Esri CityEngine Pricing
Esri CityEngine is advanced 3D modeling software for creating huge, interactive, and immersive urban environments in less time than traditional modeling techniques. The cities you create using CityEngine can be based on real-world GIS data or showcase a fictional city of the past, present, or future. Esri CityEngine can be purchased as single use or a premium application with ArcGIS Online. View pricing for Esri CityEngine or talk to an Esri representative for support.
Frequently asked questions
What is CityEngine?
CityEngine is a desktop application that provides unique interactive design and procedural modeling capabilities for the efficient creation of 3D cities and buildings.
What's new in CityEngine 2019.1?
CityEngine is used by professionals in the following industries:
- Urban planning, design, and development (architectural visualization and local government)
- Entertainment (films, commercials, games)
- Real-world simulation, emergency response, and defense
- Academia
Who can use CityEngine?
CityEngine is used by professionals in the following industries:
- Urban planning, design, and development (architectural visualization and local government)
- Entertainment (films, commercials, games)
- Real-world simulation, emergency response, and defense
- Academia
What is the long-term vision for CityEngine?
Over the next few years, we see CityEngine becoming the desktop application of choice for city planners, urban designers, and architects. We will invest in advancing special-purpose capabilities such as procedural master planning tools; interactive urban analytics on the GPU or the management, comparison, and communication of redevelopment scenarios. At the same time, we will continue to tightly integrate CityEngine with the ArcGIS 3D platform—namely, interconnect CityEngine with web apps, such as Scene Viewer and ArcGIS StoryMaps, and VR/AR apps based on ArcGIS Runtime SDKs.
Is CityEngine really used in the production of Hollywood blockbusters?
Yes. CityEngine is used by several major animation studios and visual effects houses for the creation of digital sets of urban environments. CityEngine can generate Alembic geometry caches of unlimited size on disk. Alembic allows for the hassle-free management and rendering of massive 3D models in Digital Content Creation (DCC) tools such as Houdini or Maya and is typically used in the production of feature films.
Can CityEngine export 3D GIS data to Unity or other VR/AR visualization engines?
Yes. CityEngine is well suited to export your 3D GIS data or city models to Unity, the tool of choice for developing virtual reality applications (for example, Gear VR, Hive, and Oculus) or augmented reality solutions (for example, HoloLens). As a result, CityEngine writes the popular Filmbox (FBX) file format, which can now be flawlessly read by Unity. In the typical use case, an FBX so-called instancing feature allows for small file sizes and high frame rates in Unity.