V-Ray 3.0 for 3ds Max Beta Open!

[vlado]

Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere, but are all the render nodes universal (max/maya/softimage) with 3.0? That would be huge for mixed use studios.

Yes, all 3.0 render nodes are universal between V-Ray for 3ds Max, Maya and Softimage (with the respective 3.0 versions of the products of course).

Best regards,
Vlado

[creapix]

I agree with most, this new pricing scheme is really a shame for small studios (even more for big renderfarms):
Vray 2.0 + 10 DR nodes and unlimited render nodes: 1350$ USD
Vray 3.0 + 10 DR and render nodes (no longer unlimited - correct me if i'm wrong vlado) : 1050 + 280*9 = 3570$!!! 2.6 times the price of VRay 2.0 which had unlimited render nodes.

Now for upgrades:
Vray 1.5 to 2.0 + 10 DR nodes and unlimited render nodes: 550$ USD
Vray 2.0 to 3.0 + 10 DR and render nodes (no longer unlimited - correct me if i'm wrong) : 980 - 40 (to adjust to 10 render nodes) = ~ 940$!!! 1.7 times the price of VRay 2.0 upgrade which had unlimited render nodes.

That is for a single license and 10 DR/render nodes like we're used to, I can't even imagine the price increase for renderfarms and bigger studios. Unfortunately that price increase can't always be reflected in a price increase to the client to remain competitive (of course quality is the most important, but even then the clients will ask why the increase for the same type of work). Everything increases in price and Chaosgroup got bills to pay too, but that increase is rather steep when it should be linear.

Now don't get me wrong, VRay and Chaosgroup in general have provided us with incredible competitive tools for outputting nice work (we can all see the 2013 and earlier demo reels), and deserve to be paid for, but such a huge and drastic change to the pricing scheme hurts a lot more than the 1.5-5 times potential increase in bruteforce. Having universal rendernodes is cool, but not for everyone, lot of people just use 3dsmax for their work, so they don't care at all.

I see huge price increase for not so huge apparent improvement from what we have (apart in specific render situations, and of course all improvements in general are welcome and appreciated), so what's the deal?

[Morne]

The deal that states you get 3.0 for free if you purchased 2.4 between 4 August and when 3.0 is released, is that valid only for NEW 2.4 licenses, or also for NEW upgrades from 1.5 to 2.4?

Because the way I'm reading it is that it should ALSO be valid for upgrades from 1.5 to 2.4 if you do it now before 3.0 is released?
And the Bonus is also that you get 3 X 3.0 render nodes included for free with that deal?

[vlado]

The deal that states you get 3.0 for free if you purchased 2.4 between 4 August and when 3.0 is released, is that valid only for NEW 2.4 licenses, or also for NEW upgrades from 1.5 to 2.4?

Because the way I'm reading it is that it should ALSO be valid for upgrades from 1.5 to 2.4 if you do it now before 3.0 is released?
And the Bonus is also that you get 3 X 3.0 render nodes included for free with that deal?

It would be best to ask at sales.software@chaosgroup.com

Best regards,
Vlado

[Coffee Rabbit]

Not to be a kiss ass on their own forums, but regardless of what it used to cost, the new price is still very much worth it. VRay has grown and grown to encompass all kinds of needs yet remains elegant in it's implementation. It's the bee's knees.

[duke2]

Was really excited about this until I saw the rendernode pricing. Think we'll be sticking with 2.4! If the concern is ongoing costs, i'd introduce a combination of an annual subscription price (similar to what Itoosoft recently introduced), and bundling 10 rendernode licenses with each vray license (and sell additional nodes starting with 10 @ $1k).

The current/proposed system for 3.0 is incredibly hard on small businesses and render farms.

[Streetwise]

So let me get this straight:

For me to upgrade my workstation and three nodes from 2.4 to 3.0 would be $700? An that would include 3 node licenses that I have no use for? Hmmm... Doesn't seem quite right. Perhaps I could sell those three unused licenses @ $125ea? Is that possible?

Dave

[ajroane]

From the announcement page - *V-Ray Render Nodes are required to render with V-Ray 3.0 for 3ds Max.

Probably a dumb question, but to clarify, you still only need Vray Render Nodes if you are rendering over a network, right? So by default, purchasing Vray 3.0 will allow you to render locally, and on one render slave?

Thanks,
Andrew

[ajroane]

My two cents about licensing...the separate fee for the Universal Render Nodes makes sense, considering the ways in which Vray is expanding. For example, if an architectural firm has employees using Vray for 3dsMax, SketchUp, and (in the future) Revit, the Universal Node should make things more simple to manage. In essence, the Render Node will operate as a separate product, so it's not unfair for ChaosGroup to sell it separately. I don't like paying more for stuff that used to be free, but it does make sense.
It seems the heartache is felt most by 3dsMax users, who render only from 3dsMax. Now they will be expected to pay for an expanded service, which they don't currently need, even though it may benefit them in the future. It's too bad there couldn't be some sort of 'grandfathering-in' for the loyal Max crowd. On the other hand, the loyalists have had over 10 years of super-cheap service, so either way there's not much to complain about.
Regards,
Andrew

[ajroane]

The deal that states you get 3.0 for free if you purchased 2.4 between 4 August and when 3.0 is released, is that valid only for NEW 2.4 licenses, or also for NEW upgrades from 1.5 to 2.4?

Because the way I'm reading it is that it should ALSO be valid for upgrades from 1.5 to 2.4 if you do it now before 3.0 is released?
And the Bonus is also that you get 3 X 3.0 render nodes included for free with that deal?

I would love to know what answer you get concerning this question. We still have one old Vray 1.5 license in our office.

Thanks,
Andrew

[michaelwbell]

LOL, are you telling me your rendering times really went down in the past years?
when i look at my work, each year a frames takes the same or longer to render, even after i updated to a much faster machine, because the moment you have more power, you add more stuff to the scene .. will be the same with vray3 if it is really 50% faster....

The winky face signified I was joking - I was trying to make a point about the new render node licencing. Yes I definitely agree with you. As soon as you get new hardware, you can finally increase scene size, use 3d motion blur, or some crazy displacement, etc.

I guess the difference here is that I will not be upgrading my hardware for a while. So if I buy Vray 3.0, i really do hope my renders will be quicker because i'm rendering same scenes on same hardware. nice.

[michaelwbell]

"V-Ray 2.x licenses will remain active for a 6-month grace period from the date of upgrade to V-Ray 3.0.
A special V-Ray 2.4 build will be available to provide compatibility with V-Ray 3.0 licenses."

Does the mean that after the upgrade even my "old" 2.4 lics are not unlimited rendering anymore?

This question still remains un-answered - Correct me if I am wrong.


Can we get clarification on what this means?
Does it mean that if we choose to upgrade to Vray 3.0, our 'old' vray 2 licenses and render nodes will no longer work after 6 months?

I really do think the new licence terms for render nodes are unfair. Yes, Many other companies charge by the render node, but I do not know of a case where a company has gone from charging NOTHING for UNLIMITED render nodes, to giving ONLY 1 render node for free. It is such a drastic change and it because of that I do not see 'vray 2.4 -> Vray 3' as true upgrade. because you gain some great features, but you LOOSE so much functionality.


If this was the release of vray 1.0 and this was your licencing scheme, that's totally fair. I think the sentiment from users here is that most people would be willing to pay for nodes, but this jump from unlimited free nodes to 1 just free nodes is just too much of a drastic licencing change for existing Vray Users. I hope Chaos surveys users before release and if there are poor sales of Vray 3.0, they consider tweaking these new pricing schemes.

[vlado]

If this was the release of vray 1.0 and this was your licencing scheme, that's totally fair. I think the sentiment from users here is that most people would be willing to pay for nodes, but this jump from unlimited free nodes to 1 just free nodes is just too much of a drastic licencing change for existing Vray Users.

It is true that this is a big change, we totally realize that. So we are trying to be very flexible about it.

I hope Chaos surveys users before release and if there are poor sales of Vray 3.0, they consider tweaking these new pricing schemes.

There is always this possibility, yes.

Best regards,
Vlado

[Itoosoft]

Is it possible to install the license server (only this) in a 32 bit machine ?

We have our license servers running in an old 32bit VM. Obviously the 64 bit installer doesn't run on it, but i wonder if the server is 64 bit native as well...

[vlado]

Is it possible to install the license server (only this) in a 32 bit machine ?

We have our license servers running in an old 32bit VM. Obviously the 64 bit installer doesn't run on it, but i wonder if the server is 64 bit native as well...

We do have a 32-bit version of the license server. Please email me to vlado@chaosgroup.com for the details.

Best regards,
Vlado