With 3DVista’s January release, we saw the platform take its first major step into radiance field territory by supporting full 3D Gaussian Splatting model integration. Now, with Update 2025.1, they’re optimizing it.
Two key upgrades in this release mark a shift from simply being compatible with Gaussian Splatting to actively improving how it's stored, compressed, and compared across scenes.
First, there's new support for the SPZ format, a compressed version of splatting models that dramatically reduces file size without compromising visual fidelity. This is a huge win for teams working on complex projects — especially those with limited hosting space or targeting lower-bandwidth users. Load times drop, workflows speed up, and everything stays visually sharp.
For those pushing the edge even further, there’s now a "Use High Compression with Spherical Harmonics" toggle in the export settings. This allows for even tighter compression, leaning on Spherical Harmonics to preserve lighting detail and appearance while shrinking the file down further. It's the kind of performance lever that will matter most for those deploying on the web, in mobile contexts, or anywhere size efficiency is paramount.
The second big addition is more about the viewer experience than the file itself, but it’s just as impactful. You can now load a new 3D Gaussian Splatting model from the same camera view as the previous one. That means if you’re comparing different states of a scene, such as a restoration project or a product with multiple variants, you can swap models without breaking perspective or forcing the user to reorient themselves. It’s a subtle upgrade that brings a new level of polish and precision to presentations using splatted scenes.
This kind of continuity is what sets apart truly immersive tools from simply functional ones. And it’s the kind of detail that suggests 3DVista is starting to understand the unique storytelling power of radiance field-based formats.
As more platforms move to fully integrate radiance fields, it’s encouraging to see 3DVista keeping pace. Update 2025.1 may be framed as a general platform release, but for those of us tracking the future of 3D representation, the Gaussian Splatting updates are the real headline.
