Unleashing real-time rendering for all users, without the necessity of Unreal Engine 5
Chaos, a leading provider of rendering solutions, is making waves in the 3D animation and filmmaking industries with its latest developments. The company's commitment to open standards and enhanced interoperability is set to redefine the landscape of real-time rendering workflows.
Streamlined Asset Exchange and Interoperability
Chaos' native support for Universal Scene Description (USD) and MaterialX promises a seamless import and exchange of complex production assets across popular 3D content creation tools like Blender, Houdini, Maya, and KitBash3D. This integration eliminates format conversion and re-licensing hurdles, ensuring consistent and accurate rendering fidelity from look development to final output.
Enhanced Shader and Material Fidelity
MaterialX support in Chaos Arena allows direct loading and rendering of shader files within different Digital Content Creation (DCC) environments, preserving complex material networks across software boundaries and rendering engines like V-Ray without extra steps. This promotes consistent shading and surface appearance fidelity critical for high-end VFX and animation pipelines.
Advanced Photorealistic Real-time Rendering
Gaussian Splats provide fast, photorealistic rendering of point-cloud data captured from real-world scenes via LIDAR or photogrammetry. This point-based rendering method integrates with ray tracing to deliver highly realistic lighting and shading effects efficiently, making it easier to incorporate complex environment captures into scenes in real time.
License Cost Reduction and Accessibility
The removal of the requirement for a V-Ray license to use these features in Chaos Arena lowers the cost barrier and simplifies access, enabling broader adoption of powerful real-time rendering capabilities within production environments. This may encourage smaller studios and independent artists to leverage professional-proven technology without expensive licenses or dependencies on Unreal Engine.
Acceleration of Virtual Production and Real-time Workflows
Additional features such as OpenVDB volumetric effects, virtual camera tracking, and massive photorealistic asset libraries integrated via USD (e.g., KitBash3D assets) enhance virtual production capabilities directly within Chaos Arena and Vantage. This streamlines live camera workflows and environment assembly for real-time on-set previsualization without heavy reliance on costly LED stages or multiple software tools.
A Compelling Platform for Next-generation Workflows
These developments signal a move toward more open, flexible, and cost-effective rendering pipelines that unify disparate tools and asset types while delivering highly photorealistic real-time outputs. They foster greater creative freedom, faster iteration, and wider democratization of premium visual effects and animation production technologies.
The new workflow dramatically lowers the barriers of entry for indie filmmakers and major studios alike, offering a true What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) workflow with full path tracing and ray-traced lighting. Chaos is demonstrating this with a neon-lit cyberpunk club, built from KitBash3D assets and rendered in Arena with a few clicks, at SIGGRAPH.
Chaos is taking a grounded approach, focusing on filmmakers and artists, rather than platforms or trends like the metaverse. The Arena/Vantage ecosystem is becoming a unifying platform for 3D production, translating and unifying tools, with Cargo supporting KitBash3D's USD assets.
These new features will be available in upcoming beta releases, first in Vantage, with rapid rollout to Arena soon after. Chaos has a session at SIGGRAPH 2025 featuring a talk from Nick Marshall and Anton Borisov on how Chaos tools were used in the year's breakout vampire movie, Sinners.
Chris Nichols, Chaos Director of Special Projects, stated that it's possible to run a tracked camera inside Vantage, live render it, and combine it with blue screen footage, even in a home setting. This change is expected to benefit generalist 3D artists who have been boxed out due to lack of specialization in game engines.
Overall, these developments are indicative of a post-game-engine world where artists use the best 3D software for their needs, not those dictated by a licensing model or a trend.
- Chaos' support for USD and MaterialX promises seamless import and exchange of production assets across various 3D content creation tools.
- Eliminating format conversion and re-licensing hurdles ensures consistent and accurate rendering fidelity.
- MaterialX in Chaos Arena allows direct loading and rendering of shader files across different DCC environments.
- Complex material networks are preserved across software boundaries and rendering engines.
- Gaussian Splats provide fast, photorealistic rendering of point-cloud data captured from real-world scenes.
- The removal of the V-Ray license requirement lowers the cost barrier for real-time rendering capabilities.
- Smaller studios and independent artists can leverage professional-proven technology without expensive licenses.
- Additional features like OpenVDB, virtual camera tracking, and massive photorealistic asset libraries streamline live camera workflows.
- The Arena/Vantage ecosystem is becoming a unifying platform for 3D production, translating and unifying tools.
- Cargo supports KitBash3D's USD assets, fostering greater interoperability.
- New features will be available in upcoming beta releases, first in Vantage, then in Arena.
- The what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) workflow delivers full path tracing and ray-traced lighting.
- Chaos demonstrates the new workflow with a neon-lit cyberpunk club, built from KitBash3D assets.
- Chaos focuses on filmmakers and artists rather than platforms or trends like the metaverse.
- A tracked camera can be run inside Vantage, live rendered, and combined with blue screen footage in a home setting.
- These developments signal a move toward more open, flexible, and cost-effective rendering pipelines.
- The new workflow offers faster iteration and wider democratization of premium visual effects and animation production technologies.
- These developments are indicative of a post-game-engine world where artists use the best 3D software for their needs.
- The new features will be showcased at SIGGRAPH 2025, featuring a talk from Nick Marshall and Anton Borisov on their work in the year's breakout vampire movie, Sinners.20.General-news: Chaos furthers its lead in the 3D animation and filmmaking industries with new rendering solutions.
- Art: Chaos' neon-lit cyberpunk club demonstrates the potential of its new real-time rendering capabilities.
- Entertainment: The new developments in Chaos will revolutionize the entertainment industry, making high-end visual effects accessible to more productions.
- Technology: Advancements in real-time rendering workflows will accelerate the adoption of premium visual effects and animation production technologies.
- Sustainable-living: Reduced production costs through open standards and enhanced interoperability may promote efficient resource use in 3D content creation.
- Online-education: Learning about 3D animation and filmmaking will become more accessible with the democratization of professional-grade tools like Chaos.
- Sports: Real-time rendering solutions can significantly improve the visual quality of broadcasts for sports events like football, basketball, racing, and tennis.
- Lifestyle: The integration of 3D rendering technology into home and garden projects may enable more personalized and photorealistic designs.
