Vray for Blender 2.8 - when?

[marcoz]

Just for grins (okay, maybe for a grimace) I looked at how this thread started. More than 2 years and 20 pages of comments later, this is how it's going. What a shame.

I turned to octane (free ,works very well on my 3090 rtx) and cycles x i get very professional look in my render.

[riley_brown]

"Blender Guru" Andrew Price just dubbed Vray the best all around render engine (strictly considering performance) for both GPU and CPU after two years of research and testing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myg-VbapLno&t=6s

This is just one opinion I suppose.

As a Vray user myself, I have to agree. It's the best all around engine I've ever used. The one problem is, I have to run it in 3ds Max or Maya to use it. Not available in my software of choice (Blender). Not in any serious capacity at least.

I understand Blender's GPL could be a factor in the difficulty to integrate a tool like Vray? Is this true?

[Alex_M]

I saw that video too. Vray is indeed the best engine out there if you do a wide variety of CG work. The lack of up to date version of Vray is the main thing that prevents me from jumping seriously into Blender which is getting more and more popular lately.

[ioioiofilip]

I understand Blender's GPL could be a factor in the difficulty to integrate a tool like Vray? Is this true?

The 2.8+ update basically has the same restrictions as 2.79 so I don't think licensing is a deterrent. It's not like they planned to add RT or anything. They even said in this thread they were focusing on the existing implementation only.

As for Andrew's video, I don't take these engine comparisons too seriously since it's really hard to make a fair one having so many factors into account. AFAIK Vray was not even tested in Blender but Max in those tests.

Blender with Vray additions is currently an old, incomplete implementation of Vray Next for 2.79. While render speed does matter, the lack of texture/shader/light previews make it hard to develop any significant render scene making it much less productive.

For anyone interested in Vray I would suggest staying away from its Blender version since not even the devs have an interest in the project anymore. They just don't have the courage to admit it.

[Pbaroque18]

Adobe is funding Blender. That says something.

[beenyweenies]

Here's a simple fact that everyone here needs to accept in order to understand what's going on.

Blender operates under a GPL license, and Chaos Group would ALSO have to release Vray under a GPL license in order to comply with Blender's terms. Alternatively, they could resort to all manner of crazy backend communications between a "free" blender plugin and the "paid" Vray standalone, but this has substantial limitations (basic things like IPR would be an issue). Besides, the reality is that Blender users by and large have come to expect "Free" to be part of the deal, and few would ever pay for the Standalone product.

Philosophically, the only way it would ever make sense to develop plugins for Blender is if you're willing to do so completely free of charge in your spare time, or to beg for donations and hope to make enough to cover the cost of your time investment. Neither scenario allows for a professional team of paid developers to invest the time needed to create a truly AAA commercial plugin that has ongoing development, support resources etc. all of which require hundreds/thousands of man-hours that will never be recouped.

The GPL model works great for Blender devs because they get paid for THEIR hard work via generous grants and donations (almost $200k/month), most of which comes from large corporations like Amazon, AMD, Nvidia, Facebook, Google, Intel and others. Without backing from multinational corporations, how do they expect high-quality plugin developers to survive? Their answer is simplistic and hypocritical - Sharing is love.

[ioioiofilip]

beenyweenies I think most on this thread are aware of the GPL restrictions. Were they not a deterrant untill 2.79?

My main issue is that they still sell a product that is basically EOL with promises (from devs to support) that they constantly fail to deliver. They are wasting people's both time and money.

[beenyweenies]

beenyweenies I think most on this thread are aware of the GPL restrictions. Were they not a deterrant untill 2.79?

Reading through these pages it seemed to me that a lot of people don't actually understand, they just think Chaos are being lazy or ignoring development. I posted this in hopes of clearing it up for anyone who comes here in the future trying to understand the issue.

My main issue is that they still sell a product that is basically EOL with promises (from devs to support)

I haven't seen any comments from Chaos folks on this issue in over a year. But yes, I agree that they should remove all references to the project on their main website.

[Mokiki]

To be fair most of the current active people in this thread are talking about ChaorGroups official statement that they are working on a vray for blender 2.8+ plugin. When that statement was made GPL licensing was already in place. It's not something new that suddenly appeared out of nowhere and that is why ChaosGroup is silent on the matter.
I fully understand the challenges on Chaos Group's side. Especially with the fact that it's probably not fully clear how many people would actually buy vray for blender.

In my case though I've been working with vray for 3ds max for the last decade and compared to all other render engines I have used I prefer vray. 1 year ago I made the business decision for myself to move my freelance job away from autodesk and fully switch to blender. This decision was reinforced in parts because of ChaosGroups announcement that they are working on vray for blender 2.8+
Right now while I mostly switched everything I do freelance to blender I still use 3ds max for the sole purpose of exporting my geo to it and render using vray. While this still works for me it is definitely not a long term solution for obvious reasons.

I honestly just want ChaosGroup to either flat out say: Sorry the project is canceled because of the following reason or We're still working on this and show some updates/give newer information.

[ioioiofilip]

Reading through these pages it seemed to me that a lot of people don't actually understand, they just think Chaos are being lazy or ignoring development.

I for one don't think they are lazy but it is clear to me that they are avoiding Blender. Like Mokiki mentioned, the GPL was in effect when 2.79 and below were being developed, nothing changed since then, so why the holdup now? First, most asked for the same functionality that was already in 2.79 which is promised in this thread.

Before I bought their perpetual license I specifically asked support about their plan to update to Blender 2.8+ and they said they had plans on updating but no ETA (this was more than 2 years ago). This was my incentive to buy. If you check this thread you'll see other similar claims from representatives that have not been substantiated and have been deceiving to anyone interested.

[matanov]

There is some dev work scheduled by the end of the year, but we still don't want to promise anything.

[eosek]

Finally, only half a year ...

[ioioiofilip]

There is some dev work scheduled by the end of the year, but we still don't want to promise anything.

To make sure I understand. Scheduled as in continue working on it or as in finishing product?

[matanov]

To make sure I understand. Scheduled as in continue working on it or as in finishing product?

As in there will be a certain dev resource devoted to the cause, but it's too early to judge if that will lead us closer to releasing a product.

[ioioiofilip]

Finally, only half a year ...

And that's with a big "IF" since I've read similar statement before, even on this very thread.
Not a satisfactory answer from the company that's for sure, but at least I now know for sure I should seriously consider investing in alternatives.