My guess is that we will never be able to render reality.. unless you want to spend few years of your life on one project. Why? Not because of compuing power needed to do all the calculations.. (well.. actually also because of that) it's because of the fact that if you want to render reality, you have to set up reality. And the other thing.. all of the functions you have mentioned are kinda for geeking out. Fluorescent light? Cooll.. but can't you really make this effect in your current renderer or in post processing? Infra red... isn't this effect easily achievable with normal render and depth render connected in post processing? Gravitational lenses.. cool idea.. not easily achievable with other ways.. but how often you photograph distant solar systems? I guess it's mostly for placing singularities in Your kitchen.. i must say that i'd play around with that too.. but it is no longer making photos real-like. Light interference.. this one, as you wrote would be for geeking out only, but i guess that limitation isn't really much like computing power but resolution.. for this you can't use graphical textures (maybe vector ones). I can see use of it and i think it already should be done by someone (like a geek home project) but not in such commercial products like any renderer i know. And most important.. the things you've mentioned are not really dragging the renders to photo realism. They are mostly usefull when you want to render certain phenomenon. For photo queality there have to still be perfected and added things like light scattering, air humidity, dust particles and many others.. but still making renders look like photograph is mainly based on attempting to implement in renders the same flaws that camera lenses have, like lens flare. All this is yet pretending the reality and not rendering the reality. What i think would help in this is increasing amount of faulty details. Because when you look at world.. you can never see prefect surfaces, straight lines, total transparency, perfectly waxed car or evenly covered with rust. In renders you can. Lens flares, light scatter and all post effects are simply attempt to cover the fact that it is perfect world behind them.. rendered world. What i am saying that i would very much like to see in rendering programs something like Chaos Generator. It would slightly modify surface properties in certain zones.. mostly unexpectedly for creator but this would make his own work a bit more real even for himself. So.. surface properties, air density (along with surface and edge curving), random surface reflections or dullness, scratches, mentioned before dust particles and so on.. The fact is that you actually can make it all by hand.. but no matter what you render, you just can't inject enough flaws to make it really work like in reality because the "visible chaos" factor per inch square of final render is constant no matter the scale you are operating in. Zooming in is not making the chaos bigger.. it only shows different parts of it. That's why it should be automated and random (for user).

Here is an email i got from Chaos Group. Very promising My original question Hi, I would like to purchase Vray for SU. But i have a few question before I make up my mind. I am buying this software for hobby use. So I have 2 computers. One is a laptop and the other is a PC. They both belong to me. Can I buy one license and use it on both of my computers that belong to me? Or do i have to buy a second license!? If so how much extra is it going to cost me. 2)When the next version of VFSU comes out, will it be free if the next version is simply a fix for Bugs present in the current version? Or do i have to keep paying for the newer versions , even minor updated versions? And if so, how much do they generally cost. 3)Does the current version of VFSU work with the most up to date version of Sketchup? Kindest regards Josh Reply from Chaos Group Hi Josh, Thank you for the interest in V-Ray rendering solution! Here are the answer you need: One purchase, one serial number. However, since you are an individual user, we will give you a laptop activation as an exception. It's the same SN, with one extra activation. 2.) Eventually there will be plans to upgrade VfSU to version 2.0, which will be a paid upgrade. This product is not yet in development yet. A version upgrade will include significant additions to the product. We are always improiving the current version to work as best as it can. New versions are posted on our site about once a month, and they addess certain compatibility issues that arise, minor bugs, etc. As a V-Ray owner, you can always download these for free. 3.) Yes. The current installer works with both SU7 and SU8. There is a different installer for Mac and PC though. Please note that if you have BOTH SU7 and SU8 on your computer at the same time, the installer will default to SU7. In order to install with SU8 as well, you will need to change the path of the folder installation to SU8 destinations.

This is good news, thank you Mike! Wow, a free version for Pro users is coming, I really like the news. Good luck to you Brian and your team!

Another email... @unknownuser said: Chaos Group furthers plans for enhanced services and support to North American market Chaos Group of Sofia, Bulgaria – the world leader in the development of software solutions for the computer graphics industry – has acquired Baltimore-based software developer and visualization firm, ASGVIS, LLC. The acquisition will consolidate V-Ray for Rhino and V-Ray for SketchUp development within the Chaos Group brand, and confirms establishment of a new Chaos Group company in the United States that will enhance services and support to customers in North America. A working relationship with the two companies began in 2005 when ASGVIS adapted Chaos Group’s flagship rendering plug-in, V-Ray*, to work with the modeling software applications Rhinoceros* and SketchUp*. In addition to developing these two products, ASGVIS resold Chaos Group’s V-Ray for 3ds Max* and V-Ray for Maya*. Joining the two development teams under Chaos Group will ensure consistency among the V-Ray products. "We are extremely excited by this merger," said Peter Mitev, CEO of the Chaos Group. "We have worked with ASGVIS to extend the V-Ray platform into areas of business that our other V-Ray products did not cover, and having them join the Chaos Group only serves to make the V-Ray brand even stronger. The USA has always been a key market for V-Ray, and having a dedicated office to service our customers will allow us to provide an even higher level of service and support." ASGVIS will officially be renamed Chaos Group USA. Peter Mitev will provide overall guidance for the new company, but there are no planned changes to the structure or employees as of this announcement. Chaos Group will continue to operate ASGVIS "as is," and will gradually phase-in changes to the process of ordering and support. Details on these general changes will be communicated by the Chaos Group in the coming months. "Chaos Group is a true pioneer in the CG industry, and this acquisition is a monumental step to unify the V-Ray brand," echoed Corey Rubadue, founder of ASGVIS, and now the Director of Chaos Group USA. "It not only acknowledges the importance of V-Ray in the CAD market, but also firmly places the plug-ins for Rhino and SketchUp in the official V-Ray development pipeline." About Chaos Group Chaos Group is a global leader in creating rendering solutions for the Architectural, VFX and Film, Media and Entertainment, and the Automotive and Product Design industries. Through a worldwide network of more than 150 distributors and resellers the company delivers the market leading V-Ray rendering engine and continues to build upon its success by continuously surprising the 3D community with new, innovative and trendsetting rendering technologies. Chaos Group was founded in 1997 with the establishment of a production studio for 3D design and animation services. The company quickly recognized the related software development opportunity and allocated resources for the provision of rendering solutions for production studios. The first product release began in 1998 with Phoenix, launched at the end of 1999. After beginning the creation of the renowned V-Ray rendering engine in early 2000, and upon its release in March 2002, the company dedicated its efforts to the rendering niche and pursued the development and distribution of its rendering solutions for the 3D visualization industry. About ASGVIS ASGVIS, once the "Visual Imaging Studio" of venerable architecture firm Ayers Saint Gross Architects + Planners, became world-renowned for its adaptation of V-Ray, the cutting-edge rendering technology developed by Chaos Group. The studio not only offered rendering and animation services, but also customized software packages used in production to streamline the rendering process. The programs included Autodesk’s 3ds Max and Revit, and eventually expanded to such 3D design programs as Robert McNeel and Associates’ Rhinoceros and Google’s SketchUp. Further information: Darina Georgieva PR Manager, Chaos Group Bulgaria pr@chaosgroup.com Kim Trompeter Marketing Manager, Chaos Group USA

I tried to watch the tutorials and they did not center on my screen. Could just be my machine though. And there was no direct return to the tutorial set to select next.

Yes, displacement is something one should use sparsley as it is very slow. Though you might be able to adjust your settings and get acceptable result with smaller render times. But that will depend from model to model. If you want to create the geometry in SU you might want to try the Fur plugin: http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?t=28092

Thank you guys, good to have you alongside. It is just that with all text codes/scripts I'm a total noob. I am trying to use the IES files provided by Martin Lighting at http://www.martin.com/productgroup/productgroup.asp?pg=martinlight What is clear now is that the IES data is simply incomplete. The entire values for candela distribution is on zero. [image: UwVG_nocandelavalues.jpg] [image: KSXw_iesincomplete.jpg] Looks like I have to send a request to Martin directly. Althoug I got one file from the architectural fixures to work, none of the headmoving fixtures seem to work... .....get back later, have an appointment cu

Have you checked the lights box in the general setting section of the setting dialog box?

Hi JAP, I found this topic 4 years after you opened it. Did you find a way to make these 360 degrees videos in your sketchup model? Is there now some rendering programs able to do that? My purpose is to use this video with a VR headseat device like cardboard or oculus. Thanks!

Don't disable the GI, just remove the Sky map. Then adjust the multiplier for the GI (which is now just a colour value) up a little bit to compensate.

Yea, that was written "back in the days" - because you added all the extra awesomeness!

I managed to figure this out if anyone is interested here's the settings i used [image: MWydbaf.png] the result. [image: PKgtDaU.jpg]

@aceshigh said: @thomthom said: The default settings for displacement is view dependant - ( displaced edge size depend on view ). never really understood what this means. To displace a mesh it's subdivided by V-Ray. Default settings in V-Ray is to adjust the subdivision based on the view. So mesh closer to the camera is subdivided more than mesh further away. @aceshigh said: does that mean I should create different groups with each face? Or that its enough that I divide the faces with lines? Meaning that instead of using a 10x10 meters face, its better that I use a 10x10 meters MESH made of several 25cm sized triangles? Displacement eats up memory. If you have a large face V-Ray must hold on to memory for that entire face all in one chunk. But, if you split it into smaller pieces V-Ray can let go of some of the memory once it has processed each of the smaller pieces. You can find tips and hints if you search for displacement and memory management. I'll probably explain it better than what I can do. And I think (I might be making it up ) that V-Ray prefer triangulated mesh for displacement.

I think you'd be better to post this topic in the http://www.kerkythea.net/joomla/ website. Have you already tried a test render to KT using KT2SKUP? It determines the path on the first run. If you do have problems with KT, I can recommend stumping up for Twilight Render - it's very straight forward to use for SKUP users while retaining the power of Kerkythea. Best of luck!

You mgiht also try installing the free PLE version of VUE x-stream that integrates seamlessly with 3dsmax. Maybe that would be a good way to get great plants and atmosphere into your 3dsmax. http://www.e-onsoftware.com/products/vue/vue_9_xstream/ It is a workflow I'm currently contemplating myself...so if you try it, let me know how it goes!

Thanks guys! Very useful chain of replies! All good tips from changing the color, and I had to find the AO switch as suggested but I ended up with the right result.

@missy_x said: @thomthom said: You're looking to create brick walls where there bricks sticks out significantly from the mortar? You might want to use displacement then - given the view you posted earlier. If you enable Ambient Occlusion you'll enhance the effect in the mortar grooves. I don't want the bricks to stick out that much really, but right now it looks like in one spot they stick out more than in the other spot. I'd like it to look the same. Looking at that render, it seems the depth alternates due to indirect illumination on some walls but not others. So the differences are in fact accurate, and the shadow depth across all walls should not be identical.