V-Ray 7 for Rhino, update 3 is now available!
It can be downloaded here:
download.chaos.com
A complete list of all new features and improvements is available in the Release Notes
Regards,
Konstantin
AI Mood Match (Beta)
* AI Mood Match (Beta) added to Light Gen. Match scene environment lighting to a reference photo using an HDR-based setups. Go to the AI Mood Match (Beta) tab to use the feature
* Auto Match Angle option added so Mood Match can automatically align HDR rotation with the current camera view
* The Mood Match info tooltip (on the results page) shows a thumbnail of the reference image, making it easy to recall which source was used
* Adjust EV on application checkbox is introduced on the Light Gen’s results page. Disable the option to keep the project’s current camera configuration when scenarios are applied. The option is available for both the classic and AI-powered modes of Light Gen
* Mood Match rating and feedback system implemented
Vantage Viewport Rendering (Real-time path tracing)
* Viewport rendering with Vantage implemented. Activate the Vantage Viewport option from the Rhino viewport’s menu to see the image stream in your workspace. Alternatively, use the new Vantage Viewport Render button located on the Live Link toolbar
* Implemented a way for the image rendered in the viewport to be saved out as a file. Use the SaveRenderWindowAs command to achieve this. Alternatively use the menu button \- V-Ray / Live Link / Export Viewport Image
Gaussian splats relighting
* Gaussian splats relighting allows scene lights to affect splats with adjustable blend, shadow blur, offset, and normals control. Enable the Lighting toggle in a Gaussian Splat object to take advantage of the new workflow
Scatter improvements
* Scatter Cluster Painting implemented, enabling cluster-based distributions that follow painted strokes on the host geometry. Enable Clustering, select the new Cluster Painting mode, add guests to the Base layer and create additional layers to start using the new feature
* Altitude Limitation in Scatter is enhanced with a curve editor for fine-tuning the height distribution’s falloff
Parallax interiors & textures
* Parallax texture implemented. Pass a specialised bitmap through it to simulate a three dimensional space behind a surface. It is perfect for simulating interiors seen through windows
* An initial set of Parallax interior assets added to Cosmos. Find them in the 3D Models / Parallax interiors section. When imported, a simple surface with the Parallax shader appears in the project. Position, resize and instantiate it according to the project needs
Node Editor (Beta)
* Node Editor (Beta) window implemented. It offers a visual way to edit materials and build advanced shaders. Materials and textures can now be created, added to, manipulated and organized in the Node Editor with a set of convenient editing and layout tools
* The Asset details panel in the Node Editor allows changing material and texture parameters without navigating out of this new environment
* Asset Preview added to the Node Editor. Synced with the one in the Asset Editor, it shows a realistic rendering of the currently selected shader
* Grid, grid snapping and a Minimap added to the Node Editor
* Node and parameter sections collapsing are implemented to allow for a more compact viewing of individual nodes. Sections are automatically expanded on hover to enable input connections
* Non-native assets from imports (e.g. vrscenes) are visualized as auto-generated nodes with their map-type parameters exposed
* Dedicated Node Editor toolbar added with quick-access buttons for common actions such as picking and assigning materials
* Tooltips and hotkeys added to all Node Editor menu items, including Select All, Layout All, Zoom controls, grid and minimap toggles, apply to selection, and more
* Cosmos materials can be imported directly into the Node Editor via drag-and-drop
* And more
* Known limitation: Node Editor lacks full support for UVW Placement nodes and Mapping Source connections, which will come in a later update
* Known limitation: There are minor UI synchronization issues in specific situations, when the Asset and Node Editors are used at the same time for editing Layered and Multi-sub Textures.These will be addressed in the next update
* Known limitation: Scanned materials do not currently show inputs in the node graph
Cosmos
* Cosmos Sets support added, allowing grouped assets (e.g. table with chairs) to be imported and placed as a group, while remaining editable afterwards
* HDRs imported from Cosmos now automatically create a dedicated Dome light for environment lighting. Rename the Dome light to break the connection to Cosmos when necessary
* A new Spherical Inverted Environment texture placement mode introduced to ensure better support for Cosmos HDRs and Mood Match
* Multiple LODs are no longer exported for Cosmos assets, reducing scene complexity and file size in downstream tools
Quick caustics (Experimental)
* Quick Caustics effect implemented as part of the V-Ray Material. Note that this is an experimental feature. The Quick Caustics effect is calculated at the mesh level and requires sufficient mesh subdivision for detailed results. For best results with textures, use the map with a Normal (geometry) displacement modifier.
* Known Limitation: 2D displacement is not currently supported
VFB
* The Background layer is renamed to Image. It now includes an advanced set of transformation tools which can be utilized directly in the image preview area
* A number of issues with the aliasing of external images added to the VFB composition are resolved
* Foregrounds folder added to the VFB’s layers stack at a predefined position. Use it for image layers that need to appear on top of the render while still receiving post effects like sharpening and lens effects
* Backgrounds folder added to the VFB’s layers stack at a predefined position. Use it for image layers that need to be composited behind the render
* Histogram panel added to the V-Ray Frame Buffer, allowing an in depth analysis of the color values in the rendered image. The panel is collapsed by default
DR 2
* Distributed Rendering 2 (DR2) implemented, replacing DR1, for more robust and scalable DR workflows
Other improvements
* New Light Cache Denoise option is implemented and enabled by default, controlling whether denoising is applied to the Light Cache prepass for a smoother first interactive frame
* The way Auto Exposure is calculated is updated so that the render’s background is also taken into consideration. The new behavior can be enabled in legacy scenes via an option in the UI
* Curve editors now support zooming, panning, grid snapping, and setting values outside of the 0 to 1 space across all curve-based controls (textures, falloffs, Scatter, etc.)
* The Update Result option is now correctly disabled during active renders to avoid confusion
* The performance when copying Gradient textures is optimised
* Caustics section is now visible when the RTX mode of the GPU engine is selected, with irrelevant options hidden or disabled to match GPU capabilities
* “Lost connection to Cloud application” after sleep/wake fixed so Chaos Cloud window recovers more robustly when machines wake from sleep
* Changing preview swatches for Subsurface Scattering and Hair materials now works without errors, and previews update correctly
* Random UI errors when deleting child materials or converting materials to V-Ray are fixed
* gRPC communication improved to avoid delayed state updates, ensuring render/abort states in the Asset Editor stay in sync with the host app
Integration
* Fixed V-Ray for Grasshopper freezing in specific situations when rendering animations
* Implemented support for disabling the viewport texture sampler when needed
* Hooked up aborting the texture baker, allowing long texture-bake operations to be cancelled
* Fixed an issue where re-importing a Cosmos asset with more than one material created a new duplicate asset instead of reusing the existing one
* Fixed an issue where Cosmos assets rendered black when overridden via the global Material Override
* Fixed an error that appeared when uploading from an empty VFB to Collaboration
* Dynamic geometry is now automatically enabled in specific, previously unhandled cases, improving performance
* Fixed an issue where written inputs did not work for the vrayEnscape command
* Fixed an “Exception in CORE” when starting Interactive rendering after importing a specific Proxy Scene
* Fixed an issue with the MultiMatte Material ID so it is correctly read from the top-level material
* Fixed a core exception when starting Interactive rendering after closing a Live Link connection
* Fixed a crash caused by specific user-created geometry
* Fixed a crash when using Polygon Region Render together with the Rhino command line
* Fixed an error when opening the animation rollout in projects saved in older V-Ray versions (older than 3.60.03)
* Proxy Export window in Rhino now handles “no selection” cases correctly and recovers without getting stuck
* Fixed an error that occurred when attempting to upload from an empty VFB to Chaos Cloud
* GPU: Faster Time-to-First-Pixel, especially in scenes with many bitmaps
* Enscape compatibility: Added support for the Enscape Contrails parameter, ensuring this effect is translated correctly into V-Ray
A video showcasing the release highlights is now live:
