VERSION 3.31: BIG update

With this update come really many new things:

- introducing wall-objects: helping to combine classical architectural elements with fractals
- a collection of new sky objects
- a collection of new ground objects
- a large collection of new procedural textures
- the ability to use flame fractals as HDRI sky for interesting lighting effects
- the ability to use flame fractals as procedural texture for even more texturing options
- fractal formula transforms have been unified: they work now the same in single fractals as well as inside hybrids, and you edit them at the same place
- some new (optional) generic fractal transforms, which work for any formula (watch out for the "Fractal Transform"-tab)
- variation-deforming transforms can now be defined for any formula as well, either as pre- or as post-transform
- the preview-renderer was re-written to handle "heavy" scenes much better
- procedural textures may be applied to fractals as well
- some bug fixes and lot of other smaller things

Happy rendering!

Complete changelog:
VERSION 3.31.2589 (26.04.2026):
- mandelbro3d:
- fixed a problem with DE underestimation for certain formulas (SWAN-)
- made deforming-variations-transforms either pre or post, adjustable by the user (SWAN-1411)
- unified the bounding sphere/activation sphere for fractals and made it editable for all formulas (SWAN-1258)
- fixed: There were some formulas that were causing a white screen when selected (SWAN-127ß)
- automatically shorten labels when they are too lomg and add a tooltip (SWAN-1160)
- added "Floating Debris" sky object (SWAN-1395)
- added "Static Noise" sky object (SWAN-1401)
- added "Firefly Swarm" sky object (SWAN-1404)
- added "Rune Circle" sky object (SWAN-1405)
- created preview-images for new procedural textures (SWAN-1388)
- created preview images for new sky objects (SWAN-1391)
- created preview images for new wall objects (SWAN-1392)
- updated users manual with the new objects (SWAN-1410)

VERSION 3.30.2576 (26.04.2026):
- mandelbro3d:
- fixed: Box Fold v3 the power variable has no affect (SWAN-1261)
- fixed: Box Fold v4 when loaded fills screen with just white and nothing else is visible (SWAN-1262)
- added "Niche" wall object (SWAN-1389)
- added "Lattice Screen" wall object (SWAN-1390)
- added "Wormhole" sky object (SWAN-1393)
- added "Star Field" sky object (SWAN-1394)
- added "Wall" wall object (SWAN-1397)
- added "Staircase" wall object (SWAN-1398)
- added "Thunderstorm" sky object (SWAN-1399)
- added "Nebula Canopy" sky object (SWAN-1400)
- added "Kaleidoscope Sky" sky object (SWAN-1396)
- added "Tunnel" wall object (SWAN-1402)
- added "Meteor Shower" sky object (SWAN-1403)

VERSION 3.29.2563 (25.04.2026):
- mandelbro3d:
- fixed some Problems in the MandalayKIFS and AmazingIFS formulas (SWAN-1276)
- added "Dyson Swarm" sky object (SWAN-1385)
- added "Spore Cloud" sky object (SWAN-1386)
- added "Window Frame" wall object (SWAN-1387)
- added "Particle Tracks" procedural texture (SWAN-1377)
- added "Chainmail" procedural texture (SWAN-1378)
- added "Lace" procedural texture (SWAN-1379)
- added "Ikat" procedural texture (SWAN-1380)
- added "Flow Field" procedural texture (SWAN-1381)
- added "Voronoi Shatter" procedural texture (SWAN-1382)
- added "Mondrian Subdivision" procedural texture (SWAN-1383)
- added "Neural Style" procedural texture (SWAN-1384)

VERSION 3.28.2551 (25.04.2026):
- mandelbro3d:
- added "Dome" wall object (SWAN-1336)
- added "Colonnade" wall object (SWAN-1337)
- added "Anamorphic Warp" procedural texture (SWAN-1364)
- added "Diatom" procedural texture (SWAN-1365)
- added "Chromosome Banding" procedural texture (SWAN-1366)
- added "Cuneiform" procedural texture (SWAN-1372)
- added "Petroglyph" procedural texture (SWAN-1373)
- added "Roman Mosaic" procedural texture (SWAN-1374)
- added "Gravitational Lens" procedural texture (SWAN-1375)
- added "Sonic Boom" procedural texture (SWAN-1376)

VERSION 3.27.2541 (24.04.2026):
- mandelbro3d:
- added new orbit-methods to help with using procedural texture for coloring fractals (SWAN-1257)
- restore main-focus to main-window after picking an item in a popup-window (SWAN-1281)
- added "Aurora Layer" sky object (SWAN-1331)
- added "Cyclorama" wall object (SWAN-1409)
- added "Fog Bank" sky object (SWAN-1407)
- added "Shadow Box" wall object (SWAN-1406)
- added "Art Nouveau" procedural texture (SWAN-1356)
- added "Metamaterial Grid" procedural texture (SWAN-1357)
- added "Data Mosaic" procedural texture (SWAN-1358)
- added "Tron Circuit" procedural texture (SWAN-1359)
- added "Stereogram" procedural texture (SWAN-1363)

VERSION 3.26.2530 (24.04.2026):
- mandelbro3d:
- included the flame-library to select flame fractal for HDRI-lighting or procedural texture (SWAN-1256)
- added 3rd orbit-method for coloring using procedural textures (SWAN-1255)
- added support for animated flames in HDRI-lighting (SWAN-1250)
- added "Acoustic Panel"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1301)
- added "Bone Yard"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1302)
- created preview-images for the new floor-primitives (SWAN-1303)
- added "Dust Storm" sky object (SWAN-1408)
- added "Pollock Drip" procedural texture (SWAN-1352)
- added "Scratchboard" procedural texture (SWAN-1354)
- added "Silk Moiré" procedural texture (SWAN-1355)

VERSION 3.25.2520 (23.04.2026):
- mandelbro3d:
- moved the transform-controls at the hybrid-level (Formulas-tab) to the individual formulas (SWAN-1260)
- removed redundant "Enabled"-checkboxes from hybrids (individual formulas have already a "Visible" setting) (SWAN-1263)
- added "Voronoi Pools"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1300)
- added "Grid Ceiling" sky object (SWAN-1329)
- added "Bokeh Field" sky object (SWAN-1330)
- added "Column" wall object (SWAN-1335)
- added "Peacock Feather" procedural texture (SWAN-1347)
- added "Rammed Earth" procedural texture (SWAN-1348)
- added "Figured Wood" procedural texture (SWAN-1349)
- added "Microbial Mat" procedural texture (SWAN-1350)
- added "Columnar Basalt" procedural texture (SWAN-1351)

VERSION 3.24.2509 (23.04.2026):
- mandelbro3d:
- made the variation-deform-transform at formula-level a pre-transform
(rather than a post-transform) (SWAN-1271)
- introduced new "Wall"-category for primitives (SWAN-1304)
- added "Corner Room" wall object (SWAN-1333)
- added "Archway" wall object (SWAN-1334)
- added "Hail Layer" sky object (SWAN-1332)
- added "Compound Eye" procedural texture (SWAN-1367)
- added "Nerve Fiber" procedural texture (SWAN-1368)
- added "Hurricane Spiral" procedural texture (SWAN-1369)
- added "Lightning Channel" procedural texture (SWAN-1370)
- added "Frost Window" procedural texture (SWAN-1371)

VERSION 3.23.2499 (22.04.2026):
- mandelbro3d:
- added support for using raw vs log-scaled images for HDRI-lighting using flame fractals (SWAN-1251)
- added special type of procedural texture, which accepts a flame fractal as input (SWAN-1252)
- cause re-rendering of flame-textures when loading a scene which uses a flame fractal as texture/sky (SWAN-1253)
- added generic Menger Fold for all formulas (SWAN-1267)
- added generic Orbit Rotation for all formulas (SWAN-1268)
- added "Mycelium Floor"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1297)
- added "Lily Pond"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1298)
- added "Creature Tiles"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1299)
- added "Stipple Shading" procedural texture (SWAN-1360)
- added "Droste Effect" procedural texture (SWAN-1361)
- added "Impossible Triangle" procedural texture (SWAN-1362)

VERSION 3.22.2488 (22.04.2026):
- mandelbro3d:
- prove/ensure that a single fractal formula with individual transforms works the same as the
same formula as single formula inside a hybrid container, with the same transforms (SWAN-1264)
- added generic Conditional Fold (Abs Fold) for all formulas (SWAN-1265)
- added generic Cylindrical Fold for all formulas (SWAN-1266)
- added "Neutron Star"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1288)
- added "Mars Terrain"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1298)
- update the camera-controls after dragging the view with the RMB (SWAN-1290)
- added "Cloisonné" procedural texture (SWAN-1322)
- added "Ukiyo-e Woodblock" procedural texture (SWAN-1323)
- added "Zoetrope Strobe" procedural texture (SWAN-1324)
- added "Lyapunov Fractal" procedural texture (SWAN-1338)
- added "Burning Ship" procedural texture (SWAN-1339)
- added "Plasma Globe" procedural texture (SWAN-1346)

VERSION 3.21.2476 (21.04.2026):
- mandelbro3d:
- made the preview progressive full-display instead of tile-based, which
consumes too much CPU power (SWAN-1277)
- stop the preview render after it has once completed with full detail (SWAN-1278)
- added "Tidal Flat"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1285)
- added "Glacier"-floor-primitve (SWAN-1286)
- added "Alien Hive"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1287)
- added "Escher Morphosis" procedural texture (SWAN-1305)
- added "Pearlescent Nacre" procedural texture (SWAN-1317)
- added "Oxidation Timelapse" procedural texture (SWAN-1318)
- added "Gyotaku" procedural texture (SWAN-1319)
- added "Cyanotype" procedural texture (SWAN-1319)
- added "Encaustic" procedural texture (SWAN-1321)

VERSION 3.20.2465 (21.04.2026):
- mandelbro3d:
- optimized the "Kleinian"-example scenes (SWAN-1272)
- some formula have two "Iterations"-sliders (SWAN-1273)
- avoid application/preview-freeze on heavy scenes (SWAN-1275)
- added "Digital Grid"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1291)
- added "Cobblestone"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1292)
- added "Zen Garden"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1293)
- added "Phyllotaxis Spiral" procedural texture (SWAN-1340)
- added "Cellular Automaton" procedural texture (SWAN-1341)
- added "Double-Slit" procedural texture (SWAN-1342)
- added "Spectral Prism" procedural texture (SWAN-1343)
- added "Magnetic Domains" procedural texture (SWAN-1344)
- added "Schlieren Flow" procedural texture (SWAN-1345)

VERSION 3.19.2453 (20.04.2026):
- mandelbro3d:
- created new procedural sky which uses a flame-fractal to create HDRI-lighting (SWAN-1248)
- restore last selected tab/sub-tab when a control caused an UI-rebuild (SWAN-1247)
- implemented pre-rendering and caching for HDRI-fractal-flame images (SWAN-1249)
- added "Parquet"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1294)
- added "Terrazzo Floor"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1295)
- added "Moss Carpet"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1296)
- added "Op-Art Warp" procedural texture (SWAN-1325)
- added "Interference Fringe" procedural texture (SWAN-1326)
- added "Crack Propagation" procedural texture (SWAN-1327)
- added "Perlin Worms" procedural texture (SWAN-1328)
- added "Pointillism" procedural texture (SWAN-1353)

VERSION 3.18.2442 (20.04.2026):
- mandelbro3d:
- also allow procedural textures for coloring the fractal (rather than only aa gradient
or image texture) (SWAN-1254)
- created missing preview-images for the procedural-textures-picker (SWAN-1239)
- fixed: Hyperboloid-primitive has rendering artifacts (SWAN-1240)
- implemented Brad's "Grid Morphosis" as procedural texture (SWAN-1259)
- added "Coral Reef"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1282)
- added "Geothermal"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1283)
- added "Petrified Forest"-floor-primitive (SWAN-1284)
- added "Lissajous Curve" procedural texture (SWAN-1306)
- added "Strange Attractor" procedural texture (SWAN-1307)
- added "Flux Lattice" procedural texture (SWAN-1315)
- added "Geode Crystal" procedural texture (SWAN-1316)

VERSION 3.17.2431 (20.04.2026):
- mandelbro3d:
- added bounding sphere for fur rendering (SWAN-1242)
- added restrictive bounding sphere box for the preview for fur rendering,
otherwise the app may become unresponsive (SWAN-1243)
- added "Julia Set" procedural texture (SWAN-1308)
- added "Circular Moiré" procedural texture (SWAN-1309)
- added "Kelvin-Helmholtz" procedural texture (SWAN-1310)
- added "Rayleigh-Bénard" procedural texture (SWAN-1311)
- added "Viscous Fingering" procedural texture (SWAN-1312)
- added "Dendritic Growth" procedural texture (SWAN-1313)
- added "Alexandrite Effect" procedural texture (SWAN-1314)
- created missing preview-images for the primitives-object-picker (SWAN-1238)

Andreas