Friday, August 3rd, 2018 Posted by Jim Thacker

Iray for 3ds Max 1.8 and Iray for Maya 2.1 both ship


Lightwork Design and [0x1] Software have released Iray for 3ds Max 1.8 and Iray for Maya 2.1, the latest releases of their respective GPU rendering plugins for Autodesk software.

The updates add a new Bloom post-processing filter and improved AI denoising to Iray for 3ds Max; and UDIM support, faster animation rendering, and support for camera scale in Iray for Maya.

Both plugins are now available through Irayplugins.com, the new website operated jointly by the two firms and migenius after fully taking over development of Iray from Nvidia last year.

Iray for 3ds Max 1.8: new Bloom filter and improved AI denoising
Iray for 3ds Max 1.8 extends the OptiX AI denoising system introduced in version 1.7 of the plugin, and adds a new Bloom post-processing filter: you can see it in action on this forum thread.

The full changelog is as follows:

  • AI Denoiser now works better with bright highlights
  • AI Denoiser now works with HDR images
  • Added Bloom post-processing filter
  • Added Backplate Mesh option for geometry
  • Added new Iray for 3ds Max toolbar for quick access to dialogs and features
  • Bitmap cropping/placement parameters are now supported
  • Enabled binary compression for MI/IVM export resulting in faster re-load times
  • Stereo spherical camera parameters are now correctly communicated to Iray Server
  • Multi/Sub-object material now correctly marked as compatible with Iray+
  • Fixed a crash when launching non-English version of 3ds Max with the plugin installed
  • Iray+ Colour Correction map now has all parameters exposed
  • Fixed a bug where Iray+ procedural map previews were broken in 3ds Max 2019

Iray for Maya 2.1: UDIM support, new camera parameters, faster animation rendering
Iray for Maya 2.1 is the first update to the software since the new website launched, and adds quite a range of new features, including support for the UDIM UV format used in many DCC tools.

Again, the full feature list is as follows:

  • Improved AxF import
  • ifmBsdf and ifmBsdfMetallicFlakes material
  • UDIM support
  • Faster animation rendering
  • Improvements to Deep Learning-powered Post
  • Support of Camera Scale
  • New camera parameter: Refract Backplate
  • Improved image plane, including texture map support
  • Section capping for Iray Section Objects
  • RealityServer export

Pricing and availability
Iray for 3ds Max 1.8 is available for 3ds Max 2017+. A node-locked licence costs $295.

Iray for Maya 2.1 is available for Maya 2016+. A node-locked licence costs $295; a floating licence costs $395. The update is free to users of Iray for Maya 2.0.


Find more details on Iray for 3ds Max 1.8 and Iray for Maya 2.1 on Irayplugins.com