Chaos Releases V-Ray 6 for 3ds Max

Chaos releases V-Ray 6 for 3ds Max, a major upgrade to its all-in-one photorealistic rendering software. Artists can use workflow tools to quickly distribute 3D objects, generate detailed 3D surfaces and add procedural clouds to create, enabling ability to do more without additional plugins. V-Ray 6 for 3ds Max also introduces a cloud collaboration tool to speed up reviews and approvals.

Chaos Scatter enables artists to populate scenes with millions of 3D objects to produce natural-looking landscapes and environments without adjusting objects by hand. Objects can now be distributed, spaced and randomized with a system built to conserve memory, even more when used with V-Ray Proxy objects that only load at render time.

To help users get started with Chaos Scatter, there are free 3D models and scatter presets available in the Chaos Cosmos content library.

New procedural clouds, built on technology from Enscape, have been added to the V-Ray Sun and Sky system. Artists can now easily simulate a variety of cloud types and weather conditions, from partly cloudy to overcast. When these clouds are ray traced with V-Ray, they respond accurately to lights, shadows and volumetric effects, rendering them as realistic as possible. Procedural clouds can also be animated to create dynamic time-lapse skies and streaming streaks of sunlight.

VRayEnmesh is a new tool that tiles patterns of 3D geometry across objects to create complex surfaces at great detail. Because the surfaces are created with full 3D geometry, it's made for making intricate panels, fences and fabrics that can be viewed at close range. VRayEnmesh generates huge amounts of geometry at render time, without bogging down scene performance, according to the company.

V-Ray 6 for 3ds Max also incorporates a free Chaos Cloud Collaboration service that shares images from V-Ray to Chaos Cloud. Clients, team members and other stakeholders can now easily review, markup and comment at any time, streamlining the process for everyone involved in the project.

Other new features include:

• Upgraded V-Ray Frame Buffer—Improved V-Ray Frame Buffer has a 360° panorama viewer, a flip composition button, composition guides and option to share renders via Chaos Cloud.
• Improved dome light—A new Finite mode lets users specify height and radius of a dome light. Dome light ground projections are also improved with full control over blend settings.
• More accurate reflective materials—Metals and rough reflective surfaces are rendered more accurately using a new energy compensation method.
• Thin-film materials—A new thin-film layer in the V-Ray Material helps users create iridescent materials like soap bubbles and oil spills.
• Improved subsurface scattering—Subsurface scattering in the V-Ray Material renders faster, and low-polygon translucent objects render smoother.
• Decal displacements—VRayDecal can now project displacement maps onto any surface to add realism to cracks, rocks, embossed details and more.
• Batch loading of multi-sub textures—Multiple textures can now be added to the VRayMultiSubTex map all at once.
• Improved UI—Material and texture interfaces are now faster for a smoother experience. 
• V-Ray Proxy hierarchy—Through a new hierarchy view, users can control object visibility and material overrides within a V-Ray Proxy.
• V-Ray GPU Improvements—Supports nearly all new V-Ray 6 features and enables faster Light Cache and a new Device Selector to assign processors to tasks.

To see V-Ray 6 for 3ds Max in action, watch the What’s New video or register for the webinar on July 28, 2022.

Pricing and Availability

V-Ray 6 for 3ds Max is available now. Starting with V-Ray 6, V-Ray subscription licenses work for all supported host applications to include 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Houdini, Maya, Nuke, Revit, Rhino, SketchUp and Unreal. V-Ray 6 is available in three packages:

V-Ray Solo:

• Works with all supported host applications
• Fixed license for use on one computer (cannot be shared between users)
• Includes access to the Chaos Cosmos content library
• $466.80 per year (also available as a monthly or three-year subscription)

V-Ray Premium:

• Works with all supported host applications
• Floating license for use on any computer (can be shared by multiple users)
• Includes additional Chaos applications: Phoenix, Player, Scans and Vantage
• Includes access to the Chaos Cosmos content library
• 20 Chaos Cloud credits per year
• $694.80 per year (also available as a monthly or three-year subscription)

V-Ray Enterprise:

• Includes everything in V-Ray Premium with a discount for purchasing five or more seats
• $598.80 per year (also available as a three-year subscription for a further discount)

Customers with perpetual licenses of V-Ray 3 for 3ds Max, V-Ray Next for 3ds Max or V-Ray 5 for 3ds Max can upgrade their perpetual licenses to V-Ray 6 for 3ds Max, or switch to a new subscription package at a discount.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.