Today,  Chaos releases  V-Ray 6 for 3ds Max, update 1, bringing post-processing upgrades, advanced decal tools and time-saving GPU enhancements to the most complete rendering solution in the world. With more control, artists and designers can keep meeting a level of 3D demand that shows no signs of slowing down.

New masking support for Lens Effects and Denoiser layers gives 3D artists even more say over how their images come together. Whether it’s applying Lens Effects to specific lights and materials, or smoothing out part of the image, designers can now personalize their renders even faster. While in post, users can also start fine-tuning V-Ray Light Materials with  Light Mix, making it easier to edit self-illuminating objects in a scene – even after rendering is complete.

For product visualizations and surfaces, update 1 brings cylindrical and bump upgrades to V-Ray Decal. Designers can now easily add anything to curved surfaces, from stickers and labels to surface imperfections. Bottles, jars, rockets, helmets, tanks – Decal’s projection will cover any curve in a few clicks. Additive bumps have also been added, so artists can blend surface and decal bumps to make highly realistic embossed logos, lettering, cracked paint, spray effects and more.

Additional Features and Improvements Include:

Time-Savers

• Custom Camera Resolutions – Custom resolutions and aspect ratios are now maintained for each V-Ray camera, cutting setup time when switching cameras. Multiple camera resolutions can be batch rendered locally or via  Chaos Cloud Rendering.

• Initial USD Exporting and Stage Support – Artists can now export V-Ray lights, materials, modifiers and more to the rising USD file format, making it easier to exchange V-Ray data in VFX studios.

• Faster Loading for Heavy Scenes – Scenes with massive amounts of textures and geometry are even less of a challenge now. All V-Ray Bitmaps that load when a scene opens will also be optimized for performance.

• Viewport Composition Guides – A new proportions layer makes it easy to compose the right camera angle with the help of visual guides like the rule of thirds and the golden ratio.

• Faster Fog Rendering – V-Ray Environment Fog now renders up to 30% faster, enabling artists to bring more atmosphere and mood to their creations.

Artistic Aids

• Cloud Collaboration Updates – Users can now collaborate as they create with new tools for visual annotations and versioning. Lines, arrows and other illustrative elements can now be applied to any images or sequence, while Chaos Cloud supports versions and A/B comparisons for faster iteration.

• V-Ray Light Custom Decay – Users can now alter how a light decays based on source distance, opening up a host of artistic effects that detour from physical results.

• NVIDIA AI Denoiser Upscaling – A new upscale setting can take an image from HD to 4K without adding more render time.

• Enhanced Procedural Clouds – Procedural clouds now have more ways to control the final look. Set darkness levels, randomize or add a final touch to a cloud’s exterior with a new contrails setting for more nuanced stills.

GPU Boosts

• Compressed Textures Mode – V-Ray GPU can now render 4K textures with 50% less memory on average, helping artists add incredible details without sacrificing quality.

• V-Ray Clipper Mesh Mode – Complex cutaways and sections can be rendered using any mesh object. The clipper can also be animated to achieve complex effects without time-intensive Boolean operators.

• Faster SSS in V-Ray Material – Photorealistic skin, plastic, wax and more can be easily created with the updated V-Ray Material. Translucent objects now render up to 2x faster, while low-poly translucent objects render more smoothly.

• Render Elements Support Through Refractive Surfaces – Users now have post-production control over glass objects and materials. V-Ray GPU also supports the Material ID, Cryptomatte and Multimatte render elements through refractive surfaces.

To see all the new features, explore V-Ray 6 for 3ds Max’s  product page.

Pricing and Availability

V-Ray 6 for 3ds Max, update 1 is available now for Windows. All V-Ray subscription plans work for all supported host applications, including 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Houdini, Maya, Nuke, Revit, Rhino, SketchUp and Unreal. Pricing can be found on the  Chaos website.

About Chaos

Chaos develops 3D visualization technology for architecture, engineering, construction, product design, manufacturing and media and entertainment, creating intuitive and powerful workflows for participants across the entire design spectrum.

In 2022 Chaos merged with Enscape and acquired Cylindo. The company's product portfolio includes V-Ray, a physically based renderer honored with an Academy Award and an Engineering Emmy; Enscape, a high-quality real-time rendering and virtual reality plugin; Corona, a high-performance photorealistic rendering engine; and Cylindo, a 3D furniture product visualization platform for commerce.

Chaos is now the largest global 3D visualization team and has more than 700 employees and offices in Karlsruhe, Germany; New York, Los Angeles, Boston, USA; Sofia, Bulgaria; Copenhagen, Denmark; Bitola, Skopje, North Macedonia. For more information, visit  chaos.com,  enscape3d.com and  cylindo.com.