Version note: The current build is 5.3.0-alpha.1, tested with Blender 5.3 Alpha. Final Blender 5.3 compatibility is not yet verified. Both Standard and Pro 5.3 require Blender 5.3 with native Gaussian Splat support; Blender 5.2 and 5.4 are outside this package's supported version range.

What's new · 5.3 workflow · Updating from 5.2 · Version 5.2 documentation

What's new in 5.3

• Smart Camera Rig: Generate cameras for indoor spaces, outdoor areas, or an object/collection. Combine capture areas in one setup, then calculate cameras and review coverage. Manual placement and saved rigs remain available.
• Clearer coverage checks: Inspect surface coverage, browse problem areas one at a time, and identify redundant cameras. Changes to cameras, scene geometry, or analysis settings mark previous coverage results as out of date.
• Auto Settings: Compare your saved User Settings with Recommended Settings. Apply the preset or restore your settings, including after reopening the project. Render Samples and Noise Threshold retain your latest values.
• SplatGen V2 training — Pro: A new Brush-based trainer is the default for new scenes. G Splat / Legacy remains available for compatible NVIDIA CUDA systems. Both trainers include live preview and PLY/SOG export.
• Native Blender Splats: Trained Splats are native Gaussian point-cloud objects, saved inside the .blend and rendered with EEVEE or Cycles. Open existing Gaussian PLY or SPZ files from View.
• Relighting: Switch between As Trained and Relit. Use scene lights with Response, Brightness and Tint controls, preserve glowing parts, and choose whether the Splat casts shadows.
• Updated workflow and Guide: Prepare, Train and View organize the process. The bundled offline Guide includes interactive interface examples and setting explanations.

Standard and Pro in 5.3

Standard includes smart, manual and saved camera rigs, coverage checks, dataset building and preview, plus native Gaussian viewing and relighting. Train datasets in a separate application or upgrade to Pro. The locked Train · Pro tab is an interface reference; it does not run training.

Pro adds V2 and Legacy training inside Blender, live training preview, saved-run continuation, checkpoints and trainer-generated PLY/SOG exports. Training dependencies are bundled in the complete Pro installation ZIP; the separate runtime-download step from 5.2 no longer applies.

Hardware: This distribution is for Windows x64. Legacy requires a compatible NVIDIA CUDA GPU and stays unavailable until the automatic compatibility check succeeds. V2 uses a different GPU backend; other GPU vendors have not yet been validated in this add-on build. CPU-only training is not supported as a documented workflow.

Quick workflow for 5.3

1. Prepare your project and cameras

Save the .blend file and open Prepare. Choose an output folder, or leave it empty to create a SplatGen project folder beside the saved .blend.

Under Add Cameras, choose Smart rig, Manual or Saved. For Smart rig, add capture areas for the scene and calculate cameras. Review the Camera List, then run Check Coverage. Browse the problem areas and adjust camera placement where needed.

2. Choose settings and build the dataset

Open Auto Settings beside Build Dataset. Apply Recommended Settings uses the fixed preset, including 35 mm lenses and 1600 × 1200 images. Select User Settings to restore your saved values. Manual edits select User Settings automatically and are respected during rendering. Recheck coverage after switching.

Choose Point Sampling, review the estimated point count, and use Custom to adjust Cameras Used, Rays per Camera and Sample Merging. Image-format options are in the settings popover. Click Build Dataset; progress shows rendering, camera/image metadata and point-cloud generation. Inspect the result in Dataset Preview.

3. Train in Blender — Pro

Open Train, select the completed dataset and choose SplatGen V2 or G Splat / Legacy. Use Basic, Advanced or All to browse settings; Search and Changed help locate controls. Start with a small dataset to check memory use.

Use Off / Low / Live to change preview updates during training. Limit Preview Splats limits only the displayed preview. Keep Load Full Result enabled to load the complete result after the trainer exits and releases its GPU memory. Full models still need enough RAM and VRAM for Blender.

Saving and continuing: V2 can pause/resume, save a PLY, and continue a saved model from the Run menu. Set Steps above the saved iteration to continue into a new run. V2 restores model parameters and the iteration but starts a fresh optimizer. New Legacy checkpoints also restore optimizer state; older model-only checkpoints continue with a warning and fresh optimizers.

4. View, relight and export

Open View to inspect the native Splat, or use Open trained splat to import an existing model. Switch between As Trained and Relit once the training run has released the Splat. Adjust Response, Brightness and Tint, then choose Keep glowing parts and Cast shadows as needed.

In Pro, export PLY or SOG from either trainer. PLY offers broad compatibility; SOG is a smaller format for compatible viewers such as SuperSplat. V2 SOG conversion runs on the CPU and does not require CUDA. Save the .blend to retain the native Splat in the Blender project.

Updating from 5.2

1. Back up your .blend files and preferences. Keep the 5.2 package for projects that still use Blender 5.2.
2. In the compatible Blender 5.3 build, open Edit → Preferences → Get Extensions → Install from Disk and select the complete ZIP for your edition. Do not unzip it or install the source companion as an add-on.
3. Enable SplatGen. Install one edition at a time in the same extension repository; Standard and Pro share the same extension ID. When switching editions, disable the existing edition before enabling the other.
4. Review camera settings and coverage before building. For Pro, use the bundled training runtime; a GitHub source ZIP does not include it.

Normal preparation, viewing and bundled training work offline without an account or online activation. Automatic update checks and preview notifications are off by default; updates are installed manually. Bug reports let you review the submission and choose optional diagnostics or logs before sending.

Need help? Open Guide in the add-on header for the interactive offline reference, or contact [email protected] with your version, Blender build, GPU, failed action and relevant log.

PREVIOUS VERSION

Version 5.2 Documentation

The original SplatGen 5.2 documentation follows unchanged. Its compatibility requirements, runtime installation steps and interface instructions apply to version 5.2. For version 5.3, use the update section above.