Added a built-in node-less compositing tool inside the VFB for final color grading and image adjustments.
Engineered for massive simulation data and procedural pipelines.
The following list outlines the progression of major V-Ray versions across its primary host applications like 3ds Max, Maya, and SketchUp: Release Notes - V-Ray for Maya - Chaos Docs
| Version | Key Features | Supported Platforms | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Introduced VRayEnmesh (a new way to create detailed surfaces without extra geometry), VRayDecal (for placing stickers and labels on any surface), and better USD support. | 3ds Max, Maya, SketchUp, Rhino, Cinema 4D | | V-Ray 6, Update 1 | Added new features to the VFB (like light path expressions), improvements to VRayDecal, and support for the VRayProfiler , which breaks down render times to identify bottlenecks. | All Major Platforms | | V-Ray 6, Update 2 | Added full support for the latest versions of host applications (e.g., Maya 2025, 3ds Max 2025) and introduced significant updates to VRayScatter and USD workflows. | All Major Platforms | vray all versions list
"No problem," Elias lied, cracking his knuckles. "Give me the hard drive."
Released initially as a plug-in for Autodesk 3ds Max, V-Ray 1.0 shook the 3D world by offering faster ray-tracing calculations than native renderers.
Chaos recommends upgrading to V-Ray 7 for latest features, security, and hardware compatibility. Added a built-in node-less compositing tool inside the
Rebuilt the GPU engine kernel to support production-level features previously locked to CPU pipelines. The Ultra-Fast Ecosystem (V-Ray 5) V-Ray 5 (2020–2022)
: Open-source assets or older studio archives built with V-Ray 3.x using Irradiance Maps will look different or throw errors when opened in V-Ray 6, which relies purely on Brute Force path tracing.
This list focuses on as the reference platform. Feature sets and version numbers may differ slightly for SketchUp, Rhino, or C4D (e.g., V-Ray for SketchUp skipped version 4.x and jumped from 3.6 to 5.0). Always refer to the release notes for your specific host application. | 3ds Max, Maya, SketchUp, Rhino, Cinema 4D
Elias bypassed version 3.0—it was notorious for breaking compatibility with older DynaMesh data—and went straight for 3.6. This was the era of 'Gi Algorithms' like Brute Force becoming the standard. The era where V-Ray became smart.
: Introduced Adaptive Lights (drastically speeding up scenes with thousands of light sources), AL_Surface material integration, and Hybrid Rendering (utilizing CPU and GPU simultaneously). The Intelligent Rendering Era (2018–2022) V-Ray Next / V-Ray 4.0 (2018)
3ds Max, Maya, SketchUp (first integration in 2010), Rhino (2012).
: Light Mix enabled artists to change the color and intensity of lights interactively after the render was finished.