BIM Q&A | What are the functions of VRay 3.6 for Rhino software? I didn’t quite understand it when I first started learning
New Features of VRay 3.6 for Rhino
1. Enhanced GPU Rendering
VRay 3.6 offers faster and more powerful GPU rendering capabilities. It now supports on-demand mip maps, atmospheric effects like air perspective, displacement, subsurface scattering, and masking/shadows. With a good graphics card, your modeling, rendering, and even gaming experiences will be significantly improved.
2. Hybrid GPU + CPU Rendering
The V-Ray GPU renderer, based on NVIDIA CUDA, fully utilizes all available hardware resources, including both GPU and CPU. It’s important to note that hybrid rendering uses GPU rendering code, so the results match those of pure GPU CUDA rendering, while the CPU handles auxiliary computing tasks.
3. Adaptive Lighting
For scenes with numerous light sources, the new adaptive lighting mode can reduce rendering times by up to seven times. This feature is especially effective when many lights are present, maintaining the same quality while significantly speeding up rendering. It is enabled by default.
4. Lighting Instances
You can now create multiple instances of the same light type and control them collectively within the Asset Editor. When a light is set as an instance, all its duplicates adjust parameters synchronously. Alternatively, some instances can be set as unique and controlled separately.
5. Streamlined User Interface
The V-Ray for Rhino interface has been redesigned for a more intuitive and efficient workflow. While version 3.4 introduced major UI changes, 3.6 further improves the logical layout of features based on user feedback. Common tasks like adjusting light intensity and color have been simplified, often without the need for detailed parameter panels.
6. File Manager
The new File Manager lets you organize all scene files in one place. You can set file paths, create scene archives, and manage resource files like texture maps, IES files, and proxy objects. This feature significantly improves usability, making it easy to locate missing textures and manage paths efficiently.
7. V-Ray Color Picker
The redesigned color picker supports both the sRGB (0-255) color space and linear rendering (0.0-1.0) color space, providing a user-friendly palette. Although Rhino’s native color picker is excellent, V-Ray’s new picker offers an easier and more convenient experience than the Windows default color palette.
8. V-Ray Scene Import
You can import and render V-Ray scene files (.vrscene) from other platforms like 3ds Max, Revit, and SketchUp. Testing confirms consistent V-Ray image quality across different software, allowing you to import pre-adjusted materials and furniture with a single click for rendering.
9. Volume Fog
Add realistic 3D fog and light scattering effects to your scenes. This includes the Tyndall effect—a practical volumetric effect that simulates rich light and shadow interactions, especially useful for certain parameterized materials.
10. Additional Texture Maps
New texture map types such as gradient, color temperature, and procedural noise have been added to enhance scene detail and realism.
11. 2D Displacement
Optimized 2D displacement allows you to quickly add detail to surfaces without extra modeling, ideal for architectural materials like bricks and stones. This method preserves detail from displacement images and requires accurate UV coordinates, which Rhino handles well.
12. Animated Proxy Objects
V-Ray now supports animated proxy objects, enabling easy integration of 3D models with preset animations, such as walking pedestrians or trees swaying in the wind.
13. Proxy Object Preview
Control how V-Ray proxy objects appear in the Rhino viewport. You can choose from full models, bounding boxes, initial points, or a new low-polygon preview mode for better performance.
14. Improved Denoiser
The V-Ray Denoiser is more user-friendly and allows you to adjust parameters even after rendering has finished, giving you greater flexibility in noise reduction.
15. Animation Workflow
Version 3.6 introduces a simplified workflow for creating animations such as sunlight studies, rotation animations, and fly-throughs, making animation production smoother and more efficient.
16. V-Ray for Grasshopper
V-Ray for Grasshopper now includes preset lighting and materials, speeding up the rendering process. Grasshopper objects can be rendered directly within Rhino scenes without baking geometry, streamlining the workflow.
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