[Attributes Pallet - 2023]

Piling on with Hamo - 15+ year user and just updated to 2023 because no choice.... aaaand no more color wheel. Seriously wt$%$%. Please stop removing useful and legacy features that long time users are accustomed to in our workflow!!

[VW 2020 Tool Icons]

@jmanganelli 

Perhaps I offended you by the use of the word academia. Personally I find BIM and all its' potential endlessly intriguing and I'm interested in your knowledge. Again I'm coming from the perspective of the "typical" user of VW and the "typical" client, and with all due respect, the specifics of your work that you detailed would put you in the atypical, high-level user category (that is a compliment). In fact, that is encouraging because if VW is being used by companies/projects with that kind of budget then it means they should be able to maintain a forward trajectory and keep everybody happy. The only reason I mentioned the (very general) financial details of one of the companies I work for is that I believe there is incentive for Nemetschek to continue developing the Architectural module for the single man shop to large conglomerates. That said, have a good evening and let me know if you're hiring haha. Salud 

[VW 2020 Tool Icons]

@jmanganelli 

You make some interesting points. The concern as I see it though, is that the typical client (from developer to homeowner) is not interested in the academia of BIM. They want their design to present well to their investors, the building department and/or their spouse; obtain their permit at minimal time and expense so they can proceed with their project. Yes their are niche clients/projects such as passivhaus or other energy efficient concepts and those that are interested in a greater representational model of interactive systems, but they are not how most make their living and certainly not the "bread & butter" of the field. Similarly this extends to the other disciplines such as landscape and event production/lighting design. And even if the mindset of clients may evolve, the bureaucracy of the building/planning departments, and contractors of the world (at least in the US) will assuredly be years behind.  

[VW 2020 Tool Icons]

3 hours ago, DBrown said:

Vectorworks produces incredible looking drawings, but lacks a good set of BIM tools, so we have to go through several workarounds to get there reducing productivity...
If Vectorworks is trying to compete with real world BIM programs, need to fix/update several of our BIM tools, if not, well it would be better to drop the towel and kill it like the Mechanical part of Vectorworks was killed several years ago... Some times I don't understand where is Vectorworks trying to go with the Architectural module..

 

Agreed and sincerely hoping that VW streamlines their priorities for the Arch module. I work for several firms that use VW exclusively; one of which with ~30 active projects typically at $1m budget minimum per, so you would think it would be worth their effort in doing so. Though perhaps not ironic, they are still on 2018 because they don't find the yearly iterations to be innovative enough to maintain SS subscriptions for all their desks. The moot point seems that they should not be burning resources for something as trivial as darkmode while there are individuals in various fields that are frustrated with VW not keeping up with basic workflow innovation. Maybe VW is simply spread too thin; it sure would be nice if they would give a clear indication & communication of where they are heading. @JuanP or other - comments would be appreciated regarding. Thanks

[VW 2020 Tool Icons]

I un-installed VW 2020 literally within 30 minutes of installation - 3/4 of that time on the phone with tech support. It was not because of the candy-land GUI of which I'm obviously not a fan. It was because within literally 30 seconds of using 2020 I discovered a bug (confirmed) that crippled my workflow to the point of absurdity. I'm running Mojave on a Mac (dark-what? who cares, and no) and evidently this bug is only associated with that OS. I open and use the resource manager frequently; especially when modifying/editing textures, hatches, renderworks styles, symbols etc. etc. In 2020 on Mojave, if you hit command-r the resource manager window will open but you have to resize the window - every. - single. - time. It will not retain the saved palette position as expanded. Essentially I would be spending almost an hour a day resizing the bloody window. Bug confirmed by tech support, and un-installed immediately. They are on SP3 and 2020 has been out for at least 8 or 9 months I really don't know because I always wait until at least the second service pack before even considering updating. So essentially the $2k for SS subscription for the last two years was for an updated product that actually doesn't work at the most basic level of workflow.

 

Despite this I am an avid VW user and supporter. And like the probably 99.8% of the people using this program and the forums I am vested and don't have the time, money, much less desire to change platforms. However, I couldn't care less about the obscure cool tool, or feature you may use once every 10 projects, much less new ridiculous icons if my workflow with the software is constantly sabotaged by new iterations. I am concerned with a fast, intuitive, and effective workflow bc, like everyone else here, I need to draw fast and have it present well. I'd be willing to bet that there are exponentially more users running Mojave w/ VW than there are who absolutely need or want darkmode. Please developers, focus on the actual effective use of the software before chasing gimmicks to indulge a very slim margin of the user base. And respectfully to the previous poster; I'm certain everyone posting here spends long hours in front of a screen. All said, the VW tech support team has always been extremely helpful and polite (usually calling them when aggravated) and the company in general has a good customer service and usually a great product. Off soapbox... 

 

 

[VW 2020 Tool Icons]

Piling on.. Just installed 2020 and holy crap these icons look bad; I feel like I'm drawing in a Disney program. Have been using (and paying) for VW designer suite since 2006 and the GUI looks worse now than it did then. I do love the quality of the drawings and elegance of the software under the hood, but please do fix or at least give the option to revert to legacy icons (GUI) that don't look like my toddlers' toys. 

 

Imho it would be better to dedicate resources to fixing actual bugs (i.e. textures that don't map/align correctly when simply changing a wall style or objects disappearing when in a group in annotations or....... as opposed to making new kitschy, cuddly little icons every year. Yes, this is a lame first post.