I’m trying to import vismat files (from vismats.com) into V-Ray through the “import asset file” option in the V-Ray window, however nothing happens when I select the desired file. I also tried manually dragging the file into the folder where V-Ray materials are stored, after which the name of the file was visible in the V-Ray window, but the file cannot be used or stored within the Rhino scene. Does anybody know if importing vismat files should still work? Do they have to be .vrmat files now?
After some more digging, apparently “.vismat files created with V-Ray 1.49 or earlier are no longer supported.” https://docs.chaosgroup.com/display/VNFR/V-Ray+Asset+Editor . While Chaos says they can still be opened as read-only, importing as read-only still failed.
I then found someone with the exact same issue on Chaos forums https://forums.chaosgroup.com/forum/chaos-common/chaos-common-public/1036140-why-isn-t-this-material-uploading . A moderator provided a work-around in the form of a file which when inserted into the V-Ray folder in local storage, will unlock the ability to import older .vismat files. He warned against this referring to potential issues, though. I followed the work-around and was able to import the .vismat, which appeared totally normal within V-ray’s asset editor. When I applied the material within Rhino, however, nothing happened.
In sum, I still can’t use .vismats. If they are no longer supported, doesn’t that vastly weaken V-ray’s viability? Basically every V-ray material found online is a .vismat as opposed to .vrmat. Quite disappointing that after ‘upgrading’ to V-ray Next you’re limited to just the built-in library.
In short the .vismats are obsolete and their support is slowly phasing out for nearly 4 years. the site you downloaded from was last updated in 2013, so I very much doubt that
You are not limited to the material library. You can create your own materials and add them to the material library. That is basically what most of the studios do.
Alternatively you can find tons of V-Ray for 3DS Max materials (.mat files) which can be exported to .vrmat files as well.
Thanks Nikolay. Yeah, I was just hoping I could skip making my own materials for the most part when there are already so many good ones out there. Also, exporting .mat files to .vrmat files in 3DS Max would also require purchasing V-Ray for 3DS Max, right? I wouldn’t want to re-purchase V-Ray.
