Esri releases CityEngine 2024.1
Originally posted on 5 August 2024. Scroll down for details of the CityEngine 2024.1 update
Esri has updated CityEngine, its procedural 3D city generation software.
New features in CityEngine 2024.0 include the Visual CGA Editor, which makes it possible to create 3D buildings and cities using a drag-and-drop node-based workflow.
CityEngine 2024.1 adds support for Boolean operations on both 2D shapes and 3D geometry, and two-point perspective correction.
A procedural tool for generating 3D city models for urban planning and VFX
CityEngine generates city models from procedural rules, importing data in file formats like OBJ and DXF, and exporting in formats including FBX, Alembic and USD.
Although aimed at architects and urban planners – it integrates with Esri’s ArcGIS platform – the software is also designed for entertainment, and comes with connections to DCC tools and game engines, including Houdini, Maya and UE5.
New in CityEngine 2024.0: node-based Visual CGA Editor
Key changes in City Engine 2024.0 include the Visual CGA Editor.
Previously a beta feature, it lets users assemble models using a node-based visual programming workflow, rather than coding in CityEngine’s CGA language.
The software’s built-in content library gets sets of materials and of componenets for site partitioning and massing that can be used with the new Visual CGA Editor.
Workflow improvements, particularly to guides
The release also features a number of workflow improvements, particularly to guides, which become scene objects that belong to guide layers.
The changes makes it possible to use existing layer functionality with guides, including the option to adjust visibility, and to select and manipulate guides in the viewport.
There are also updates to the user interface, selection workflow, file import and export, and to data import from OpenStreetMap.
Better integration with other ArcGIS products
For users of other ArcGIS services, the update makes it possible to edit the elevation or terrain of a plan in ArcGIS Urban.
The process of sharing a CityEngine scene for viewing online via ArcGIS Online‘s Scene Viewer has also been streamlined.
Released 21 November 2024: Esri has released CityEngine 2024.1.
The update adds three new CGA features, including support for Boolean operations, on both 2D shapes and 3D geometry.
Other changes include support for two-point perspective correction (tilt-shift correction) in the viewport, making converging vertical sides on tall buildings appear parallel.
The Material Browser gets a new search bar, and can now be opened from within the new Visual CGA Editor; and integration with ArcGIS Urban has been further extended.
Pricing and system requirements
CityEngine 2024.1 is available for 64-bit Windows 10+ and Server 2016+ and RHEL Server 8+ Linux, AlmaLinux 8+ and Rocky Linux 8+.
Subscriptions cost $2,200/year; perpetual licenses cost $4,400. (In Esri’s online store, the price is listed as ‘$4,400/year’, but we assume that’s a typo.)
Updated 16 April 2025: Esri is discontinuing perpetual licenses of CityEngine in June 2025.
Read an overview of the new features in CityEngine on the product blog
Read a full list of new features in CityEngine in the online changelog
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