If you’re looking for a virtual reality (VR) or 3D visualization solution for your architecture, engineering, or construction team (AEC), you’ve probably heard of Enscape and The Wild.
As both of these platforms can be very useful for AEC teams, we created this guide to educate you on their similarities and differences so that you can make an informed decision for your team’s workflow.
Enscape is a visualization engine for individuals looking to walk through a project in high-fidelity. The team at Enscape has built a terrific 3D visualization tool for client presentations and design review; the Enscape renderings have made the software a popular one for planning and architectural visualization.
Alternatively, The Wild is a VR collaboration tool for teams to experience 3D spaces together in real-time, immersive settings. The Wild was designed from the ground up to improve AEC collaboration by bringing relevant stakeholders into VR, enabling them to virtually meet and iterate on ideas within a building model earlier in the design process. The Wild was built for VR collaboration in addition to visualization.
Enscape does offer a single user VR mode. So, if you’re looking to do walkthroughs on a single screen or headset, Enscape is a solid choice. If you’re looking to take collaboration to the next level within and outside your company, The Wild may be a better option.
Exploring BIM data is offered in both products. Enscape offers a “BIM Mode” which allows a user to display all the BIM data by clicking on elements. The Wild offers tools to provide access to data in their BIM model such as visibility settings, toggling layers, and measurement.
Additionally, The Wild is compatible with Augmented Reality (AR) for iOS devices, allowing teams to impose their virtual models in their actual environments for real-life context.
The Wild is a VR collaboration platform, so many users can use it at once – up to 8 users can meet within a single space. In addition, The Wild is cross-platform, so different collaborators can access from different platforms (e.g. from HTC Vive, Meta Quest 2, Windows Mixed Reality, iOS AR, or desktop).
This means you can present, collaborate on, and review building projects from anywhere, even if your teammates are remote or have different experience levels with VR and 3D modeling.
The Wild also offers ways to annotate such as speech-to-text comments and powerful native sketching tools for asynchronous collaboration. With easy access for anyone through 1-click link sharing, collaborating with your team is a simple and satisfying experience.
The Wild integrates with most relevant software AEC teams are using – including Revit, SketchUp, BIM 360, and all major 3D file types.
The Wild’s integrations with these platforms are one-click from model to VR, so there’s no need to worry about complicated conversion processes. In addition, changes to your model always securely save to the cloud, so your space stays up to date. The Wild takes each element from your 3D model and brings it all into VR fluidly – for example SketchUp components can be converted into assets. The Wild’s Revit Add-in is one-click to you experiencing your Revit model.
The Wild has a direct integration with BIM 360, allowing you to collaborate and coordinate on any model you use.
The Wild helps users communicate spatial concepts through immersive design reviews. Your shared virtual space can evolve with your ideas in addition to visualization.
In The Wild, you can use native sketching tools to sketch, prototype, and iterate on your ideas, or inspect object BIM data to add important context in meetings and design reviews.
Though Enscape’s visualizations are high-fidelity, they aren’t interactable and not optimized for collaborative VR. Additionally, they must be tethered to a performance PC, which can be more restrictive than the standalone VR that The Wild supports.
As you can see, The Wild and Enscape have very different use cases. We’ve found that the tools can actually complement each other quite well—many teams choose to use both.
The Wild is the best place for AEC teams to meet, make decisions, try out different ideas, and problem solve together. Sending your 3D model into Enscape for a high-fidelity rendering for review can be a great option as well.
The best way to learn about a product is to try it out for yourself! To start your free 14-day trial of The Wild to experience immersive collaboration for your team, click here.
