topic WebScene size ... optimization in ArcGIS CityEngine Questions

WebScene size ... optimization

PmssS — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 08:08:58 GMT

Hi there,

Just had my second project done with CE. My first project went smoothly but this one I found several issues that I would like to expose to the community.

- It is a pity that CE reorder alphabetically the attributes of feature classes imported from ArcGIS. I say it is alphabetically because for my data, happened that, but maybe it is random.

- My GDB's have subtypes and domains... when imported to CE... it just become a bunch of number in the attribute, solution pass everything to shapefile, edit it manually/batch and import to CE the shp.

- Did I made something wrong or the order of adding the layers into the scene (normally I drag and drop from the navigator into the viewport) is the order that will be on the webscene. I tried to change the order in "scene data contents" (I am not sure about this name), but end up always with the original order.

- Any suggestion on how to manipulate the sea__water to appear that it ends in a mooring structure? I mean the water body reaches the mooring structure and this is a four/five meters above the water plane… the water is a shape and the land is just represented by imagery. Possible solution would be to add a land layer and make different heights for both layers?

- All the data has been imported from shapefiles, two rasters - DTM and an imagery, exception for four skethup models. With these models the file size ‘*.3ws’ rose from 9mb to 18mb. If by any chance I would have had a 32 bit imagery the file (‘*.3ws’) would easily have reached the 30 mb. I had some problems with the performance of my computer, probably the configuration of the graphic card is not optimized for the use of CE, but I have not found documentation. The resolution of the DTM was 1.9 m/pixel 16bit, could this be the problem, and if yes where is the limit? I know that there is probably more stuff that had influence… But it is very hard to find documentation on this.

cheers,

Pmss

Re: WebScene size ... optimization

CherylLau — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 10:56:08 GMT

In regards to your fourth question, perhaps you could change the heights (Move icon in toolbar) of either the water shape or the mooring structure shape to match each other. If you don't want to apply a shift to the entire terrain, there is also the Align Terrain to Shape tool (select shape to which you want the terrain to align -> Align Terrain to Shape icon on toolbar). For example, if the mooring structure is part of your terrain, and you want to just move the part of the terrain containing the mooring structure (and leave the rest of the terrain as is), you could try the Align Terrain to Shape tool.

Re: WebScene size ... optimization

PmssS — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 11:33:12 GMT

thanks for the answer!

I think the first approach is not valid. I tried already your second suggestion... the result is still an area with 'nothing' between the sea and the mooring facility. I am convinced that the best solution could be that the mooring facility is also a shape, with a rule file that extrude negative heights. I just need to have time to test it. I'll keep you informed!

cheers

Pedro

Re: WebScene size ... optimization

ThomasFuchs — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 16:35:24 GMT

Hello Pedro

Regarding your question about the CityEngine Web Scene viewer:

There is some documentation about the requirements here: About CityEngine Web Viewer—ArcGIS Online Help | ArcGIS The terrains get converted to a 16 bit representation, so using 32 bit Terrains should not add to the file size. When opening a web scene, everything is loaded at once, there is no dynamic loading. So to enhance performance it is a good idea to keep the file size in mind. Using lower detail Sketchup models or reducing the DTM resoluion is a way to go.