Hmmm... maybe they've extended the point cloud system apparently in use already for the SSS pass (by the looks of it - if the ".pcloud" file generated at that stage is what it looks like), to provide something even more comprehensive...

http://www.cgsociety.org/index.php/CGSFeatures/CGSFeatureSpecial/pixar_points

http://renderman.pixar.com/view/SSS

http://renderman.pixar.com/view/point-clouds

http://www.blendertorenderman.org/2011/10/point-cloud-indirect-lighting-in.html

http://perso.telecom-paristech.fr/~boubek/papers/QPBGI/

(above is just some of the reading I've been doing after a recent thread asking what the .pcloud file was... I liked the gist of that last research piece)

LOL :lol: Okay... nah... I'm guessing not... yet

May be bigger than a service release?

Yeah some IDL tweaks... to help reduce black or red artifacts, when Irradiance Caching is set to less than 100, would be great. Fingers crossed