Real-time simulation engine
The World Simulator isn’t a fly-through. It allows you to see any real or conceptual environment in real-time 3D. It amalgamates height data, ortho-photos, CAD models and anything else you can think of then lets you “fly” around like a game. We own or can acquire data for most areas but if you have data already then we can use that too.
Simulate any size
Simurban doesn’t care whether you want to simulate a cup of coffee or an entire city. It can handle massive amounts of data input without sacrificing quality. For example, we recently made a 400 square km model with 167 gigabytes of data (including 12.5cm aerial photography) that runs comfortably on a normal gaming machine.
Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy…
Accuracy is everything and Simurban represents your data exactly how it is made, so no need to worry about misrepresentation. We want to simulate your world, not distort it.
Easy to use
Simurban has an intuitive interface that makes it easy to fly - you can even use a joystick. There is no screen clutter to ruin your immersion, just hit a hotkey to bring up the menu.
Measure for measure
When you want to measure something in the World Simulator (e.g. “How far is that tree branch from my shops window?” Or “How high is that elevator shaft on top of that new apartment block?”) just use the tape measure tool to pick two points and get instant feedback of distance in length and height.
GIS integration
With all that GIS data laying around, you’d think there would be a way to visualise it in 3D? Well now there is. Simurban are currently testing direct MapInfo integration via our API so that you can “push” data directly out of MapInfo into Simurban and vice-versa. We’ve got lots of big plans for other GIS system integration too.
Soak up the atmosphere
The World Simulator has a mathematically correct solar engine so that the lighting and shadows are spatially correct. For example, you could use this to check that shadows from a new development don’t impede a neighbouring building at any date and time.
Other atmospheric features include:
• Sky – choose your sky in the World Simulator, whether it be clear blue, overcast, or anything in-between! You can even place clouds and fog.
• Water – realistic, rippling and reflective!
• Sound – full sound attenuation model that lets you place sounds and listen to them accurately.
• Wind – enjoy a cool breeze and watch it gently rustle the trees!
Build models on the fly
In real-time you can draw models and place preset ones. For example you could extrude a building from the ground to any height, or you could place a person or tree or any model anywhere – the possibilities are endless. Once a model is placed, you can move it, rotate it, scale it or even change its colour.
Viewpoint analysis
The World Simulator lets you simulate any view from any angle – accurately represented as the human eye would see it. You can even save these viewpoints as hotkeys and fly to each view in real-time. For example, you could save the numbers on your keyboard as apartment numbers and hit a number to fly to that apartment.
Export movies and images
You can record camera paths from the World Simulator and export them as an AVI movie. So it’s easy to give a movie to the press or put it on your website. You can also output still frames for publishing or emailing.
You don’t need a supercomputer
You don’t need a supercomputer to run Simurban. In fact, all you really need to take advantage of accurate real-time simulation is a computer that can comfortably run games using DirectX 9 (what is that?). There are a few technical things you should check over here to make sure your computer is up to speed. If you don’t already own a computer that can run Simurban, we can help you out. Have a look here for some great computers that we know run Simurban silky smooth - and don’t cost the world you are trying to simulate.