Beta Release
Date – Jan 23, 2019
Download – 4.00.b2
Improvements
Optimizations & Workflow Improvements
- Implemented Apply to Layer material function. It assigns the selected material to the current Rhino layer. Use it as an alternative for searching the layer name in the context sub-menu
- Implemented a way of setting a default Basic/Advanced asset properties state. It is preserved between sessions and can be changed based on user preference. The option is located in the advanced settings (right-hand side) panel of the Configuration rollout. Changing the state of all scene assets is also an option
- Implemented multi-selection within the assets lists. Use Ctrl to add or remove from the selection set. Hold down Shift to select a range
- The Displacement Edge Length parameter now has a minimum slider limit of 0.4 to prevent unreasonably high number of subdivisions to occur when generating the displacement
- Any texture can be easily replaced with a new one from its properties panel. Use the ‘Replace with New Texture’ button located on the left of the texture properties header
- A new ‘Inverse Cube’ decay option is added for the Omni and Spot light sources
- Numbering of the Asset Library Create section subfolders is removed. The custom order is preserved
- Left-click on an empty asset category icon opens the asset creation menu. Hovering over the button visually indicates that it’s active even while it’s grayed out (the category is empty)
- The automatic exposure value calculated by V-Ray can now be further adjusted with the help of the Compensation value. It is measured in f-stops. A value of 1 makes the result twice as bright, for example, and -1 makes it twice as dark
- Mesh Light management options are introduced in the V-Ray section of the Rhino properties panel. Use the icon buttons and drop-down menu to easily create, assign or remove Mesh Light properties from any scene object
- Implemented ‘Apply to Selection’ context menu option for Fur, Clipper and Mesh Light assets in the Asset Editor. Create a new asset and use the function to assign it to a scene geometry
Asset Editor UI
- The Apply to Layer sub-menu now expands in width when one of the fly-off panels is open making it easier to search for layers with long names
- The Settings/Render rollout is improved. The Interactivity slider appears in place of the Quality slider when the Interactive rendering mode is active
- The Advanced Settings/Raytrace rollout is renamed to Render Settings. Its content is reorganized and the Basic/Advanced toggle is no longer needed to filter the available options
- The Settings/Camera rollout is improved. The Auto Exposure and White balance toggles are located next to the corresponding sliders. A new Compensation slider is introduced
- Advanced Settings/Physical Camera rollout is introduced. All the advanced camera settings (previously listed in the Camera rollout ) are now located here
- The Switches rollout is now under Render Settings. The subsections (rollouts) are merged together for easier access
- The Settings/Environment rollout is improved. The subsection Environment Overrides is removed, while all the environment texture slots are visible by default
- The Render Output layout is improved. Unlocking the resolution allows changing the image width and height separately without the need to specify aspect values in advance
Asset Preview
- Changes to any light source intensity value affects the lights preview swatch. A smart way of clamping high values is implemented preventing overbright results in the swatch
- The Ground projection of the Dome Light texture is now handled correctly
- All material preview swatch scenes are modified to allow for non-tiled (non-repeating) textures to be visible in the image
Grasshopper
- The way data flow is handled by the V-Ray components is updated. Multiple inputs used for any component parameter produce multiple output instances of the item. Use multiple color inputs for a V-Ray Simple or Preset Material for example to produce multiple materials
- V-Ray Light Directional component implemented. It corresponds to the V-Ray Directional Light that can be created in a regular document. The new component can be used for stylized lighting or for various light study setups
- Implemented Render Elements input for the V-Ray Renderer component. Connect any render element component to see it in the V-Ray Frame Buffer
- V-Ray Render Element Lighting Analysis component implemented. Provides visual representation of the lighting intensity in the rendered frame. It maps Illuminance and Luminance information as a color gradient or a grid of measured values onto the frame. Connect it to the V-Ray Renderer component to see the result in the VFB
- The ‘Z Offset from Geometry’ context menu option of the Infinite Plane component is now a boolean input parameter named ‘Position From Geometry’
- Changing the (internal) material name of a .vrmat file no longer prevents it from being rendered as a reference in V-Ray for Grasshopper
- Changing the number of VRScene instances during Interactive Rendering (by changing the input number of planes) no longer causes a crash
- Added support for GPU bucket rendering
- The V-Ray Render node status label updates correctly independent of the way the render process has been stopped
- The V-Ray Render component now correctly reads the Output Resolution values
- The Render Mode Parameter of the Renderer component is properly loaded from pre-saved definitions
Other Changes & Bug Fixes
- Removing Mesh Light properties from an object while in a block editing mode and then undoing the action now works as expected
- A number of issues related to Proxy Mesh generation are resolved. New proxies are created with correct face ID assignment
- Materials saved from Grasshopper (as vrmat files) now use the new shader structure
- Render region is now correctly preserved between renders
- Rhino materials Bump textures now render correctly in V-Ray
- Changing the VPR scale factor with the ‘vrayVPRSettings’ command affects the render region
- VPR can now be initialized while Interactive Rendering is running
- Rhino SDK updated to version 6.11.18348
- Opening a gh/ghx file via the Rhino welcome screen no longer causes a crash
- The Replace Object with Proxy option available in the Proxy Export window now functions properly
- Default Rhino materials assigned to geometry faces are rendered correctly
- Non-uniformly scaled rectangular lights are rendered correctly
- Context menu sub-menus no longer close when the mouse cursor exits their area
- Using an instanced texture for both Diffuse and Displacement mapping no longer produces incorrect results in the rendered image
- A number of issues with the file browser buttons throughout the UI are resolved
- The gradient widget of Gradient textures no longer has an incorrect left offset
- An issue with the scrollable area of the Assets Library content is resolved
- The Linear decay option of the Omni and Spot light sources is now correctly renamed to No Decay
- Selecting a global texture in the Outliner no longer navigates to the textures section
- Center UI panel no longer grows to the right when the right-hand side panel is expanded and collapsed multiple times
- Archive and Repath doesn’t override files with identical names when the Override option is disabled
- The Depth of Field Pick Focus button reacts correctly when the mode is changed to From Camera Target