V-Ray for SU vs V-Ray for MAX

[valerostudio]

I am currently playing around with V-Ray in Max and have noticed that the quality seems much higher than what comes out of the V-Ray for SU plug-in. Now I know I am comparing two very differently modeling applications but shouldn't the quality of the rendering engines be the same?

[andybot]

do you have any side by side comparisons to post? I'd be curious about the answer too.

[holmes1977]

I would be very interested in this as ell. I've heard that mentions alot before.

[Krisidious]

$3500 + annual fee + $1300 vs free + $800... it better be higher quality.

[eidam655]

doesn't VRay for MAx use newer core?

EDIT: also, yeah, if you could post a side-by-side comparison (with rendertimes), that would be awesome.

[thomthom]

V-Ray is V-Ray. The differences with V-Ray for SketchUp is that it doesn't have all the advanced functions such as proxies and lightdome. But that was because the SDK didn't expose these things. Now that ASGVis is bought up by ChaosGroup they are implementing these features into their product. V-Ray for Rhino is first up - currently there is a beta out which proxies, light dome, real time render viewport and more. ChaosGroup want their product line to feature mostly the same features.

V-Ray in Max and have noticed that the quality seems much higher than what comes out of the V-Ray for SU plug-in

Might be different default settings. You even see a big difference in quality between VfSU users - same thing for VfMax users. V-Ray is V-Ray - users and models aren't.

[valerostudio]

I will try a test in the next couple of says and get back to you guys.

[majid]

.... V-Ray is V-Ray - users and models aren't.

[EarthMover]

Don't forget Vray for Maya, Vray for C4D, Vray for Blender, etc. All the same interpolation based algorithms. Also Vray for Max came first, so it's had longer for the kinks to be worked out. As a platform, Max itself has many advantages over SU with polycount and it's quad modeling nature (and turbo smooth technique) usually resulting in a cleaner mesh. The way the mesh is processed is definitely reflected in the rendered results. Max also has far better RAM management, as it's scenes are constructed in a referenced format. Textures are not stored with the Max scene, but loaded dynamically from the hard drive. Also the modifier stack in Max is such that on the base of the stack is stored with the file and the modifiers are also dynamically loaded into the viewport and calculated as the render is taking place. Proxies are another thing that are referenced from the hard drive and only dynamically loaded while rendering. All that being said, for the novice user, I think it is easier to get a clean result out of simple scene with VfSU as the sun and camera are derived from the SU viewport, whereas the user in Max needs to know how to set those up for the best results. I've also seen a ton of renders done by some Vray masters on this forum that rival and surpass a lot of stuff produced by Max users. It's all about maximizing the tools at your disposal and knowing how to be adaptive to different scene conditions.

It's actually quite surprising to me that Vray is still the "king of the hill", even as computer technology has grown to the point that unbiased solutions are almost as fast as biased solutions. I think in the future, unbiased will win out......when realtime speed and accuracy are one in the same.

[andybot]

unbiased solutions are almost as fast as biased solutions. I think in the future, unbiased will win out......when realtime speed and accuracy are one in the same.

The increased processor power lifts all boats.. Unbiased is still way slower, no matter which way you slice it.

[thomthom]

It's actually quite surprising to me that Vray is still the "king of the hill", even as computer technology has grown to the point that unbiased solutions are almost as fast as biased solutions. I think in the future, unbiased will win out......when realtime speed and accuracy are one in the same.

It's far from equal - unbiased is nowhere near as fast as biased. True that unbiased is faster now with the current state of hardware - but so is unbiased.
I have yet to try any unbiased render engine which yield the speed I can be comfortable with. It'd be ok if I was making one-of illustrations - but most of the time illustrations needs redoing as the project changes and I can't do with just letting something cook over the night.

[valerostudio]

V-Ray will be in the top slot for a while. They user base is huge and most folks put years into learning it. Their material libraries are V-Ray and their model libraries are V-Ray. This is why AutoCAD is the most used drafting program. Are their better and cheaper solutions? Heck yea. Most people wouldn't convert though because of the costs involved.