Product Overview
V-Ray for 3ds Max is the core development of Chaos Group, which allows users to quickly and easily create realistic images while giving them full control over the 3D production process.
V-Ray 2.0 for 3ds Max is a fast rendering solution, which combines the power of the distinguished V-Ray rendering engine with the flexibility and unprecedented speed of the interactive rendering system V-Ray RT, now running on GPUs.
V-Ray 2.0 for 3ds Max Key Features
The V-Ray rendering system has a rich set of features. Please be aware that every feature is a subject to change without advanced notice. Here are some of the key features of the new V-Ray 2.0 for 3ds Max.
VRayCarPaintMtl - create stunning car paint shaders complete with base, flake and coat layers.
VRayLightSelect Render Element - become a master of lighting with the new VrayLightSelect feature and extract the contribution of each light to the scene or compose all the lights back together and change their intensity in real time in any compositing software.
VRayMultiSubTex - use this V-Ray specific texture to assign different textures based on object ID.
General
The V-Ray licensing system is an independent licensing routine (the V-Ray floating license server, tied to a hardware locking device) and the V-Ray renderer itself. The communication between the two is based on the HTTP protocol, even if the license server and the V-Ray renderer are on the same computer. This means that in order for the licensing to work, the computer must have TCP/IP installed properly. Please note, however, that currently IPv6 is not supported.
In order to run, the V-Ray license server requires that a USB hardware lock (dongle) is attached to the computer where it is running. The dongle contains information about the number of available licenses for V-Ray. You can attach more than one dongle to the same machine to increase the number of availabe licenses. Before using the dongle, you must install a driver for accessing it.
Installation
For more detailed installation and trouble-shooting instructions, please check the installation PDF guide.
Installing the V-Ray license server
The V-Ray floating license server consists of a single executable file that has to be run prior to launching the V-Ray renderer. The V-Ray installer creates a shortcut to the license server in the Start menu. The installer can also optionally register the V-Ray license server as a Windows service that is started automatically by Windows. Note that the license server requires that a dongle is attached to the machine in order to run, as well as installed WIBU-key dongle driver. By default, the V-Ray installer automatically installs the required WIBU-key drivers.
All of the settings for the license server are saved in an .xml file vrlservice.xml which is placed in a ChaosGroup directory located in the Common files directory provided by Windows, which is typically found in the Program Files directory. Thus usually the full name of the settings file is C:\Program Files\Common Files\ChaosGroup\vrlservice.xml. In case of any problems the user can edit the file directly, but we strongly recommend that, unless the user is experienced, they should not do so.
Securing the V-Ray license server
Please keep in mind that it is up to you and/or your system administrator to keep the machine running the V-Ray license server secure from unauthorized access and usage of your V-Ray licenses, especially if the V-Ray license server is running on a machine that can be accessed from the Internet.
Configuring the V-Ray rendereron a workstation
When you open the Render Scene dialog inside 3ds Max and choose the V-Ray renderer, press the Edit/set license server information button in the Authorization rollout. It will prompt you for the license server name or IP where the V-Ray license server is running. Leave the User and Password fields blank. You need to close and re-open the render scene dialog to see the changes. Note that if you are running the V-Ray license server on a different machine, you do not need to install the WIBU-key dongle drivers on your workstation.
All of the V-Ray client settings are saved in the vrlclient.xml file in the Common Files\ChaosGroup directory which is usually located in the Program files directory. Thus the full file name of the settings file usually is C:\Program Files\Common Files\ChaosGroup\vrlclient.xml. It can be edited by hand but we strongly advise you not to do so, unless you are certain of what you are doing.
Configuring the V-Ray renderer on render slaves for backburner and distributed rendering
Although V-Ray does not require a separate license to render through backburner, it does require access to the V-Ray license server. The same is true for distributed rendering. After you install V-Ray on the render slave, you must tell it where to look for the V-Ray license server. If 3dsmax is also licensed for that machine, you can use the Render Scene dialog as described above. If a 3dsmax license is not installed on the render slave, you can use a small external program which is accessible from the start menu if you used the V-Ray installer (Start menu > Programs > Chaos Group > V-Ray for 3dsmax > Licensing > Administration > Change V-Ray client license settings) or from the <maxroot>\V-Ray folder if you installed manually from a .zip file. This program can also be run from the command line (use -help option to see usage notice).
Examples
Typical single-computer licensing
After installing V-Ray, plug your V-Ray dongle into a free USB port on your computer, if you have not done so. Start the V-Ray license server (Start Menu > Programs > Chaos Group > V-Ray for 3dsmax > Licensing > Launch V-Ray license server). It may take a few seconds for the license server to start completely. Afterwards run 3dsmax and open the Render scene dialog. Press the Edit/set license server information button. Enter the "127.0.0.1" IP address as your license server. Close and re-open 3dsmax. Now V-Ray should be running fine, provided that no other V-Ray copy is connected to your computer. If you wish to start the license server automatically, use the shortcut from the start menu to register the V-Ray license service (Start Menu > Programs > Chaos Group > V-Ray for 3dsmax > Licensing > Administration > Register V-Ray license service).
Sharing a license across your network of computers
Install the V-Ray license server and the WIBU-key driver on a suitable machine in your network (typically this would be a server machine). Plug the dongle into a free USB port on that machine and start the V-Ray license server. Afterwards run 3dsmax on any computer in your network and open the Render Scene dialog. Press the Edit/set license server information button. Enter the IP address or the name of the computer where you have the license server installed. Close and re-open 3dsmax. Now V-Ray should be running fine, provided that the total number of running V-Ray copies does not exceed the number of granted licenses for the licensing server.
Using the V-Ray license server
When the V-Ray license server starts, it appears as an icon in the tray area of the Windows taskbar. Double-click that icon to bring up a window that allows you to close the V-Ray license server (simply close the window if you do not wish to terminate the license server):
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| V-ray license server icon in the Windows taskbar | Clicking the icon opens a window to terminate the license server |
Additionally, you can monitor the work of the V-Ray license server (number of available licenses, currently connected machines etc) via a Web-based interface. For this purpose, you access the V-Ray license server via the HTTP protocol on the port that you have specified for it (the default is 30304). For example, if you are running the V-Ray license server on your local machine, open your web browser and in the Address field enter http://localhost:30304
Clicking on the first link opens a page with the V-Ray license server information:
