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Diamond

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Everything posted by Diamond

  1. Thanks Gents. The hybrid symbol is what I have been doing. I prefer working with objects rather than extrudes. In this case we are jumping into the world of IFC files / BIM for our consultant documentation exchange, and an intelligent object would probably be cleaner.
  2. I need an option for the column object to be able to be angled off the vertical, and a way that it can display correctly in top/plan view.
  3. I would like to add to this, for both the floor and the roof tool is an upgraded to how they are rendered / modelled. If you look at the column tool, it renders the curve more like a curved NURBS surface. The roof face and floor tools do not do this. If you look at the way floor & tools are rendered, especially in hidden line, they look ugly. I am trying to encourage colleagues to use the hybrid 2D/3D objects, but if the VW objects compromise the presentation of their designs, it creates a large problem for adoption. Also I have to use viewport annotation masks for 3D elevations where I have a curved slab or roof face.
  4. Hi Mike. I just checked that the class of the Section Marker. It is in the "None" class. Just to make sure it was nothing inside it, I converted the Section Marker Object to a group and ungrouped it to check if anything was in another class. It wasn't. To double check this again, I turned on every class in the viewport just to make sure. The marker still doesn't show.
  5. I use the viewport section markers regularly. What I think is confusing this discussion is that they do not seem to show up in viewports. This was a problem in VW 2008 and does not seem to have been addressed in VW 2010. I have to draw in the regular section marker over the section instance to make it show in a viewport. I have had similar issues with design layer viewport not appearing in sheet layer viewports as well.
  6. ArchiCAD is very much architecture based, where as Vectorworks is used in many industries. I disagree with the production team thinking, especially with VW 2008 and later, as there is at least one architecture firm in Japan that has 3,000 licenses. Yes, ArchiCAD might be more elegant in this regard (in keeping with it's price), but it's 3D modelling is not as sophisticated as VW. I believe it's architectural objects are more specific, and translate a bit better into IFC objects (although I believe VW 2010 is much better at this now). 2D drawing is better in VW. They are different companies, and they do go head to head. It is about owning the funnel of the dollars that the user base contributes as different apps work better in different global markets, and fending off Autodesk. Let's be real here. We are all in business to make money, and if you are not, it is time to move out of your parents home and get a job! In time there may be intellectual property that will go back and forward, but it may just be that Nemetschek eventually pools all of this knowledge and creates a completely new package. The iPad (and related off shoots) might be the very vehicle for this shift. After all, many packages have good and bad points, but as a pro-user of VW, I don't want to wake up one day, to find out that VW has been changed into something that works like ArchiCAD or Allplan, and all of my training just went out the window. I agree it would be great to get them to talk to each other. Unfortunately with any language, there are always translation issues, so for now IFC is probably the best way, and may alway be the best way to go.
  7. There is an in-depth review at Architosh for your perusal; http://architosh.com/2009/06/product-review-cinema-4d-r11-architectural-edition/ Cheers!
  8. Assemblage, I would recommend you push Renderworks as far as it will go, and then and only then, would I recommend you go to C4D. As Ray mentioned, it is a costly addition to VW and you have to justify spending that money.
  9. Renderworks is a simple in app rendering solution. Yes, it is getting better, and to be honest, I use it mostly for shadow diagrams (which I would not do in C4D). What is great about it, is that with some lighting knowledge (this is what I am lacking in, and what I am currently reading up on), you can do it all in VW. This is a great way to get started. Our office uses it extensively for montages. What it cannot do is full cinema quality photo realism which I am personally pursuing, but it seems to be able to get close. Have a look at the Renderworks examples on Nemetschek's website. Nemetschek has a wide base of users. To simply say that they should just roll all of their knowledge into all of their apps is short sighted. VW is already used by a massively wide spectrum already. It does certain things, other apps do others. What you have to realise is that high end photo reaslism cost time, money & skill. The Avatar movie cost $600 million for a good reason. It takes highly specialised people to do this work at a very high level. Assemblage - Have a look at the ArchiCAD workflow movie at Maxon's C4D architectural edition website. The workflow for VW is very similar. The VW file can be progressively worked and updated in C4D without losing all of your work in C4D each time you reimport the base file.
  10. The reality is that in Australia many (I say many, not all) consultants whinge about not being supplied drawings that they can simply get to work on! Lazy, lazy, lazy!! I suspect it is the same in this case. I give PDF's as well so they can see exactly what we see, beyond that, no more is normally needed. As architects we can help them as much as we can, but they should be drawing their own drawings using ours as a reference. They often get paid considerably more for doing considerably less! Don't stand for their crap! Julian Carr has written 2 tech notes on this at; http://www.ozcad.com.au/support/techsupport.html Minor rant over!
  11. I am getting into C4D. Being owned by Nemetschek, it plays nicer with VW. (C4D has pretty much the same capabilities as 3DS Max). Check out some of the workflow features on the Maxon site. http://www.maxon.net/products/editions-bundles/editions/architecture-edition.html
  12. Oh yeah. The other thing I have been looking at is the LiveScribe intelligent pen (www.livescribe.com) that records meeting conversations as well as being able to search later what you are typing as the meeting happened. With an app to take care of that...I would be absolutely set.
  13. I am finding more and more with multi-core processor the divide between laptops and desktops is expanding, kind of like the divide between G4 & G5 chips, and all I need is something that is a diary, journal, presentation and sketch device, and that is more usable than an iphone. At home and at work I have iMacs that are, for documentation and rendering are so much faster than Macbook Pros. I think the iPad will be wonderful. I have been holding off getting an iPhone, due to the larger telco contracts that I just don't use, as well as the limited ability to view attachments. This device, and with a sketch app, and a slimmed down version of photoshop this would be perfect. Basically this could get rid of any need for a laptop, a diary (which on my Nokia e66 is kind of clunky but fine at a pinch) and my Moleskine. As Steve says in his keynote, with the right sketch app, it would do everything I currently need to do, better than what I have at the moment. I hope Nemetschek or Maxon (Cinema 4D which I am currently learning to use proficiently) will do something, but if not then I am sure I will have to learn something like Sketchup, because I am sure Google will do something. Bring it on!! PS Now I have just looked at Autodesk Sketchbook and it looks great. Darn!! I really don't like Autodesk! Now I am going to have to get over that!
  14. "I don't like negative people." You must be having a lark there! A humorous statement if there ever was one!
  15. Working with the public education system in Western Australia, the architect is required at the end of each project to supply both the tender set of drawings and the as-builts in the DWGv14 format of their choosing (this was is 2005!) using their layering system which they enforced religiously. This was no small task. Unfortunately bureaucracy can be a huge monolith that likes to do things their own way, even if they have forgotten the reason why they do them.
  16. I do what Gmm18 does as well. For soffit I use the floor tool. I find it is maybe the most useful 2D/3D hybrid object along with walls, as they display great in 2D and 3D. Also it gives accurate Z heights, unlike extrudes. I use it for everything (well not everything, but certainly extensively) This really is the rub with ever expanding requirements of CAD apps isn't it. People seem to have an idea that designing a house in 3D is easy, and many seem to think they don't need an architect to do it, except to get them through council. But designing a beautifully detailed house is like designing a car, and yet most would never consider thinking they could build one of those. And for the bog standard house, it is different the world over, which can mess with the usefulness of a PIO. I find it is that the more we require of our CAD apps, the higher expertise we need to get the results, to the chagrin of many! I love the WinDoor tool by Julian Carr and yet even that took some learning the nonclemature at the beginning. (What!!! Can't the computer do it for me?!! That is like saying that a person throws a film script in one end and a computer spits a full feature out the other. It ain't going to happen people! That said PIO's could be much better. I would like to know what Apple would do if it were to design a CAD app. And how far Sketchup Pro will go to bite off the space many other CAD apps sit in now?
  17. Hi Vincent. The only pity might be the processor speed or the video card. But for real portability it is a winner. My wife has a 12" PowerBook, and loves it. The thing that amazes me is the 13" MBP is lighter than her PB, so I might have her convinced that there is something that can replace her pride and joy. With the 17' setup, I just used to have it on a stand with a USB keyboard for ergonomics and extra number keys. Also the great thing with having the laptop with the same resolution as the external monitor, is that all of the VW palettes are in the same place, and a drawings script palettes are in the same place on both and need no time to resize when switching between both that comes from having VW working environments with different screen resolutions.
  18. Yep...a 24' iMac is my daily drive (both at work and home), but I would really like MacBook Pro 13' for the in between times. If it had a little more grunt to cope with what I do, I might be inclined to buy it and an external display, and do away with everything else. Certainly the price point allow for this. A 13' and a 24' Apple Display. Nice. For the average user (not doing too much rendering or video editing), I think that it would be more than enough (which is pretty much everyone these days). I used to have a 17" and a 15" Powerbook, loved the size and resolution of 17" (the current MacBook Pro 17" resolution is about the same as a 24" iMac - superfine and lovely). I didn't like the 15" size. If I had a 17", it would be my main machine, but a 13" is more of a backup for the 24" iMac. Of all the refurbs I have seen, I have never been able to see the difference between it and a new model, so go for it. What ever you do go for though, I would encourage you to go for something with Firewire. If you ever have to back up a hard drive, you will know what I mean. Firewire is great for future proofing. I am glad Apple put it back on the MacBook Pro 13". As all of the MacBook Pro's are pretty powerful these days, it might be better to for a cheaper MacBook Pro, and invest in a new version of VW. With the new selection tools, it would speed up your work far more than a slightly faster MBP, and that positions you nicely for the Snow Leopard OS update coming soon (at least the next version of VW should take care of this - VW 2010 due out around September)
  19. In short I want multiple windows, or maybe some really innovative way to manipulate viewports so that the plans and elevations can be updated in real time and side by side. I want to be able to move windows and doors in elevation, and see the changes happen in plan all at the same time. Also, an ingenious hidden line rendering option for elevations that uses different line thickness to show depth of field. (I believe ArchiCAD has this). It would sure make it easier than tracing over 3D elevations in annotation layer. Also while there, It would be great to be able to able to apply hatches to a 3D elevation face by simply clicking on it in in the viewport.
  20. Yes I agree that the usability of VW architectural 3D could be improved. I have even been exploring ways of creating multiple view windows on multiple monitors by referencing plans and having the 3D elevs in another windows so I don't have to constantly close down windows. I have found that to be very good in VW architectural 3D, that is accurate, and can be used for documentation, one has to be very good at visualising the whole building whilst in plan view. This is fine for the very few that have learnt to work like this, but most do not, and as most can't, or are not hungry enough to learn, it continually road blocks movement to 3D and smarter working environments. Unfortunately in this regard the strength of VW 2D drafting mostly has it's way, and the path of least resistance is followed.
  21. And now that new Macbook Pro's have been released. There are a lot of positive reviews appearing, especially the new 13'. I have certainly been thinking about that as a complement to the 24' iMac. A tad small screen, but very small, capable, light, and relatively cheap. With Firewire 800 and being able to hold 8GB of RAM, it should do very nicely for years to come.
  22. Wow! Please can we have an Ecodesigner plugin for VW Architect?! I know it may not be a simple as the website Quicktime movie shows it to be, but surely it would be a big step forward! Let us hope that someone very clever in the bowels of Nemetscheck is working on this for VW 2010.
  23. Yes, I love the architectural desktop pictures. Aside from the eye candy, there are a treasure trove of speed-ups and little navigation items that just make it that much easier to get things done which is the main point. Well done Microsoft. I really would recommend this for daily use. I know it is a beta, so be warned, but I really is that good. This new injection of confidence for Microsoft is needed with Linux and all the other OS's that are out there breathing down their neck, and of course the next Mac OS to be released shortly. That said, I won't moan as loudly if I have to use a PC anymore. Especially on my Mac. I really do think it is hardware dependant. So before upgrading, get the hardware that is proven reliable as much possible, because I think it will make life a great deal easier. Enjoy!
  24. Just to let you all know. I have been using Windows 7 RC for a couple, and I have to say, on my iMac, I am impressed. Works wonderfully. Looks beautiful. Feels quicker than Vista, and more stable than Vista or XP. Finally I am impressed with a Windows OS (and for a Mac lover such as myself that is saying something). I actually like the thought of booting into Windows 7. As I said in my earlier post, I suspect that the integreted hardware is helping greatly. So if you want to get a great experience from Windows, buy a Mac! (I think it was Walt Mosberg that said that the best laptop to run Vista on was a Macbook Pro - well this is a similar suggestion). Oh yeah...Vectorworks runs great.
  25. Yes. Briefly I have tried XP via Bootcamp on my iMac, it has seemed more reliable with the more integrated hardware (Versus an OEM by a small computer store that we use at work. Maybe a Dell or some other bigger band would be more reliable). Anyway, tomorrow morning I will download Windows 7 and see how it goes.
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