collection to save to can be empty

(Released: March 19, 2019)

Added:

• Search by material name in the Resources panel
• [UI] Clone Tool new UI with brush size visualization
• [UI] Select and delete hidden stages
• [UI] New Textfield UI
• [Help] Access Substance Source, Substance Share and Substance academy websites
• [Content] New default materials with generators and atlas
• [Content] Bitmap to Material Update
• [Content] Dirt Update
• [Content] Rust Update
• [Content] New Embossing filter
• [Content] New Embroidery filter
• [Content] New Erode filter
• [Content] New Gravel Generator
• [Content] New Paint filter
• [Content] New Parquet Pattern filter
• [Content] New Pavement Pattern filter
• [Content] New Perforation filter
• [Content] New Splatter filter
• [Content] New Textile Wear filter
• [Content] New Transform filter

Fixed:

• [Viewport] Sphere mesh with tiling x2 on X
• [Viewport] Crash when loading your own environment
• [Viewport] Environment map are now using the exposure value too
• [Viewport] F shortcut doesn't reset camera angle
• [Export] SBS export works with latest Substance Designer 2018.3.3
• [Export] SBSAR export respects the same guidelines as Substance Source materials
• [UI] Scrollbars can be dragged
• Special characters are supported on folder and file paths
• Thumbnail is re-generated when you're saving your material

Known Issues:

• Use of multiple delighters in one material is not recommended
• Delighter crashes with older NVIDIA drivers (Less than 400.x)
• Fast visibility toggle of a Delighter stage will affect performance
• Custom Environment Import can become black
• Tif images are not showing in Properties panel in the Image import layer
• Coma or point can be ignored when typing a specific value in a slider
• Default collection to save to can be empty

(Released: March 07, 2019)

Added:

• Detection and usage of the high profile GPU

Fixed:

• Rotation parameter has a proper slider widget
• Fix the blue color line visiblity when drag and dropping materials
• Fix materials blending when dropping a material below the first layer
• Plug image inputs only if a custom image path is not set

Known Issues:

• Special characters in filepath prevent for saving of a material
• Use of multiple delighters in one material is not recommended
• Delighter crashes with older NVIDIA drivers (Less than 400.x)
• Fast visibility toggle of a Delighter stage will affect performance
• Crash when loading your own environment

(Released: March 04, 2019)

Fixed:

• Fix Crash report, bug report and licenses pop-ups

Known Issues:

• Use of multiple delighters in one material is not recommended
• Delighter crashes with older NVIDIA drivers (Less than 400.x)
• Fast visibility toggle of a Delighter stage will affect performance
• Crash when loading your own environment

(Released: February 28, 2019)

Added:

• [Layer stack] Layer re-ordering
• [Layer stack] Delete an hidden layer
• [Layer stack] Import a material directly at the position of your choice
• [Layer stack] Material input as a new filter parameter type
• [Performance] Substance Engine budget is dynamic for better performances
• [Performance] Better OpenGL performances especially on MacOS
• [Data] Faster data upgrade after a new version is released
• [Content] AI Delighter available on Windows 7 and Windows 8
• [Content] AI Delighter available on RTX GPU

Fixed:

• Fix possible crashes when quitting the application
• Export Pop-up opens faster when exporting large collections

Known Issues:

• Use of multiple delighters in one material is not recommended
• Delighter crashes with older NVIDIA drivers (Less than 400.x)
• Fast visibility toggle of a Delighter stage will affect performance
• Crash when loading your own environment

(Released: January 17, 2019)

Added:

• [Export] Substance archive (sbsar) export of your collection
• [Export] Substance file (sbs) export of your collection
• [Export] Export queue visible in the Export panel
• [Export] Name your collection or material before export
• [Data] Save As your material by pressing Ctrl+Shift+S
• [Data] Save your material by pressing Ctrl+S
• [Data] Collections and Materials are compatible across versions
• [Data] Update your material layer stack with up-to-date filters
• [Data] Hot reload of imported custom filters
• [UI] Visual feedback in the viewport while it's computing
• [UI] New button style
• [UI] Save pop-up displays the name of the active collection
• [UI] Modify source images of an Image(s) Import Layer
• [Content] Custom usages are now supported
• [Content] More images format are supported in image input parameters
• [Content] New Tiling Filter named Make It Tile Advanced
• [Content] Update of the Water filter

Fixed:

• Bitmap to Material handles the Specular/Glossiness workflow

Known Issues:

• Use of multiple delighters in one material is not recommended
• Delighter crashes with older NVIDIA drivers (Less than 400.x)
• Delighter is not supported on RTX GPU card
• Fast visibility toggle of a Delighter stage will affect performance

(Released: December 17, 2018)

Fixed:

• Generate a color variation with 10 color extracted crashes
• Generate a color variation with a just saved layer stack crashes
• Incorrect links on the Substance Alchemist version update pop-up

Known Issues:

• Bitmap to Material doesn't handle the Specular/Roughness workflow
• Use of multiple delighters in one material is not recommended
• Delighter crashes with older NVIDIA drivers (Less than 400.x)
• Fast visibility toggle of a Delighter stage will affect performance

(Released: December 12, 2018)

Added:

• [Export] New Export pop-up
• [Export] Export an entire collection
• [Export] Export Bitmaps at the format of your choice
• [Export] Export Bitmaps at the resolution of your choice
• [Export] Export only the channels of your choice
• [Export] Preview the estimation size of your export
• [Export] Preview the available size on your disk before exporting
• [UX] Actions on collection accessible using right-click
• [UX] Allow to unset an image or an asset in Inspire
• [UX] Substance Alchemist is launched maximized
• [Assets] New way of saving your materials in order to keep them persistent with next versions
• [Help] Access to the online documentation via the help menu
• [Performance] Faster color variations on complex materials created with Substance Alchemist
• [Performance] Reduce memory leaks when switching Labs
• [Content] Scale checker to diagnostic the physical size of your material
• [Content] Update Italien Venice Mosaic tile material
• [Content] Update Moss splatter

Fixed:

• No more default name when saving a material
• Filters parameters are lost after saving a material and reopening Substance Alchemist
• [Content] Fix from bottom and from top logic for AO and curvature blending

Known Issues:

• Materials created with a previous version won't be available in the new one.
• Bitmap to Material doesn't handle the Specular/Roughness workflow
• Use of multiple delighters in one material is not recommended
• Delighter crashes with older NVIDIA drivers (Less than 400.x)
• Fast visibility toggle of a Delighter stage will affect performance

(Released: November 09, 2018)

Added:

• Viewer Settings are saved from one session to another
• Material Settings are saved from one session to another
• Fast loading of the Properties Panel
• [Log] Export log file via the help menu
• [UI]New Sliders Style
• [UI]Presets and Tweak panels are merged
• [UI]New Thumbnails style
• Displacement, Tiling and Shadows settings accessible directly in the viewport
• [Content] New Default Materials
• [Content] Moss Splatter update
• [Framework] Update Substance Engine Framework

Fixed:

• Deletion of your layer stack by switching Labs is fixed
• Loading time values displayed in the viewport are correct
• Material workflow default channels are correctly initialized
• Disable Custom Mesh Import
• Bitmap export
• [MacOS] Closing Substance Alchemist can need a "Force to quit"

Known Issues:

• Materials created with a previous version won't be available in the new one.
• Use of multiple delighters in one material is not recommended
• Delighter crashes with older NVIDIA drivers (Less than 400.x)
• Fast visibility toggle of a Delighter stage will affect performance

(Released: October 24, 2018)

Added:

• BaseColor Delighter is now available
• Access Substance Alchemist information via the Help menu
• Get notified when a new version of Substance Alchemist is available
• The console is not visible anymore on Windows
• New Thumbnails style
• [MacOS] Substance Alchemist can be set in full screen
• [Filter] Import Custom mask to manage the blending between two materials
• [Filter] Control Moss scale
• [Filter] Clone Patch update

Fixed:

• Add an image in an image input in the parameter list updates outputs
• Import Custom filter doesn't add a black Ambient Occlusion and a black opacity

Known Issues:

• Materials created with a previous version won't be available in the new one.
• [MacOS] Closing Substance Alchemist can need a "Force to quit"
• Use of multiple delighters in one material is not recommended
• Delighter crashes with older NVIDIA drivers (Less than 400.x)
• Fast visibility toggle of a Delighter stage will affect performance
• Material export can crash

(Released: October 17, 2018)

Added:

• Material Blend with 4 blend types (Height Blend, Sample Blend, Curvature Blend, AO Blend)
• Introduce Caching mechanism to optimize layer stack re-calculations
• Auto-selection of a material in Inspire if presents in the viewport
• Normal format centralized in the Material Settings panel
• Crop and Tiling Widgets controls (-90°,+90°, make square,...) cleaning
• New Snow filter

Fixed:

• Panel UI cleaning
• Viewport flickering when resizing window and panels
• Layer stack not recalculated when saved
• Assets naming in the interface use labels instead of graph names

Known Issues:

• Stretched liure by switching the layer visibility quickly
• Focus resets Camera angle