For those who don’t know the tool: V-Ray runs inside SketchUp, Rhino, and 3ds Max. Update 3 pulls real-time from Vantage, feeds assets from Cosmos, and pushes approvals through Cloud, with traffic extras via Anima.

Real time, now without the app hopping

Chaos released V-Ray 7 Update 3 for SketchUp, Rhino, and 3ds Max. Update 3 adds real-time rendering directly in the V-Ray viewport through a Vantage Viewport Live Link workflow. The goal sits squarely on convenience: keep modeling, keep assigning materials, keep nudging lights, and see the result update instantly.

The live viewport workflow supports continuous scene edits. Walls, columns, material tweaks, and object selections update in real time. Assets dropped in from Cosmos appear immediately as high-quality models, including people, vegetation, and props.

Lighting edits also happen inside the viewport workflow. Cosmos light fixtures with built-in light sources work in this mode, and V-Ray lights can be placed and adjusted interactively, including intensity adjustments while the real-time view stays active.

The real-time viewport mode supports large scenes. Vantage can handle millions of polygons with no noticeable lag in the described workflow, and it uses full ray tracing, without rasterization or approximation in that workflow description.

The real-time viewport workflow includes camera and look controls for composition and presentation. It supports adjusting the sun and adding effects including lens flares, photometrics, fog, and depth of field, while staying inside the host application viewport.

Parallax interiors go native, and finally leave OSL behind

Parallax interiors in Update 3 target a familiar archviz cheat: add convincing depth behind windows without modeling full rooms. Update 3 adds a native parallax texture map that works across integrations and also works in Vantage. This matters for integrations that do not expose Open Shading Language, where older OSL-based approaches were less usable.

Cosmos includes parallax interior shaders designed for drag-and-drop use behind windows. The shaders maintain depth and perspective from any camera angle and support variation controls to avoid obvious repetition across facades.

Quick caustics and Gaussian splats get more practical

Quick Caustics in Update 3 bring sunlight caustics through water, a common request for pools, lakes, and other outdoor scenes. V-Ray includes a general caustics engine, and the update adds a specific option intended to quickly approximate caustics caused by sunlight going through water surfaces. The workflow is enabling Quick Caustics in the material and lighting with V-Ray Sun so caustics appear immediately.

The current Quick Caustics behavior works best with displaced surfaces. It works with the built-in V-Ray water texture in SketchUp and Rhino, and it also supports other displacement textures. A depth parameter controls how far the caustics effect reaches. Reflective caustics can be enabled for shimmering patterns, and the caustics render element can be isolated for easier adjustment after the render.

Gaussian Splats Relighting allows Gaussian splats to receive illumination from scene lights so they blend more naturally with the rest of the scene. A dedicated parameter controls how the lighting blend behaves, and V-Ray lights can be used with their full parameters in this workflow.

Node materials arrive, scatter gets a brush, decals get distributed

Update 3 adds a node-based material editor for V-Ray for SketchUp and V-Ray for Rhino in preview. The node editor supports creating, picking, and editing materials and textures in a visual graph. Cosmos assets can be dragged directly into the graph. Texture nodes can be added and combined, maps can be mixed, and materials can be combined visually. Material types including blend, two-sided, overrdie, and wrapper appear as nodes.

V-Ray 7.3 also adds a scatter brush workflow in V-Ray for SketchUp and V-Ray for Rhino. Objects can be scattered using a paintbrush approach for precise distribution of plants and similar objects. The workflow supports building a base layer and painting additional clusters, following predefined lines from plans or painting freely. Density can be adjusted via brush radius, and unwanted areas can be painted out. The workflow also supports shaping vegetation placement to match camera angles for composition.

AI Mood Match and AI Enhancer focus on faster look decisions

AI Mood Match expands the Light Gen workflow for V-Ray for SketchUp and V-Ray for Rhino. It adjusts environment lighting to match a visual reference instead of trial-and-error tweaks. The workflow describes uploading a reference image, generating multiple lighting scenarios, browsing results, choosing one, and applying it with a click, then refining lighting further as needed.

AI Enhancer adds improved accuracy and object-level control. The described workflow includes detecting characters, vegetation, and large surfaces after upload, then enhancing selected elements without affecting the rest of the image.

For people, the controls include parameters such as age, gender, ethnicity, hair color, and facial expression, with results applied as an enhancement. A creativity mode adds refinement while preserving the original look. Multiple selections can be enhanced at once, enhanced objects appear in an object enhancement list, and results can be saved as a new version.

Large Surface Coverage targets fast breakup of flat or repetitive surfaces. Controls include creativity to add intrical detail and an age option intended to introduce natural weathering, including stains, micro-cracks, and subtle color variation.

AI Materials now support 4K generation and higher-resolution maps. The described workflow includes a redesigned interface and an interactive 3D preview that can switch between sphere, box, and cylinder models, plus lighting direction adjustments and normal and roughness tweaks with instant updates.

Frame Buffer tweaks and per-camera controls in 3ds Max

V-Ray for 3ds Max adds Physical Camera tools intended to make scene variations and view management easier. Objects can be excluded from visibility per camera without affecting the rest of the scene. Focus can be set to object mode by picking an object to remain in focus, keeping it sharp regardless of camera target position, which changes depth of field control behavior.

Update 3 also improves the V-Ray Frame Buffer. A new histogram widget provides insight into color distribution and exposure. Background and foreground folders support reference images, watermarks, and backgrounds. Scaling and positioning tools improve alignment, and effects apply consistently to added elements in this workflow description.

Cloud reviews, video notes, and 3D streaming annotation

Cloud Reviews adds a review hub for sharing work with teams and clients. Reviews can be started from the render engine or created in a review tab workflow. Renders can be uploaded and stakeholders invited. Stakeholders can explore images or 360-degree experiences and leave comments directly on elements that need adjustment. Project status can be updated, new versions uploaded, and an approvers list used to finalize the design.

Video collaboration adds timeline-based commenting. Comments can be pinned to an exact second or a time span, and comments can be repositioned. Annotation tools include markers such as drawing, line, and rectangle tools for pointing out specific areas. Comments can fade out automatically after their time span for a cleaner preview.

3D streaming in the same ecosystem allows real-time navigation once a scene is uploaded. The workflow includes switching cameras and adjusting lighting dynamically, sharing a 3D stream for interactive exploration, and adding annotations. Comments save automatically, and annotations can include attached images or links for context. If your review chain includes external stakeholders, run a dry test early to catch permission and browser issues before a deadline catches you. Or you have an audience, when you try to remember your password.

Have a look at the tools here: Chaos Cloud Reviews documentation
https://documentation.chaos.com/space/VCLOUD/521797640/Reviews

Anima 6: parking lots and smarter vehicle lighting

Anima 6 adds tools aimed at faster traffic population and more believable vehicle behavior. A parking lot feature lets users define parking zones and fill them with vehicles. Zones can be resized, orientations adjusted, density changed, vehicles added or removed, and layouts regenerated.

Anima 6 also adds automatic vehicle lighting for traffic simulation. Brake lights activate when stopping and turn signals engage when changing direction. A road staying tendency parameter controls whether vehicles continue straight or take available turns. If you want to show somebody how they should be driving their bloody SUVs, Anima will help make it look like it should, not like the BMW drivers do mostly behave.

Cosmos sets and new assets

Cosmos adds Sets, described as curated groups of assets that can be placed as a set and then rearranged or duplicated as needed.

Update 3 adds over 700 new assets, including 400 high-detailed plant models from Globe Plants, plus additional branded models. Cosmos also includes new models from Evermotion, new people assets, and additional scatter presets and scan material range in the described workflow.

Pricing and availability

Update 3 releases first for V-Ray for SketchUp and V-Ray for Rhino. Real-time rendering in the V-Ray viewport requires an active Vantage license or an active V-Ray Collection license.

New features can shift habits fast. Test Update 3 on real scenes, real assets, and your actual hardware before it enters a production .

https://www.chaos.com/vray

The post Chaos V-Ray 7 Update 3 goes real time first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: Vantage is a real-time ray tracing renderer that can sit beside Enscape and slot into USD and MaterialX heavy pipelines when you want fast lookdev without a nap.

Chaos Vantage 3 update 2 comes with a focus on practical scene-side control: new post looks, more object shapes, deeper simulation tweaks, and workflow glue that keeps artists in the viewport longer.

The headline addition is a Toon post effect. It adds a stylized look as a post step, which means you can push a non-photoreal pass without rebuilding materials or rerouting a full shading graph. The feature is presented as a post effect, so it lives where you would expect to audition looks quickly, then iterate.

Water got attention too. The Water surface object now supports Circle, Infinite, and Custom shapes, making it easier to fit a surface to a set or shot without faking scale. The watre surface animation can also be previewed in real time, and Wind picked up an Affect water option in the Environment tab to toggle that preview on or off.

VR workflows also moved forward. There is support for VR joysticks teleportation and object manipulation, aimed at navigating and adjusting scenes more directly inside a headset. If your review culture leans on immersive approvals, this is the kind of change that reduces mouse time and increases useful gestures. If your review culture leans on never touching a headset, nothing breaks.

Splats and smoke get more production-like controls

Gaussian splats gained explicit support for creating and importing Gaussian splats objects, and those objects now have editable properties. That makes splats feel less like a read-only curiosity and more like a scene element you can actually manage.

The Fluid simulator object also expanded in ways that map cleanly to shot polish. Smoke expansion and Temperature expansion properties were added, giving more control over how sims evolve. The simulator can now export OpenVDB cache files, which matters because it turns an internal sim result into something you can hand off, archive, or try elsewhere.

On the quality side, micro vorticity generation and detail improved, and the default pivot moved to the bottom center of the grid container. These are the sorts of adjustments that make an effect feel less like a demo and more like a tool you can steer.

There is also a performance angle. Multi GPU performance improved, and the fluid simulator performance improved. A temporary memory usage spike was removed when changing resolution with NVIDIA DLSS.

UI changes that reduce scavenger hunts

Update 2 added a new Create Objects button in the toolbar that centralizes all available object creation in one place. The Scale type-in dialog gained an object size in scene units property, which helps when you need a known dimension and do not want to eyeball a gizmo. Background Image in Screen mode can now be offset on X and Y, and first person navigation gained an option to move along the camera view direction instead of horizontally. That navigation option is a global preference set in Edit then Preferences then Interaction, which is a very specific breadcrumb trail, but at least it is now a breadcrumb trail that goes somewhere. Creation behavior also improved in a small but meaningful way: creating a fluid simulator object now automatically sets selected objects as emitters.

Enscape 4.17.0 quietly patches the sharp edges

Enscape 4.17.0 shipped with a mix of performance and workflow changes, plus a long list of targeted bug fixes. On the improvements side, NVIDIA DLSS was updated to version 310.5 with bug fixes and stability improvements. Light clustering behavior improved in orthographic view so lights group and separate more predictably while zooming and navigating. The Visual Settings Presets panel now starts expanded by default.

For Archicad, all-user installation support improved by registering Enscape in the AddOns folder. On Windows, users created after installation will also have it installed.

There are also fixes for clearcoat handling in light reflections, a sky that can appear pixelated in video previews and exports, and Billboard geometry disappearing when the camera gets very close. Asset Library placement performance improved in older placement modes. The Material Editor feedback button for the AI Material Generator was fixed. The V-Ray Scene Export path was addressed too: large scene files caused by duplicating geometry of asset instances, plus a case where Scene Export could crash.

Batch Rendering got a crash fix when canceling while Light Management is active. Enscape Impact fixes address energy performance results display when reopening after a successful analysis run, and invalid Impact Report data in imperial units.

Pricing and where this lands on your budget spreadsheet

Pricing for Vantage is specified as $54.90 per month for Vantage Standalone when billed annually, shown as $658.80 for one license billed annually.

Pricing for Enscape is specified as $47.90 per month for an Enscape Solo plan when billed annually, shown as $574.80 for one license billed annually.

Both sets of numbers are the kind that make producers ask whether you can do it with screenshots. You can, but you will not like it.

https://forums.chaos.com/forum/chaos-vantage/chaos-vantage-announcements/1245724-chaos-vantage-v3-2-0-released

https://forum.enscape3d.com/index.php?thread%2F31054-enscape-4-17-0-released%2F=

The post Chaos Vantage 3 update 2 adds Toon first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: tyFlow is a particle and simulation plugin for 3ds Max. It is commonly used for particle effects and procedural simulation within pipelines. The tool expands 3ds Max application simulation features with node-based operators and GPU-accelerated modules.

A CUDA fluid solver arrives

The 2.000 release of tyFlow introduces a new GPU fluid simulation solver named ZENITH. According to the official release notes, the solver runs on CUDA and integrates directly with the tyFlow simulation environment.

The update also introduces twenty new operators for the Inferno module. Inferno is tyFlow’s internal system for simulation tasks, including volumetric and fluid workflows. The release notes confirm that the operators are designed to support the new GPU fluid pipeline introduced with ZENITH.

CUDA modules distributed with tyFlow have also been updated. The package now includes machine learning models intended for fluid up-rez and compression. These models ship inside the CUDA module package together with a defined installation location described in the included documentation. The release raises the minimum supported CUDA version to 12.8. Users are instructed to ensure that GPU drivers are updated accordingly.

Updated CUDA modules

The updated CUDA modules are a central part of the release. The vendor states that the package now bundles machine learning models used for fluid up-rez and compression. Fluid upres workflows typically reconstruct higher resolution detail from a lower resolution simualtion. The release notes do not specify the training method, dataset, or inference process used by these models. No benchmarks or performance figures are provided.

The CUDA modules also now require installation in a specific location. Users are directed to the README documentation included with the CUDA module package for installation details. The vendor also updated the CUDA cub and thrust libraries used internally by tyFlow. According to the release notes, the update addresses rare CUDA crashes during Multifracture operations. (Multifracture is tyFlow’s system for procedural mesh fracturing used in destruction simulations.)

Twenty Inferno operators

The release introduces twenty new Inferno operators designed to work with the new GPU simulation capabilities. Inferno operators in tyFlow provide node based controls that modify simulation behaviour or generate simulation data. The addition of twenty operators suggests a significant expansion of the Inferno system.

New operators for general workflows

Outside the Inferno system, the release adds several new operators and modifiers for tyFlow workflows. A new Global operator has been added. The official documentation referenced in the release notes is required to understand its full functionality.

The update also introduces a MAXScript operator. MAXScript is the scripting language used inside 3ds Max. The operator presumably enables scripting access within tyFlow simulations, although the exact capabilities are not described in the release notes.

A new tyMeshBlend modifier has also been introduced. The modifier blends normals where meshes intersect. This behaviour is typically used to reduce shading artifacts where two meshes overlap or intersect.

Another addition is a new SDF shape mode for the PhysX Shape and PhysX Collision operators. SDF stands for signed distance field. According to the release notes, the new mode allows more accurate concave collisions.

Signed distance fields are commonly used to represent complex shapes in simulation because they encode the distance to the nearest surface point in volumetric form.

tyCache improvements

The release expands tyFlow’s caching capabilities. The tyCache modifier can now cache spline data. Previously, the system primarily cached particle and mesh data. The Export Particles operator now supports subframe export of tyCache data. Subframe data enables simulation playback at time steps smaller than a single frame. This is typically required for accurate motion blur in rendering workflows. The tyCache object also now displays PhysX bind connectivity.

Mesh and material improvements

Several modelling and mesh related updates are included in the release. The multifracture, tyBoolean and tyWeld modifiers now include UVW seam weld options. A new Merge mat IDs mode has been added to the tyMaterial modifier. The same option is also available for the tyMesher object. According to the release notes, the feature merges and concatenates material IDs across instanced objects and generates a compatible multi material with the new ID layout. This behaviour can simplify material management in procedural setups where multiple objects share or generate different ID sets.

UI and usability changes

The update includes multiple interface adjustments aimed at improving usability inside the tyFlow editor. Comboboxes, checkboxes and radio buttons now display non-default values in blue. Previously, this behaviour was limited to numeric spinner controls.

Large dropdown comboboxes now include a text entry field at the top of the list that allows users to search items using fuzzy matching. The release also introduces a Houdini-style value stepper dialog. Middle Mouse Clicking any spinner control opens a dialog that allows incremental changes across multiple orders of magnitude.

Export and procedural variation

The Export Particles operator now supports exporting ranges for tySwitcher indices and reseed values. According to the release notes, this allows permutations to be exported from the same operator during a single export operation. Exported object names and layers now also support symbol replacement variables such as $tySwitcherIndex and $tySeedIndex. These variables allow procedural naming during export operations.

OpenVDB update

The OpenVDB SDK used by tyFlow has been updated to version 13. OpenVDB is an open source library widely used in volumetric workflows. It provides sparse volumetric data structures for storing grids such as smoke, fire or fluid simulation volumes.

Practical implications

The most significant change in this release appears to be the introduction of the ZENITH CUDA fluid solver and the expansion of the Inferno operator set. However, the official release notes do not provide technical descriptions, performance data or architecture details for the solver. GPU fluid simulation inside particle frameworks can reduce iteration times when compared to CPU grid solvers. Whether this holds true for ZENITH cannot be determined yet – so it is time to have a good long playing session with Tyflow!

Users interested in adopting the new system will likely need to examine the updated CUDA modules and example scenes to evaluate real world behaviour. As always, new tools and innovations should be thoroughly tested before use in production.

// https://pro.tyflow.com/

The post tyFlow 2 adds CUDA fluid solver and 20 Infernos first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: Arnold is the production renderer from Autodesk, integrated via MtoA, MAXtoA, HtoA, C4DtoA and KtoA into Maya, 3ds Max, Houdini, Cinema 4D and Katana, and increasingly used in USD pipelines.

Arnold 7.4.5 is now available. According to the official Autodesk documentation, this release introduces new shaders focused on non photorealistic rendering, expands point based shading workflows, improves OpenVDB volume perfromance on CPU and GPU, and adds controls to Cryptomatte and lens effects. It also includes API changes, bug fixes and updates to OSL and USD support.

All feature descriptions below are taken from the official Arnold 7.4.5 documentation. Where Autodesk provides measured performance figures, these are cited as vendor benchmarks and are Not independently verified at press time.

Line shader for NPR work

Arnold 7.4.5 introduces a new Line shader. The shader is designed to render line based effects directly in Arnold. According to Autodesk, it can generate outlines, contour lines and stylised strokes across surfaces.

The shader works procedurally and can be driven by surface attributes and shading inputs. The documentation states that it can be combined with other shaders and textures to create sketch style and illustrative looks. Autodesk positions it for non photorealistic rendering workflows and motion graphics style treatments.

The Line shader integrates into Arnold’s standard shading network. It supports typical shader parameters for controlling line thickness, colour and other attributes. The exact parameter list and behaviour are detailed in the official shader documentation. Appearantly, this does not replaces existing toon or contour solutions. It is presented as an additional shading node within the Arnold core.

Nearest Points shader

Arnold 7.4.5 also adds a Nearest Points shader. This shader samples nearby points from geometry or point cloud data and exposes their properties to the shading network.

The shader can read point data from geometry and OpenVDB sources. It computes distances and relationships to nearby points and outputs shading data based on those calculations.

This enables effects such as network-like connections, proximity-based colour changes and graph-style visualisations.

The shader exposes controls for the number of points sampled and the search radius. It is designed to work within Arnold’s existing shading system and can be combined with other nodes. No claims are made to replace external point-processing tools. The feature is described strictly as a shading node within Arnold core.

OpenVDB volume performance

A major focus of Arnold 7.4.5 is performance improvements for volume rendering. On CPU, the volume node now supports OpenVDB grids with mipmaps. Mipmaps are pre-filtered versions of volume data at multiple resolutions. According to Autodesk, using mipmapped OpenVDB grids can significantly improve rendering speed when sampling large volumes.

Autodesk states that in internal test scenes, CPU volume rendering can be betwen approximately 1.5 times and 5 times faster when using mipmapped grids. These figures are vendor supplied benchmarks and are Not independently verified at press time. On GPU, Autodesk reports performance improvements of up to 3.5 times for certain volume rendering scenarios. The documentation attributes this to optimisations in volume sampling and shading. Always remeber that results depend on scene content and volume configuration.

Lens Effects updates

Arnold 7.4.5 updates the Lens Effects imaging node. A new Aperture Dispersion parameter has been added. This parameter controls colour dispersion in bloom effects, simulating chromatic dispersion across highlights.

The Lens Effects node operates as a post process imaging operator within Arnold’s render pipeline. The new control extends its ability to simulate optical artefacts.

Cryptomatte controls

Cryptomatte support has been updated in Arnold 7.4.5. The documentation states that new controls have been added for handling instances in Cryptomatte outputs. These controls affect how instanced geometry is encoded into Cryptomatte IDs. Cryptomatte is commonly used for ID based compositing masks in post production. The new options allow artists to refine how instanced objects are represented in the resulting mattes.

OSL and shading updates

Arnold 7.4.5 includes updates to OSL support. OSL, or Open Shading Language, is used for writing custom shaders. The documentation lists new and updated OSL functions and improvements to compatibility. These changes aim to ensure consistency between OSL and native Arnold shader behaviour. No deprecations are prominently highlighted in the summary documentation, but API level changes are documented for developers.

USD workflow improvements

Arnold’s USD support is also updated in this release. The official documentation references improvements to USD related workflows, including enhancements to how Arnold interacts with USD scenes and Hydra delegates. USD, or Universal Scene Description, is increasingly central to pipeline interchange. Autodesk documents refinements to integration rather than new headline features.

API and developer changes

Arnold 7.4.5 includes API updates for developers integrating Arnold into custom pipelines. The release notes document changes to certain API functions and behaviours. Developers are advised to review the API changes before upgrading production builds.

Platform support

Arnold 7.4.5 is available for Windows, Linux and macOS, as stated in the official documentation. GPU rendering remains supported on compatible NVIDIA hardware under supported operating systems. The documentation does not expand hardware requirements beyond those listed in the system requirements section. Integration plugins for supported DCC applications are updated separately. Autodesk provides corresponding builds for host applications including Maya, 3ds Max, Houdini, Cinema 4D and Katana via their respective Arnold bridges.

Practical implications

For production teams, the most concrete additions are the Line shader, the Nearest Points shader and the documented OpenVDB volume speedups. NPR and motion graphics teams gain native shading tools inside Arnold rather than relying entirely on external compositing or geometry preprocessing. Pipeline engineers should review API notes and test custom plugins before deployment. As always, new tools and innovations should be tested before use in production. Arnold 7.4.5 is available now via Autodesk’s official distribution channels.

// Arnold 7.4.5 Release Notes
// https://help.autodesk.com/view/ARNOL/ENU/?guid=arnold_core_7450_html

The post Arnold adds lines, points and faster volumes first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t now the tool: HydroFX is a standalone GPU-based FLIP liquid simulator from Storm VFX, designed to generate water simulations for downstream use in DCC tools via Alembic, USD and OpenVDB. It does not render, shade or composite anything itself, and it does not try to be clever about it.

A standalone solver, not a Swiss army knife

Storm VFX has released Storm HydroFX 1.0, a commercial version of its GPU-based FLIP fluid simulator previously available in beta form. The software is positioned as a focused standalone application for liquid simulation, rather than a general-purpose dynamics system or a host-integrated plugin.

HydroFX implements a custom FLIP solver designed specifically to run on NVIDIA GPUs using CUDA. The solver runs entirely on the GPU, with the stated aim of providing faster iteration times compared to CPU-based fluid solvers. This performance claim is made by the developer and is not independently verified at press time. HydroFX runs on Windows only. No macOS or Linux versions are listed on the official site or the commercial product page at the time of writing.

Import, simulate, export, repeat

HydroFX is intended to sit between layout and lighting in a conventional VFX pipeline. Users import static geometry in Alembic or OBJ format, which can act as emitters, colliders or force drivers. Simulation parameters are adjusted directly through a node-free interface that mirrors the design language of Storm VFX’s main Storm application.

Simulation output can be exported as particle caches in Alembic, USD or PRT formats. Storm HydroFX 1.0 also supports exporting liquid surface meshes, allowing the simulated water to be rendered in external DCC applications or real-time engines. OpenVDB output is available for preview surfacing and volumetric workflows. Cache sizes for playblasts / preview can be reduced by exporting only surface particles rather than full particle sets. .

Whitewater, foam and other small things that float

HydroFX 1.0 includes built-in systems for foam, bubbles and spray, collectively described as whitewater. Whitewater can be simulated as part of the main solve or as a separate system, and can be exported independently from the main liquid body. Storm VFX describes improvements to whitewater behaviour and stability compared to the beta versions.

The solver is explicitly positioned as an offline simulation tool. There is no claim of real-time playback, interactive editing or on-the-fly meshing, and none should be inferred.

Pricing and licensing

Storm HydroFX is sold via Gumroad under annual subscription licences. The base (Indie) Storm HydroFX licence is priced at €145 per year. A Storm HydroFX Studio licence is priced at €249 per year, with multiple seat options selectable during purchase. Exact seat counts and per-seat pricing for the Studio tier are not listed as fixed values and must be configured on the Gumroad page.

Licences are activated online. The Gumroad listing specifies a seven-day money-back guarantee. HydroFX is distributed as a downloadable standalone application rather than an installer-based package.

Hardware and compatibility limits

HydroFX requires an NVIDIA GPU and uses CUDA. No support for non-NVIDIA GPUs is listed. The software currently runs only on Windows. These limitations are explicitly stated by the developer and should be considered non-negotiable at this stage. While HydroFX does not provide host-specific plugins, its reliance on standard interchange formats allows it to be integrated into pipelines built around tools such as Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, Houdini or Unreal Engine. Storm VFX does not provide official integration tools or presets for any of these hosts.

Production reality check

Storm HydroFX 1.0 is a narrowly scoped tool that does one job and avoids pretending otherwise. It does not replace broader simulation frameworks and it does not attempt to manage rendering, shading or scene assembly. For teams already comfortable moving caches between applications, this may be a feature rather than a limitation.

As with any newly released simulation software, artists and technical directors should test HydroFX thoroughly on representative shots and hardware before committing it to production use. New tools and innovations should always be validated in controlled conditions before being deployed on actual client work.

Link Citation Block

// Storm HydroFX product page
// https://stormvfx.gumroad.com/l/hydrofx

// Storm VFX official website
// https://storm-vfx.com

The post Storm HydroFX ships water without the node graph first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.