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There are import differences between CAD/BIM file formats, and rendering formats like FBX and OBJ. Equally there are different approaches when building a 3D model for design/construction purposes, and when you want to render it in a 3D physics environment. To get the best out of VU.CITY, it's important to understand the principles behind what makes a great rendering model:
FBX files exported directly from popular CAD/BIM software packages tend to need additional optimisations to make them look their best when rendering in VU.CITY. Common issues include missing faces, dark shading smudges, and appearing in unexpected locations. It is possible to remedy some of these issues in some CAD/BIM packages (see compatibility notes below), but to fully polish a model you generally need to use a dedicated modelling package. We recommend Blender as it's free and open-source, plus it has powerful editing tools:
3ds Max can geolocate FBX files. This involves changing the world position of your model, i.e. setting X as your eastings coordinate, Y as your northings, and Z as your AOD.
To import a 3ds Max model into VU.CITY, use the 3ds Max file origin option. If the model is geolocated, set your projection to OSGB (or NI-ITM / UTM depending on which region you're in). If the model is not geolocated, set your projection to 'New Origin' and manually enter your Eastings/Northings/AOD into the X/Y/Z fields respectively.
3ds Max 2017 is not suitable for your VU.CITY workflow due to a number of functionality issues. We recommend any version other than 2017. It is the modelling software of choice of our modelling team.
We currently have limited experience with AECOsim. We will monitor how regularly VU.CITY users use it, and add supporting information to this page when available.
To import an AECOsim model into VU.CITY, try using the AutoCAD import option. If the model appears on its side, try again using the 3ds Max import option.
ArchiCAD can export high-quality OBJ files, however there are limitations regarding geolocation. We recommend zeroing your model. The TwinMotion plugin for ArchiCAD, which was able to export to FBX previously, has stopped supporting this option with the release of AC25 and AC26. Graphisoft is planning to resume the support with the upcoming Archicad 27 release.
To import an ArchiCAD model into VU.CITY, use the AutoCAD import option. For models exported using TwinMotion plugin, scale is automatically set to centimetres.
When importing, set your projection to 'New Origin' and manually enter your Eastings/Northings/AOD into the X/Y/Z fields respectively.
When you export to OBJ, the origin of the OBJ file will be neither your Project Origin nor your User Origin. Instead, it will be ArchiCAD's absolute origin, which is hidden from the user, meaning it could be anywhere/may produce unexpected results. For this reason, we recommend to geolocate/zero your exported OBJ file using a dedicated modelling package like Blender or 3ds Max.
For further information regarding new releases, please see this communication issued by GRAPHISOFT.
AutoCAD supports georeferencing, however when exporting to FBX, the resulting file will not be geolocated. You should therefore zero the model instead, as per our geolocation guide.
To import an AutoCAD model into VU.CITY, use the AutoCAD import option.
Exporting to FBX from AutoCAD is not supported in newer versions, making it an unsuitable app for preparing rendering models for VU.CITY.
AutoCAD models do not use normals, rather normals are auto-generated as part of the export process. If any of these normals calculations are incorrect, you will end up with flipped faces that appear invisible in VU.CITY. If your AutoCAD model is missing faces in VU.CITY, we recommend using a dedicated modelling package like Blender or 3ds Max to flip them the right way around.
Blender supports geolocation. This involves changing the transform position of your model, i.e. setting X as your eastings coordinate, Y as your northings, and Z as your AOD.
To import a Blender model into VU.CITY, use the 3ds Max import option. If the model is geolocated, set your projection to OSGB (or NI-ITM / UTM depending on which region you're in). If the model is not geolocated, set your projection to 'New Origin' and manually enter your Eastings/Northings/AOD into the X/Y/Z fields respectively.
Blender uses the native FBX unit scale of centimetres. Therefore when exporting to FBX, you may need to refactor the scale by 0.01 or 10 to get metres or millimetres respectively. For this same reason, you may need to move the decimal place of your X/Y/Z coordinates when geolocating as well.
Blender cannot import FBX files in the ASCII format - it can only import binary FBX files. If your model is in the ASCII format (i.e. from SketchUp, or VU.CITY Create) please convert it to a binary file before attempting to import into Blender.
Please check out our Blender plugin and our Blender tutorial for help preparing / optimising your model. Blender is the modelling software of choice of our technical support team.
We currently have limited experience with Maya. We will monitor how regularly VU.CITY users use it, and add supporting information to this page when available.
To import a Maya model into VU.CITY, use the 3ds Max import option.
MicroStation is capable of geolocating an FBX file, however it can lose accuracy over long distances due to floating point precision. We therefore recommend you zero your model instead, as per our geolocation guide.
To import a Microstation model into VU.CITY, use the AutoCAD import option. Based on the assumption that a model from Microstation will not be geolocated, please set your projection to 'New Origin' when importing, and manually enter your Eastings/Northings/AOD into the X/Y/Z fields respectively.
Many users have reported difficulties getting Microstation to set the origin of a model to a specific point so that it can be positioned accurately. If you are unable to manually set the model's origin, we recommend using a dedicated modelling package like Blender or 3ds Max to manually position / geolocate the model.
Revit supports georeferencing, however when exporting to FBX, the resulting file will not be geolocated. The only way to get a geolocated FBX file exported from Revit is by using our VU.CITY Revit Add-in (see below).
To import a Revit model into VU.CITY, use the Revit import option. Revit's internal unit is feet - please therefore set feet as the scale for any Revit model you attempt to import into VU.CITY.
Models exported directly from Revit will not be geolocated. Please therefore set your projection to 'New Origin' and manually enter the coordinates of your Project Base Point into the X/Y/Z fields respectively. If however you have exported the model from Revit using the VU.CITY Add-in, the model will already be geolocated meaning you can set your projection to OSGB (or NI-ITM / UTM depending on which region you're in) and it will automatically go to the location without needing to manually enter any coordinates into VU.CITY.
Revit will not allow you to export an FBX file if there is no 3D View of your project. If therefore the option to export an FBX file is grayed out, open a 3D View of the project then try again.
The transform angle of an FBX file exported from Revit defaults to 0,0,0. This is fine for models built to True North, however causes models built using a Project North to face the wrong way. The only way (that we are aware of) to get the orientation of your building to translate correctly into FBX is to change your Project North to 0 at the time of exporting. This will set the transform angle to 0,0,-ProjectNorth.
Revit models do not use normals, rather normals are auto-generated as part of the export process. If any of these normals calculations are incorrect, you will end up with flipped faces that appear invisible in VU.CITY. If your Revit model is missing faces in VU.CITY, we recommend using a dedicated modelling package like Blender or 3ds Max to flip them the right way around.
Please check out the VU.CITY Revit Add-in for help preparing / optimising your model.
Rhino supports geolocation. This involves manually moving your model away from World Zero by the same distance specified in your geolocation coordinates.
If you would instead like to zero your model, enter CPlane in the command line and choose World / Top to move your CPlane to world zero. Please then move your model over to your CPlane.
To import a Rhino model into VU.CITY, use the Rhino import option.
If the model is geolocated, set your projection to OSGB (or NI-ITM / UTM depending on which region you're in). If the model is not geolocated, set your projection to 'New Origin' and manually enter your Eastings/Northings/AOD into the X/Y/Z fields respectively.
To create a single, unified mesh with flat shading in Rhino, you'll be converting various objects in your scene into a uniform mesh form, then joining these together before applying a flat shading style. This process simplifies complex geometries into a more manageable format and provides a consistent visual style that's particularly useful for certain types of visualisation and analysis.
- Select All Objects: Select everything in your scene that you want to combine.
- Convert to Mesh: Use the Mesh command to convert selected surfaces and polysurfaces into meshes.
- Join Meshes: With all geometry now in mesh form, use the Join command to merge them into a single mesh.
- Apply Flat Shading: Use the FlatShade command on the unified mesh to achieve flat shading across its surfaces.
VU.CITY supports meshes from Rhino, but not NURBS/curves/surfaces. Therefore to optimise a Rhino model:
- Select all to reveal the contents of the model in the command line;
- Enter SelBlockInstance _explode to bring NURBS/curves/surfaces out from their blocks so they can be easily selected in the next steps;
- Enter SelCrv to select all curves, and delete them;
- Enter SelDup to select all duplicates within the model, and delete them;
- Enter SelAll and explode multiple times until only surfaces are visible;
- Enter SelAll again and type Mesh to convert all surfaces into meshes;
- The model will now show the same number of objects both in surfaces and meshes;
- Enter SelSrf to select all surfaces, and delete them;
- Enter SelAll and type Join to merge all the meshes into one and make the model lighter for exporting purposes;
- Export the selected geometry as an FBX file.
SketchUp supports geolocation, however due to limitations in SketchUp's ability to handle large distances, we recommend you zero any model built in SketchUp rather than attempting to geolocate it. For example, choose a part of your model that you know the real-world coordinates of, and move your model so that this part of it lines up with world zero.
To locate world zero in SketchUp, hover your mouse over one of the red/green/blue axis lines, right-click, and choose reset. This will snap the axis lines to world zero, showing you exactly where you need to drag your model over to. The position of your model relative to world zero in SketchUp will be the position of your model in VU.CITY relative to your import location/coordinates.
Alternatively, if your model is geolocated using Lat/Long coordinates, check our VU.CITY SketchUp Plugin (beta)
To import a SketchUp model into VU.CITY, use the SketchUp import option. FBX files exported from SketchUp are generally scaled in millimetres.
Assuming the FBX file will not be geolocated, set your projection to 'New Origin' and manually enter your Eastings/Northings/AOD into the X/Y/Z fields respectively.
SketchUp exports FBX files in the ASCII format, not Binary. This results in larger file sizes, which can cause issues saving/loading/sharing models on busy/slow networks. If your SketchUp FBX file is too large, you can optimise the model to shrink the overall file size by doing the following:
- Select all objects;
- Right-click and choosing 'explode';
- Repeat the above steps until the 'explode' option is greyed out;
- Delete all layers except for layer 0, which will give you the option to merge all geometry into a single layer;
- Ensure there are no empty layers remaining.
If your model imports into VU.CITY with missing faces, you will need to fix your model's normals:
- Choose View -> Face Style -> Monochrome to hide any colours or textures you’ve added to the model;
- This will reveal any faces with flipped normals by shading them blue;
- Context-click the blue faces and select 'Reverse Faces'
Please check out the VU.CITY SketchUp Plugin for help in geolocating / optimising your model.
We currently have limited experience with Vectorworks. We will monitor how regularly VU.CITY users use it, and add supporting information to this page when available.
To import a Vectorworks model into VU.CITY, use the 3ds Max import option.
Any model built using VU.CITY Create will be automatically geolocated to the exact VU.CITY location where the massing was first created.
To import a VU.CITY Create model into VU.CITY, use the 3ds Max import option. FBX files from VU.CITY Create will be scaled in centimetres.
As the model will be geolocated, set your projection to OSGB (or NI-ITM / UTM depending on which region you're in).
None.
Please let us know what software you use so we can look into creating tips / instructions for you:
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