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September 22, 2009
Toronto goes 3D and SketchUp reaches version 7.1
It's been a great day for those of you that are into 3D models in Google Earth. Joining Vancouver, which got photorealistic 3D buildings earlier this year, Toronto is now in full 3D as well. It's a very comprehensive update, with virtually 100% coverage in the downtown area, and 3D buildings extending quite a distance out from there.
In addition to that, the latest version of Google SketchUp, version 7.1, is now available. It's only a "point" release, but it has quite a few new features including:
- Large Model Rendering Speed - Overhauled rendering engine to make managing large models much easier.
- Improved File Handling - SketchUp can now import and export COLLADA and KMZ files, making it more compatible with other pieces of software.
- Cool Contextual Tools - Grab photo textures from StreetView inside of SketchUp, or pull nearby models from the 3D warehouse to see the area around the model you're working on.
It seems to be a great release. The ability to automatically pull in StreetView imagery should help speed up the modeling process for many users. Here's a video showing the new features in action:
[UPDATE We were mistaken about Toronto. Not only was it released earlier this summer, but we even wrote about it. We apologize for the error.]
Posted by mickmel at September 22, 2009 6:08 PM
Comments
Posted by: rme at September 22, 2009 7:51 PM
With Sketchup we are going to see a lot more of this kind of thing where many of the worlds cities will be rebuilt, in 3d, by users of the web.
Posted by: Amanda at September 23, 2009 1:41 AM
Thank you for seamlessly continuing Franks great work, Mickmel!
Posted by: Ernst M. Kofler at September 23, 2009 10:08 AM
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Not really "virtually 100% coverage". Many buildings (and parts of buildings) missing (see UofT's University College, or Queen's Park, e.g.). And the 3d work seems quite sloppily edited (church steeples are square blocks; photos of many buildings are mostly tree cover). Many of the buildings that were not automatically generated look crude and schematic, and don't mesh well with they new ones. And, as I mentioned elsewhere, there are far too many non-existent buildings provided by developers that are just there presumably as advertizing. A disappointing rendering of Toronto, when compared to somewhere like Vancouver.