AvisNocturna Software has updated TerraRay (http://avisnocturna.com/site/TerraRay.html), its terrain rendering software for Mac OS X (10.6 and higher), to version 6.0. In the update, rendering speed has been improved by optimizing the renderer and switching to 64-bit.

TerraRay is still compatible to 32 bit Macs. These improvements increased rendering speed by 25% to 50% for most scenes not affecting rendering quality in any way, according to the folks at AvisNocturna Software.

A completely new cloud system has been written from scratch that supports placing individual cloud clusters in scenes for volumetric effects. What’s more, a new algorithm for rocks has been implemented for version 6.0. The user interface has been improved in many areas, as well. Not enough? The grass algorithm has been improved ,and a new post processing filter to adjust color vibrance has been added.

TerraRay 6.0 is available exclusively available at the Mac App Store. It’s being offered at a 50% discount (US$9.99) through Dec. 7. The update to version 6.0 is free for registered users.