Procedural Cities Archives - Digital Urban

ESRI CityEngine – Creating Cities inside Logos and Logos inside Cities

Andy — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:09:00 +0000

The best way to learn new modelling software is to step away from complex data and take a side look at its capabilities. We have used this approach to run through the various features of CityEngine, producing a series of movies based around the logo of the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, here at University College London.
First up we integrated the CASA logo into the cityscape by manually tracing the logo and building a network around it. Via an import into iMovie the result is a playful fly around the logo:

Taking the concept further we built the city around the logo, using the nodes and hubs as interconnected cityscapes. With the city base rising out the sea it presents a different feel to the original movie:

Finally, we used an alpha channel on the logo, allowing us to lower the outline onto the cityscape:

The combination of Adobe Illustrator, ESRI CityEngine, AutoDesk 3DMax and finally Lumion make for a rapid way to create unique cityscapes. The next steps are to integrate actual data…..

The post ESRI CityEngine – Creating Cities inside Logos and Logos inside Cities appeared first on Digital Urban.

CityEngine: ESRI and Lumion a first look.

Andy — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Yesterday a license for CityEngine landed on our desk from the nice people at ESRI and to be honest we were a little too excited for our own good, after all its only software. However, CityEngine and its integration with ESRI ArcGIS, while maintaining full export capabilities to load into 3DMax/Lumion/Unity etc, is a game changer.

It moves GIS visualisation a step forward while at the same time bringing procedural city modelling into the mainstream game engine world. Over the coming weeks we will be putting the software through its paces and exporting into Max/Lumion and Unity as part of introducing CityEngines onto our MRes in Advanced Spatial Analysis and Visualisation. The clip below details out first output direct from CityEngine into Lumion, adding in a general landscape, sample trees and transport objects:

Linking in our previous post on ArcGIS Twitter Visualisation in Lumion it seems that the worlds of GIS and architectural visualisation/game engines are finally starting to become accessible.

The post CityEngine: ESRI and Lumion a first look. appeared first on Digital Urban.

Procedural/ESRI and NVIDIA: 3D Cities from 2D ArcGIS Data

Andy — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:15:00 +0000

Procedural and ESRI have teamed up with NVIDIA to set up a pipeline for the creation, analysis and visualization of photorealistic 3D cities from 2D ArcGIS data. The video shows the creation of the 3D model of the City of Rotterdam in CityEngine:

3D in ArcGIS has always been a bit of a love/hate affair with us so the ability to create a workflow that includes the CityEngine is an intriguing development.

3D Rotterdam in the cloud: http://www.procedural.com/showcases/rotterdam.htmlNVIDIA

RealityServer: http://www.mentalimages.com/products/realityserver.html

ArcGIS 3D Analyst: http://www.esri.com/3d

The post Procedural/ESRI and NVIDIA: 3D Cities from 2D ArcGIS Data appeared first on Digital Urban.

CityEngine 2010: An Upgrade and New Licensing Models

Andy — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 09:58:00 +0000

CityEngine is without question one of the best city authoring systems out there. In the past we always noted pricing as an issue, but with the release of City Engine 2010 they have a whole new pricing structure in place.

Highlights of the update are interactive editing of dynamic city layouts, node-based rule authoring, and a sketching tool for facades. In addition to that, CityEngine 2010 include advanced block subdivision, modeling of curved streets, new rule operations for instancing and asset search, native Collada support for assets, export instances with the new FBX 2011.2.

The clip below illustrates the power of the latest version:

As part of the new licensing models the CityEngine INDIE is available for $495 and CityEngine STUDENT for $149.

Head over to http://www.procedural.com/ for full details and a free trial. Really, if your interested in cities in any shape or form the trial is a must.

The post CityEngine 2010: An Upgrade and New Licensing Models appeared first on Digital Urban.

The Scalable City

Andy — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:26:00 +0000

Scalable City creates an urban/suburban/rural environment via a data visualization pipeline. Each step in this pipeline builds upon the previous, amplifying exaggerations, artifacts and the patterns of algorithmic process.
The results of this are experiences such as prints, video installations and interactive multi-user games and virtual environments. We really like this, its an extremely impressive demo:

Scalable City is a project by Sheldon Brown and the Experimental Game Lab.

There is a 1.27 hr talk on the concept available via YouTube which is well with a look, it is also worth checking out the ‘Construction Process‘ page over at http://www.sheldon-brown.net/

Thanks goes to Andrew Leahy from the University of Western Sydney for sending this in.

The post The Scalable City appeared first on Digital Urban.

CityScape 1.8: GIS and OpenStreetMap Import Options

Andy — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:17:00 +0000

PixelActive have released a new version of their CityScape software. We are a picky bunch here at digital urban but the demo of CityScape is impressive, especially the ability to import native GIS data, OpenStreetMap and export to AutoDesk. Combine this with Unity and you have a powerful city creation tool, complete with traffic.

Admittedly CityScape is priced for high-end users ($19,000) – but the free demo is a blast and a must download for anyone interested in building cities.

See http://pixelactive3d.com/ for download and more details.

The post CityScape 1.8: GIS and OpenStreetMap Import Options appeared first on Digital Urban.

CityScape 1.8: GIS and OpenStreetMap Import Options

Andy — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:17:00 +0000

Admittedly CityScape is priced for high-end users ($19,000) – but the free demo is a blast and a must download for anyone interested in building cities.

See http://pixelactive3d.com/ for download and more details.

The post CityScape 1.8: GIS and OpenStreetMap Import Options appeared first on Digital Urban.

CityEngine 2009.3

Andy — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:34:00 +0000

The latest version of the CityEngine (2009.3) includes features such as advanced roof types and global texture mapping to make the creation of large urban 3D models even easier. We are big fans of the CityEngine, especially with its ability to import OpenStreetMap data for street layouts.

The movie below details the new City Wizard to create and generate whole cities from pre-defined templates with only a few mouse clicks:

Another nice touch is the ability to download a use a 30 Day trial, even if you have used a previous version.

What better way to spend your Christmas than building cities? Head over to http://www.procedural.com/cityengine/ for full details.

The post CityEngine 2009.3 appeared first on Digital Urban.

CityEngine 2009.3

Andy — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:34:00 +0000

The movie below details the new City Wizard to create and generate whole cities from pre-defined templates with only a few mouse clicks:

Another nice touch is the ability to download a use a 30 Day trial, even if you have used a previous version.

What better way to spend your Christmas than building cities? Head over to http://www.procedural.com/cityengine/ for full details.

The post CityEngine 2009.3 appeared first on Digital Urban.

Procedural Building Generator v0.5 Launched

Andy — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:39:00 +0000

Tyson Ibele, over at http://tysonibele.com/ has released the latest version of his Building Generator for 3D Max 9 and above. Development has been swift with the addition of textures a couple of weeks ago and now a notable update to the creation of windows/details on the buildings.

With the creation of digital cities the ‘detail’ is crucial, from shutters on windows to lights and blinds, they all add up to create a sense of place. We have not had chance to run the latest version yet as its just been released, but if its anything like the previous iterations it is one of the ‘must’ have scripts for building digital cities.

The post Procedural Building Generator v0.5 Launched appeared first on Digital Urban.