Plan "Off-We-Go" - Proposition for a Version v2.11.0-alpha

[howetuft]

Proposition to release a new version v2.11.0

It seems to be time to consider a new version, which will allow us to consolidate the developments made so far in LuxCoreDeps, LuxCore and BlendLuxCore.
We should yet precisely determine the complete trajectory to 2.11.0 (alpha, beta, release candidates and so on), but at least we all agree to start with a v2.11.0-alpha in December 2025.

The first purpose of this discussion is to define the scope of this alpha version and the tasks that remain to be completed in order to achieve this scope.
The second purpose is to describe the whole steps to v2.11.0, starting with v2.11.0-alpha.

[CodeFHD]

The Issue lists in both the LuxCore and BlendLuxCore repositories have been filtered and where possible updated over the course of the last year, so action items can be picked primarily from those lists.
A few open issues have been reported on Discord and not been documented here, so the support channel could be double-checked.
(And of course, each developers can add their own ideas.)

For BlendLuxCore, I had picked a bunch of Issues that I deemed possible to tackle in the near future and collected them in this project:
https://github.com/orgs/LuxCoreRender/projects/2/views/1
(ToDo: Get the rights to make it viewable publicly)

I have a few assigned to myself already, and will revise again in the next days.

I also propose that we open a second discussion dedicated to checklists again, like we did for v2.10 here:
https://github.com/orgs/LuxCoreRender/discussions/1001

[howetuft]

I fully agree with all your points. I shall post later a proposal for scope, and I shall create the checklist you mention.

[howetuft]

Hello,
The checklist is here:
https://github.com/orgs/LuxCoreRender/discussions/1047
It is just a draft at the moment, do not hesitate to edit it for completion. I'll feed it also on my side.

[howetuft]

Proposed scope for a v2.11.0-alpha:

(once a Deadline has been set)

LuxCoreDeps

All dependency updates till Deadline (detail to be provided in change log)
All stabilization and simplification actions till Deadline (detail to be provided in change log)
Doxygen capabilities
MacOS: port to macos-15 runners
Pinning: nvrtc, Conan index-tree etc.
Deblenderization
Embree4

LuxCore

Features:

All bug fixes till Deadline (detail to be provided in change log)
Deblenderization - compatibility with Blender 5
Enhanced Subdivision
Merge-on-Distance shape algo
pyluxcoretools available again

Technical improvements:

make wheel-test feature
Reduction of dependency to Boost
"Modern C++" memory management: use of smart pointers, clarification of ownership, automated memory release etc.
Fix sanitizing issues.
Avoid Crash when OpenCL / Nvidia API is not found
More documentation for build

BlendLuxCore

###Features:
All bug fixes till Deadline (detail to be provided in change log)
New node "MergeOnDistance"
Enhanced Subdiv (multithread)

###Technical improvements:
BlendLuxHelper
Addon reloadability
Support for Python 3.14, removal of Python 3.9

Developers: Please feel free to complete

[odil24]

[howetuft]

Sorry, it is not a wish list, but the list that each of us will actually bring to the version. Will you implement this toolchain?

[odil24]

No, I'm sorry, I've changed my mind. Skip it.

[howetuft]

Update:
Unfortunately, technical issues and a lack of availability mean we have to postpone this release until the end of January 2026 (at least).