topic Re: Inbound data formatting in ArcGIS CityEngine Questions

Inbound data formatting

TerenceDaniels — Wed, 25 May 2016 11:57:47 GMT

If the main building operations take place on the sides/facade/roof of the structure, can we define those attributes on specific tesselations in the editor once an obj is imported? Can we write any of the data files with attributes from other 3D programs, is there a complete list , OSM,GDB,IMG...

Re: Inbound data formatting

CherylLau — Fri, 27 May 2016 09:55:23 GMT

I'm not sure I understand your questions, but here's a guess.

Are you trying to import an object with multiple faces (like a building that has sides and a roof) and then apply a rule to it which distinguishes between the facades and roof? Yes, this can be done with a CGA rule. Check out the rule Esri.lib/rules/Buildings/Building_Mass_Texturizer.cga. In the Generate rule, a comp split on the faces is used to separate out the Facade faces (vertical faces) from the Roof faces (aslant and horizontal faces).

comp(f){ vertical : Facade

| aslant : RoofPlane

| horizontal : RoofPlane }

Are you wondering what files you can import into CityEngine? Here is a list:

Importing Data

Re: Inbound data formatting

TerenceDaniels — Mon, 30 May 2016 19:27:33 GMT

So I can bring in any obj and just use those calls and anything not vertical is considered a roof plane? Also I see where the geometry is cleaned and aligned to y but I don't see the obj brought in using the "I" command.

Re: Inbound data formatting

CherylLau — Tue, 31 May 2016 07:17:22 GMT

Yes, you can insert the obj file using the i command first and then use the comp split to get the faces. The comp split reference page describes the vertical, aslant, and horizontal selectors with angle ranges and examples:

Component Split Operation

Re: Inbound data formatting

TerenceDaniels — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 15:58:07 GMT

Oh great I remembered seeing some video of primitives brought in through MAYA. With the data types, I seem to be having trouble finding a definite source in the USGS. Is there another interface that is not as confusing to download from. I often find that the download links are offline or for some reason wont import as .gdb in CE. Does the gdb actually contain the other data types such as OSM?

Re: Inbound data formatting

CherylLau — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 07:51:06 GMT

CityEngine supports importing of data from a variety of different file types including OSM and GDB.

Importing Data

If you save your work in Maya as an OBJ, then you can import this into CityEngine as well.

Maybe your other question is better suited for someone at the USGS.