For 1.8 we decided to rewrite parts of ShaderFX to better support HLSL/FX format variations. Many engines support importing .FX shader files, but not all engines use the same format. With 1.8 we've revamped our ShaderFX SDK to better support format differences. We've included basic support for XNA, Quest3D and FXComposer formats in this release.

We've added a new Technique Material to allow users to store multiple techniques (materials) in a single shader. This feature is useful to be able to switch objects to cheaper shaders when they are run on lower performance hardware. Other examples for multiple techinqes are adding 'Black and White' shaders to objects to determine which objects need to get Scene FX such as Bloom/Glow applied.

Finally we've added the ability to see the alpha map for each of the textures displayed in the ShaderFX node schematic.