We just got a new release out called Summer Splash II
or you might also call it Howler 11.3
Either way, we've got some new performance improvements out. The adjustable gradient tools is much, much more interactive. There are also some other nice cosmetic and usability improvements. Layer modes now get a realtime preview as you select them.
We continue to work under the hood in Howler 11. The API that we use to make Howler is much more advanced than it was 2 years ago. It's practically an all new program.
You can see that we've added a new scripting engine, and it exposes a lot of our new API.
http://squirreldome.com/API_And_Scripting.htm
Puppy Ray for GPU recently gained physically plausible global illumination lighting. Here are a few examples of that in action.