rjtiedeman

Just upgraded to VW 2019 FUNDAMENTALS and was reviewing your Vectorworks Fundamentals Feature Overview and I can't find SURFACE ARRAY tool listed in the overview features. https://www.vectorworks.net/en/fundamentals/features DUH- what am I missing??

Has any one run this Stained glass test on a new 2018 MacBook Pro? How long does it take for a preview to check lighting? I never sit and watch my Mac while rendering. Walk away time. However the killer for me is setting lights and waiting for previews. That is a time killer.

I have been watching the tests on http://barefeats.com of both Imac Pro and 2018 MBP. If one is to get the New MacBook Pro you have to purchase a eGPU to match the performance of the 8c Imac Pro with the VEGA 64 GPU. But you can't take your Imac on the road with you. Its a minimum of 5K either way so it makes you give pause.

I have been waiting to upgrade my old Mac Pro to either a Imac Pro or a 2018 Macbook Pro 6 core. Both new Macs have now been out long enough that they appear to be stable choices. Both will outrun my classic upgraded MacPro 3.46 ghz 6 core with out any problems. However it’s not just the basic day to day work that I am waiting to see improvements in. It’s all the features I can’t use now due to lengthy screen redraw time. 1. Backgrounds added ot renderings normally increase screen redraws by X10. 2. Anything with glass transparency and reflections. 3. Advanced rendering settings availible in custom settings. 4. Animations that rotate displays that have lots of product symbols. 5. Experimenting with lighting and materials that takes long enough to blunt the creative process and you just accept what you get because you are running out of time (LIFE} 6. Future versions of both Mac OS 10.14, Vectorworks and Adobe CC will require new macs as old macs become obsolete. 7. Showing design changes to fellow designers always results in a I will come back later answer. No one can take waiting for redraws. Great if you want to be left alone. Apple announces new products this month (september) so I have to wait and see what my budjet can afford. Also don’t want to buy yesterdays tech that you can’t return. Leaning towards the 2018 MacBook Pro-2.9Ghz 6 core.

John, I am considering upgrading my macpro to a 2018 Macbook Pro like yours. Would like hear how yours is working. Bob

I personally would prefer getting more robust 3D tools that I can use for building and rendering complex 3D design models. However that said.. The cost for updates to subscription plans has become a issue for all my clients. For example. the Adobe CC monthly fees have gone up double since the start and I don't see that stopping. When you have 10 workstations it's allot. I see a day coming when employees will be required to bring their own software tools (like the really old days) when we had to buy our own drafting tools. Some software companies have become dependent on bumping subscription plans rather than innovation. But then Isn't the root cause of the cost increases the the direct result or changes in OS software. Changes require vendors to devote engineering time to OS changes rather than new and useful features. We have become victims of "FUTURE SHOCK".

In the age of the TRUMP presidency and fake news. everything is up for grabs or for sale. “Truth isn’t truth”... I agree with Bret. Even though I don’t use the tools being removed. The problem is the preception of someone trying to tell you less is more. We have lost trust in everything. Very Sad.

Nikolas, I rarely import objects into vectorworks. If I do it is as a reference for redrawing. Normally importing from other software introduces 3D anomalies in the file that will only cause issues later. But. Thats just me. Why load you project with potential issues. Bob

Export from RHINO as a parasolids (x_t) file or STEP file. See this link from RHINO home site. You might try others there are many options. I would start with the 2 I mentions. I have had good results with both. https://www.rhino3d.com/formats

Hardware Benchmark Results posted by Jim Wilson are a great resource for users looking to upgrade their workstations. It would be great if fellow users would post benchmarks for newer workstations that are not on the list. Anyone using the New 2018 MacBook Pro with the I9 processor for rendering and cad on Vectorworks 2018. Would like to compare to a 2017 Imac Pro at about the same price. I am looking to upgrade my aging workstation and would like a portable option with a EGPU for home. Being able to input project measurements directly would save a step. Also after years of sitting in dark cubicles it is time to get out. The geek bench score for the new MBP 2018 easily trounces my 2010 classic Mac Pro even with all the upgrades we have preformed.

I use my 2010- 5,1-6 core cMac Pro for product design and retail display development. My cMP has been updated with a 3.46 mhz processor and 1tb SSD on a pci card.The gpu has been updated to a mac edition EVGA 680 but I understand that there are other GPUs availible that can be flashed to work. My set uo works great for Vectorworks 2018. I also run VW on an old IMac at my office which I runthe same files on their system. VW is very efficient and I have not noted major issues with either set up. However when the 3D files get big with lots of lights and hundreds of symbols or glass the screen redraws are sloooow. Even though both systems work I dont use or turn on any of the advanced rendering features. It’s just not time efficient in a fast paced work environment. In addition the non Apple updates can be problematic when running updates to the OS. So I am preparing to update to a IMac Pro and just use my cMac as a backup incase of equipment failures. Time is always short and when I am working I need fast screen redraws and you will never get that with an vintage mac of any kind.

Now have the latest NVIDIA video driver installed for my EVGA GTX 680 GPU. Mac Pro 5,1 is running fine. However Vectorworks 2018 is not running fine when I select Fast Render the page goes white and I have to select Fast Render again for a image to show up. I reinstalled my Mac OS to 10.13.3 (not supplemental) and the issue was the same. So far the only issue is rendering screen redraw. Please Note: the driver link above is for plain 10.13.3 NOT for supplemental release. (WebDriver-387.10.10.10.25.158) is the correct driver for the latest release. Also what is the mac you were testing I don't see it listed in your signature?

You are correct. The latest NVIDIA web driver does not install. However I have a MAC Edition Geforce GPU and normally it runs fine with the built in Apple drivers since it is the last Apple blessed card for the Mac Pro classic. Vectorworks does not take advantage of the Nvidia built in GPU features unlike Adobe which uses the full power of the card for PSD and illustrator. It is unlikely you have a machine to test this because mine is not stock. I will just have to wait for the world to catch up with Apple. This is the second update in 2 weeks.

Just updated my MacPro (2010 5,1) with the latest Supplemental Update. I am now have very slow performance and VW 2018 has frozen 2X this morning. My Mac has not had any issues or freezes for months. I Hope there is a fix in the works from VW because this is almost unusable. My advice to the other users would be don't update your OS. Part of the problem may be my Nvidia GPU is running on Apple OS built in drivers. The Nvidia drivers are not compatible with the update. Robert CPU INFO: 10.13.3 (17D102) Mac Pro 6-Core 3.46GHz, 2010, 5,1, 32G, GeForce GTX 680, Apricorn Velocity Solo X2 with 1 TB 840 EVO SSD, FASTA 6GU3 Pro USB 3.0 / SATA upgrade and 27" Apple LED Cinema Display.

i have been playing with the Subdivision tool also. It is great for experimenting with shapes but challenging when you try to make anything that is specific in size. I great tool for making props and scean decorations but the tool is very arbitary when it comes to designing something that is exactly a size that needs to fit or have the ability to be revised to an exact size. I would appreciate more info on this tool and how to control the beast.