Thursday, January 16th, 2025Posted by Jim ThackerChaos releases V-Ray 7 for Cinema 4Dhtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Chaos has released V-Ray 7 for Cinema 4D, the next major version of the production renderer.The update adds support for rendering 3D Gaussian Splats, native OpenPBR support, and improvements to V-Ray GPU, the V-Ray Frame Buffer and Chaos Scatter.Cinema 4D becomes the third DCC application to get an integration for V-Ray 7, following last years releases of V-Ray 7 for 3ds Max and V-Ray 7 for SketchUp.Native support for rendering 3DGS scan dataNew features in V-Ray 7 for Cinema 4D 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 Chaoss blog.Lighting and rendering: V-Ray Luminaires and updates to V-Ray Sun and SkyChanges 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 V-Rays .vlw format, making it possible to recreate the illumination they create more accurately in interior scenes.In addition, the V-Ray Sun and Sky system has been updated to support the PRG Clear Sky model used in Corona, Chaoss 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: initial support for causticsV-Ray GPU, V-Rays hybrid CPU and GPU renderer, gets initial support for rendering caustics, bringing it closer to feature parity with the main CPU render engine.You can see a list of the remaining features not supported in V-Ray GPU here.V-Ray GPU also now supports Apples Metal API, which should improve performance on macOS: Chaos says that rendering is up to 3x faster on MacBooks with current M4 processors.VFB: vignetting and freeform render regionsThe 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.The VFB also now supports freeform region rendering, making it possible to specify render regions of arbitrary shape to help resolve key areas of an image more quickly.It is also now possible to denoise LightMix render elements, used to relight scenes in the VFB.Updates to Chaos ScatterChaos Scatter, the object scattering system introduced in V-Ray 6, also gets an update.New features include Edge Trimming, to help confine instances to the required part of a scene, and support for random distribution pattern presets.Export times for scenes that make heavy use of scattering have been reduced, as have the size of the .vrscene files generated, although Chaos doesnt put a figure on improvements.Support for the new OpenPBR material standardV-Ray 7 for Cinema 4D also introduces support for the new OpenPBR open material standard, with the standard V-Ray Material now including an OpenPBR mode.Overseen by the Academy Software Foundation, OpenPBR is intended to streamline look development for VFX, with materials developed for one application displaying near-identically in others that support it.Currently, the main applications that support OpenPBR are 3ds Max and Maya, and OpenPBR support is also due in the upcoming V-Ray 7 for Maya, currently in beta. Other pipeline integration improvementsThe release also improves interoperability with other renderers, including Maxons Redshift, the full version of which is now included in all Cinema 4D subscriptions.V-Ray users can now render Redshift lights, and export textures from Redshift Dome Lights.The update also introduces support for the Substance Archive (.sbsar) format, making it possible to render materials created in Substance 3D Designer, or downloaded from online libraries.Updates to Chaos Cloud and Chaos CosmosOutside the core application, cloud rendering service Chaos Cloud gets a new set of collaboration tools.Artists can now upload images directly from the VFB to the cloud for review, with clients and supervisors able to comment on or mark up the images.There is also 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 available with all V-Ray subscriptions, now supports asset variants, making it possible to switch between variant looks for an asset without having to re-import it into the scene.The variant system is initially being used for seasonal changes to trees and plants.Subscription prices up since V-Ray 6Chaos 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.Price and system requirementsV-Ray 7 for Cinema 4D is compatible with Cinema 4D R21+, running on Windows 10+ and macOS 10.14+. The software is rental-only: you can find current pricing details in the story above.Read an overview of the new features in V-Ray 7 for Cinema 4D on Chaoss websiteRead a full list of new features in V-Ray 7 for Cinema 4D in the online release notesHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsChaos releases V-Ray 7 for Cinema 4DCheck out the new features in the renderer, including native OpenPBR and 3D Gaussian Splatting support, and improvements to V-Ray GPU.Thursday, January 16th, 2025These simple free tools convert Maya shaders to BlenderVFX artist Robert Rioux's handy open-source tools convert the aiStandardSurface shader to Blender's Principled BSDF.Wednesday, January 15th, 2025Get 75+ free modular shop assets for Unreal EngineGet CropCraft Studios' Modular Bakery Shop pack of 3D assets for creating a shop and cafe for free for two weeks on the Fab marketplace.Wednesday, January 15th, 2025Adobe releases Substance 3D Designer 14.1Check out the new features in the material authoring software, including updates to the Spline tools and node graph.Wednesday, January 15th, 2025Adobe unveils Live Co-Editing in PhotoshopNew beta feature lets multiple artists collaborate on the same Photoshop file simultaneously, speeding up asset reviews.Tuesday, January 14th, 2025Free tool: Hair Cinematic Tool for Unreal Engine 5Argentum Studio's in-house tool gives access to Unreal Engine 5's internal settings to improve the look of hair and fur in your renders.Tuesday, January 14th, 2025More NewsMaster World Building using Blender and PhotoshopGet 6 free smoke and fire effects sequences from FX BackPackGet modular Maya character rig builder Mansur-Rig for freeSuperSpat 1.13 plays back animated '4D Gaussian Splats'Adobe releases Substance 3D Modeler 1.18Getty Images and Shutterstock to merge to create $3.7 billion firmDownload free Houdini tools from Project GrotNVIDIA unveils GeForce RTX 5090, 5080, 5070 Ti and 5070 GPUsMaxon buys LaubwerkTik Manager 4 is a lightweight, robust open-source pipeline toolFree add-on Paint System 'turns Blender into Photoshop'Photoshop render compositing add-on Post Manager is now freeOlder Posts