Roadmap

Import / Export Presets

Export any Branch definition or full Generation set as a portable preset file. Import it into any project — same structure, same values, ready to use. Studio-shared lighting rigs, standardised camera setups, reusable material states across a product line.

High-Performance Storage

CHRONOS V2 replaces the per-project JSON sidecar with a structured SQLite database. Faster reads at studio scale, full per-value edit history, and the persistence backbone required for everything in V3 and beyond. Every Generation switch, every value change — tracked and queryable.

Standalone Dashboard + OpenUSD Bridge

CHRONOS beyond Cinema 4D. Two major expansions:

Standalone Dashboard — a native desktop application (Flutter) that connects to your Cinema 4D session over a local WebSocket. Manage your entire Generation tree from a separate window, on a second monitor, or independently of C4D. Features a Miro-style visual tree editor with drag-to-reparent, full Generation rename and reorganisation, and a live preview panel. This becomes the primary home of CHRONOS.

OpenUSD Bridge — every CHRONOS Generation becomes a USD Variant. Export variation data as USD VariantSets, compatible with NVIDIA Omniverse, Houdini SOLARIS, Autodesk Maya 2024+, Unreal Engine 5, and Blender 4+. Your scene variations travel beyond Cinema 4D into any USD-native pipeline.

Plugin Ecosystem

Hot-pluggable extensions for CHRONOS. Three built-in plugins ship with V4:

Macro Engine — define logic gates, conditions, and scripts that run on Generation switches. Automate multi-step scene operations, trigger render passes, apply conditional overrides based on Variable values.

Batch Renderer — render all Generations (or a selected subset) as a single headless job. Output naming driven by Generation names. Integrates with the Scene Doctor for pre-render validation.

Scene Doctor — a rule-based scene health system. Define validation rules (missing textures, unlocked objects, naming violations, missing Variables) and run them before any render or export. Auto-fix where possible.

Studio Sync and Collaboration

CHRONOS as a multi-seat studio resource. Three layers:

GitHub Integration — GitOps-compatible export of the full Generation tree as deterministic JSON. Automatic validation via GitHub Actions — every push runs the Scene Doctor and Batch Renderer checks. Integrated with CHRONOS versioning so every commit maps to a named Generation state.

Solo Remote — work on your CHRONOS project from any machine, anywhere. Supabase relay keeps your local session in sync without exposing your machine to the internet.

Team Collaboration — multiple artists in the same Generation tree simultaneously. Real-time session sync via Supabase Broadcast. Presence awareness — see which Generation each team member is on. Conflict resolution built in.

AI-Assisted Authoring

An AI engine that understands your Generation structure and works inside it.

Automatic scene creation — describe a variation in plain language, CHRONOS proposes the full Variable overrides and creates the Generation. You review a diff before anything touches your scene.

Macro setup — describe a scene automation in natural language, the AI generates the Macro Engine logic. Inspect, edit, approve.

Scene Doctor automation — the AI reads your Scene Doctor rules and your scene state, proposes fixes for every violation, applies them through the standard CHRONOS write layer. One approval, zero manual work.

Every AI action routes through the standard CHRONOS write layer — no direct scene mutations, no surprises. You approve. CHRONOS executes.