V-Ray Next stable nightly build available - 20190826

[konstantin_chaos]

Hi guys,

I'm happy to announce that we have started uploading stable nightly builds of V-Ray Next for SketchUp.
The nightlies download page can now be accessed by anyone with chaosgroup.com account.

Here's a link to the latest build:
V-Ray Next for SketchUp, stable 20190826

Note that it's not recommended to use the nightly builds in production.
They are for test purposes only.
Scenes setup with the nightly build might not behave the same way when loaded in the final official build.

Regards,
Konstantin

[konstantin_chaos]

Next, stable - 20190826

Improved Speed and Quality

• Improved interactive rendering performance on the CPU
• Improved CPU utilization during Light Cache calculation for large output image resolutions
• Hash Map Light Cache mode is enabled. This new default Light Cache calculation mode resolves most common artifacts and is more optimized and stable when used in animations

Workflow Improvements

• V-Ray AppSDK updated to version 4.20.01
• The native material color corrections in SketchUp are now supported
• Added a V-Ray Scene Importer support for the Instancer that can be exported from 3ds Max, Maya, Blender, etc.
• Added support for Cryptomatte render element. It automatically generates and stores object or material based masks which can be exported in a multichannel OpenEXR file. This removes the hassle of creating dozens or hundreds of Multimattes.
• V-Ray Infinite Plane assets can now be enabled or disabled in the Asset Editor via their icon buttons or the toggle in their properties
• The step for the camera EV number field is decreased to 0.5. Activate the field and use the Up and Down keyboard keys to update the value using this new increment
• Slider handles can now be selected and manipulated using the keyboard Left and Right or Up and Down keys
• The Linear Workflow material option is removed and its behavior has been matched using standard shading techniques (and gamma correcting textures in some situations). Scene material that had the option enabled in the past will render as expected. This option is no longer needed for V-Ray 2 materials to be correctly loaded
• Increased float number precision of the Spline and Bezier Curve textures point positions
• An automatic connection between the Color Picker’s color values and the Kelvin slider temperature is implemented. This allows for a temperature value to be saved and modified separately for every color slot
• The File Path Editor user interface is improved. The window no longer has maximum size limits. The footer buttons now use labels instead of icons which makes their functionality more clear
• The V-Ray Frame Buffer (VFB) UI scales correctly based on the OS user interface scaling factor. This is especially useful when working on a single high-dpi display system
• The Custom Opacity Source material parameter now uses a checkbox instead of a toggle in the UI
• A Denoiser engine switch is now available in the main Renderer rollout. Switch from V-Ray to NVIDIA AI denoising without navigating to the Denoiser advanced parameters panel
• The Update Effects slider is now located in the Renderer rollout for easy access
• Camera Motion Blur toggle is implemented
• A number of issues with window ordering in Windows 7 and 8 are resolved. The VFB no longer goes to the background when focused
• VFB regions drawn during production rendering are disabled
• Loading render settings presets or resetting to the default one during rendering is no longer allowed
• The Translucency rollout of the V-Ray BRDF is renamed to Fog Scattering to better reflect what the options in this section do
• The Bump Delta Scale parameter is automatically hidden when the Normal Map mode is selected. The delta scale option has no effect in this case

Other Changes & Bug Fixes

• A number of Color Picker issues on Mac OS are resolved
• Some legacy materials and textures are migrated to their currently preferred counterparts (Legacy Noise, Angle Blend Material, Falloff ASGVIS, etc.)
• Loading specific .vropt (V-Ray Options) files in the Asset Editor no longer causes errors
• The Bump material asset icon (in the Assets Outliner list) no longer changes after the scene has been saved and reopened
• The Use Irradiance Map Option is removed from the V-Ray BRDF and re-introduced into the Wrapper material
• The Cutoff and Energy Preservation parameters are removed from the V-Ray BRDF Advanced Options rollout
• Transmutr materials no longer cause an infinite loop of SketchUp materials creation
• The scene importer now preserves material scalin for scenes exported from SketchUp or Rhino
• A number of issues related to environment manipulations during interactive rendering are resolved
• A number of issues with Skatter are resolved. Proxy Scenes are rendered correctly even with the Render Only mode enabled

[GD3DESIGN]

Very exciting!!!!

[dfsantos88]

Fantastic! The switch between NVIDIA AI and V-Ray Denoiser is much appreciated!

[Mousa_SA]

Next, stable - 20190826[*]The Linear Workflow material option is removed and its behavior has been matched using standard shading techniques (and gamma correcting textures in some situations). Scene material that had the option enabled in the past will render as expected. This option is no longer needed for V-Ray 2 materials[/LIST]

That is a great news

[Matheron]

Good. I am especially looking forward to:

• Improved Frame Buffer UI scaling. Currently, I can't read the text.
• Improved response in interactive rendering to environment manipulations. Currently, e.g. changing the custom gamma valua in a dome light's HDR image requires restarting the frame buffer to take effect, which takes a long time.

I can access and download vray_adv_40002_3395_sketchup_win

However, it won't run, as it does not find a license. It appears that this executable cannot be used with a V-Ray educational license.

Can you please make available nightly builds working for all customers who currently own a valid V-Ray for Sketchup license?

[Peter.Chaushev]

As mentioned in the initial post, the nightly builds are for testing purposes only and are not meant for production, including university projects. This is why builds with EDU licensing has not been considered. Also, please keep in mind despite being labeled as "stable" the builds are still WIP.
Nevertheless, I'll check with my colleagues whether a change in this stance is being considered.

Regarding the VFB scaling, please take a look at the following workaround: https://forums.chaosgroup.com/forum/...b-icon-scaling . It involves the setup of an environment variable which you can keep until the upcoming Update 1 is officially released.

Kind regards,
Peter

[Matheron]

Thank you. We are looking forward to V-Ray Next for Sketchup, Update 1.

Yes, please try to make nightly builds available to use for all users with a currently valid V-Ray for Sketchup license, EDU or not.

I think it does not make sense to exclude "university projects". We like to experiment just as much as companies - in fact, sometimes more so.

Also, I teach a lot of people, and would like to be able to show them a glimpse of what is coming.

Would you please make nightlies available to use for EDU license holders?

[Peter.Chaushev]

There's an ongoing discussion regarding this decision. In the meantime, if you wish to be provided with a build you will be able to run, please send me a PM.
Since you mentioned teaching, if you would like to know more about what our Education team can offer, please reach out to education@chaosgroup.com

Be advised though it is safer to use the latest official version while teaching as each stable nightly build may be subject to change. There is no point in getting familiar with any new feature while they are still in development.

Kind regards,
Peter