I used to use Kerkythea, but it was really difficult to learn for me and it wasn’t compatible with my operating system upgrade. Then I downloaded Twilight Render V2. It’s a ton easier to learn. And I prefer using a rendering extension because then I only have to use one program instead of two.
I use VRAY v3.6 by Chaos Group. Version 2 which was out for a long time had a weird interface and not very intuitive. The latest version fixed that and included some really great features such as: Infinite plane, Fur (for grass or carpets, etc), Clipper (which allows for section or masked out areas), materials library, proxy export and import, Interactive rendering (ie real time), etc, etc.
The main reasons I use it is A. Mac and PC compatible, B. it’s available with other modeling software (like Rhino, 3DS Max and Unreal Engine) if, heaven forbid, i ever switch from SketchUp, and C.It produces the highest quality result (which may be more work that I’m willing to put in to get that result but good to know that I can advance with the software over time).
Here’s a somewhat recent view using SU and VRAY with minimal edits in Photoshop:
I use it for all kinds of projects. You can Google the cost. It’s on Twilight Render’s website. I use the free hobby version. There’s a paid version with extra features too.
I speculate that someone updated the server’s PHP engine without adequate testing of their site’s code. The warnings I see are about deprecated function options and incorrect parameter types passed to functions. Do you know a way to contact them to point out the issue?
I just tried Brighter 3D with SU 2018. It maxed out my i7 8700K processor and crashes SU at some point in its run. The model was four components, two walls, a floor and a cube.
EDIT:
I figured out the cause of the crash was in one of the plugins I had loaded.