Herndon, Virginia— December 8, 2025 — Skyline Software Systems today announced the release of SkylineGlobe Server 8.5 and TerraExplorer Fusion 8.5, a coordinated upgrade that brings breakthrough architectural improvements, modern deployment options, and powerful new features for 3D visualization and analysis. SGS 8.5 has been completely modernized with a modular .NET Core 8 architecture providing significantly improved performance, flexible configuration, and full cross-platform support. The server now runs on Windows with no installation or deploys seamlessly on Linux using Docker or Kubernetes. A new GraphQL API and fully decoupled backend architecture allow for streamlined integration with modern applications and cloud environments.
SkylineGlobe Server 8.5 debuts an entirely redesigned web interface built with React TypeScript, offering a faster, more intuitive experience. The updated Overview page provides real-time system metrics, interactive charts and date range sliders for historical analysis. Enhanced reporting capabilities give administrators deeper visibility into server activity and health.
A highlight of this release is the introduction of the Gaussian Splatting Service. This new service enables the streaming of photorealistic 3D reconstructions derived from o3DML files directly to TerraExplorer clients, and simultaneously exposes them as OGC 3D Tiles for use in Cesium-based applications. Gaussian Splat models use millions of view-dependent 3D Gaussians as rendering primitives, enabling real-time, high-fidelity visualization directly from imagery, without meshing or texture baking.
TerraExplorer Fusion 8.5 introduces important enhancements that expand both accessibility and analytical power. A new Lite Mode enables users to open designated public projects without consuming a site’s concurrent user license, supporting broader public engagement for government agencies, municipalities, and organizations sharing open 3D content. Fusion Plus users gain access to the new Visibility Dome analysis tool, offering allows users multiple visualization modes for analyzing and visualizing line-of-sight coverage from a specified viewpoint. A major highlight of the TerraExplorer Fusion 8.5 release is the introduction of Gaussian Splatting model support, enabling Fusion users to visualize this emerging 3D representation technique within their projects. Initial support in 8.5 allows users to incorporate Gaussian Splatting models into their projects, with planned future enhancements to performance and analysis compatibility.
Together, SkylineGlobe Server 8.5 and TerraExplorer Fusion 8.5 deliver a faster, more scalable, and more capable 3D geospatial platform. In addition to new layer formats such as Virtual Mesh Layers and o3DML, the releases include extensive performance optimizations, faster application and project loading, and a wide range of stability fixes. For a comprehensive list of all the new features and enhancements, please visit our knowledge base: SkylineGlobe Server release notes / TerraExplorer Fusion release notes.
