VRAD (Source 2)
VRAD3 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.
Earlier Source 2 games use VRAD2 to preview baked lighting in Hammer using CPU to bake lighting.
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.
Older versions of the engine, such as 
Half-Life: Alyx and 
SteamVR Home, use CPU light baking.
For newer versions of the engine, such as Counter-Strike 2, VRAD3 requires NVIDIA RTX, AMD RX 6000 series (or later/other RDNA2) cards or Intel Arc (since Jan 2025) graphics card. Older versions, such as Half-Life: Alyx and SteamVR Home, use CPU light baking.
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: )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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