V-Ray for 3ds Max Autodesk application package
From 3ds Max 2022 the format for plugins is changed to the Autodesk Application Plug-in Package format as described here: Autodesk application package help
V-Ray for 3ds Max installation has been modified to support plugin packages.
The V-Ray installation location could be obtained by 3rd parties through the 3ds Max’s PluginPackageManager. The upgradeCode is "{00B38902-1C59-405A-875E-A9E3461F1FE7}"
Structure of the V-Ray application plugin package
For the sake of portability V-Ray for 3ds Max is installed in a single directory under the application plug-ins location, known further as PKGROOT. The accompanying V-Ray Standalone files are there too. The package is in a directory named “VRay3dsMax<3ds Max version>”. This should allow for distribution by just copying the whole package and setting the environment variables.
There are two possible locations for installing an Autodesk application package as follows:
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\[plugin_name]
Example:
C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\VRay3dsMax2022
This is the preferred install location when a plug-in is installed by the Autodesk store installer. Plug-ins installed to this location are available to all users on the machine.
%APPDATA%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\[plugin_name]
Example:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\MyPlugin
The V-Ray SDK, example projects documentation installer and its logs as files not essential to rendering are still in their former place (defaulting to “C:\Program Files\ChaosGroup\V-Ray\3ds Max <3ds Max version>”) further known as INSTALLROOT.
A summary of the files bundled in the Autodesk application package for V-Ray:
|
Package element |
Description |
Former location |
|
[PKGROOT]/amg |
viewport shaders |
<Program Files>\Autodesk\3ds Max*\AMG |
|
[PKGROOT]/assets |
files needed for V-Ray for 3ds Max e.g. material_preview.vrscene |
<Program Files>\Chaos Group\V-Ray\3ds Max*\assets |
|
[PKGROOT]/bin |
V-Ray GPU binaries and plugins |
<Program Files>\Chaos Group\V-Ray\3ds Max*\bin |
|
[PKGROOT]/defaults |
3ds Max defaults settings |
<Program Files>\Autodesk\3ds Max*\en-US\defaults |
|
[PKGROOT]/docs |
V-Ray EULA |
<Program Files>\Chaos Group\V-Ray\3ds Max*\docs |
|
[PKGROOT]/opensl |
VRayOSL headers |
<Program Files>\Chaos Group\V-Ray\3ds Max*\opensl |
|
[PKGROOT]/ plugins |
V-Ray for 3ds Max plugins |
<Program Files>\Autodesk\3ds Max*\Plugins |
|
[PKGROOT]/ resources |
V-Ray Toolbar icons |
<Program Files>\Autodesk\3ds Max*\UI_ln |
|
[PKGROOT]/ sceneconverter |
3ds Max scene converter scripts (and presets) |
<Program Files>\Autodesk\3ds Max*\SceneConverter |
|
[PKGROOT]/ scripts |
3ds Max startup scripts |
<Program Files>\Autodesk\3ds Max*\scripts |
|
[PKGROOT]/ PackageContents.xml |
The Autodesk application package descriptor |
|
|
[INSTALLROOT]/docs |
V-Ray SDK documentation shipped |
<Program Files>\Chaos Group\V-Ray\3ds Max*\docs |
|
[INSTALLROOT]/include |
V-Ray SDK headers |
<Program Files>\Chaos Group\V-Ray\3ds Max*\include |
|
[INSTALLROOT]/lib |
V-Ray SDK export libraries |
<Program Files>\Chaos Group\V-Ray\3ds Max*\lib |
|
[INSTALLROOT]/mdl |
VRayMDL sample shaders |
<Program Files>\Chaos Group\V-Ray\3ds Max*\mdl |
|
[INSTALLROOT]/ samples |
V-Ray SDK sample projects |
<Program Files>\Chaos Group\V-Ray\3ds Max*\samples |
|
[INSTALLROOT]/ uninstall |
V-Ray installer's binary, config and log |
<Program Files>\Chaos Group\V-Ray\3ds Max*\uninstall |
|
[INSTALLROOT]/ utils |
Other products installations that are bundled with V-Ray |
<Program Files>\Chaos Group\V-Ray\3ds Max*\utils |