Wednesday, January 29th, 2025Posted by Jim ThackerChaos releases V-Ray 7 for Houdinihtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"https://www.cgchannel.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/250129_VRay7Houdini_3DGS.mp4Chaos has released V-Ray 7 for Houdini, the next major version of the production renderer.The update adds support for 3D Gaussian Splats, a new Houdini-specific volume shader, and improves integration with Solaris, including support for the new Copernicus material framework.Houdini becomes the latest DCC application to get an integration for V-Ray 7, following 3ds Max, SketchUp and Cinema 4D.Native support for rendering 3DGS scan dataNew features in V-Ray 7 for Houdini 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: updates to Light Path Expressions and V-Ray Sun and SkyThe release also adds support for shadows within V-Rays Light Path Expressions. Users can now isolate shadows within renders using LPEs for more precise control during compositing.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 been updated, while V-Rays implementation of render denoiser Open Image Denoise now supports a prefilter pass.V-Ray GPU: initial support for causticsV-Ray GPU, V-Rays hybrid CPU and GPU renderer, gets initial support for rendering caustics.Performance improvements include the option to use system memory for textures, making it possible to render larger scenes without running out of GPU memory.For rendering animation, the update reworks V-Rays algorithm for caching bitmaps between frames, speeding up rendering of image sequences up to 50% in some cases.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 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.The update also adds a new Filters tab with access to readymade color correction presets.New, more controllable volume shaderThere are also a number of new features unique to the Houdini edition of V-Ray, including a new volume shader for rendering volumetric effects like clouds and smoke.It replaces the previous black box solution, which was based on the V-Ray VolumeGrid Shader, and enables artists to build custom shading graphs for volumetric rendering.Other key improvements include compatibility with Light Path Expressions, more consistent handling of motion blur, and Density Falloff and Anisotropy Falloff controls.According to Chaos, the new shader makes rendering volumetric effects up to 6x faster.However, it is still an initial implementation, and currently lacks key features including support for deep output, holdouts for volumes, and the option to render fire independently of smoke.Extended MaterialX supportThe update also extends support for the MaterialX material standard, with support for creating and rendering most Mtlx procedural textures.You can see a table of features supported here.Better integration with SolarisV-Ray 7 also improves integration with Solaris, Houdinis look dev and shot layout environment, adding support for Copernicus, the image-processing framework introduced in Houdini 20.5. A new V-Ray Yeti node makes it possible to render cache files generated by Maya hair and fur plugin Yeti in Solaris. The GUIs for the Toon Material and Toon Effect have been reworked, simplifying toon shading.Other changes include support for motion blur on the hair procedural and the option to apply color corrections from the VFB to the output of Hydra render delegates within Solaris.Chaos has also introduced Apple Silicon support in the V-Ray Hydra delegate, which should improve performance on current Macs with M-series processors.Outside the core software, assets from Chaos Cosmos, the online asset library available with all V-Ray subscriptions, can now be used within Solaris.The integration does not yet support the new features introduced into Chaos Cosmos in other editions of V-Ray 7, like asset variations and luminaires. 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 Houdini is compatible with Houdini 19.5+, running on Windows 10+, RHEL 6.2 and CentOS 6 Linux, and macOS 10.15+. It is rental-only. You can find current pricing in the story above.Read an overview of the new features in V-Ray 7 for Houdini on Chaoss websiteRead a full list of new features in V-Ray 7 for Houdini 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 HoudiniCheck out the new features in the renderer, including a new Houdini-specific volume shader and better integration with Solaris.Wednesday, January 29th, 2025Chaos releases V-Ray 7 for MayaCheck out the new features in the VFX renderer, including OpenPBR support and changes to USD support specific to the Maya edition.Wednesday, January 29th, 2025Red9 ProPack gets new tools created for Sonic the Hedgehog 3Maya animation toolkit for VFX and games gets new tools developed for Red9's character rigging work on the latest Sonic movie.Tuesday, January 28th, 2025JangaFX teases IlluGenThe EmberGen dev's new app will be a 'better way to create the majority of assets' for VFX in games. Here's what we know about it so far.Monday, January 27th, 2025Check out the new features due in EmberGen 2.0Next major update to the real-time smoke and fire simulator to feature sparse sims, simulation retiming, USD support and a macOS edition.Monday, January 27th, 2025Tutorial: Creating Runtime Cinematics in Unreal Engine 5Master key workflows for integrating character animation into interactive gameplay in UE5 with The Gnomon Workshop's new tutorial.Saturday, January 25th, 2025More NewsPhotoLine 25 now reads Cryptomatte dataPolygonflow releases Dash 1.8.5After Effects' latest beta lets you preview HDR compsNew version of iOS and Android scanning app Kiri EngineRE:Vision Effects launches Twixtor StandaloneSee the new features due in Unreal Engine 5.6 and beyondLeft Angle releases Autograph 2025Check out this GPU-accelerated Houdini Skin Slide DeformerCheck out this free 2D Rim Light Tool for NukeCreate motion graphics in Nuke with the new Screen FX pluginMaster Cinematic Sand & Dust Simulations Using HoudiniGet the new free version of ZibraVDB for Unreal EngineOlder Posts