V-Ray Tip: Bake Static GI into Lightmaps for Real-Time Engines

Bake static global illumination (GI) into textures to deliver real-time performance in engines while preserving high-fidelity lighting. Perfect for architectural walkthroughs, VR, and mobile experiences. If you need the latest V-Ray licenses and upgrades, check NOVEDGE.

• When to bake
  • Environments and assets with non-moving lighting and static geometry.
  • Large scenes where runtime GI is costly or impractical.
  • Targets with strict performance budgets: VR, AR, and mobile.
• Preparation checklist
  • Create a dedicated lightmap UV set (3ds Max: UV channel 2; Maya: separate UV set) with non-overlapping islands.
  • Maintain consistent texel density; scale lightmap resolution by object size/importance.
  • Add generous padding (8–16 px or more) to prevent mip/seam leaks in engines.
  • Lock down transforms and freeze instances that will be baked.
  • Use physically based lights/materials; keep exposure consistent with a V-Ray Physical Camera.
• Lighting strategy
  • Finalize your static lighting: VRaySun/Sky, HDRI Dome, IES, and area lights.
  • Disable or exclude dynamic/movable objects from baking.
  • Balance quality and speed: Brute Force + Light Cache is robust for baking.
• Bake setup (DCC specifics)
  • 3ds Max
    • Use V-Ray “Bake to Texture” (V-Ray 5+) or Render To Texture with V-Ray bake elements.
    • Common outputs: VRayLighting, VRayGlobalIllumination, VRayShadows, or VRayCompleteMap (for a combined result).
    • Assign the lightmap UV channel in the bake output and set Edge Padding.
  • Maya
    • Use V-Ray bake sets; target your lightmap UV set.
    • Export VRayLighting/GI/Complete passes as needed for your game engine’s workflow.
• Quality and consistency tips
  • Work in a linear color pipeline; bake to linear EXR for headroom and convert on export if required.
  • Use sufficient subdivisions and GI samples to avoid blotches. Apply V-Ray Denoiser to lighting/GI passes when appropriate.
  • Avoid overly strong clamp values; they can induce dull lightmaps and amplify seams.
  • Check material roughness and albedo ranges for physically plausible results.
• Export to engine
  • Choose formats your engine handles well: EXR/TIF for masters, then compress to engine-native formats.
  • Name and route lightmaps per asset; verify the correct UV channel is used in engine.
  • If multiplying lighting over base color in-engine, bake Lighting/Shadows only; keep albedo separate.
• Validation
  • Compare baked vs. live render using the V-Ray Frame Buffer History.
  • Scrub with IPR and Light Mix before baking to minimize re-bakes.
  • Test different mip levels in-engine to confirm padding and seam robustness.

Pro tip: For massive environments, segment lightmaps by zones to reduce memory pressure and speed up re-bakes. For licenses, upgrades, and expert advice on V-Ray across 3ds Max, Maya, SketchUp, and Rhino, visit NOVEDGE. If you need help choosing editions or bundles, the NOVEDGE team can guide you.

You can find all the V-Ray products on the NOVEDGE web site at this page.