City VR

*Update Dec 2016: Now that Google Earth VR is out for HTC Vive users FOR FREE, there is almost no need for this software's current build unless you want high-res textures for a handful of buildings of downtown S.F.* Original review before Google Earth VR was released: I've lived in San Francisco for many years. This is, on a macro level, a somewhat accurate VR rendering of the city. However there are two great disappoinments - first being that an entire half of SF is not available for viewing, including the iconic sunset district, half of ocean beach, the famous twin peaks, south San Francisco, as well as the San Francisco International Airport are all missing. Shouldn't this game be called "CityVR - Half of SF"? The second disappointment is the lack of more detailed textures or volumetric rendering for objects such as trees, vehicles, signs, poles, and other such urban objects commonly found in any city. Adding to that, there is absolutley no lighting or option of lighting at night (not even a moon shine). If so, why bother making "night time" even available as a viewable time frame? Once the above two issues are fixed, then it's a buy even at full price. For now, this is at …

Now that you can basically get the same experience with Google Earth VR, I feel pretty foolish for buying this. Google Earth VR is free and this set me back $15 and has worse graphics. Unless they get better textures or offer something more than G.E. gives for free, I have to give this a thumbs down.

The farthest away I've ever lived from San Francisco was 45 minutes. It has been my weekend escape for years - and seeing it from this perspective is amazing. From Pier 39, Coit Tower, to Botanical Gardens and Audium. I've seen alot of the city. I've never thought I'd be able to see it like this before. Tracing how I'd typically enter the city, from the bridge to the exit I like to take - finding my way to my favorite Coffee spot, the art store, and the book store.. Seeing the huge towers shrink beneath me.. Cycling the day and night cycle while gazing off into the would-be hectic city. This experience is great. It's hopefully the start of a new genre that I'd love to invest in. Sure, theres no moving cars, pedestrians and lights when dark. But does it really matter? This was the first game of this kind to release as far as I know. Eventually, I think the developers will try their hardest to bring more and more to this experience. Being here IRL, and then seeing it in virtual reality is insane. Love it.

Gives a nice overview of the city, but the street view is depressing. Trees are flat. Cars are flat. Buildings have very ugly textures. However, the general feel when you are a giant overlooking the city is good. I cannot recommend this game at its current state for the price of €15, but if you have a prior relationship with San Francisco, this will have meaning to you.

This is a good app to show when you are disconnected from the internet and need to show the potential of VR to display large cityscapes. Add functionality to tag a location with audio or text. Let me take video clips with the camera not just pics. Add multiplayer functionality so my friends and I can enjoy City VR together. Let me draw witha pen tool. Let me place a variety of 2D and 3D icons on the cityscape. Let me bring in my "GPS" tracks from my smartphone like "My Tracks". Let me place my own pics from my PC at particular locations in the cityscape. Allow me the function for the third "externalcameraconfig" to make my own mixed reality videos of me being Godzilla in the city.

City VR is very creative to use the SFM to reconstrct the whole city automatically. It is amazing to have some smooth 3D models from the pictures taken by drones. And also the interface is well designed and easy to use. When I resize the city into very small size, my head is in the cloud and I can even hear the sound of the wind. And the application is very valuable for the construction, power station planning, because the model is in real size of the reality. I hope to have more cities in the future in this app.