Mental Ray

Mental Ray
Original author(s)Mental Images
Developer(s)Nvidia
Initial release1989; 35 years ago (1989)
Stable release
3.14
Preview release
3.14
Operating systemLinux, OS X, Microsoft Windows[1]
TypeRendering system
LicenseProprietary software
Websitewww.nvidia.com/object/nvidia-mental-ray-products.html

Mental Ray (stylized as mental ray) is a production-quality ray tracing application for 3D rendering. Its Berlin-based developer Mental Images was acquired by Nvidia in 2007 and Mental Ray was discontinued in 2017.

Mental Ray has been used in many feature films, including Hulk, The Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, The Day After Tomorrow and Poseidon.[2][3]

In November 2017 Nvidia announced that it would no longer offer new Mental Ray subscriptions, although maintenance releases with bug fixes were published throughout 2018 for existing plugin customers.[4]

  1. ^ "GPU Rendering Solutions for 3D Designers".
  2. ^ "mental images Software Developers Receive Academy Award Archived 2012-11-19 at the Wayback Machine". Mental Images Press Release, April 23, 2011
  3. ^ "Large as Life: Industrial Light & Magic Looks to mental ray to Create "Poseidon" Archived 2012-11-19 at the Wayback Machine". Mental Images Press Release, April 23, 2011
  4. ^ "NVIDIA MENTAL RAY TRANSITION FAQ" (PDF). NVIDIA. Retrieved November 18, 2017.