New guide tool and simpler 2D sketching
This release introduces the Guide Creation tool for convenient and precise creation of temporary guide lines. These drawing aids are useful for sketching 2D building footprints as well as modeling 3D mass models. When you switch a drawing tool into the planar drawing mode, all guides are projected onto the drawing plane for intuitive and efficient 2D sketching workflows.
Support for new i3s version
The SLPK exporter now writes the i3s 1.7 format. The new i3s version is more compact and supports PBR (physically based rendering) materials. Consequently, the published 3D object scene layers load faster and look better in Scene Viewer and other ArcGIS web apps.
Integrated ArcGIS Urban workflows
You can now directly access and modify ArcGIS Urban content in the CityEngine user interface. CityEngine now (1) evaluates the ArcGIS Urban zoning and overlay layers, (2) supports the building types and space use types as declared in ArcGIS Urban, (3) allows for the creation and editing of zoning envelopes and plausible buildings using the Urban CGA rule, and (4) enables the publishing of 3D models as ArcGIS Urban projects.
Introducing Serlio, a CityEngine plug-in for Maya
Serlio is a new plug-in for Autodesk Maya. It enables the execution of CityEngine rules in a Maya scene. Hence, a 3D environment artist doesn't have to leave their familiar Maya toolset anymore to make use of CityEngine's procedural modeling power. Complicated export and import pipelines are no longer needed, which means that the procedural building models don't need to be “baked” anymore. The buildings stay procedural during the entire modeling workflow. Consequently, the 3D environment artist can change the height, style, and appearance of buildings with a parametric interface at any point during production.
...and many more enhancements and fixes
You can find further news and details in the 2019.1 release notes. Visit My Esri to upgrade to CityEngine 2019.1. New to CityEngine? Try it now with a fully functional free trial version.