VRAD (Source 2)
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VRAD3 is the command-line tool that calculates and embeds lighting data into compiled maps, using graphics card (GPU) with ray tracing support. It is the 
Source 2 counterpart of 
Source 1's VRAD.
Earlier Source 2 games use VRAD2 to preview baked lighting in Hammer, using CPU.
In 
Counter-Strike 2, VRAD3 requires a GPU with ray tracing support to both preview and bake lighting. VRAD2 and the old CPU lighting compiler have been removed as of the Armory Update.
Confirm:Does VRAD3 requires ray-tracing support on Half-Life: Alyx, Dota 2 and SteamVR Home aswell?VRAD3 is also available in Half-Life: Alyx and Dota 2 in later updates.
VRAD3 requires NVIDIA RTX, AMD RX 6000 series (or later/other RDNA2) cards or Intel Arc (since Jan 2025) graphics card.
Bug:System with latest NVIDIA (and possibly AMD) drivers may have issues with VRAD3, causing it to crash (with VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST) while bake lighting during map compiling. (tested in: )Games with VRAD2
- All Source 2 games except Counter-Strike 2, and newer versions of
Dota 2 (since 2023/2024).
Games with VRAD3
Valve
- Counter-Strike 2
- Dota 2 (later version)
Half-Life: Alyx (later version)
SteamVR Home (later version)
Third-party
Todo: Add more information about Source 2's VRAD2/VRAD3 lighting.
Command line options
Todo: List more command line options.
VRAD2
[Todo]
VRAD3
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
| -script | Specify VRAD3 script file. |
See also
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