Chaos Group Releases V-Ray Next for Rhino

Chaos Group introduces V-Ray Next for Rhino, a smart renderer for designers. The renderer's tools have expanded the core capabilities of Rhino and Grasshopper, linking photorealistic rendering, scene intelligence and asset management into a workflow that centralizes the design/visualization experience.

“V-Ray Next for Rhino turns four years of R&D into a mechanism of change, fixing issues that used to cost designers a lot of time and energy,” says Konstantin Gaytandzhiev, product specialist for Rhino at Chaos Group. “As we continue to roll out new features, we’ll continue this journey, making V-Ray Next faster, smarter and more in tune with how people actually want to work.”

V-Ray Scene Intelligence, introduced in V-Ray Next, automatically analyzes a 3D scene at the start of a render to optimize some common decisions a designer may make. For instance, the new Adaptive Dome Light (ADL) now offers more accurate, image-based environment lighting, according to the company. 

V-Ray Scene Intelligence has also improved the V-Ray camera, which can now set exposure and white balance automatically. No-input denoising is also available through the new NVIDIA AI denoiser, which eliminates image noise almost instantly.

The new asset management system acts as a new project control center, helping designers streamline workflows and coordinate across projects. Now, designers can manage all of their V-Ray scene assets intuitively, using the live preview function to fine-tune the look of lights, textures and materials from a central location.

V-Ray Next for Rhino launches with a comprehensive Grasshopper toolset. With live interactivity, designers can use V-Ray from within Grasshopper to produce visualizations of abstract curves and repeating patterns. Users can also now animate sunlight, cameras and Grasshopper definitions from the V-Ray timeline. Definitions stay parametric throughout the rendering process, in Grasshopper and Rhino.

Additional features include:

• Enhanced GPU rendering: Designers can now access the full power of GPU rendering in V-Ray, adding support for bucket rendering, volumetric effects such as smoke and fog, and compatibility with VRscans, Chaos Group’s library of physically accurate, scanned materials.
• More accurate Viewport previews: Improved accuracy in the Rhino viewport with enhanced reflections, refractions, bump maps and more.
• Automated Rendering with V-Ray Batch—With access to V-Ray Swarm, it’s now easier to render snapshots and variations of a project, as well as views from multiple Rhino files.
• New Lighting Analysis Tool—Visualize a scene’s real-world illumination values (lux) using the new lighting analysis render element.
• New Scripting Support—Use RhinoScript or Python to automate V-Ray tasks and properties, or accessing V-Ray capabilities not present in the UI.

Pricing and Availability

V-Ray Next for Rhino is available now and is compatible with Rhino 5–6. A full Workstation license is priced at $790, with upgrades available for $395. Annual licenses are available as well for $350 per year.

More Info

Chaos Group

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