There is a hidden treat behind the update a couple days ago to the layers. Google has crafted a fantastic collection of 3D building models for the city of Denver, Colorado. This collection was obviously created to show of GE 4’s ability to show high quality photo textured 3D models, and is a part of the new “Best of 3D Warehouse” layer found under the “3D Buildings” layer in GE. This ONLY works with the latest GE 4 – so go download GE 4 if you don’t have version 4.0.2722 or greater. A word of caution: if your computer doesn’t have a recent 3D video card, your performance may not be very satisfactory as more buildings load. To give you a preview of what it looks like on a new computer, check out this YouTube fly-thru demonstration of the new buildings I created this morning:
Wondering how I flew through the buildings like that? Check this out to find out how.
About Frank Taylor
Frank Taylor started the Google Earth Blog in July, 2005 shortly after Google Earth was first released. He has worked with 3D computer graphics and VR for many years and was very impressed with this exciting product. Frank completed a 5.5 year circumnavigation of the earth by sailboat in June 2015 which you can read about at Tahina Expedition, and is a licensed pilot, backpacker, diver, and photographer.