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

[konstantin_chaos]

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

It can be downloaded here:
download.chaos.com

After installation, you will find more detailed info about the changes in the 'VRayForSketchUpReleaseNotes' file:
Windows: %PROGRAMFILES%\Chaos Group\V-Ray\V-Ray for SketchUp\extension\
macOS: /Applications/ChaosGroup/V-Ray/V-Ray\ for\ SketchUp/extension/

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

• SketchUp 2023: The Scatter Viewer tool is no longer used. Instead a new Scatter Viewport Preview is available in the SketchUp Overlays tray
• SketchUp 2023: Both the Viewport Render and Scatter Viewer buttons on the toolbar now show a notification that the respective SketchUp overlay should be used
• The V-Ray Scene Importer converts all raw bitmap buffers to regular image files on disk before importing which speeds up the process significantly
• Decals can now be imported by the V-Ray Scene Importer. This feature can be disabled in the importer options
• An issue causing SketchUp to randomly crash on closing down is resolved
• The preview of Proxy Meshes contained within a Proxy Scene is no longer scaled incorrectly
• The Enscape to V-Ray material conversion logic is improved in a number of ways
• An issue causing the top parts of an Enmesh module to be incorrectly cut is resolved
• Scatter can now be applied to a selection of edges in one click - they are automatically welded and grouped for optimal results

Improved viewport materials

• A way for displaying most procedural textures as well as procedural texture corrections in the SketchUp 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 texture confined within the 0 to 1 UV square is baked. This affects most procedural patterns and textures with non-default UV placement configuration. Raytraced textures are not supported

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