Chaos Vantage, a new application that allows users to instantly explore 3D scenes in a fully ray traced, real-time environment, has been launched by Chaos Group, where it was formerly known as Project Lavina.
Unlike typical real-time methods, the import process is simplified – just drag-and-drop a V-Ray scene, or live link from Autodesk 3ds Max, to bring it into real-time. There’s no geometry to optimise, UVs to unwrap, or lighting to bake.
To push the option, Chaos Vantage is available now and is compatible with all V-Ray Next and V-Ray 5 integrations.
A one-year license is free until 2 June 2021, after which it will cost $389 annually, although the software does use DXR ray tracing and currently requires an Nvidia RTX series GPU to work.
“Vantage removes the hurdles that used to hold people back, introducing a ‘real-time anytime’ workflow that lets designers and artists use real-time as freely as they use 3D,” Chaos Group VP product management Phillip Miller.
“As real-time begins to live comfortably within every stage of the design process, it will make a huge impact on how people get their work done, from client meetings and over-the-shoulder reviews to the way they art direct various iterations.
“This will change everything,” he exclaimed.
Chaos Group describe Vantage as being designed for massive scenes and being able to handle billions of polygons without any loss in detail or significant decrease in speed.
Vantage is able to automatically read V-Ray’s physically based lights and materials to produce photorealistic results with claimed ‘100 per cent ray tracing, even on complex scenes’.
Vantage is reportedly averaging 24-30fps on a consumer-grade Nvidia RTX card at HD resolution, with additional speed boosts available using two GPUs.
Able to open scene files from any recent V-Ray integration and also live links with V-Ray for 3ds Max, users are able to see every camera, model and lighting adjustment in Vantage as they create – turning it into a fully ray-traced viewport that enables artists to make their creative decisions with higher fidelity than ever before.
Vantage also includes an Animation Editor able to create, edit and render animated sequences for presentations or pre-visualisation purposes, using a transition-based method.
With cameras set in Vantage as markers, designers can direct the editor through the various milestones, manipulating transition times and moves. An onboard tool keeps track of all new cameras and poses during this process, ensuring scene consistency across a production.
Chaos Vantage: Other Features
· Object Transforms and Controls – Move, rotate and scale objects in real-time. Controls to copy, hide and delete objects are also available
· Lookup Tables (LUTs) – Apply a color filter to any camera for a more cinematic look
· Collision Detection – Similar to playing a game, automatic collision detection allows users to walk up stairs and avoid walking through walls without any authoring
· Layered Fog – Quickly add atmospheric depth to dramatise expansive scenes
· Record Camera – Easily record a real-time session as an MP4 video for easy sharing
