@Alattab Okay, that makes more sense. You want a backplate image to compose on? And the front would be to for example put your own logo and watermark on top of it?

@Alattab For someone still being in the learning phase, I'm already seeing some pretty impressive results

And don't shy away from the feedback, love it! I take all the feedback seriously and try to add those as new features as I go.

I'd like contrast control added to the post-processing section

Noted.

I'd like contrast control added to the post-processing section, and full PBR properties added

additional materials like transparent liquids, bubbled, fizz, and airborne water.

A new water material is coming soon. And I will iterate on that to give more options.

@Krass

So you mean keeping this window open until you explicitly close it after rendering?

@Alattab said in Rayscaper New Releases:

Just a suggestion: all PBR parameters should be available, in addition to an AO parameter that allows the user to add all PBR maps. Also, the ability to add FORE GROUND AND BACK GROUND should be added instead of using the environment image, and the ability to resize the environment image should also be included.

Which application is this?

AO parameter is on the list, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Also, the ability to add FORE GROUND AND BACK GROUND should be added instead of using the environment image, and

By background, you mean adding an image to the backplate, for example for compositing? And would you then save this image as part of the render, or not?

What is foreground? Do you have an example from other render software?

The ability to resize the environment image should also be included.

I'm not sure what that means. Do you mean a smaller / bigger resolution, or something else? The environment is wrapped as a "sphere" around your scene, so resizing will only impact the level of detail.

Thanks for the feedback!

Regards,
Thomas

@Krass said in Rayscaper New Releases:

@pixelcruncher Hello ! This is great,
You managed to fix the resolution change issue, and you did it very quickly, thank you! I'm now going to test my new animation in HD. I really like the subtle little changes you made to the interface; it's very well thought out: the fact that you only have to click once on the value field is perfect.

Cheers! Glad to hear the bug is fixed.

And I really like the interface in general. The scenes load very quickly...

Nice! I did put some work into improving the interface during the holidays.

However, it's true that being able to export the project as a workable zip file on another machine without having to remap missing textures would be ideal.

Let me give you a specific example: I don't like modeling and preparing the Rayscaper render on my laptop. But it will be much faster for rendering animations, so I need to export the project from the PC to the laptop.

Fair enough, I'm aware that this working 100% correct is super important. Expect this to be fixed in one of the upcoming releases.

Regards,
Thomas

@Krass That's some nice looking water! And a great workflow.

I did a similar experiment. I used a glass material with an index of refraction of 1.33 (the IOR of water). I used a water texture I found online.

Here's how I set it up in SketchUp and Rayscaper:

And there are the details of the glass material:

I found the water texture here: https://www.cadhatch.com/seamless-water-textures

One of the upcoming releases, I will try to add a water material. It's such a common item in Archviz that I think Rayscaper should have one.

I hope this helps!

Cheers,
Thomas

@ntxdave Like @krass mentioned, it only works for SketchUp scene animations. Fredo animator is not supported yet. Here is a guide on how to animate regular SketchUp scenes: https://rayscaper.com/guides/animation/

Hey, Rayscaper users!

Rayscaper 0.9.83 Beta is available. You can get it via:

• The SketchUcation store.
• Direct download: Rayscaper_0.9.83_Beta.rbz.

I recommend upgrading to the latest version.

What Changed?

• Add Nishita sky sun tracking from SketchUp shadows. The procedural sky will now automatically follow the sun position set in SketchUp's shadow settings, making it easier to match lighting conditions across your workflow. You can enable this via the menu Extensions > Rayscaper > Sync Nishita with Sun. See Syncing with SketchUp Sun for more details.
• Improve environment power controls with logarithmic sliders. Environment intensity is now easier to adjust precisely across a wide range of values.
• Fix crash when changing render resolution. Rayscaper will no longer crash when you adjust the resolution settings.
• Fix alpha textures to use linear color space. Alpha channels in textures now render with correct transparency values.

Help Me Build the Community

If you like Rayscaper, please share your renders (final or work-in-progress, it doesn't matter)! This is motivating
and helps me showcase its capabilities to new users.

Follow me on X.

Happy Rendering!
Thomas

@Krass Nice, thanks for sharing! Super cool to see this result.

@Krass Thanks for the kind words! Great to hear that you like it!

@Krass Sorry about that, it's a brand new feature (implemented two weeks ago), so rough around the edges. It would be great if you could also send the logs for this crash?

Pro tip, first render out a small resolution, low samples per pixel animation. They you get an immediate feel for it without having to wait too long

@krass - Here's the animation guide: https://rayscaper.com/guides/animation/ - Please let me know if everything is clear, or if there are any issues with the feature, because it's brand new

Thanks @krass for putting it in a new topic! That makes it easier for me to keep track, instead of tracking everything in the huge release thread.

I typed up a comprehensive guide: https://rayscaper.com/faq/licensing/#how-do-i-release-a-license-seat

@majid I'm supporting 2026, 2025, 2024. I changed that a couple of releases back.

@Krass Yikes, can you get me the logs after a crash happened?

Report a Bug

How to report a Rayscaper bug.

Rayscaper (rayscaper.com)

@Krass, I'm updating my documentation, stay tuned. If I have time this week, I will also try a video.

@Krass

Have a look at this guide on how to release seats: https://rayscaper.com/faq/licensing/#how-do-i-release-a-license-seat

@majid Sorry about that! Can you send me the log files as described here: https://rayscaper.com/getting-help/report-a-bug/#1-export-the-log-files

Hey, Rayscaper users!

Happy holidays, and all the best for 2026!

Rayscaper 0.9.82 Beta is available. You can get it via:

• The SketchUcation store.
• Direct download: link.

I recommend upgrading to the latest version.

What Changed?

Lighting Enhancements

• Area Light Support: Create realistic soft lighting effects with area lights, perfect for architectural and product visualization
• Multi-Selection for Lights: Select multiple lights at once using SHIFT or CTRL from SketchUp, the lights overlay, or the lights tab for easier management in complex scenes
• Light Component Preview: See a preview of light components in the light tool for easier and more accurate placement
• Light Grouping: Group Rayscaper light components within SketchUp groups and component definitions for better organization
• Enhanced Light Icons: Improved visual feedback with new light icons throughout the interface

Material & Texture Improvements

• Material Selection Context Menu: Right-click on materials in the asset manager for quick access to common operations
• Export Selected Materials: Export materials from your current scene for reuse in other projects
• Auto-Wire Alpha Textures: Textures with alpha channels in SketchUp automatically connect to the opacity channel in Rayscaper materials
• Float Texture Multipliers: Adjust the strength of roughness and metallic textures with new multiplier controls
• SketchUp 2025 PBR Support: Metallic and roughness factors from SketchUp 2025's PBR materials now properly apply as texture multipliers

Animation

• SketchUp Scene Animation: Render animations based on SketchUp scenes, including sun and shadow positions - perfect for creating time-lapse renders showing how lighting changes throughout the day

Interface Improvements

• Updated Color Scheme: Refreshed Rayscaper color scheme for better visual clarity
• Improved Render Status Bar: Clearer visual indicators make it easier to monitor rendering progress
• Better Tooltips: Rewritten tooltips throughout the interface for improved clarity and user-friendliness

Here's a nice XMas render by @rich-o-brien

Help Me Build the Community

If you like Rayscaper, please share your renders (final or work-in-progress, it doesn't matter)! This is motivating and helps me showcase its capabilities
to new users.

Follow me on https://x.com/rayscaper3d.

Happy Rendering!
Thomas

Merry Christmas, Majid!