Google Earth Houston

[Jax]

I've been playing around with Google Earth a bit lately, and I'm pretty impressed at how nice some cities look. All of the 3D building models are textured in most major cities. Austin, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Charlotte, Nashville, Atlanta, and Dallas are some that come to mind, where every building downtown is textured.

This is what San Francisco looks like:

Then I looked at Houston, and almost nothing has changed since last year. Most of the buildings are still grey and not textured, although there are some new models, especially in the Galleria (which is still incomplete).

The TMC has zero 3D models.

This is what Houston looks like:

Anyways, I was wondering - does anybody know Houston has so few high quality 3D models compared to other cities? I would think Houston would have priority over places like Charlotte and Nashville.

[Jeebus]

I think its up to individual graphic artists to create models and contribute them. I think..

[Highway6]

i think jeebus is right.. so get to work fellows.

[Jax]

Houston needs more graphic artists who do 3d stuff and are interested in architecture. It seems that we're the only major city that has been left out.

I just looked at some more cities: Phoenix, Orlando, Jacksonville, Philly, San Deigo, Oakland, Miami, and Seattle look great. The only cities I've seen so far that looks as bad as Houston in terms of 3D models are Detroit, and Buffalo, NY.

[memebag]

It's all the virtual bums. The graphic artists are scared of them. We need to buy them a ticket to World of Warcraft.

[infinite_jim]

i think jeebus is right.. so get to work fellows.

Do you work for free?

Do you have any idea how much time goes into modeling, mapping textures, and then rendering these things?

I'd consider it, if it was part of a university class and I was getting applicable credit for it, but otherwise I feel that Houston is a collection of buildings with few and far in between examples of architecture. It is what it is.

[crunchtastic]

It's all the virtual bums. The graphic artists are scared of them. We need to buy them a ticket to World of Warcraft.

Nah, half the bums wanting your change probably are graphic artists.

Because, they get paid crap. Everyone who needs desktop design figures any slow kid with a Mac can figure out, and they pay accordingly. I know, I've spent many years hiring graphic artists when they gasp their last breath of artistic air, and give up to come work for a decent paycheck and medical in an utterly soul sucking, no-art capacity.

[editor]

For some buildings it's just people making these models for Google as a hobby. You can tell which ones these are because when you hover over them in Google Earth they glow light blue.

But for other buildings, the Google offices in those cities photograph the exterior of the buildings and texture map the images onto the digital shell of the building. The data for the shells can sometimes come from the city, itself, or from a third-party provider. It's possible that Houston lacks public information about the size and shape of its buildings, or a local Google office, or both.

[TexasVines]

maybe people in Houston are still busy working which is why Houston has a better economy than many of those other cities right now

[UrbaNerd]

I'd consider creating some models for GE/GM, but I LOATHE and ABHOR sketchup. It's just a fussy, laggy, unsophisticated program that makes my blood boil with its excessive "user friendliness". I had to put up with it for a CAD class this semester.

It is such a shame that polygon counts are an issue, since there are many talented 3DS/etc and even GMAX modelers out there.

*nods head to various gaming communities*

If anyone was around for the heyday of Sim City 4, particularly the custom content sites, you'd know exactly what I am talking about.

[Jax]

I'd be willing to give designing a building a try once I have some time (this Christmas maybe). I have only done a few minor designs in SketchUp but I didn't think it was so bad. I can understand how somebody who is trained in a real CAD program wouldn't like it though.

My only problem is where to start. I don't have anything but photos of these buildings to work from. Wouldn't I need all of the proper dimensions before I could even begin to design a building model?

[Highway6]

Do you work for free?

Do you have any idea how much time goes into modeling, mapping textures, and then rendering these things?

I'd consider it, if it was part of a university class and I was getting applicable credit for it, but otherwise I feel that Houston is a collection of buildings with few and far in between examples of architecture. It is what it is.

Yes I have a very good idea how much time goes into modeling, mapping textures, and then rendering these things.... but most of those are on the low end for the models inserted into google earth.

They have to be small sizes so they do not have elaborate textures or modeling. The models are simple massing, no insets, balconies, etc. Most the models only have but a few materials too.... a photograph of the building in approx elevation stretched onto the side of the massing model.

If one knew the approx dimensions of the bldg in question.. an accurate enough model for google earth could be done in less than 10 minutes. I don't however know about the process of extracting the google earth plot to build on.. and reinserting the model. I've looked it up before like a yr ago... i imagine its not that hard.

Jax.. you wanna pay me to do it ?

I'd consider creating some models for GE/GM, but I LOATHE and ABHOR sketchup. It's just a fussy, laggy, unsophisticated program that makes my blood boil with its excessive "user friendliness". I had to put up with it for a CAD class this semester.

Sketchup is the bomb diggity. And you better learn to love it if you intend to practice architecture. VIZ/MAX.. are great for finished, polished, well lit presentation renderings.. but they got nothing on Sketchup as far as speed and designing in 3d, and getting stuff to the client quickly, etc.

Plus.. along with the Podium plugin and competence in PS.. sketchup is an incredibly capable program that can produce great results. Most architecture firms use sketchup over Viz/max 100:1 in everyday use.

I'd be willing to give designing a building a try once I have some time (this Christmas maybe). I have only done a few minor designs in SketchUp but I didn't think it was so bad. I can understand how somebody who is trained in a real CAD program wouldn't like it though.

My only problem is where to start. I don't have anything but photos of these buildings to work from. Wouldn't I need all of the proper dimensions before I could even begin to design a building model?

Sketchup isnt a replacement for AutoCAD or any CAD program. It's a replacement for modeling/rendering programs such as Viz/Max.

As someone who is trained and uses real CAD everyday.... i still love my sketchup.

[Jax]

I'm just a poor grad student, I can't pay for anything. I would be willing to collaborate with though if you want to try and model some Houston buildings.

I see what you mean about Sketchup being quick and not being intended to be a CAD replacement. Without reading any manual I already made a simple model of my apartment building with really ugly textures (the dimensions are of course wrong). There's an option that says "place model in google earth" which seems simple enough.

One thing I still don't totally understand is how a building actually gets incorporated into Google Earth after somebody designs it. Does google have to approve it? I noticed there are some buildings you can download and install manually (like One Park Place) which aren't in Google Earth by default.

I noticed that all of the textured buildings in Google Earth except for Discovery Tower appear to be made by third parties because they glow blue when you cursor over them.

[Highway6]

One thing I still don't totally understand is how a building actually gets incorporated into Google Earth after somebody designs it. Does google have to approve it? I noticed there are some buildings you can download and install manually (like One Park Place) which aren't in Google Earth by default.

Yes... I am reading the downloadable modeling guide from here

Anyone can get their models to display in their Google Earth.... but it takes a 30 day approval process once you have uploaded your model to the google warehouse for it to be awarded "Best of the 3d Warehouse" ... it is those that show up on Google Earth under the "3d Buildings layer"

Also.. i'm just now learning this... in Google Earth, under 3d buildings.. it is divided between "3d Warehouse" and "Other buildings" .... There are only 11 buildings downtown under 3d warehouse that are properly modeled and rendered. All the others fall under "Other buidings" I guess those are just google stubs...

I had always thought that some of the gray stubs were also uploaded by users... lazy users.

I'm just a poor grad student, I can't pay for anything. I would be willing to collaborate with though if you want to try and model some Houston buildings.

This does sound fun.. but realistically, i wont have time till after the holidays.. maybe then we can collaborate.

I would love to tackle the med center.. Problem is, there are lots of steps that need to be donw before modeling could even start.

Photos out the wazoo would have to be taken.. multpile of everyside of every building.

Plus.. our own Houston Architecture Building Database is pretty skimpy on the MEdCenter .. 2 buildings. We would have to have another way to get the heights of any building we wanted to model.

[Highway6]

Supposedly, in the Google Warehouse... if it has a blue ribbon next to it, this means its "Best of the warehouse" and should be in google earth.. but I'm seeing several that blue ribbons that arent in Google Earth..... One Park Place and most of Greenway Plaza among them.

EDIT... I updated google Earth... That did the trick.. Seeing several more buildings now.

[editor]

If there's an interest in this thing, I'll carve out a section of HAIF for it.

[tanith27]

Many people seem to forget Microsoft has a great 3D viewer as well. Their Houston rendering is pretty good, going so far as to render the little homes in Sam Houston Park and Minute Maid with the roof open. Nothing for TMC though.

Another cool aspect is they have a live weather link which changes the sky textures based on current weather conditions.

http://maps.live.com/?mkt=en-us

[editor]

Many people seem to forget Microsoft has a great 3D viewer as well. Their Houston rendering is pretty good, going so far as to render the little homes in Sam Houston Park and Minute Maid with the roof open. Nothing for TMC though.

Another cool aspect is they have a live weather link which changes the sky textures based on current weather conditions.

http://maps.live.com/?mkt=en-us

But Live Maps doesn't have a program that lets you fly through the city, does it?

[Jax]

Microsoft Live 3D view doesn't work on Macs.

Is it a standalone application or some kind of browser plugin?

At least their 2D maps now work on my Mac!

And by the way Highway6, let's try to do some modeling in the new year!

[infinite_jim]

Sorry if I came off as catty yesterday. (@Highway6)

I'll pick something to sketchup this holiday season, but like mentioned before, I'm not about to play on mental ray for an hour to get my glazing reflections right.

I don't have time to jump into google earth this week but is the Menil Collection or St Luke's rendered?

[Highway6]

Sorry if I came off as catty yesterday. (@Highway6)

I'll pick something to sketchup this holiday season, but like mentioned before, I'm not about to play on mental ray for an hour to get my glazing reflections right.

I don't have time to jump into google earth this week but is the Menil Collection or St Luke's rendered?

No offense taken.

Neither St Lukes or Menil are done yet... those both would be fun ones to tackle.

[Rammer]

Houston was one of the first cities GoogleEarth went to. That might explain why some of the features are not as updated compared to other cities. I almost felt violated when I discovered that my little street was on GoogleEarth streetview - at a time when they only toured major streets of a few cities.

[UrbaNerd]

Sketchup is the bomb diggity. And you better learn to love it if you intend to practice architecture. VIZ/MAX.. are great for finished, polished, well lit presentation renderings.. but they got nothing on Sketchup as far as speed and designing in 3d, and getting stuff to the client quickly, etc.

Plus.. along with the Podium plugin and competence in PS.. sketchup is an incredibly capable program that can produce great results. Most architecture firms use sketchup over Viz/max 100:1 in everyday use.

Perhaps it's just the free Google Earth version that sucks. Is the real "non free" version less laggy? (kinda like how 3DSMAX's free counterpart, GMAX is much much laggier, but still more tolerable than Sketchy)

[Highway6]

Perhaps it's just the free Google Earth version that sucks. Is the real "non free" version less laggy? (kinda like how 3DSMAX's free counterpart, GMAX is much much laggier, but still more tolerable than Sketchy)

I've never used the free version, so i don't know if there are any drawbacks there.

There is some lagginess if you design in an inefficient way... i've certainly made the mistake a few times of incorporating too much 3d plant material and suffered accordingly. For the most part though.. there isn't lagginess.. the only project i've ever run into issues was one where i had 20 different plant components, as well as about 10 different vehicle components made by others... which was the big mistake since those are usually made as standalone so their big size isnt an issue. ..... Thats a quick way to have your file size jump from 10mg to 30-40mg and yah.. then ya get some lagginess.

Another thing.. with all the plugins possible... even if you just do the modeling in Sketchup.. that is the quick part.

After that point.. you can export to MAX or your faorvite render program, or run the podium or some other ray tracing plugin.

[Jax]

If it seems laggy, maybe your hardware isn't compatible with SketchUp. I'm not 100% sure but it seems that SketchUp should use the same hardware acceleration as Google Earth does.

It doesn't seem laggy to me, but I've only used it to design a simple sample holder for a M

[UrbaNerd]

It seems to lag both at home, and on the school PCs (which are brand new dual or tri cores). Normally, I'd be able to deal with the lagging, but Sketchup does not seem to have a means to easily place items via coordinates.

My main annoyance with the program is the automatic edge feature that automatically converts lines drawn into edges and planes, which is just totally fussy, and messes things up when it comes to tracing. Many many many other commands don't seem to be available either, including group extrusion, lathing, lofting, etc.Furthermore, the absolute lack of a "flat plan view" is an annoyance as well; all Sketchup has is a "top view", which does not allow one to snap at the base plane; it automatically snaps to any plane it seems, even with the forced axis key pressed. MAX has many different snap types, such as 2D, 2.5D, and 3D.

AFAIK, AutoCAD .Dwg and .Dxf files are readily interchangeable with Sketchup, Max and the like, which makes life simpler. I'm just hoping that if I am forced to use the REAL Sketchup one day, it will have more features and better rendering capacity than the freebie version.

[Highway6]

It seems to lag both at home, and on the school PCs (which are brand new dual or tri cores). Normally, I'd be able to deal with the lagging, but Sketchup does not seem to have a means to easily place items via coordinates.

My main annoyance with the program is the automatic edge feature that automatically converts lines drawn into edges and planes, which is just totally fussy, and messes things up when it comes to tracing. Many many many other commands don't seem to be available either, including group extrusion, lathing, lofting, etc.Furthermore, the absolute lack of a "flat plan view" is an annoyance as well; all Sketchup has is a "top view", which does not allow one to snap at the base plane; it automatically snaps to any plane it seems, even with the forced axis key pressed. MAX has many different snap types, such as 2D, 2.5D, and 3D.

AFAIK, AutoCAD .Dwg and .Dxf files are readily interchangeable with Sketchup, Max and the like, which makes life simpler. I'm just hoping that if I am forced to use the REAL Sketchup one day, it will have more features and better rendering capacity than the freebie version.

It doesnt have an ability to place by coordinates... but who uses coordinates ? Even in Cad... you start with a line.. and everything you do from that point forward is relative to that line and other entities created.. it doesnt really matter where your site plan or structure is relative to 0,0,0.

It's quite easy to create any entity with accurate dimensions, as well as move and copy with relative dimensions. I've never had any problem moving or creating something exactly where i want it by the tools they offer.... absolute dimensions, inferencing, thei snap points, and relative move/copy/rotate etc.

Maybe i dont understand what you are saying about coordinates....

The automatic edge issue... well, the whole premise of the program is creation of solids not by volumetric shapes, but by adjacent 2d planes.... so its really the appearance of solid. But this is reality.. the built environment isn't a bunch of 3d solid volumes... it's air volume shaped by 2d planes. So it makes sense that the basic building block of the program is faces with edges. As for tracing... it's only going to create a plane if it forms a closed loop.. if it does.. just delete the face and you'll still have your edge tracing.

Group extrusion.. right. I dont know what that is.

Though.. if you create components... say a railing system on a stair.. then edit one of the rails and extrude.. yes.. all the instances, just like in MAX, will extrude. IS this what you're referring to or am i off ?

Lathing and lofting... i don't know what one of those is.. but the other is extruding in a circle, right? Like if you wanted to make the sectional profile of a tea cup them, lath/loft it to 3d.... yes. It's the "follow me" command. it works pretty well.

Top view.. if you combine it with changing your camera from perspective to parallell projection.. it will give you true plan view. As for snapping to the ground plane.. you're probably right.. but then again, it's pretty easy to snap to anywhere in an 3d view, so this has never been an issue or drawback for me. I'm in 3d perspective view 99.9% of the time. Only possible reason i could think of to go to any of their side or top views would be to export/render a plan or elevation... but certainly not in the model building phase.

Let me know if i got any of those wrong as far as misunderstanding your issues

[UrbaNerd]

Lol nah, it's ok. Thanks for your help anyway.

[Highway6]

Lol nah, it's ok. Thanks for your help anyway.

seriously.. just trying to help out.

I think it was ground breaking software in its simplicity, and it really can be a great tool once you master it.

i do understand though the different way of thinking required, moving from MAX... but trust me.. once you get good at sketchup, you wont regret it.

and my wife is right here in my ear saying "mention me mention me"... so a random Hi from my wife to eveyone.

[UrbaNerd]

seriously.. just trying to help out.

I think it was ground breaking software in its simplicity, and it really can be a great tool once you master it.

i do understand though the different way of thinking required, moving from MAX... but trust me.. once you get good at sketchup, you wont regret it.

and my wife is right here in my ear saying "mention me mention me"... so a random Hi from my wife to eveyone.

Yes, I appreciate that you were trying to help me out. I do apologize if I came off as a bit rude then.

Oh, and hi wife of Highway 6