Enscape für Vectorworks ist jetzt verfügbar!

Enscape bietet jetzt Echtzeit-Rendering für Vectorworks

Rendern in Vectorworks ist jetzt möglich, dank der allerneuesten Enscape Version 2.7.1 und einer frei erhältlichen Beta-Version!

Mit Enscape können Architekten und Designer jetzt noch bessere Renderings in Echtzeit erstellen, damit sie mehr kreative Zeit für innovative Ideen haben. Mit diesem benutzerfreundlichen Rendering-Tool können Sie Ihre Entwürfe als realistische 3D-Umgebung in Echtzeit begehen und erleben, bevor sie gebaut werden.

Mit Enscape für Vectorworks können Sie neue Konzepte visualisieren, hochwertige Bilder exportieren und Modelle in virtueller Realität prüfen, um Projekte besser und schneller umzusetzen als jemals zuvor.

Laden Sie Enscape Version 2.7.1 herunter, die für Vectorworks 2020 Service Pack 3 bis Oktober 2020 kostenlos ist.

 Bisher war fotorealistisches Rendern schwierig, zeitaufwändig und nur Spezialisten vorbehalten, die ihre Konzepte überprüfen und präsentieren müssen. Die neue Partnerschaft macht Echtzeit-Rendering mit Enscape jetzt direkt für Vectorworks-Benutzer verfügbar. Modelle werden mit einem Klick gerendert und Änderungen sofort im Enscape-Rendering angezeigt, ohne Dateien zu importieren oder Modelle zu synchronisieren.

Moritz Luck – Geschäftsführer und Mitbegründer von Enscape

Welche Enscape-Funktionen sind in Vectorworks verfügbar?

Rendern mit Enscape für Vectorworks ist ganz einfach und erfordert keine Schulung. Mit Enscape und Vectorworks können Sie:

1. Modelle mit nur einem Klick rendern
2. Konzeptänderungen sofort visualisieren
3. Bilder und Panoramas exportieren
4. Videos einfach bearbeiten und exportieren
5. Projekte in virtueller Realität am Bildschirm begehen

Unsere kostenlose Beta-Version ist in Arbeit, einige Funktionen werden bis kommenden Oktober entwickelt. Dazu zählen die Asset-Bibliothek, ein Material-Editor und Favoriten-Ansichten in Enscape; diese Funktionen werden so bald wie möglich veröffentlicht!

Beispiel einer Vectorworks Innenarchitektur, die mit Enscape gerendert wurde

Wie kann ich schon jetzt in Vectorworks rendern?

Um mit Enscape in Vectorworks zu rendern, laden Sie bitte die Beta-Version herunter. Wählen Sie im Installationsvorgang bitte die Option für Vectorworks aus; eine ausführliche Installationsanleitung finden Sie in unserer Knowledgebase.

Sobald Sie die kostenlose Beta-Version installiert haben, läuft Enscape bis Ende Oktober 2020 kostenlos!

Noch nicht vertraut mit Enscape?

Wenn Sie wissen wollen wie Sie Designs in schöne Visualisierungen mit Enscapes Echtzeit Rendering und VR Möglichkeiten verwandeln, dann besuchen Sie Enscape3d.com.

Dort finden Sie eine Übersicht mit vielen Vorzügen, die Echtzeitrendering mit sich bringt. Die Features, die von 85 der Top-Architekturfirmen mit Freude genutzt werden, plus Rendering Beispiele, die von unseren Usern in Enscape erstellt wurden.

Nutzen Sie eine kostenlose Beta-Version und legen Sie direkt los mit der Kreation von atemberaubenden Visualisierungen in Echtzeit!

The post Enscape für Vectorworks ist jetzt verfügbar! appeared first on Enscape.

Enscape for Vectorworks Is Now Available!

Enscape Now Offers Real-Time Rendering For Vectorworks

Rendering in Vectorworks is now possible thanks to today’s release of Enscape version 2.7.1 and a free public beta!

Enscape enables architects and designers to quickly create beautiful renders in real time, giving you more time to design, create and innovate. With this simple-to-use real-time rendering tool, it’s possible to walkthrough and experience your designs in a realistic 3D environment, before they’ve been built.

Enscape for Vectorworks allows you to visualize as you design, export high-quality images and review models in virtual reality – boosting your project workflows like never before.

Get your free beta to run Enscape with Vectorworks 2020 Service Pack 3 for free until October 2020.

It was a natural choice for Enscape to be the next real-time rendering connection added to the Vectorworks line due to its respect in the architecture industry. We know our customers will be thrilled about Enscape’s free beta plugin for Vectorworks 2020 Service Pack 3 release because of the necessity to have high-quality, real-time rendering and Virtual Reality solutions.

Dave Donley – Director of Product Technology, Vectorworks

What is possible with Vectorworks and Enscape?

Rendering in Vectorworks is made easy with Enscape and no training is required. With Enscape and Vectorworks, you can:

1. Render your model with just one click
2. Visualize design changes as they’re made
3. Export images, panoramas, and standalone files 
4. Edit and export videos with ease
5. Walkthrough projects on screen and in virtual reality

Our free beta version is a work in progress, and some features will be under development between now and October. These include the Asset Library, an Enscape Material Editor and Favorite Views; we’ll release these features as soon as we can!

An example of a Vectorworks interior scene rendered with Enscape

How can I start rendering in Vectorworks?

To start rendering in Vectorworks, simply sign up for your free beta here. When you run the installer, be sure to select the installation for Vectorworks; for a detailed installation guide, head to our Knowledgebase.

Once you install the free beta version, Enscape will run free of charge until the end of October 2020!

New to Enscape?

If you’d like to learn how you can transform your designs into beautiful visualizations with Enscape’s real-time rendering and virtual reality capabilities, be sure to visit Enscape3d.com. 

You’ll find an overview of the many benefits to rendering in real time; the features which 85 out of the top architectural firms enjoy using, plus rendering examples that have been created by our users in Enscape.

Take out a free 14-day trial and start creating your own stunning visualizations in real time! 

The post Enscape for Vectorworks Is Now Available! appeared first on Enscape.

Neu in Enscape 2.7

NEU: Orthographische Ansichten

Erstellen Sie ab sofort Grundrisse und Querschnitte mit Leichtigkeit mit Enscape’s neuen orthographischen Ansichten.

Die neue Funktion erleichtert es den Umfang, die Größe und die Bedeutung Ihres Designs mit einem detaillierten Grundriss verständlich zu machen. Zusätzlich haben Sie die Möglichkeit ganz einfach zwischen Grundriss- und Querschnittsperspektiven zu springen. So können Sie Ihr Projekt aus verschiedensten Blickwinkeln und in verschiedenen Design-Phasen präsentieren.

Mit nur einem Klick produzieren Sie so eine zweidimensionale Ansicht aus ihrem dreidimensionalen Projekt. So müssen Sie nicht länger umständlich zum CAD Tool zurück wechseln, um die 2D Pläne, die ihre Kunden und Partner benötigen zu erstellen.

NEU: BIM Datenanzeige

BIM Daten können jetzt in Enscape direkt angezeigt werden.

Mit der neuen BIM Datenanzeige können Sie mit nur einem Klick Informationen wie Dimensionen, Materialtypen, Mengen und sogar Preise einsehen – alles in Enscape. Um die Informationen zu finden, die Sie brauchen, ist kein aufwändiger Wechsel zwischen Enscape und Ihrem CAD Programm mehr nötig. In der neuen BIM Datenanzeige sehen Sie alle relevanten Informationen auf einen Blick.

Aktivieren Sie einfach die BIM Datenanzeige und klicken Sie auf ein Element im Enscape Fenster, um sofort alle verfügbaren BIM Daten anzeigen zu lassen. Sehen Sie alle verfügbaren Elemente in der BIM Datenliste oder alle Instanzen des markierten Objekts, so dass Sie sofort den Überblick haben.

NEU: Lampen und Umgebungsgebäude

Dank unseres 3d Teams konnten wir unsere Asset Library um über 250 neue Assets erweitern.

Unsere Auswahl an Lampen war nie größer! Von kleinen Lampen bis hin zu extravaganten Stehlampen steht Ihnen alles zur Verfügung.

Mit unseren neuen Umgebungsgebäuden können Sie rund um Ihren Entwurf fertige Gebäude platzieren, um Ihr Projekt in eine Wohngegend oder sogar in ein größeres Stadtgebiet einzubetten.

NEU: Enscape in deutscher Sprache

Für unsere deutschsprachigen Nutzer ist Enscape ab sofort in deutscher Sprache verfügbar!

Deutsch kann als Sprache entweder gleich bei der Installation oder in den Einstellungen gewählt werden (CAD Neustart erforderlich).

Da unsere Nutzerschaft rund um den Globus immer größer wird, freuen wir uns Enscape auch bald in weiteren Sprachen anzubieten – Mehr dazu bald!

The post Maximieren Sie Ihren Design Prozess: Enscape 2.7 ist da! appeared first on Enscape.

What's New in Enscape 2.7

NEW: Orthographic Views

You can now create floor plans and cross-sections with ease, thanks to Enscape’s addition of orthographic views.

This new feature enables you to clearly communicate the scope, size, and intent of your design with a detailed floor plan. Plus, you can switch easily between flat perspectives to create floor plans or side view section cuts. Perfect for helping to present your project from different angles and at various design phases.

With just one click, you can create a two-dimensional view out of your three-dimensional project, which means you’ll no longer need to go back to your CAD to create the clear, detailed 2D plans your clients, manufacturers or contractors need.

NEW: Display BIM Data

BIM data can now be viewed in Enscape, bringing important data directly to you.

With BIM mode, you can quickly access information such as dimensions, material types, quantities, and even prices, all from within Enscape. There is no need to go back and forth between Enscape and your CAD to find the information you need. It’s all there in Enscape with BIM mode.

Simply activate BIM mode, and click on any element in the Enscape window to immediately display all available BIM data. You can also look for an element in our BIM mode menu and instantly see one or all instances of an object highlighted in your project so that you find it right away.

NEW: Lamps and Surrounding Buildings

Thanks to our 3D team, you now have over 250 new assets including accessories and furniture to help enrich your renderings! Two popular categories that our users have requested additional assets for are lamps and buildings.

With a large variety of lamps now available, you can choose from a range of realistic lighting options to suit your scenes. From small table lamps to larger floor lamps, you’ll find a wider choice than ever before.

And with our new collection of surrounding buildings, you can easily place your design into a pre-made urban environment, helping you to visualize your project as part of a small neighborhood or a larger city in no time.

NEW: Enscape in German

For our German-speaking users, you’ll be pleased to learn that Enscape is now available in German! 

German can be selected as your chosen language either when you’re installing Enscape, or by navigating to ‘General Settings > Preferences’ and then restarting your CAD. 

With a growing audience all over the globe, we’re excited to share that Enscape will be available in more languages in the future – more to come soon!

The post Maximize Your Design Process: Enscape 2.7 – Out Now! appeared first on Enscape.

Overview of new features and settings

Lighting & Reflections: A New Dimension of Realism

We have completely overhauled our lighting calculation algorithms to enable even better reflection fidelity and accurate indirect lighting. Towering glass buildings, interiors with artificial lights, reflective objects, complex shadows: all are rendered in stunning realism.

Learn more about Enscape’s advanced ray-tracing techniques here.

New ArchiCAD Material Editor

ArchiCAD users will now have access to the full spectrum of material parameters. The new Material Editor allows you to enhance the realism of your image and streamline your workflow at the same time. Apply bump and roughness maps or customize your grass, all while keeping an overview of your used materials.

Check out the full tutorial!

Revamped Settings

Now it’s even easier to stay on the same page: the improved Enscape Settings allow you to save your settings directly into your CAD file. Your carefully calibrated configurations will never be lost again and are even easier to share with your colleagues for the same result on many machines.

Click here for more information!

Asset Library Expansion

The selection is now even bigger: more than 300 high-quality assets have been added to the Library. Browse through the wide variety of new models and enrich your images with a more diverse selection of people, tropical plants, residential accessories, food and more.

Read more here! 

The post A New Dimension of Realism: Enscape 2.6 – Out Now! appeared first on Enscape.

Overview of new features and settings

Asset Library Expansion

The Asset Library is now web-based, to keep your download time low. We have also greatly expanded our asset categories and added new, detailed content. Find what you are looking for even faster with our improved search tags!

Read more

Material Editor for Rhino

Now it’s easier than ever to fine-tune your materials in Rhino. The new Material Editor for Rhino lets you create materials specifically for your Enscape model and gives you a handy overview of all the materials applied.

Read more

New Material: Clear Coat

Check out this stunning new material option to optimize the look of your cars and enamel items. Use it to imitate automotive paint, or the high gloss of varnished wood.

Take a look here! 

Video Editor Improvements

Smoother path and rotation and improved usability: The Enscape Video Editor has been refined to make your video creation even faster.

Easy to use

No additional software needs to be learned – simply install the Enscape plugin and walk through your projects with only one click.

Easy Presentations

Present your project in different phases of the workflow. Use the Enscape plugin together with Revit, SketchUp, Rhino or ArchiCAD or export an (web) standalone file of your project.

Fast Rendering

No long waiting times until your visualization is finished: Enscape renders your project within seconds and generates on average 50 images per second.

No Cloud

Uploading data to the cloud is not needed. With the direct integration into Revit, SketchUp, Rhino and ArchiCAD, Enscape gets all the data directly from your CAD.

Real-Time Feedback

With the live link between Enscape and the CAD software, all changes that you do in Revit, SketchUp, Rhino and ArchiCAD are immediately visible in Enscape. Explore every adjustment right away.

Virtual Reality

Together with the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive or Windows Mixed Reality, you can virtually walk through your project in Enscape. Experience your work as if it was already built.

The post New Version: Enscape 2.5 is now live appeared first on Enscape.

New Version: Enscape 2.4 released

Overview of new features and settings

Asset Library

To reach a remarkable level of realism, we have added the Asset Library to your Enscape license. You can choose from various people, vegetation and other assets. Just drag one into your model and then rotate and scale to match it to your needs. And this is just the initial set of content: we are going to add more assets in coming releases.

Read more

Web Standalone Export

You know the Executable Standalone. Now we added the Web Standalone. Just share your project in our cloud and send your client a link to open in a browser. They can walk through and explore the model without installing any additional programs.

Read more

Adjustable Grass

Our new options for adjustable grass streamline you landscaping workflow. Specify grass height and variety to find the right type of grass for your design.

Read more

Faster Video Rendering

You can now take better advantage of video animation. The video rendering speed is up to six times faster than it was before.

Easy to use

No additional software needs to be learned – simply install the Enscape plugin and walk through your projects with only one click.

Easy Presentations

Present your project in different phases of the workflow. Use the Enscape plugin together with Revit, SketchUp, Rhino or ArchiCAD or export an (web) standalone file of your project.

Fast Rendering

No long waiting times until your visualization is finished: Enscape renders your project within seconds and generates on average 50 images per second.

No Cloud

Uploading data to the cloud is not needed. With the direct integration into Revit, SketchUp, Rhino and ArchiCAD, Enscape gets all the data directly from your CAD.

Real-Time Feedback

With the live link between Enscape and the CAD software, all changes that you do in Revit, SketchUp, Rhino and ArchiCAD are immediately visible in Enscape. Explore every adjustment right away.

Virtual Reality

Together with the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive or Windows Mixed Reality, you can virtually walk through your project in Enscape. Experience your work as if it was already built.

The post New Version: Enscape 2.4 released appeared first on Enscape.

Overview of new features and settings

Easy to use

No additional software needs to be learned – simply install the Enscape plugin and walk through your projects with only one click.

Easy Presentations

Present your project in different phases of the workflow. Use the Enscape plugin together with Revit or an exported standalone file of your project.

Fast Rendering

No long waiting times until your visualization is finished. Enscape renders your project within seconds and generates on average 50 images per second.

No Cloud

Uploading data to the cloud is not needed. With the direct integration into Revit, SketchUp, Rhino and ArchiCAD Enscape gets all the data directly from Revit.

Real-Time Feedback

With the live link between Enscape and Revit, all changes that you do in Revit, SketchUp, Rhino and ArchiCAD are immediately visible in Enscape. Explore every adjustment right away.

Virtual Reality

Together with the Oculus Rift you can virtually walk through your project in Enscape. Experience your work as it was already built.

The post Enscape Version 2.3 released appeared first on Enscape.

The Enscape Plugin is the best choice for Real-Time Rendering and Virtual Reality  in Revit, SketchUp and Rhino. With Version 2.2 we introduce several new features that simplify your workflow and enable you to utilize new deliverables.

In this blog post we want to introduce the new features to you that are now available to all Enscape users:

The multi point camera tool: add keyframes, change settings such as depth of field, field of view or the daytime for each keyframe.

Change the daytime, activate the white mode and outlines – all while you are in VR. Now Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Windows Mixed Reality are fully supported.

The material editor allows you to specify PBR material parameters like albedo, normal maps and roughness.

If you’d like to learn more about the material editor have a look at this blogpost .

For post-processing your images that were created with Enscape you can now export a depth and a material ID image.

If you want to learn more about how to export material ID and depth channel images, this article  will interest you.

The white background option changes the background without changing the skybox scene lighting and reflections.

With one click you can export all of your favourite views to compare different stages of the project.

• Sound Export

  With the last release we introduced new sound options for video export – now you can include sound in exported Videos.

• Image quality

  The image and lighting quality has been improved, together with many new parameters like Vignetting or variable Chromatic Aberrations.

• Windows Mixed Reality

  These headsets offer inside-out tracking which means you’re not restricted to a tracking area.

• Light Brightness

  We added a slider to control all light sources at once to allow a faster calibration of your scene brightness.

Thanks for your precious feedback in the forum and the development agenda!

We’re coming to a place near you! Feel free to visit our booth and say hello to the Enscape team. We’re happy to meet you in person!

The post Enscape Version 2.2 released appeared first on Enscape.

In Enscape Version 2.1, we’re introducing many new features and improvements such as Rhino Support, Presentation Mode, Horizon Presets, Area Lights Support. Once again, we’ve increased the rendering speed and quality! Here’s a complete list of the updates:

Rhino Support

Enscape is now fully integrated with Rhino (except for sound simulation). If you’re already using Enscape, no additional license is required. Enscape now supports Rhino’s built-in area lights are supported and default material parameters out of the box. The Rhino plugin also supports the same material name keywords as our existing SketchUp plugin. All plugins use the same installer. You can also install Enscape on your machine without an administrator account.

Improved Sound Simulation

Enscape’s sound simulation is now available for SketchUp. Enscape standalone executable EXE files also contain the sound simulation. We also extended our range of supported formats to *.ogg, *.mp3, *.flac, *.aiff, *.au and *.raw.

SketchUp Proxy Support

To allow for even more detailed scenes without affecting performance, Enscape now supports placeholder objects in SketchUp proxies for highly detailed geometry.

Horizon Presets

Enscape now offers a selection of Horizon Presets. The advantage of a Horizon Preset is that you can still use Enscape’s dynamic sky to modify the time of day or season while presenting your project in an exciting looking environment. This feature replaces the former Ground Plane option.

Improved View Selection

You can now search for your favorite 3D Views in the view drop down menu. Additionally, you can click on the camera or Sun icon that appears when you hover over the view name. This allows you to set the position or Sun location without loading the whole view.

Presentation Mode

Enscape 2.1 introduces an extremely easy to use yet powerful Presentation Mode! You’re now able to select your favorite camera views and switch between them through an expandable sidebar menu inside the Enscape view window. You’ll see thumbnail images for each view, which you can click on to immediately jump to the view’s location – including the associated time of the day. Your favorite views will also be available in your exported standalone executable EXE file.

Area Light Support

Enscape 2.1 now features the complete range of light emitting shapes offered by Revit and Rhino. This includes support for linear, rectangular, spherical and disc-shaped lights. We’ve also improved our IES light implementation, which now supports arbitrary and non-symmetric IES distribution shapes.

Improved rendering speed and quality

We’re pleased to announce that we’ve eliminated the Noise Reduction slider. Instead, Enscape will now automatically make sure you’re getting the most optimal and noise free results when exporting screenshots, videos or panoramas. Rendering times for most scenes have decreased significantly while the lighting simulation quality has been improved – allowing you and your team to accurately visualize what your design will look like after it has been built.

QR Codes for Panoramas

It’s now much simpler to export the QR code for your uploaded panoramas. Simply copy it into an email or save it to a file. You can even print and pin them onto a real world location to offer a glimpse into the future of that location!

Minimap Enhancement

By pressing M, you get a Minimap in Enscape. With our new version, you can now click into the Minimap to teleport your virtual camera. You can also zoom in using the mouse wheel and change the window size by dragging the corner.

Download the latest version 14 day trial

The post Enscape Version 2.1 Released appeared first on Enscape.

Since the release of Enscape Version 2.0 we have made some new updates to better the overall Enscape experience. With Enscape 2.0.1, we introduced the Automatic Resolution feature. This feature is essential in getting the smoothest and most fluid image possible. If for some reason your system isn’t able to handle the visuals during a walkthrough,  Auto Resolution will tune the image resolution to make sure the walkthrough visuals will stay smooth. This is especially useful if you’re working on a 4K monitor on big projects. The visual quality is independent from the Automatic Resolution, you usually won’t even notice the a visual drop in image sharpness due to our smart upsampling. The capture processes (Panorama, Video and Screenshot) are not affected by that.

To make sure this feature is activated do the following:

• Go to Enscape Settings

• Then the General Tab

• All the way at the bottom you will find Automatic Resolution, make sure this is checked

Brighter indirect Lighting

With our realistic global illumination calculation, it can happen that indoor areas can appear too dark to be presented properly. Especially, if you do not have artificial lighting. With this update, you are about to get the option to add ambient brightness. This will allow you to better control the indoor lighting for occluded areas. If you find it too dark or too bright, by adjusting the Ambient Brightness slider, you have more control of the visualizations.

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To find the Ambient Brightness settings do the following:

• Go to Enscape Settings

• Go to the Image tab

• Go to where it says Ambient Brightness and move the slider to find the perfect setting for you. By default, it is set to 50% in Enscape

This will give you more control over your preference when it comes to the Ambient Brightness. The best way to get a feel for what it does is to just jump into Enscape and test it. Create beautiful images just like before but with a little more control of the environment.

Performance and Quality with lower Specs and VR

For Virtual Reality and weaker machines, we already offer a different lighting mode without the full global illumination. You can switch between those presets in the main Rendering Quality slider. For the Draft setting (and VR for Medium) we increased the visual quality while strongly accelerating the rendering speed. That should be beneficial for slower machines, great VR and giant architectural projects.

Let’s stay in touch!

If you’d like to have a vote and a say in what Enscape focuses on next then visit the Development Agenda. Enscape users use this to voice their opinions on the new versions. Or visit our Forum to share your work and get feedback! Thank you for using Enscape, we are happy to know what you need in future versions.

The post Enscape Version 2.0.2 Released appeared first on Enscape.

Realistic Lighting

The reflections and indirect lighting in Enscape Version 2.0 are now done using real-time path tracing. This new lighting will make it more faithful to reality, which clients will appreciate.The realistic lighting will give your designs that extra touch you’ve been looking for.

Grass

Using a Grass keyword in the material name instantly tells Enscape to draw real geometry grass blades. You want your presentations to be as realistic as possible, and real geometry blades of grass will do just that. The grass feature has to be enabled at the Advanced Tab.

Orbit Mode

Also in Enscape Version 2.0 you can now right click a point and move the mouse to orbit around it. It is easy to use and quite impressive. Now you have easier movement within your visualizations. This helps view the full range of the design, especially small details that may have been missed before.

Minimap

Press M to show the minimap in the upper corner. The needle will also act as a compass to indicate your orientation.

Light Editor

You can now place IES-, spot, and point lights in SketchUp using a simple yet powerful editor. Sometimes you need a different set of lighting options for your designs in SketchUP, and so here they are!

Better Trees

In Enscape Version 2.0, we reworked most of our tree models to better resemble an architectural rendering look.

Every new release we are working towards bettering Enscape and bettering the experience for all. As always, thank you for using Enscape and please let us know what you think about the new features using the Enscape Community!

We’re Coming to a Place Near You!

We will be visiting some lovely locations in the next few months where we hope to meet many of you and discuss your projects and Enscape. Starting in August with BILT NA, then in October we will be in Denmark for BILT EUR, and then off to London for London Build 2017. See you there!

The post Enscape Version 2.0 Released appeared first on Enscape.

Up to now, the SketchUp release has been separated from the Revit version. In future, we want to bring these to the same level to make the feature set identical. Right now, some features of Enscape for SketchUp (like the grass and the improved water) are even ahead of the Revit version, but there will be no difference soon.

One Enscape license for all plugins

If you are already an Enscape user, you can use your license for SketchUp too. You can use it for all our current and future plugins. This means you don’t have to buy a separate SketchUp (or Revit vice versa) license. This allows you to use Enscape during your whole workflow across different construction or modeling tools.

How does it work?

Materials

We use a material keyword system to add detail to the limited SketchUp materials. In many cases, this works out of the box if your water is already specified as “water” in SketchUp. You can find a list of possible keywords in our Knowledgebase.

Camera synchronization

You can use the SketchUp navigation scheme by enabling the live camera synchronization. Just hit the camera icon with the blue arrow and Enscape will mimic your SketchUp viewport. This can be handy if you use an external monitor or projector for Enscape and want to edit or navigate from your laptop screen.

Section Planes

Enscape shows the Section Planes as drawn in SketchUp.

What’s next?

The next update will include support for proxy geometry and artificial lights. This will allow you to improve the detail or your scene further.

Become a part of Enscape

We recently relaunched our forum – be our guest and take part in the discussions! Have a look at images that other architects and designers around the world share, and of course you can post your own to hear what others think about your work. There’s a place for questions and ideas, however we’d like to encourage you to email our support for detailed technical problems. You can also use the feedback button of the Enscape toolbar, which sends us your Enscape error logs.

In addition to the forum, we have our public development agenda. We want to create a tool that is useful and inspiring for you, so we need to know what is important to you. Therefore, please vote for features that you want to have in Enscape and suggest ones that are missing.

Meet us!

The BILT conference in Singapore was a great success; it was nice to meet a lot of Enscape users from the Asian region and learn about their architectural work. In the next weeks, we will be in Orlando, Adelaide and Toronto. If you’re near these cities, come on over and visit our booth!

The post Enscape for SketchUp released! appeared first on Enscape.

New Features and Improvements

Decals

We now support Decals. This enables a new range of visual refinements and fills one of the last small gaps to fully leverage your Revit model.

Improved glass

You can now add textures onto your transparent materials. As well as this, we now realistically refract light passing through glassy. This is called refraction and allows for a very accurate representation of glass elements in your scene. We also improved the support of material parameters for transparent surfaces: Color, transparency, glossiness and bump textures will now translate into Enscape as well.

Polystyrol Mode

The Polystyrol Mode already existed in Enscape – its purpose is to allow you to view your model as a miniature model as if it was made out of card board. Even if you do not yet have a proper material setup, it will look interesting and appealing. With Enscape 1.9 we have gone a step further and added a more physically correct subsurface light scattering to simulate the light behavior in thin material. You can adjust the transmission parameter, depending on the scale that you want your model to represent. In terms of light scattering, the Transmission in a 1:50 model is lower than in a 1:100 model.

Auto Contrast and Sharpening

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Even the best renderings sometimes need some refinement in image editing software. We want to save your time, so we implemented a few common and handy parameters in Enscape. The sharpening now sharpens your image without creating dark halos around objects. The Auto Contrast expands the levels of your image histogram to give you the maximum color range from black to white. This has nothing to do with exposure – although it can rescue a bad exposure. Usually, a right exposure is half way to a good contrast, but if the lighting is monotone in the particular view, Auto Contrast can help to maximize the visual beauty.

Oculus Touch

We’ve supported the HTC Vive controllers for virtual reality interaction since previous versions already. With Enscape 1.9, we are also adding support for the Touch controls by Oculus. The capabilities of the two are the same. We often heard of confusion from first time VR-users while they were getting comfortable with the controls. Since this can be tedious during client presentations, we changed the controller layout to make it more intuitive. We also added 3D instructions which appear if you look directly at the controllers. This helps both frequent users and novices to have a better VR experience.

Videorecorder

The Videorecorder can now interpolate between different depth of field ranges and allows different frames-per-second settings. Additionally, the bit rate is calculated automatically under Compression Quality based on a desired quality preset. Consequently, you do not have to guess anymore based on your resolution.

Atmosphere

Enscape’s atmosphere and cloud system has always been nice to look at – but we refined it again to give your scenes a greater surrounding. The system is now based on physical measurements of the real-world sky to fully correspond to the appropriate lighting intensities. You have a wide range of sliders to define cloud density in your scene.

It’s faster!

We always dedicate a good portion of our efforts to making Enscape faster and more stable, while adding and improving features at the same time. I’m sure you’ll notice!

We’re coming to a place near you!

Over the next couple of months, we might get the chance to meet each other! Starting in March we are at the CTC Midwest-U in Minneapolis conference, in April at the BILT Asia in Singapore and in May at the BILT Australia in Adelaide. Just approach us at our booth and say hello!

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Exposure

In the “General” setting tab you now have additional settings for accurate manual Exposure. The auto exposure setting, which is activated by default, automatically adjusts the image brightness. By deactivating exposure you can adapt your view using the options “ISO Sensitivity”, “Shutter Speed” and “Aperture”. ISO sensitivity is the camera’s ability to capture light and shutter speed is the length of time a camera’s shutter is open when taking a picture. Using these three settings you are able to adapt your scene more individually, for example if your project has poor lighting, ISO sensitivity should be raised.

Better-looking Clouds

In the “Image” settings tab you are now able to adjust your clouds in more detail, aiming to create a more beautiful scene. Using the Cloud Density slider increases the number of clouds. Additionally, you can adapt your Cloud Thickness and the amount of Cloud Cirrus.
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Light View

With the new “Advanced” setting Light View you are able to see the color coded light intensity in lux.

Viewer Height

In the “Advanced” settings you are now able to adjust the Viewer Height while being in WalkMode. Before that the viewer height was set at a specific height. This setting is helpful if you want to experience your project from different point of views, for example as a child or as an average adult. This new setting offers you an additional way to personalize your project presentations and lets you influence the focus of your audience. Furthermore, changing the viewer height is great while using the Oculus Rift leading to a customized virtual reality experience.

FlyMode

With the new “Input” setting Fly Movement Smoothing you can smooth the camera movement during FlyMode. Activating and adapting this setting especially helps you during presentations, as it smoothens your movement while flying through your project. Keep in mind that it only adjusts your movement, not your rotation. Additionally, this setting is helpful when recording videos using third-party programs.

Ground Plane

In the “Advanced” setting tab you are now able to change the ground color and texture. You can now change it to white, different types of concrete and different types of grass. Furthermore, you can adjust the ground plane texture scale. This is helpful to create a better-looking scene around your project.

Customization

The new settings tab “Customization” enables you to customize your loading screen, user interface overlay, window icon and your window caption text. As can be seen in the example pictures, these new features allow you to give your client a customized presentation of the project, placing the focus on your company, the project and the planning architect. Additionally, you can create a customized standalone file or screenshot for communication purposes, such as pictures for your website. Take a look at our Knowledgebase for more information.

View Creation

You are now able to create a Revit perspective 3D view from your current camera position in Enscape. With this new option you can prepare specific views, which you can use during presentations – with only one click in the viewer creator you can show your client a different perspective of your project.

Live updates

With the 1.6 update you are able to turn off constant live updates between Revit and Enscape. The performance in Revit can be reduced due to constant calculations and updates of Enscape, which might lead to a hampered work progress in Revit. By deactivating this connection, you can improve the performance in Revit. After you have finished your work in Revit, you only need to hit the “Resume Live Updates” button and Enscape will update within seconds.

Xbox Controller & SpaceMouse

With the 1.6 update you are able to use Xbox Controller and a 3D Connexion SpaceMouse to fly or walk through your project. This is not just helpful for your own experience in Enscape but also for project presentations, as you can stand in front of your audience and guide them through your project without the need to use a mouse or a keyboard. Additionally, using the Xbox controller together with the Oculus Rift leads to an improved virtual reality experience. Check our Knowledgebase to get more information on how to use the Xbox Controller in Enscape.

That’s it! So, what do you think? Update now to 1.6 or register for our free 14 day trial and tell us your opinion!

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Enscape (enscape3d.com) version 1.5 was released this week with improved features and workflow. Just a few of the highlights:

• Photometric Lights: Lighting fixtures use real IES light profiles for extra realism.
• Sun Path: Revit’s date and world location is used to simulate sun angles
• Faster and Better Graphics: More fluid experience with less noise, better reflections on glass and water.
• Redesigned Settings: Grouped settings and partially re-settable tabs.
• Checkout Floating License: Checkout floating licenses for 24 hours.
• Oculus Rift: Plug and play with faster performance.

The full list of festivities is over here. Let’s go through each of the settings in this new release.

First of all, I’m going to drop my screen resolution. Enscape is fairly GPU intensive and keeping your screen resolution or window resolution to HD (1280 x 720) or so will dramatically improve performance on laptops. I run Enscape on a 2012 MacBook Pro via Bootcamp running Windows 7 (x64).

Let’s open the Enscape Modern Residence project.

From the Enscape tab in Revit:

1. Starts Enscape
2. Refreshes your Enscape window if necessary when changing settings.
3. Determines which 3D View in your project is generating your Enscape real-time environment. Whatever is visible in this view is visible in Enscape.
4. Allows you to load and place ambient sound sources around your project.
5. One button still image screenshots – way faster than rendering in the cloud.
6. One button export to create a fully explorable 3D standalone file.
7. Manages all your Enscape settings.
8. Provides feedback directly to the Enscape development team.

Sending email from this dialog is really helpful. It’s a great idea to include log files, which captures your computer hardware info and other settings.

9. About button.

This is where you’ll identify your Enscape version and enter license details.

1. Now let’s start Enscape. The Revit project is in the background (visible though on the lower left). The Enscape settings window is on the left and the fully explorable, live Enscape view is on the right. In this view the instructions and navigation tips are visible. Here’s what each of the settings do:

1. Determines the number of rendering cycles. They occur when you stop moving and allow the image to become more refined.
2. Indicates Flymode vs. Gravitymode. Flymode is free exploration and allows you to pass through geometry. Gravitymode will drop you to the nearest surface. You’ll only be able to pass through doors.
3. WASD are the keyboard controls for moving (respectively) forward, left, back and right. Although not shown, Q moves down and E moves up.
4. Use the Space Bar to toggle between Flymode and Gravitymode.
5. Hold the left mouse button and move the mouse to rotate.
6. Hold the right mouse button and move the mouse to change the time of day. You can also press and hold the middle mouse button to pan the view.
7. When you change the time of day, the time will be displayed in this area. The following series of images illustrate how the time of day effects your Enscape environment. And yes – that’s the moon peeking through the trees in the third image!

8.

While moving, hold the shift key to run and the CRTL key to fly. This really speeds up navigation when crossing long distances.

Keep in mind that keyboard controls can be used in combinations – allowing you to move in multiple directions simultaneously. And pressing the H key will quickly toggle the display settings on and off.

Now let’s go through each of the settings from the General tab.

Papermodel Mode keeps the material bumps and removes the textures from your view. This is the default setting. Line Thickness helps enhance geometry edges.

Line Thickness set to the least value.

Line Thickness set to the highest value.

Polystyrol Mode softens the material bumps and removes the textures from your view. This is the default setting.

This is the least value. Note the harder edge around shadows.

This is the highest value. Note the overall softened look and feel.

Depth Of Field is off by default and it’s probably best to leave this setting off when navigating through the model. Otherwise it’s hard to “focus” on what you’re viewing.

Once Depth of Field starts, Enscape has a number of settings to control the focal point in the view. In the image below, the objects in the background are in focus.

By changing these settings, you’ll be able to adjust the focal point to control the clarity of objects in the background or foreground. In the image below, the objects in the foreground are in focus.

The Field Of View setting widens or narrows your cameras view type.

If you decrease the value, the model will almost appear orthographic.

Increasing the Field Of View can dramatically exaggerate the perspective.

Adding a Skybox replaces the default ground plane and sky. The image below uses the white cubemap. There’s a selection of cubemaps that can be downloaded from Enscape over here.

Global Illumination simulates the light bounces in your project. Turning it off enhances performance – but will also decrease the quality of lighting. Note the interior shadows in the image below compared to the image above.

To improve image quality, increase the Rendering Enhancement Cycles. This setting goes into effect when you stop navigating the scene. The more cycles, the crisper and more refined image.

One more thing. The Reset All button allows you to reset all of the settings to their default value. The Reset This Tab button only reset this tab to the default settings.

In the image below, the Contrast is set to the default value.

Now the Contrast value has been set to the highest value.

Sharpening controls how the sharpness of the overall image. Decreasing this value make the edges appear softer and less resolved.

While increasing Sharpening accentuates the edges and material maps.

Decreasing the Saturation creates a completely grey scale image.

Increasing the Saturation really exaggerates the colors in the view.

Sliding the Color Temperature to the left gives a more reddish hue.

While sliding the Color Temperature setting to the right gives a more bluish tint.

The Color Temperature Strength increases and decreases the effect of theColor Temperature setting.

While you navigate the view, you’ll become aware of a subtle lens flair effect. You can turn the effect completely off by setting the Bloom and Lens Flare Intensity value to the least value.

Setting the value to the highest setting will make the lens flair more pronounced.

The default Brightness setting is shown below.

Decreasing the setting to the lowest value will dramatically darken interior scenes.

Fog Density increases the appearance of light rays bouncing off the atmosphere in the scene.

The light rays are completely removed by setting the Fog Density to the lowest value.

Increasing the setting to the highest value really enhances the mood of the view. This is where Enscape really shines compared to the trial and error of typical rendering processes. Enscape avoids the constant tweaking and test rendering to see an effect. In Enscape, you’re able to see the effect in real-time before exporting the image.

Cloud Density allows you increase the number of the clouds in the sky.

Setting the value to the lowest amount makes the sky practically clear.

While setting the value to the highest amount lets only a bit of blue through the cloud cover.

Shadow Contrast effectively increases the brightness of the sun, which in turn makes the shadows more pronounced.

Decreasing this value give a very evenly lit feel, not unlike a rainy and overcast day.

Increasing the Shadow Contrast dramatically brightens the areas that are lit by the sun.

Now let’s move to the Input tab.

The higher the value of the Mouse Smoothing setting, the smoother the mouse movements. The Mouse Speed Multiplier allows you to increase the mouse movements movements. The Movement Speed Multiplier enhances player movement through the scene.

On to the Advanced tab!

If you want to see the screen tips, check the Show On-Screen Help And Icons On Startup option. Of course you can also use the H key to toggle the settings on and off.

Compared to the image above, the vertical lines are parallel after checking theArchitectural Two-Point Perspective option.

Check the Enable Oculus Rift option for using the VR display headset.

Enable Stereo Mode to either Side by side or Post side by side for use with a stereo device. Post side by side has a lower performance impact when navigating the scene.

The Screenshot Resolution setting determines the resolution of an exported image. If set to the resolution of your window, images are saved almost instantly. Image resolution of 4k and beyond are possible.

Automatic Screen Naming allows you to automatically save the image with a time and date in the location of your choosing. It’s kind of like being able to walk around and take pictures.

When using this setting, the image below was saved in less than a second and given the file name, “Enscape_2016-03-12-10-11-23.png”. The full sized image is over here.

Enscape swaps out any Archvision objects in Revit when the Replace Archvision Content option is checked.

If you uncheck this Replace Archvision Content, the planer elements are shown.

Enscape also allows you to add ambient sounds to your scene. If you want to see them in your Enscape scene, make sure the Show Sound Sources option is checked.

The Camera Synchronization Behavior setting allows you to synchronize the camera in the Enscape View with a camera at the same location in Revit. The options are Off, On and Live. When you select and move the camera in Revit – you’re moving the camera in Enscape. This setting also helps highlight the location of the Enscape camera in Revit. If the setting is set to Live, moving the Enscape camera will move the camera in real-time in Revit.

So what are my preferred Enscape settings? I tend to adjust the Saturation, Brightness and Shadow Contrast settings. The view below has the default settings.

By decreasing these settings, the materials in the distant appear more rich and less washed out for my liking.

The same thing goes for interior view. The default settings are shown in the image below.

By decreasing these settings slightly, the materials seem more muted, natural and believable.

That’s it! I sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed the walk-though of Enscape 1.5. If you haven’t downloaded the two week trial head over to enscape3d.com to sign up. If you’d like to see the full-size images contained in this update, they’re available over here. The folder also contains the standalone EXE file of the Enscape Modern House for you to navigate and explore (no install required).

Phil Read – Read|Thomas – Author

LinkedIn –                  www.linkedin.com/in/readphil
Read|Thomas –         www.readthomas.com

hello@readthomas.com

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