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FlareSimAE v1.0.0

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@ken-eizo ken-eizo released this 15 Oct 22:49
v1.0.0
3f7f1c1

A CUDA-accelerated After Effects plugin for physically-based lens flare simulation. FlareSimAE traces rays through real optical prescriptions to generate lens ghosts, diffraction starbursts, and veiling haze.

FlareSimAE is an unofficial After Effects adaptation of FlareSim for Nuke, developed by Steve Watts Kennedy, building on the original optical work of Eamonn Nugent (blackhole-rt).

First public release 窶・v1.0.0

This is the first numbered public release of FlareSimAE. The effect, ZIP archive, source code, Git tag and release title use the same v1.0.0 version.

What's included

  • FlareLensAE.aex 窶・native Windows x64 After Effects effect, NVIDIA CUDA acceleration and CPU fallback
  • README.md / INSTALL.md 窶・overview and installation guide
  • LICENSE.txt / LICENSE_UPSTREAM.txt / NOTICE.md 窶・MIT license and original credits
  • FlareLensCatalog.tsv 窶・index of the embedded lens presets
  • lenses/lens_files/ 窶・all 1,370 upstream optical prescriptions, as optional reference copies (the AEX also embeds these)
  • lenses/convert_ob.py / convert_p2p.py 窶・upstream conversion utilities

Requirements

  • Windows x64 and a compatible Adobe After Effects installation
  • NVIDIA GPU and compatible CUDA driver for GPU acceleration, or use the CPU fallback
  • macOS/Metal, Linux, and native Vulkan renderers are not provided in this release

Installation

  1. Download FlareSimAE_v1.0.0_Windows.zip below.
  2. Extract the archive.
  3. Close After Effects and copy FlareLensAE.aex into an After Effects Plug-ins folder (for example, Support Files/Plug-ins/FlareSimAE/).
  4. Remove duplicate older AEX copies from active plug-in paths, then restart After Effects.
  5. Search for FlareSimAE in the effects list.

The bundled lenses directory is optional reference material; all 1,370 prescriptions are already embedded in the AEX. See INSTALL.md for full details.

Features

  • Optically traced internal reflections with wavelength-dependent refraction and Fresnel weighting
  • 1,370 embedded lens presets and editable Custom Lens UI
  • AE Arbitrary Data keyframe interpolation
  • Automatic bright-source detection and manual HDR sources
  • Aperture diffraction, veiling haze, spectral sampling and selected ghost pairs
  • Diagnostic outputs, preview quality, native CUDA rendering with CPU fallback

Verification

  • Windows Release build successful; 24/24 automated tests passed.
  • Real-world host validation remains incomplete for some workflows (interactive lens editor keyframes, save/reopen, multi-frame rendering, cancellation, different AE versions). Test with a noncritical project first.
  • CUDA benchmarks are not guaranteed After Effects timeline render times.

Source commit: 3f7f1c1
Windows ZIP SHA-256: 91c6c5a32fb763e762b243145e39be3d5328ca1900c6d40d22e14840f9337f45

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