Chaos has rolled out Corona 12 Update 2, and it's packed with powerful new features aimed at improving realism, productivity, and ease of use for 3D artists, architects, and visualizers. This latest update brings better material handling, rendering accuracy, and a streamlined workflow experience—especially for those using Chaos Cosmos and virtual tour creation.

Let’s dive into what’s new in Corona 12 Update 2 and how it benefits your creative projects.

Chaos Scans Now Available in Chaos Cosmos

The most exciting feature of Corona 12 Update 2 is the integration of Chaos Scans into the Chaos Cosmos library. Users now gain access to over 3,100 ultra-realistic scanned materials, including:

• 380+ new materials added in this update
• High-quality scanned textures for metal, leather, paper, plastic, rubber, and more
• Exclusive scans from industry leaders like Eska, Winter & Co, Foilco, and Foglizzo leather

Premium subscribers can even edit these scanned materials directly, offering complete control over look and feel, making it perfect for product visualization and photorealistic interiors.

Auto Hotspots for Virtual Panorama Tours

The new Auto Hotspots feature simplifies the creation of interactive virtual tours. It automatically generates navigation points within panoramic renders, making it easier for clients and stakeholders to explore your scenes seamlessly—perfect for architecture visualization and real estate presentations.

Per-Camera Global Volume Control

Creative control just got a huge upgrade.

With the new Per-Camera Global Volume override, you can apply unique volumetric effects like fog, mist, or underwater haze per camera. This gives you the ability to craft distinct moods and atmospheres from different angles in your scene—ideal for storytelling, cinematics, or stylized architecture renders.

Sharper Glass & Refractions with Differential Ray Filtering

Corona 12 Update 2 introduces Differential Ray Filtering, a feature that improves texture sharpness when viewed through glass or other refractive materials. This leads to:

• Crisper details through transparent objects
• Improved realism in architectural glass, liquids, and materials with transparency
• Better performance in photorealistic scenes

This is a must-have for artists working in interior design rendering or product shots involving glass or clear surfaces.

Improved Depth of Field with Highlight Solver

Depth of field (DOF) is getting a realism boost with the new DOF Highlight Solver. You’ll see:

• More natural-looking reflected and refracted highlights
• Improved behavior across complex scenes
• A boost in visual consistency for macro shots, product renders, and interior visualizations

New Community-Contributed LUTs

The update also adds new community-created LUTs (Look-Up Tables) to the Corona VFB (Virtual Frame Buffer). These new color grading presets help you:

• Quickly apply a cinematic or stylized tone to your renders
• Maintain creative consistency across scenes
• Work faster without third-party post-processing

It’s a great addition for artists who want more creative control over color grading directly inside Corona.

Performance & Compatibility Improvements

Update 2 isn’t just pretty—it’s fast.

In 3ds Max:

• Smarter IR parsing: Only changed scene parts update when scrubbing the timeline
• Full support for 3ds Max 2026
• Enhanced Vantage Live Link with new start/stop button and progress bar

In Cinema 4D:

• New Minimap in the Node Material Editor for easier navigation
• Corona Converter now supports more V-Ray assets, including:
• V-Ray Clipper, Triplanar, Two-Sided, Blend materials
• V-Ray Proxy, Decal, Geometry Tag, and Enmesh

Support for Anima 6

Populate your scenes with animated humans and vehicles using Anima 6—now fully supported in Corona. Expect:

• Realistic people with lifelike motion
• Vehicles that respond to terrain and follow traffic rules
• Instant scene population for urban renders, crowds, and transportation-heavy scenes

What’s Next?

Chaos has made it clear: Corona 13 is already in the works. Many of the performance improvements in this release are paving the way for features like real-time rendering with Vantage Live Link and further enhancements to usability and realism.

A centralized downloads section

All Corona versions are now available in the Downloads section on My Chaos. This change reflects our ongoing mission to streamline how you access and manage your tools.