VRAD (Source 2)
VRAD3 (and its predecessor, VRAD2) is the command-line tool that calculates and embeds lighting data into compiled maps, using a graphics card (GPU) with ray tracing support (or CPU on older engine versions). It is the 
Source 2 counterpart of 
Source 1's VRAD, and like Source 1, VRAD3's static and pre-compiled light is bounced around the world with a 
radiosity algorithm.
Source 2 originally ships with VRAD2, which are used in earlier Source 2 titles such as 
Half-Life: Alyx and 
SteamVR Home. VRAD2 are still shipped with some older Source 2 games to preview baked lighting in Hammer using CPU.
VRAD3 was later shipped with all Source 2 games, including older Source 2 titles that are still being supported. Counter-Strike 2 ships with newer version of VRAD3 which requires a GPU with ray tracing support, such as NVIDIA RTX series, AMD RX 6000 series (or later/other RDNA2) cards or Intel Arc (since Jan 2025) graphics cards, while VRAD2 and the old CPU lighting compiler have been removed in Counter-Strike 2 as of the Armory Update.
Bug:Systems with the latest NVIDIA (and possibly AMD) drivers may have issues with VRAD3, causing it to crash (with VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST) while baking lighting during map compilation. (tested in: 
)
Note:VRAD3 in all Source 2 games before Counter-Strike 2 are CPU-only. After Counter-Strike 2, VRAD requires GPU with ray-tracing support.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
- SteamVR Home (later version)
Third-party
Command line options
VRAD2
[Todo]
VRAD3
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
| -script | Specify VRAD3 script file. |
See also
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