Esri CityEngine 2011 Makes It Easier to Create 3D Models from 2D GIS Data

REDLANDS, Calif., Oct. 28, 2011 — (PRNewswire) — Esri CityEngine 2011, the latest version of Esri's software for creating high-quality 3D content, is now available. New key features of CityEngine 2011 include support for georeferenced data and an improved user interface.

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CityEngine is the software of choice for 3D city modeling in urban planning, architecture, defense, simulation, game development, and film production. CityEngine enables the quick creation of 3D cities out of 2D data and allows the efficient design and modeling of virtual urban environments in 3D.

This latest release of CityEngine makes it easier to use geographic information system (GIS) data to create geographically accurate models for urban design, historical reenactment models, or realistic models of actual cities. It now includes support for georeferenced data such as Esri's File Geodatabase (GDB) and KML. The user interface has been greatly improved for ease of use with drag-and-drop data importing features.

"We are very happy to release this version of CityEngine as a new member of the Esri product family," says Pascal Mueller, director of the new Esri R&D Center Zurich, formerly Procedural Inc. "This CityEngine version comes with many new, exciting features such as the intuitive drag and drop of files into your 3D scene. And with the introduction of georeferencing in CityEngine, we made the first step toward accurate and easy-to-use master planning and urban design."

Other key features of CityEngine 2011 include

• Introduction of styles for rule-based modeling of buildings
• Intuitive street editing tools
• Automatic skeleton subdivision of blocks into lots
• 3D Viewport enhancements such as reflections and ambient occlusion
• Advanced material management and export

With the CityEngine 2011 release, Esri introduces Basic and Advanced licensing options. All current CityEngine customers under subscription will be automatically migrated to one of these licenses.

CityEngine is available for the Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms.

For more information or a free trial, visit esri.com/cityengine.

About Esri

Since 1969, Esri has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS technology, Esri software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. Esri applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world's mapping and spatial analysis. Esri is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at esri.com/news.

Esri, the Esri globe logo, GIS by Esri, esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of Esri in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. CityEngine is a registered trademark of Procedural AG. Other companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.

SOURCE Esri