Be sure to read the CityEngine 2024.1 release notes for all the details on new features, enhancements, and bug fixes. Visit My Esri to upgrade to CityEngine 2024.1.
Are you new to CityEngine? Try it out with a fully-functional free-trial version.
Also, check out the CityEngine 2024.1 video highlights.
CGA: Boosting design with a trinity of game-changing features
CityEngine 2024.1 introduces a powerful trinity of new CGA features:
Rule inlining is a new way of rule invocation in which the result is collapsed into one shape. This allows you to work on a combined geometry that would otherwise be separated by procedural subdivision.
Component tags are user-defined strings which can be applied on faces, edges, and vertices. They are stored on the geometry, are propagated across operations, and can be used in the comp split operation.
Boolean 3D and 2D operations can be used to add or subtract geometries from each other. This enables mass models beyond simple extrusions, such as round structures with cavities.
Together, these features facilitate new workflows to produce complex architectural models with a single rule.
Download the VCGA Playground for examples of these CGA features.
Material browser in Visual CGA
Browsing materials is now possible in the VCGA Editor for material attributes. Click the new Material button 
in the VCGA Editor to open the Material Browser and prompt you to set a material for the node.
We added a search bar to the Material Browser for easier navigation and to better differentiate between materials in the browser. The preview images are now scaled by a factor of 2.5 to increase the detail when you are selecting the material. Finally, we added an option to filter for materials in the Navigator window.
Two-point perspective
We added two point perspective correction in the View settings of the Viewport window and in the Bookmarks menu. Two-point perspective, also known as tilt-shift, is a common technique in the architectural field to make vertical lines appear parallel. When you turn this option on, it applies the correction for shallow viewing angles. The correction is set by default for newly created scenes.
Urban integration: Broader support for spaces
The ArcGIS Urban integration in CityEngine now supports ground spaces in addition to surface and building spaces. On import, ground spaces are added to the same layer as surface spaces.
Surface spaces are now rendered flat; previously they were extruded by the floor height.
CityEngine now retrieves the height of spaces from ArcGIS Urban and sets the vertical position of the space, accordingly. The position now matches the appearance in ArcGIS Urban. Surface spaces are still aligned to the terrain.
Authorize CityEngine on ArcGIS Enterprise
You can now authorize CityEngine with both ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise using the new sign in dialog box. You can also switch between ArcGIS Enterprise and ArcGIS Online after signing in through the Manage Portals dialog box. The new sign-in to ArcGIS Enterprise option is available in ArcGIS Enterprise 11.4.
Tutorials and documentation
We've added the new Work with ArcGIS Urban integration tutorial to the Essentials tutorial collection. This tutorial details how to work with ArcGIS Urban and CityEngine together in a Plan scenario. Learn how to import an ArcGIS Urban Plan, explore parcel editing workflows, subdivision configurations, terrain editing capabilities, building type attribute updates, and publishing steps using the ArcGIS Urban integration tools.
The Edit shapes section of the CityEngine Help is reorganized into individual topics. There are new images and descriptions to help users better understand the different tools and concepts such as Set First Edge and Set Street Edges.
Miscellaneous
For collaboration workflows in which multiple users work on the same project, CityEngine now monitors the currently opened scene file for changes from the outside. When there are file changes, you get prompted to reopen the scene file with the changes or you may continue working in the scene with the current state.
We updated our support for 3D mouse navigation to work with the latest driver and hardware from 3Dconnexion.
Intel GPUs multisampling is now supported, resulting in smoother rendering in the Viewport window. For rendering, CityEngine now reuses textures for different transformations. This leads to less memory consumption and much faster generation time if your CGA uses texture transformations.
... and one more thing
The Transform Move tool can now create a copy of the selected objects on move with a single click. This allows you to quickly populate your scene with assets. To turn this option on, click the Copy on Move toggle button in the tool options or press Ctrl to temporarily activate it.