Mention the word superyacht and images of champagne, glamour and Monaco instantly come to mind. These ultra-luxury assets continue to captivate the imagination of many. For the select few who are able to engage with this industry, technology is now enhancing the buying experience thanks to realtime 3D yacht tours.
The superyacht industry has enjoyed an unprecedented run of success in the last few years. Shipyards have seen their order books swell, with newer and younger clients engaging with yachting. As the industry grows and digitises, realtime 3D yacht tours have become an essential tool allowing shipyards, designers and builders to promote their new build projects.
Read on to discover how realtime 3D tours are changing the game for new build yacht sales & marketing.
The Covid19 pandemic accelerated the acceptance of remote viewings, with some transactions taking place entirely remotely with the aid of digital tools. For brokerage (second hand) yachts, this was easy: live video viewings and 360 photo tours, although not perfect, allowed buyers to obtain an understanding of a vessel without stepping on board.
For new build yachts however, this has not been possible, simply because the yacht is not yet built. Fortunately, realtime 3D technology now makes it possible to visit a yacht which is not yet complete, in a virtual setting.
Realtime 3D is a technology which renders graphics in real time. It originates from the video game industry, and is the foundational technology for the video games which young and old enjoy today.
Unlike static renders, which fixes camera points and renders predetermined scenes, realtime 3D allows movement within the scene in real time. This opens up these 3D scenes as virtual worlds, providing an experience which is both fully immersive and interactive; immersive because it is possible to navigate and explore the 3D scene, and interactive since one can also have an active role in the experience.
The basis of a realtime 3D yacht tour are the 3D files of the yacht. These are typically the same ones which are used to create renders/CGIs. These are adapted and optimised for realtime 3D using a game engine such as Unreal Engine 5 or Unity, to enable interaction and exploration. This means that, once created into a program - essentially a mini game - it is possible to walk through the 3D model freely, mimicking the effect of being there in real life. This also allows the 3D model to be deployed either via a web link or a branded app.
There is often a misconception regarding virtual reality and that it automatically means having to wear goggles. While fully immersive VR entails the use of goggles which isolate the user’s eyes in order to maximise immersion, there is also another way, called low immersion virtual reality. We have been used to low immersion VR for decades, through video games. Low immersion VR means screen based: virtual tours which are explorable and interactive, and accessible via a mobile device, laptop, or game console. This means that they are available to anyone with a smartphone, and do not limit users to goggles.
Yachts are complex spaces. Unlike real estate, which spatially can be understood as a collection of boxes, a yacht is a very finite environment where volume is key and spaces are closely connected to one another. As a result, imagining how the various rooms and volumes connect and interplay with each other can present challenges. Connectivity and passages are crucial in ensuring a good flow of guests and crew.
Light sources, openings, and how light interacts with the decor and reflective surfaces, play a key role in how comfortable a yacht is and enjoyed. Privacy – especially for the owner areas – is another important element to consider. These points are all visual, and usually are answered once the client is able to get on board and judge for himself. This is, however, often not possible because of geographical or time constraints, or too late in the process.
Yacht clients are busy people by nature, their time is limited. It is the responsibility of the shipyard or yacht builder to offer them the easiest and most accurate way possible to visualise what they are buying.
A key advantage of realtime 3D yacht tours are the life elements which can be incorporated in the experience. Selling yachts is all about emotion. Shipyards already invest considerably in making marketing material that is emotional, to elicit certain reactions and responses in the client’s mind. This is challenging to achieve with static material such as renders and floorplans. Realtime 3D yacht tours, on the other hand, can transport the client on board through moving life elements such as birds flying overhead, the sea flowing around the yacht, a light breeze gently moving the flag, flowers and flickering the candles, and more. These small details increase the level of realism to a point where clients feel as if he is already on board.
For production shipyards offering various layout and main material options, there is the possibility to integrate these various options in a live configurator, allowing clients to build their own yachts and instantly visualise their new pride and joy. This is a significant step up from the multiple-choice paper sheets and physical samples employed by most shipyards up until now. With a realtime 3D configurator, the client is able to create his perfect yacht and instantly visualise it.
Going beyond customising the yacht itself, the whole environment where the yacht is floating can also be modified according to the profile of the client. At the click of a button, the yacht can instantly be set against the backdrop of Monaco, the Greek islands, Dubai or Hong Kong. This adds another layer of immersion and personalisation to the experience, and the prospective buyer can truly imagine himself on board, in his favourite cruising ground.
The use of such virtual experiences extends beyond the sale. In an industry where clients, shipyard and designer might be located on different sides of the planet, they can be used to collaborate and reach decisions quickly. Designers can update proposals and allow the client to visualise these changes. This drastically increases efficiency, and in many cases can avoid unnecessary travel. Face time with clients will and should never be replaced. The visual twin can, however, be used to optimise processes and encourage faster decision making.
An integrated photo studio allows marketing teams to generate endless content, leveraging the ability to walk freely. Marketing teams can now capture, in 4K quality, every possible angle of the yacht, without having to rely on external rendering agencies, or wait for rendering time. This also applies to video content, which, combined with the ability to set different moods, lighting scenarii, and physical backdrops, creates endless possibilities to generate new and fresh content on a daily basis.
When combined with the configurator, this empowers shipyard sales team to create content which provides visual confirmation of a client’s order in real time while the sale is happening. Besides offering an improved and more personalised experience for buyers, it also aligns every project stakeholder with what the end result should be.
One of the many advantages of realtime 3D yacht tours is the access versatility. They can be made accessible via web link to send to clients, allowing viewing directly in a web browser on a laptop or mobile phone, wherever they are in the world and without the need to download anything.
Alternatively, a branded native application can be developed for the shipyard’s sales team, enabling them to carry the whole fleet in their pocket. They can be combined with the more traditional sales tools available to the shipyard’s salespeople.
As the yachting industry sails through the 21st century, it can benefit greatly from adopting immersive technologies. By offering a more personalised sales process for yacht buyers, amplifying the tools available to marketing teams, and generally increasing efficiency and improving the brand experience, realtime 3D yacht tours stand to change the game.
Virtuelle recently launched the world’s first realtime 3D tour of a superyacht, the Eternal Spark, in collaboration with the designers Hot Lab and the managers SuperyachtsCroatia. You can read more about the experience that the Eternal Spark team had while working with us, building this ground-breaking and world first virtual yacht, at this link.
If you are a shipyard, yacht builder or designer, get in touch with our team today to explore how we can help improve your customer’s experience thanks to realtime 3D yacht tours.
