Chaos Group (V-Ray) Joins Forces With Enscape!

Over the last several years I have discussed the fact that real time visualization is going to widely displace static renderings in architectural visualization (not completely). With Chaos Group joining forces with Enscape, the industry will be taking another huge step in that direction. I believe this is really big news for the arch viz world.

ENSCAPE

Have you used Enscape in your workflow at all. For me as a professional, it has been hard to avoid. It is so simple, so intuitive, that architects have defaulted to it over and over again. It has consistently been used for iterative design, right within Revit.

If you are not familiar with it, Enscape is a software that plugs in to Revit, and allows real time export of your project instantly and seamlessly. It also has a slick link between Revit and real time that enables all changes in your model to be represented instantly in rendering form. There is essentially no learning curve to the software, and it effectively renders your Revit models in real time, complete with fairly realistic lighting and materials. All the work is done Revit, so the learning curve is on that side, trying to learn how to effectively create materials and lighting there so Enscape "renderings" will look good. I assume that Chaos Group will be working hard streamline and improve that part of the process.

One other potential place where Chaos could make improvements is a in the ability to import your own assets into Enscape via Revit. Right now it the workflow is mostly closed off to outside resources and models. Being able to import high level assets from elsewhere, and have them display properly in Revit (optimized for plan views) and also in real time renderings (optimized for 3d) would be a huge step forward. Perhaps it could utilize something similar to the current V-Ray proxy system.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

I'm excited for what this partnership will bring. Enscape has been the most widely adopted workflow I have seen in architecture over the last 5 years, and I have loved Chaos Group software for many years beyond that. These two entities together will no doubt change the workflow, and the connection between architect and visualization. It will also create a situation where visualization artists need to find their proper place in that pipeline.

Warning: architects will see how easy Enscape is and they will start to think they don't need "high end" renderings anymore. I have seen a tendency to accept low quality real time renderings in the name of convenience -- something that Enscape certainly offers. My hope in this regard is two fold -- that Chaos Group will add features to make the workflow more suited to high end visualization work, and also that visualization artists will find their proper place in the workflow and be an integral part of taking real time rendering to a whole other level of quality.

I also see this as a direct competition with Epic Games and their Twinmotion + UE4 workflow. They are also trying to dominate the real time architecture/design space. The advantage for Twinmotion, in my mind, is that it is stand alone and the visualization work (lighting, animating, materials, adding assets) can be done in Twinmotion, not in Revit. On the contrary, Enscape doesn't enhance your renderings at all, it simply visualizes the info you give from Revit -- a software that is not exactly optimized for rendering. The advantage that Enscape has is that is so seamless, easy, and operates within a software that architects are already using. I expect Chaos Group to focus in these areas and compete directly.

MORE INFO

The merger will establish a global leader in the 3D visualization and design workflow software sectors, with a focus on the AEC, Visual Effects (VFX) and Product Design verticals.

Not a lot of info about the upcoming product improvements have been given yet, but you can read the full release HERE

*If you are interested in learning more about real time rendering in architecture, you can start with my Twinmotion or UE4 courses HERE. Looks like in the near future I may have to make a new course about Enscape/V-Ray :)