Multi-threading: for optimal efficiency, SUBSTANCE uses multiple CPU-cores (if available) for GUI management, Shapes modeling calculations and Photorealistic rendering.

User-friendly and intuitive GUI.

Five OpenGL realtime visualization modes: Point clouds + skeleton, Soft (velvet-like), Dispersive (chromatic dispersion), Plaster (Ambient occlusion) and Specular (Global illumination).

Two supported languages: English and French

Image Based Lighting: SUBSTANCE uses High Dynamic Range images (probes) as realtime lighting environment and can import up to 32 probes in its library.

Up to 64 textures maps to import for realtime surface models mapping.

Fast realtime camera shooting function.

Three categories of procedural structures (shown below as colored point clouds):

'Genome' editor allowing the user to create/edit/manipulate the genetic sequence of any organic structure (up to 128 genes for 45 different chromosomes, up to 5 levels of recursion). A realtime preview of the resulting skeleton is always updated during the genome manipulations.

Specific fractal 'microscope' allowing the user to explore the "complex plane" and find 4D fractal shapes to extract and turn into pure 3D organic forms.

Allows automatic transformation of any organic structure into a natural fossilized piece of rocks.

Automatic Fractal and Ephemeral searching system: allows finding brand new primary "fractal" or "ephemeral" forms without any manual intervention. Then, the user only have to tweak the structure parameters to affine or finalize its appearance.

Allows genetic mutations (based on specific rules) to take place during the growing of organic structures.

High or low definition mesh export functionality: SUBSTANCE is able to export the final objects as triangle meshes (Wavefront OBJ file format). In high definition mode, exported meshes can have up to 2 million-triangles. In low definition mode, a powerful mesh decimation algorithm is used to reduce drastically (up to 80%) the number of triangles necessary to get almost the same topology as the original model.

Includes NeuroSystems' superior rendering technology P.U.R.E. (Physically-based Unbiased Rendering Engine): the structure model in the GUI realtime viewport is shot by the P.U.R.E's virtual camera to produce a very high quality photograph.

Shaders, materials, camera properties, lighting and final image quality are totally derived from the P.U.R.E. core functionalities. The user can easily have access to these features from GUI.

Indoor and outdoor renderings: custom High Dynamic Range images (HDRI) can be used to produce artificial lighting environments.

SUBSTANCE [A.R] also features Augmented Reality using a singular marker. Here's a brief explaination on how it works...

1) Source image from the webcam. We can clearly see the marker on which SUBSTANCE will put the 3D structure.

2) SUBSTANCE's artificial vision mode, in which we can see how it sees the real world through the webcam in order to analyze and detect forms to recognize the marker.

3) Realtime augmented reality preview, the 3D structure is laid over the marker fully matching perspective, depth of field and camera lens.

4) Compliance and consistency of light for a total integration into a final photograph is automatically rendered.