Chaos releases V-Ray 7 for SketchUp
Chaos has released V-Ray 7 for SketchUp, the latest version of the renderer.
The release adds native support for rendering 3D Gaussian Splats, luminaires for realistic interior lighting, and updates V-Ray Scatter, V-Ray Sun and Sky, V-Ray GPU, and the VFB.
Users also get new options for handling material overrides, and support for layered textures.
The new version was released alongside that of V-Ray 7 for Rhino, which has similar features.
Native support for rendering 3DGS scan data
V-Ray 7 for SketchUp introduces new features from the V-Ray 7 core, first rolled out in October in V-Ray 7 for 3ds Max.
Key changes include support for 3D Gaussian Splats (3DGS).
A new 3D scanning method, 3D Gaussian Splatting generates high-quality reconstructions of real-world objects or scenes from source photos or video.
Although there are free third-party add-ons for rendering 3DGS data in Blender, Unity and Unreal Engine, V-Ray is one of the first CG applications to support the technology natively.
Chaos tells us that it expects the functionality to appeal to both architectural visualization and VFX studios, particularly as a way of creating detailed background environments.
You can read a good overview of how 3D Gaussian Splats work, and the pros and cons of workflows based around them in this post on Chaos’s blog.
Lighting and rendering: Support for luminaires, and updates to V-Ray Sun and Sky
Changes to lighting and rendering in V-Ray 7 include support for luminaires.
Users can now import baked lighting data for real-world light fittings in .vlw format, making it possible to recreate the illumination they create more accurately in interior scenes.
The V-Ray Sun and Sky system has been updated to support the PRG Clear Sky model used in Corona, Chaos’s other major production renderer.
According to Chaos, it generates more realistic lighting effects than the previous model, particularly at sunrise and sunset, and when rendering the sky from greater altitudes.
The firefly removal algorithm, for removing bright flecks in renders, has also been updated.
V-Ray GPU: support for caustics, and native support for Metal on macOS
V-Ray GPU, V-Ray’s hybrid CPU and GPU renderer, gets initial support for rendering caustics, bringing it closer to feature parity with the main CPU render engine.
On macOS, V-Ray GPU also now natively supports Apple’s Metal graphics API, “doubling” rendering performance on Apple Silicon processors.
VFB: vignetting and freeform render regions
The V-Ray Frame Buffer (VFB), for viewing and editing images rendered in V-Ray, gets a new Vignette Layer, making it possible to apply vignetting effects to renders.
A new Filters tab applies readymade, non-destructive color correction presets.
The VFB also now supports polygonal region rendering, making it possible to specify render regions with custom shapes to help resolve key areas of an image more quickly.
In addition, users can now stop renders midway while preserving post effects, including denoising.
Updates to V-Ray Scatter
Object scattering system V-Ray Scatter has also been updated.
New features include camera clipping, to limit scattering to areas within the camera view, and edge trimming to clip away parts of instances outside the boundaries of their host surface.
SketchUp-specific updates to materials and render elements
As well as the changes common to other editions of V-Ray 7, the update also includes changes specific to V-Ray 7 for SketchUp, including new options for material overrides.
Users can now perform partial overrides, with options to override refractive materials independently, or to preserve key properties like bump and refraction while overriding.
There are also new override presets for stylized rendering, for quick iteration on a project.
Other improvements to materials and texturing include support for layered textures, a built-in mix curve to control falloff effects, and the option to apply color gradients to textures.
The Light Mix render element, for relighting renders inside the VFB, now supports emissive materials as well as conventional lights.
It is also now possible to add multiple Cryptomatte render elements to a project.
Updates to Chaos Cloud and Chaos Cosmos
Outside the core application, cloud rendering service Chaos Cloud gets new functionality for creating virtual tours of 3D environments, complete with floor plans and minimaps.
Users can place Hotspots to act as navigation points in the environment for the viewer, and Highlights to provide text or image annotations for key details.
Chaos Cosmos, the online asset library now available with all V-Ray subscriptions, gets support for asset variations.
The variant system is initially being used for seasonal changes to trees and plants.
Subscription prices up since V-Ray 6
Chaos has also raised the price of V-Ray subscriptions since the previous release.
V-Ray Solo subscriptions now cost $84.90/month or $514.80/year, up $5/month or $48/year, and V-Ray Premium subscriptions cost $119.90/month or $718.80/year, up $24/year.
V-Ray Enterprise subscriptions are unaffected.
Pricing and system requirements
V-Ray 7 for SketchUp is compatible with SketchUp 2021+, running on 64-bit Windows 10+ and macOS 10.15+. The software is available rental-only.
V-Ray Solo subscriptions cost $84.90/month or $514.80/year, V-Ray Premium subscriptions cost $119.90/month or $718.80/year, and V-Ray Enterprise subscriptions cost $598.80/year.
Read an overview of the new features in V-Ray 7 for SketchUp on Chaos’s blog
Read a full list of new features in V-Ray 7 for SketchUp in the online release notes
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