SceneScapes
Documentation
At some point, everyone needs a little help.
This page describes how to get things done and troubleshoot common issues in SceneScapes.
If the questions and answer below do not answer your concerns, please contact us.
Questions
What is a USDZ Scene?
USD stands for “Universal Scene Description”, a standard data format for 3D scenes originally developed by Pixar. USDZ is a compressed USD file.
A scene is a 3D model with the scene’s origin at the person’s feet. This is why SceneScapes needs to identify the floor. It is where we put the origin.
Thus, a USDZ scene is a USDZ file containing a 3D scene with the origin at the person’s feet.
What is a website environment?
A website environment is a USDZ scene a website creator adds to their page. Most users will never know it is exists.
Apple introduced website environments for Safari in visionOS 26 (for the Apple Vision Pro). But in visionOS 26, this is considered an advanced feature and is turned off by default.
SceneScapes makes these immersive website environment available to iPhone and iPad users.
SceneScapes detects web pages with a website environment and activates the scene button at the bottom of the page (the button of mountains). Tapping on that button will download and display the scene.
How do I open an immersive scene?
There are three ways to open an immersive scene.
1) When you visit a web page with a website environment, the scene button (looks like mountains) will become red. Tap that button.
2) If a website adds a USDZ scene link to their page, tap that link.
3) If you have a USDZ scene on your device (e.g., someone mailed you a file), tap the menu button, then tap Open file. Navigate to the file and tap it.
Do I need to pay to use SceneScapes?
No. Content on SceneScapes’ home page is free. This includes
1) the page’s own website environment (free)
2) the linked USDZ scene files (free)
Furthermore,
3) you can open USDZ scene files that are on your device (free)
A subscription (with a 1-week free trial) is required for
4) other online content on the Internet
Can I create a USDZ scene and view it with SceneScapes?
Absolutely. Part of our reason for creating SceneScapes is to encourage 3D content creators to create immersive scenes and share them with family, friends, and the world.
Seeing your 3D model on a regular computer screen or mobile device is OK, but seeing your 3D scene as a life-sized, immersive scene that you can walk around in is glorious!
You can add your 3D scene to a web page as a website environment, add a link to your file on a web page, or simply email your USDZ file to someone.
Is there any limitation on the type of 3D content I can create?
Content-wise, no. You can create anything you want.
On the technical side, keeping your models relatively small, on the order of 200,000 triangles or less, makes the scene perform better on iPhones.