How to Export and Render Corona for 3ds Max Scenes in Vantage

Corona supports scene export to Vantage, a high-quality real-time visualization environment enabling 3D artists to swiftly explore and showcase their work in a fully ray-traced setting. This integration allows Corona users with active Vantage licenses to explore their scenes quickly and render in real-time using GPU.

Tutorial: Real-time ray tracing with Corona for 3ds Max and Chaos Vantage

System Requirements

Before installing Vantage, ensure that your system meets the minimum requirements. See: System Requirements at the Chaos Documentation Portal

Exporting Scenes from Corona to Vantage

A Corona scene rendered in Vantage

Corona offers multiple ways to export your scenes, all accessible from the Render Setup under the System tab:

1. Export scene... - Exports the scene data for rendering in Corona Standalone or Vantage.

2. Export+Render - Exports the scene data and immediately starts rendering the exported scene in Corona Standalone or Vantage.

3. Render in Vantage - Exports the scene data directly to Vantage and automatically starts rendering in Vantage.

4. Vantage Live Link - Starts or stops the Vantage Live Link. In this mode, scene changes are automatically synced to Vantage, similar to interactive rendering. 

5. Vantage Animation Export - Starts or stops exporting your animation to Vantage. This sends the current frame and timeline data from 3ds Max to Vantage. In Vantage, you can then choose which frames to include. Once rendering begins, Corona automatically uploads the selected frames to Vantage.

For more information about this mode, see: How to Render Corona for 3ds Max Animations in Vantage

To export your scene:

1. Open your Corona scene in 3ds Max.
   
2. Go to Render Setup (F10) or click the Render Setup icon.
3. Navigate to the System tab.
4. In the System Settings section, choose your preferred export option:
   • Use "Export scene..." to save the file for later use.
   • Use "Export+Render" to immediately render after exporting.
   • Use "Render in Vantage" for a streamlined process that opens your scene in Vantage automatically.
   • Use “Vantage Live Link” to initiate a link between 3ds Max and Vantage, this allows you to see changes made in 3ds Max instantly in Vantage (similarly to interactive rendering). 
   • When using "Export scene...", select either .vrscene or .vantage file type when saving.

Opening and Exploring in Vantage:

1. Start Vantage.
2. Click "Open File" in the main menu.
3. Navigate to your exported .vrscene or .vantage file.
4. Select the file and click "Open".

Your Corona scene will now load in Vantage, ready for real-time exploration and rendering.

Creating Animations in Vantage

With Vantage, you can easily create animations using your exported Corona scenes. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you get started with camera animations using the Vantage Animation Editor:

1. Set the camera position and properties according to your needs. Save the setup by clicking the "Create a camera from current view and camera settings" () button.
2. Modify further the position and settings. Save the new setup by clicking  button again.
3. Expand the Animation Editor from the button in the bottom toolbar. This will show you all the features of the animation editor.
4. Select an editor mode from the Editor settings. In the video tutorial, the shot editor mode is selected for better visualization of the camera shots.
5. Drag the first camera slot and drop it into the timeline of the Animation Editor. Then drag the second camera slot there. A transition element is automatically generated when Auto transition option is enabled (default). The first camera shot is the beginning of the animation, while the second is the ending shot. You can add other camera slots in between.
6. Right-click on the transition element and select the Set Duration option from the context menu. Set the duration, frames and framerate.
7. Right-click on the transition element to open the context menu. Select an interpolation mode.
8. Click Play  to review the animation.

To see this process in action, please watch the following tutorial video:

Note: you can also render your 3ds Max animations directly in Vantage. For more information, see: How to Render Corona for 3ds Max Animations in Vantage

For more detailed instructions on using Vantage's animation tools, including working with cameras and navigation, please refer to the official Chaos Vantage documentation.

You can learn more about Vantage here: Chaos Vantage Getting Started