Chaos has announced the release of V-Ray 7 for 3ds Max, introducing features such as Gaussian Splat support, interactive virtual tours, and over 20 other enhancements to its rendering solution.
“Version 7 continues V-Ray’s leadership in both visualisation and visual effects, with innovations that accelerate and extend what’s possible for creative professionals,” said Phillip Miller, VP Product, Solutions for Artists at Chaos. “V-Ray 7 also improves extensibility for custom pipelines while further cementing the Chaos ecosystem with design workflows from Enscape, previsualisation with Chaos Vantage, and virtual production with Project Arena.”
Key Features in V-Ray 7
Gaussian Splats
V-Ray 7 is the first rendering solution to natively support Gaussian Splats, enabling users to integrate rich 3D environments from photos or videos seamlessly. This feature includes accurate reflections and shadows, reducing effort in contextualising scenes.
Interactive Virtual Tours
Designers can now create immersive virtual tours directly within Chaos Collaboration, complete with automatic hotspot generation, floor plans, and custom transitions, all without requiring third-party software.
Enhanced V-Ray Frame Buffer (VFB)
- Custom-shaped render regions for targeted rendering.
- A vignette layer camera effect, customisable by shape.
- New colour-correction presets for faster look exploration.
Improved Chaos Scatter Tools
- Instance Brush: Precisely populate or edit instances in a scene.
- Distribution Maps: New density styles for faster, realistic scatter layouts.
- Faster Exports: Procedural handling for scatter-heavy scenes, optimising rendering in Chaos Cloud.
Lighting and Atmosphere
- Firefly Removal: Automatically corrects unresolved pixels during rendering.
- Enhanced Sun & Sky: New sky model adds realism for nautical twilight and variable observer altitudes.
Expanded Chaos Cosmos Library
- Luminaires: Lighting assets now distribute light with improved accuracy.
- Asset Variants: Seasonal options for 3D vegetation models, including summer and autumn leaves.
Accelerated Workflows
- V-Ray Profiler: Tracks rendering times and optimises workflows.
- V-Ray Lister: Manage V-Ray geometry objects with enhanced filtering and control.
GPU Enhancements
- Faster Time to First Pixel: Improved scatter rendering and texture handling.
- GPU Caustics Support: Photon-mapped reflections and refractions for enhanced realism.
- Out-of-Core Textures: Efficient rendering for texture-heavy scenes.
Additional Improvements
- Selective Scene Conversion: Convert materials, objects, or textures more effectively.
- Extended USD Support: Compatibility with the latest Autodesk 3ds Max updates.
- OpenPBR Support: Consistent shading across applications for better production efficiency.