Chaos has released V-Ray 7 Update 4, introducing new features for Maya, Blender, Houdini and 3ds Max. The update improves multiple stages of the production pipeline, from real-time visualization and virtual production to rendering performance and workflow automation.
This article highlights the most important features introduced in V-Ray 7 Update 4.
Real-Time Rendering
One of the most significant additions in V-Ray 7 Update 4 is the deeper integration between V-Ray and Chaos Vantage.
Users can now launch Chaos Vantage directly from the viewport. They can preview scenes with near final-quality ray tracing without switching applications. This creates a smoother workflow, allowing artists to evaluate lighting, materials and composition from the earliest stages of production.
Chaos currently offers this feature for Houdini, Maya and 3ds Max. A dedicated Chaos Vantage Live Link for Blender will arrive in a future update.
Gaussian Splat Relight
Gaussian Splatting continues to evolve rapidly as a technology for real-time scene reconstruction, but one of its biggest limitations has always been baked lighting.
V-Ray 7 Update 4 addresses this issue with the new Gaussian Splat Relight feature, allowing scanned environments to be relit so that captured lighting matches the lighting conditions of the current scene.
This significantly reduces manual cleanup while making Gaussian Splats much more flexible for visualization and VFX workflows.
Virtual Production
Virtual production also receives major improvements through a tighter integration between V-Ray and Chaos Arena, Chaos’ real-time ray tracing solution for LED volumes and in-camera visual effects.
Artists can now adjust materials, depth of field and color correction in real time while also taking advantage of a new precision lens encoder that improves synchronization between virtual and physical cameras.
These additions streamline virtual production workflows while helping maintain a consistent level of visual realism throughout the production process.
CPU and GPU Performance Improvements
Performance remains another major focus of V-Ray 7 Update 4.
According to Chaos, render startup is now up to twice as fast thanks to improvements in V-Ray GPU IPR, while CPU rendering delivers performance gains of up to 13%.
The update also introduces Out-of-Frustum Displacement Tessellation, reducing memory usage by generating displacement only where it is visible to the camera. Geometry compilation has also been optimized, while Distributed Rendering 2 (DR2) further improves bucket rendering and distributed rendering performance.
Together, these optimizations allow artists to work with more complex scenes while reducing render times and improving overall efficiency.
Workflow Enhancements
Alongside the major additions, V-Ray 7 Update 4 introduces several smaller workflow improvements designed to simplify everyday production tasks.
Parallax Textures are now supported, allowing artists to create the illusion of detailed interiors using pre-rendered imagery instead of fully modeled geometry. This makes it easier to populate buildings while keeping scenes lightweight.
The update also adds Quick Caustics, enabling physically convincing caustic effects to be generated much more quickly without lengthy trial-and-error workflows.
Finally, Veras AI is now more deeply integrated across Vantage, Maya and Blender, making it easier to generate concepts, refine renders and upscale images up to 16K directly within supported applications.
A More Seamless Chaos Ecosystem
V-Ray 7 Update 4 is less about introducing a single groundbreaking feature and more about strengthening the overall Chaos ecosystem. The update improves the entire production pipeline by combining faster rendering, deeper real-time integration and smarter workflow automation across multiple applications.
From Vantage integration and Gaussian Splat relighting to virtual production enhancements and performance optimizations, the release demonstrates Chaos’ ongoing strategy of connecting its visualization tools into a more unified and efficient creative platform.
For the complete feature list, visit the official Chaos website. You can also catch up on our coverage of V-Ray 7 Update 3 to follow the evolution of the latest V-Ray releases.
– article by G. D’Ambrogio
