We thought it would be important to get one more agent released before v3, so we released agent version 2.77 as stable over the weekend. Windows users should already be running it, but Mac users will need to download the update and move it into their Applications folder.
There are a few changes we’ve been working on for a little while in this agent. Most notably:
- Managing jobs in the Job Status tab is now done by right-clicking the job instead of by selecting the job and hitting buttons. We thought this would be more intuitive and faster.
- The agent will display completed jobs in the Job Status window for a day after they’re done, by default. This will help people who need to locate the output folder they selected when they submitted the job. It also paves the way for downloading historical render app logs for jobs that were completed or cancelled.
- Multiple jobs may now be selected for Power change commands.
- Agent beta versions are now displayed in the Home tab, to enable easy retrieval of a beta version if needed for new features or bug fixes. The Windows agent will store a few different agent versions on disk, so you may revert to earlier builds pretty easily.
In addition to the new features, there are a few bug fixes in this build:
- Encryption key mismatches are now better handled when the agent loses and regains connectivity with the farm.
- The Windows agent is less likely to fail to run on a few machines when the agent is upgrading itself. This bug, if encountered, caused an “agent is already running” dialog box when the updated agent would launch.
- The Mac agent is less likely to crash when downloading the news headlines for display in the Home tab. Turns out there was an obscure bug in one of the graphics libraries the agent uses that affects some MacOS users.
Credit goes to Son of Superdev for his dogged persistence in chasing down these bugs and adding useful features. We can only test and encounter so much internally before we unleash code on the world, so it’s good for us to have someone capable of navigating the stormy waters of troubleshooting random problems on customer machines.
We’re very much looking forward to agent versions 3.x and the release of “Corral” technology. We’ve been testing it internally, and the amount of upload bandwidth and time it can save is substantial. It will be a major step forward in shortening the time between job submission and completion, so you should be excited about it too!
-Render Endlessly
