Lightwork Design and [0x1] Software have released Iray for 3ds Max 1.8 and Iray for Maya 2.1, the latest releases of their respective GPU rendering plugins for Autodesk software.

The updates add a new Bloom post-processing filter and improved AI denoising to Iray for 3ds Max; and UDIM support, faster animation rendering, and support for camera scale in Iray for Maya.

Both plugins are now available through Irayplugins.com, the new website operated jointly by the two firms and migenius after fully taking over development of Iray from Nvidia last year.

Iray for 3ds Max 1.8: new Bloom filter and improved AI denoising
Iray for 3ds Max 1.8 extends the OptiX AI denoising system introduced in version 1.7 of the plugin, and adds a new Bloom post-processing filter: you can see it in action on this forum thread.

The full changelog is as follows:

AI Denoiser now works better with bright highlights
AI Denoiser now works with HDR images
Added Bloom post-processing filter
Added Backplate Mesh option for geometry
Added new Iray for 3ds Max toolbar for quick access to dialogs and features
Bitmap cropping/placement parameters are now supported
Enabled binary compression for MI/IVM export resulting in faster re-load times
Stereo spherical camera parameters are now correctly communicated to Iray Server
Multi/Sub-object material now correctly marked as compatible with Iray+
Fixed a crash when launching non-English version of 3ds Max with the plugin installed
Iray+ Colour Correction map now has all parameters exposed
Fixed a bug where Iray+ procedural map previews were broken in 3ds Max 2019
Iray for Maya 2.1: UDIM support, new camera parameters, faster animation rendering
Iray for Maya 2.1 is the first update to the software since the new website launched, and adds quite a range of new features, including support for the UDIM UV format used in many DCC tools.

Again, the full feature list is as follows:

Improved AxF import
ifmBsdf and ifmBsdfMetallicFlakes material
UDIM support
Faster animation rendering
Improvements to Deep Learning-powered Post
Support of Camera Scale
New camera parameter: Refract Backplate
Improved image plane, including texture map support
Section capping for Iray Section Objects
RealityServer export
Pricing and availability
Iray for 3ds Max 1.8 is available for 3ds Max 2017+. A node-locked licence costs $295.

Iray for Maya 2.1 is available for Maya 2016+. A node-locked licence costs $295; a floating licence costs $395. The update is free to users of Iray for Maya 2.0.

Find more details on Iray for 3ds Max 1.8 and Iray for Maya 2.1 on Irayplugins.com