V-Ray 6 for Rhino, update 2 is now available!

[konstantin_chaos]

V-Ray 6 for Rhino, update 2 is now available!

It can be download here:
download.chaos.com

After installation, you will find more detailed info about the changes in the 'VRayForRhinoReleaseNotes' file:
%PROGRAMFILES%\Chaos Group\V-Ray\V-Ray for Rhinoceros\VRayForRhinoReleaseNotes.html

Regards,
Konstantin

[konstantin_chaos]

Scatter

• The scattering toolset is extended in a number of ways. Major workflow changes like the new scattering modes, area modifiers, and lights scattering are combined with numerous small improvements
• Bounding box scattering mode is implemented. Note that it uses the object’s bounding box instead of the actual volume boundaries
• Curve scattering implemented. Scatter objects along a path with additional control over the instances’ spacing and positioning to help produce organic results
• UV Grid surface scattering mode is implemented. In this mode instances are distributed on the surface in a grid pattern. The grid position is determined by the texture/UV mapping of the host surface
• Area modifiers implemented. Limit the scattering area based on mesh or curve proximity. Note that the modifier’s projection onto the host’s surface is used instead of its actual physical location
• New transformation settings implemented. The new random transformation parameters provide finer offset, rotation, and scaling controls
• Light Scattering is implemented. Light sources can now be added as guests to Scatter and instantiated around the scene. Note that a big increase in the scene lights count may significantly increase render times
• The way Scatter is handled internally is updated. V-Ray scenes with scattering are now significantly smaller in size and can be uploaded for Cloud rendering in an optimal way

Cloud one-click submit workflow

• Cloud submit window is implemented. It enables a new and more intuitive workflow for submitting scenes to be rendered on the Chaos Cloud. There is no longer need to navigate to an external web browser window to submit the project for rendering
• The export and render steps from the Cloud submit process are no longer separated by a manual action

VFB

• Chromatic aberration effect implemented. This new feature is part of the Lens Effects and simulates the real-world phenomenon of light rays being focused at different points depending on their wavelength
• A shortcut that helps with enabling the VFB history feature is implemented
• Folders can now be added to the layers stack even when in Standard / RGB source mode. This helps with the layer organization and unlocks new compositing possibilities
• A plain color can now be specified in the Background layer
• Mask previews can be now copied from VFB to the clipboard
• A number of additional small UX improvements streamline the compositing workflow

IES Light improvements

• Cosmos light sources containing IES lights can now be imported
• IES Light intensity is now automatically derived from the .ies file at creation time or when the profile is changed
• The UI of the IES Light is simplified. The Intensity value is always enabled. Resetting its value (via the right-click menu) sets the intensity back to the one from the .ies file
• Light shape menu implemented. It specifies which aspects of the light emission and shadow casting are affected by its area shape and size

V-Ray GPU

• Enmesh assets can now be rendered with V-Ray GPU
• Animation texture caching is implemented. Bitmap files no longer have to be reloaded for each animation frame resulting in lower render times
• An issue preventing the rendering of Bitmap Image Sequences is resolved
• An issue preventing the render process from starting when specific materials are present in the project is resolved

Integration

• The V-Ray scene importer now converts all raw bitmap buffers to regular image files on disk before importing which speeds up the process significantly
• Export of multiple cameras is implemented. All Standard or Named views can be exported to a .vrscene via the vrayExportVRScene command. When using Chaos Vantage via Live Link all camera views from the Rhino project are loaded
• All Geometry instances are now imported as block instances via the V-Ray Scene Importer
• Packing a project that contains multiple texture files with identical names is now handled in a better way. Only one file is packed if the file contents also match. If the files are different an error message is displayed and the process is aborted. Conflicting file names are expected to be manually edited before using Pack Project again
• V-Ray now takes into account the visibility state of Enscape assets
• The ‘vrayShowVFBOnRender’ command is removed and its function is moved to the ‘vrayShowVFB’ command
• Notification is added when attempting to render animation without an image file output
• The way diffuse colors mixed with diffuse textures are shown in the Rhino viewport is improved
• V-Ray no longer modifies the native Rhino render resolution upon activation
• The ‘vrayLoadSettings’ command now correctly interrupts the interactive rendering process
• An issue with the Replace In Scene material operation is resolved
• Rendering with missing or invalid output image file path is now possible. Warning messages are displayed to indicate that the render output is not going to be written to file
• An error no longer appears when a light creation process is interrupted
• Scatter and Enmesh assets with Proxy Mesh guest objects no longer render incorrectly after changing the Proxy Scale Factor
• An issue preventing the opening of specific scenes saved with V-Ray Next is resolved
• An issue causing an incorrect material assignment in specific legacy scenes is resolved
• An issue with the Enscape compatibility on localized Windows systems is resolved
• A number of issues with rendering Enscape assets are resolved
• An issue causing incorrect texture preview in the Rhino viewport is fixed
• Missing Named Views or Snapshots selected in Rhino’s rendering panel no longer block V-Ray from rendering
• An issue preventing the V-Ray Batch Render UI from listing multiple Rhino viewports with matching names is resolved
• An issue preventing the Proxy Mesh materials list from being populated in specific situations is resolved
• A number of issues with V-Ray Decals imported via the V-Ray Scene Importer are resolved
• An issue with switching between 4-viewports and maximized viewport layouts during interactive rendering is resolved
• Rhino 8: Added support for lines with Curve Piping modifier
• Rhino 8: Added support for Edge Softening is added
• Rhino 8: Added support for layers visibility
• The viewport’s Focal Blur data no longer incorrectly overrides the user-defined depth of field configuration in specific situations

Improved viewport materials

• A way for displaying most procedural textures as well as procedural texture corrections in the Rhino viewport is implemented. This new default behavior substitutes the generic texture helpers previously employed for mapping adjustments. Differences between the rendered result and the viewport preview may occur due to the fact that only the boundaries of the first texture in the network are respected when baking or due to the fact that some procedural textures can not be baked into a 2D image (like 3D or ray-traced maps)

Curve editing enhancements (Spline and Bezier curves)

• An issue preventing the single-click selection of a curve point is resolved
• The Value tab of the Spline curve is now selected by default since it is the most commonly used one
• Points that precisely overlap in the corners are automatically merged. This avoids accidental stacking
• Spline and Bezier curve points are no longer deleted on right-click. Instead they can be selected and removed using the ‘Delete’ keyboard key or the new context menu option
• The Interpolation of the Spline curve points as well as the Tangent Type of the Bezier curve points can now be changed from the new context menu
• Continuously dragging a curve point or clicking in fast succession within the Spline and Bezier curve editors no longer causes slowdowns and lagging during interactive rendering
• Keyboard navigation between points is implemented in the curve editors. Use the Left and Right keys to change the selection

Infrastructure

• gRPC communication implemented. The protocol used for synchronizing scene changes between the integration and the UI is updated. This improves performance and reliability

Other Improvements & Bug Fixes

• Added support for Cubic Projection Mode of the Tri-Planar texture. It provides further control by introducing an optional division between positive and negative directions of each axis
• Chaos Cosmos materials can now be dragged and dropped in the Asset Editor
• The range selection between tagged assets in the Asset Outliner is improved. The range selection between members of the same group/tag is possible while range selection across groups and hierarchy levels is disallowed
• The Gamma texture user interface is improved. Note that this texture may appear after a Cosmos import or as a result of a V-Ray scene import
• An issue preventing the procedural clouds from appearing in the Sun/Sky asset preview in specific situations is resolved
• Clearing the V-Ray Log window no longer prevents it from displaying any further info
• An issue preventing the window resize arrow from showing up when using non-standard OS display scaling is resolved

[konstantin_chaos]

V-Ray for Grasshopper

• The V-Ray Scatter component is updated in a number of ways to match the updated Scatter asset in Rhino. Major workflow changes like the new scattering modes, area modifiers, and lights scattering are combined with numerous small improvements
• V-Ray Scatter Area Modifier component is implemented
• V-Ray Spline Scattering component is implemented. Connect it to the Scattering input of the V-Ray Scatter component to use its options
• V-Ray Surface Scattering component is implemented. It includes Random Distribution and UV Grid modes
• V-Ray Volume Scattering component is implemented. This mode utilizes an object’s bounding box to populate instances within
• Domain3 and two additional constructor components are implemented. Use them to control the Random transformation ranges of the V-Ray Scatter component
• Environment Fog component is implemented. Connect to an Environment component to produce a volumetric environment fog atmospheric effect
• Aerial Perspective component is implemented. Add a Sun input and connect to an Environment component to produce an aerial perspective atmospheric effect
• Full support for render regions in the VFB is implemented
• File path auto-resolution logic is improved
• The value of the internal Low Thread Priority parameter is now set to 2. This applies to both new and existing projects. The new value ensures there is no delay when zooming in the VFB during bucket rendering
• A visibility toggle option is added to the V-Ray Proxy Mesh and V-Ray Proxy Scene components
• Scatter bounding box previews now correctly remain active even when disabling the guest's visibility
• An issue preventing straight horizontal or vertical lines to be displayed in the V-Ray Graph component is resolved
• The V-Ray Renderer default light is now automatically disabled in whenever at least one light source is manually added to the set
• An issue causing Proxy Meshes to change color on scene change or render start is resolved
• The export of animated proxies that include mesh topology changes is now permitted