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Release Notes 3.03

VRGS 3.3.1 – Major Update​

December 2025 – February 2026​

✨ New Features​

Cesium 3D Tiles Support (NEW)

  • Full integration of Cesium 3D Tiles for high-resolution geospatial streaming.
  • Support for Cesium Ion assets and URL-based tilesets.
  • Improved video recording behavior to ensure complete tile loading per frame.

Google 3D Tiles & Maps Overlays

  • Support for Google Photorealistic 3D Tiles.
  • Google Maps Satellite, Roadmap, and Terrain overlays.
  • Proper attribution and credit display.

Raster Overlay Support

  • Add and manage imagery layers (ion or URL-based).
  • Tiles render with imagery, embedded textures, or PBR base color.

Vertical Datum & Geoid Support

  • Optional vertical datum correction (EGM96 / EGM2008).
  • Improved orthometric ↔ ellipsoidal height accuracy.

Terrain Masking (Major Upgrade)

  • 3D occupancy grid masking for meshes with overhangs/caves.
  • Automatic mask mode detection (2D footprint or 3D volume).
  • Shader-based terrain clipping for accurate visual results.

Mesh Decimation (QEM Upgrade)

  • New Quadric Error Metrics (QEM) decimation algorithm.
  • Topology preservation and boundary protection.
  • Optional texture seam preservation.
  • Improved visual fidelity after simplification.

Point Cloud → DEM Conversion

  • Convert point clouds to triangulated DEM meshes.
  • Median gridding with IDW fill of empty cells.
  • Mesh tiling for improved performance on large datasets.

Gaussian Splat Improvements

  • View-dependent color using Spherical Harmonics (up to degree 3).
  • Improved transparency, sorting, and falloff controls.
  • Adjustable splat scale and falloff parameters in properties panel.
  • Better depth handling and occlusion behavior.

Digital Outcrop Repository (DOR) Browser

  • Embedded DOR browser panel.
  • “Open in VRGS” one-click model import.
  • Async download with progress and improved error handling.

Interpretation Branching & Version Control

  • Full branch management system for interpretations.
  • Create, switch, merge, and manage branches via dedicated panel.
  • Per-branch object visibility and history tracking.

Virtual Field Trip (VFT) & Multiuser Enhancements

  • Multi-trip support with invite codes and waiting room.
  • Real-time chat, heartbeat monitoring, reconnection logic.
  • Standalone GeotourServer support with TLS & JWT authentication.
  • Monitoring dashboard and metrics exporter.

WYSIWYG Editor (NEW)

  • Modern TipTap-based editor replacing raw HTML editor.
  • Image alignment, tables, callouts, figures, YouTube embeds.
  • Local video embedding support.
  • Improved save workflow and media handling.

Stereonet Tools

  • Equal-angle / equal-area projections.
  • Kamb contouring (area corrected).
  • Rose diagrams and circular statistics.
  • Stress tools (slip / dilation tendency).
  • SVG export from histogram pane.

🛠 Improvements​

Rendering & Lighting

  • Consistent light direction handling across pipeline.
  • Improved motion blur with shutter angle and Gaussian weighting.
  • Better shadow consistency and shading accuracy.

Cesium Performance & Stability

  • Improved LOD selection and tile filtering.
  • Safer thread handling during load/shutdown.
  • Better handling of large/global tilesets.
  • Improved video recording stability with tiles.

Mesh & Point Cloud Handling

  • Faster mesh loading with progress reporting.
  • Improved mesh decimation quality and safety checks.
  • Fallback UV generation for meshes without texture coordinates.
  • Improved histogram rendering for attribute layers.

Database & Project System

  • Versioned migration system for safe upgrades.
  • Improved branch-based object visibility.
  • Schema cleanup and legacy feature removal.
  • Export schema to SQL.

Coordinate Systems & PROJ

  • Improved grid management and automatic grid download.
  • More robust CRS transformations and diagnostics.

Cesium & Overlay UX

  • Improved overlay reload behavior.
  • Tile extent filtering for local CRS use cases.
  • Debug tools for tile bounds and coverage.

Video Capture

  • Optional microphone audio recording.
  • Configurable cursor display in recordings.
  • Higher recommended bitrates for 3D content.

🐛 Fixes & Stability​

  • Fixed Gaussian splat center saturation and opacity scaling issues.
  • Corrected covariance construction for splats (CPU/GPU consistency).
  • Resolved race conditions in display list and picking.
  • Improved TIFF NoData handling and robustness.
  • Fixed mesh decimation counting and edge-collapse issues.
  • Corrected directional light eye-space calculation.
  • Improved handling of corrupted or malformed data during load.