Enscape 3.0 Image courtesy of Enscape

Enscape, the leading provider of real-time rendering and virtual reality technology for the global Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) market announces the release of Enscape version 3.0 and its new branding. More than a recent update, 3.0 is a milestone in Enscape's company history. Their latest release and branding reflect its mission to unleash a designer's creativity through continuous innovation in accessible design technology.

Archinect unpacks Enscape's latest software launch and explores how this will impact the architecture industry as it continues to move forward with project planning, client interaction, and architectural visualization.

This post is brought to you by Enscape

Software continues to improve in order to maintain demands from the ever-evolving architecture and construction industry's demands. According to Enscape software developer Dorothea von Seidlitz, "The new interface in Enscape 3.0 is about more than just a new look. It's about improving the Enscape experience.

Before Enscape became a leader in real-time rendering, it started as a startup founded in Karlsruhe, Germany. Since then, it continues to evolve as a company that pushes real-time rendering technology to support current construction and building design processes. Daniel Monaghan, Head of Sales & Channel (America), shares, "With Enscape 3.0, our focus is improving user experience and making real-rendering and VR easier and more accessible."

Adapting to the needs of the community

For Enscape's latest 3.0 release, they reviewed feedback from their user community. The program's redesign and modernized interface help improve the user experience for veteran users or first-time users. Enscape shares, "Workflows have been streamlined, and it is faster and more convenient to access commands and settings. Users can now leverage Enscape's tools directly from the full-screen mode, allowing them to spend more time exploring design questions and less time switching between menus.

Users will find 333 new assets focusing on iconic or specific assets to local regions, such as the well-known yellow NYC taxicab, the famous red London phone box, new trees, flowers, and shrubs typical to various hardiness zones. The new assets are optimized beyond what was thought imaginable, some performing 40X better than similar assets provided by competitors.

The Create View and View Management functions have moved from the CAD application to the Enscape window. Views now respect the CAD project's geometry, allowing for a more fluid way to present project phasing. Settings Presets and View Management have also been overhauled, making the process of linking a View to a Settings Preset simpler and easier to implement and manage and improving the Batch Rendering workflow.

In addition to its improved user experience and management tools for effortless functionality, the team at Enscape has included an enhanced video editor with a new timeline view for quicker and easier video creation and editing. Users can easily add and edit keyframes, enter the time between keyframes and the time of day, and define the camera's focal point and the camera field – all directly from the timeline. 

For professionals like Steve Bann, Director of CAD School, he shares his thoughts on the software's latest updates. "It's an invaluable real-time rendering plug-in for any building modeling workflow. The software is continually evolving into something that works even better. It puts the tools where you need them, keeping those essential to the modeling program there, and moving more of the rendering features, and setting to the Enscape window. With 3.0, I can now spend more time working in Full-Screen mode and less time switching between programs. Like all good design, it just feels like it should always have been like this."

With the plethora of rendering and visualization software and plug-ins on the market, it's easy to pick favorites. However, with Enscape's latest software release, they focus on quality and a new "context-sensitive" help feature. The software team shares, "New context-sensitive Help instantly provides the information users need for the task they are performing. It saves users from having to search through Enscape's entire help system for answers to pressing questions." They also utilize the need for realistic materials that respond to its environment to create "more accurate reflections and interactions with light." They've also responded to Vectorworks uses by allowing support for batch rendering.

"Enscape 3.0 represents not only an evolution of our product but also our company, which you will see reflected in our new look and a renewed commitment to our users." To learn more about Enscape 3.0, click here.