We call appleseed "modern" because, since its inception in 2009, it implements the modern paradigm of rendering: unbiased, physically-based, programmable, as fe

We call appleseed "modern" because, since its inception in 2009, it implements the modern paradigm of rendering: unbiased, physically-based, programmable, as few knob and hacks as possible. The quintessential example of a "non-modern" ("classic"?) renderer is Pixar's PRMan before it dropped REYES, adopted path tracing and was renamed RenderMan. Regarding the roadmap: we don't have a formal roadmap, but after each release (roughly every three months) we discuss and decide upon what we think would be the next logical steps, also taking into account which contributors will be participating and what are their areas of competence. There is a laundry list of features that any renderer must have to be considered usable by artists, and we're still missing some, so the road ahead is pretty clear, at least for a little longer.