SketchUp Desktop Received A New Graphics Engine

Trimble has released its annual update to SketchUp, an architectural and interior design modeling software, widely used by game artists for 3D blockouts and concept art.

SketchUp Desktop 2024 features an upgraded robust graphics engine, taking advantage of emerging hardware and software technologies. According to developers, it features increased frames-per-second while orbiting models of various sizes and complexity and better handling and responsiveness, with the new engine's common configurations being "2.4x faster than SketchUp's classic graphics engine" in the internal testing.

The old SketchUp graphics engine is still available if needed and you can access options to switch between graphics engines at any time:

Add visual emphasis and perceived depth at model edges with Ambient Occlusion, a new Style setting available with the new SketchUp graphics engine and one of the software's most significant visual enhancements to date.

Below is the comparison of the same SketchUp scene with Ambient Occlusion turned on:

Trimble Connect has been a part of SketchUp for a while but in the past, you could access it through the Trimble Connect extension available in Extension Warehouse. Now, there's no extension needed as Trimble Connect was integrated directly into SketchUp for Desktop with its own toolbar.

The Link Sharing feature was extremely popular on the Web and iPad and is finally available on Desktop as well. With Trimble Connect you can also easily share a link to a view-only version of your model and access your SketchUp files across multiple devices.

Enjoy precise terrain data and simplified imports, particularly large ones, with improved Add Location. The new Add Location includes:

• A location pin you can toggle on and off
• A True North arrow that helps you properly orient your model with an understanding of where the north of your project is, beneficial for generating sun and shadow simulations
• A ghosted version of your model to help you see how it fits into the imported terrain
• Larger import areas regardless of resolution
• The ability to independently adjust each side of your selection area
• A slider that gives you the option to adjust the mesh density of the terrain you want to import
• Higher-quality data for medium and large imports
• The ability to view all previous imports on each subsequent import
• Better Tag management

Now, LayOut files are versionless, meaning that files created in 2024 can be opened in older LayOut without having to save them to a specific format. 

The new Draft Mode in LayOut saves processing power, allowing you to navigate working models efficiently while still having the option to export high-resolution documents when needed.

When Draft Mode is enabled, LayOut will display simplified versions without final details. You can choose to enable Draft Mode during page navigation or turn it on or off for moving around very heavy pages.

While SketchUp Desktop 2024 is a feature-packed release, there are a number of other updates such as IFC import and export improvements, making it much faster and more predictable. In addition to this, SketchUp now also supports import and export functionality for both USDZ and gITF, opening up new possibilities for advanced workflows and seamless transitions to industry-standard DCC tools.

Smaller workflow improvements include Extension Error Dialog, allowing you to identify a failed extension at launch, the new Ground Mesh tool in Scan Essentials, which quickly turns a 3D point cloud scan into an accurate terrain mesh, and various modeling improvements across core tools and features.

Check out the full list of release notes here and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.