M5d

My understanding of these things is peripheral at best, but the hype as I read it was that OpenCL was going to unlock some pretty big number crunching abilities in the GPU that are specifically suited to tasks like rendering. No eh? What a pity, rendering is a huge bottleneck in my workflow and I thought OpenCL was going to provide a shot in the arm. Back to the topic of card selection, I used to update my mac towers about every 3 years and never swapped out a graphics card between updates. Graphic card options in the mac universe are not the same as the plethora of replenishing options you get over on the windows platform, so I've generally viewed taking the best option off the shelf at the time of purchase as the more economical, less wasteful way to go. I switched to an imac with my last update and the same is true because, of course, even if I wanted to swap the GPU (like I never have) I never could.

What about Open CL? Isn't Open CL going to boost rendering speeds via the graphics card somewhere in the not to distant future? It might make the beefier card a worthwhile investment.

What does that mean? Is it a problem with Vectorworks when running under 10.6 that NNA can fix in the next SP or something that can only be addressed by an OS update by Apple?

I'm on the mac, not windows, and I don't have 2010 yet. I don't typically need to perform heavy modelling operations either. So even if parasolids isn't multiprocessor enabled, it wouldn't present a bottleneck in my workflow.

Shaun, From the BimParasolids 2009 PDF: "Vectorworks features multiprocessor support for the Windows? operating system; multiprocessor support for Mac OS X (10.5 Leopard) will be announced in the near future." As it turns out the near future was 2010 and as I understand it this is simply the reality of modular software. As a result the mac side is more likely to suffer late implementation due to its considerably smaller market share not windows. Third party developers are going to put their eggs into the biggest basket first. So be it, parasolids is obviously advancing Vectorworks significantly.

I assume that list of features you (1D2D3D_4D) posted is one you generated and is not available or properly detailed anywhere? It's a little odd that N.N.A. has had their press event to release the details of 2010 without posting any official literature or details to the general populous. All this interim chatter, albeit well intentioned, coming from multiple sources trying to "unofficially" explain the details of 2010 serves what? Controlled confusion? Deliberate dissipation? Did their trumpets catch a dose of the Dali's and go limp in the breeze?

What other software do you call "general modellers"? If you list a few "general modellers" you place in the same class as Vectorworks Architect's for comparison, then your statement may be easier to understand or seem less controversial.

1D2D3D _4D, where did you find the list of new features?

Oops! Just assumed given the timing.

The drums are rolling over at Architosh.

Everyone's probably being a little cautious with the purse strings right now. This is one of the aspects that makes the Cineversity model so compelling, it's FREE! It's free to become a member and get access to a vast array of tutorials that cover most aspect of using Cinema 4D. Where the subscription model steps in is with a second tier of tutorials that delve into advanced use and techniques. You don't need to subscribe until you're looking to move to that level. Adopting the "Cineversity" model would provide potential switchers with pre-purchase confidence and make learning the software blisteringly fast. It would also provides trainers like Jonathan an interactive forum to collectively spruik their wares and respond to user requests. I know Jonathan is already doing much of this but IMHO it would be more effective for everyone to have all the resources and skills floating around the Vectorworks community pooled into a single place.

What Vectorworks needs is a "Vectorversity" forum, sponsored by N.N.A., equivalent to the Maxon sponsored Cineversity where tutors like Jonathan can pool and build a subscription based video resource.

Thanks again. C4d arrives Monday along with a steep learning curve I expect. The dealer put me onto the Maxon sponsored Cineversity which looks like an excellent training resource.

If you own a similar type of software (I have Lightwave) they're offering Cinema 4D at a 50% discount until the end of the month. This is through Adimex in Australia, you may need to find your local distributor. Qualifying Applications for CINEMA 4D: ? 3ds Max ? 3ds Max Design ? Amapi Pro ? Artlantis Render ? Artlantis Studio ? Carrara Pro ? Form-Z ? Houdini Escape ? Houdini Master ? LightWave 3D ? Maya Complete ? Maya Unlimited ? Modo ? Rhino ? Shade Pro ? Softimage for BodyPaint 3D: ? Deep Paint 3D ? Mudbox ? ZBrush

Thanks Mr. Gog. I haven't used layer links but it sounds easy and efficient compared to the solution in the review. There's a sidegrade deal on C4D at the moment and I've been sniffing around for info and reviews. I'd also like to know if you think stepping out of Vectorworks for presentations adds a significant amount time to the process compared to relying on Vectorworks/Renderworks alone?

An Architosh review of Cinema 4D talks about "round-trip fidelity" in reference to exchanging model information and updates with Archicad and Vectorworks, but then goes on to suggest that you need to have everything on one layer to export the model to C4D from Vectorworks. They say they were confused by a reference to layer linking which no longer exists but everything on one layer doesn't sound right or workable. Is it correct or has the reviewer missed something?

The wall in the picture needs to have its sides reversed. To do that you select the wall and click the reverse sides button in the object info palette. There is also a component join tool for walls which will allow you to customise a join between two walls.

NAA would probably already know if older versions of Vectorworks will be compatible with OSX 10.6. as a developer. Snow Leopard does coincide nicely with NAA release cycle. Hopefully we will see the discussed features like the 64 bitty thing and Open CL boost rendering speeds significantly in Vectorworks 2010.

I'd also like to see Renderwork make a leap forward. I like having everything in the one place and even if you do invest in a third party package for concept presentations I still think Renderworks is necessary for working drawings. Shadows and textures work wonders on elevations and sections. If Renderworks featured some of the suggestions above it would be exceptional value at twice the price. Even if it evolved into Renderworks standard and a premium option with the inclusion of a renderer like vray at an additional cost it would still be a better solution than the inherent issues and complexities of going to a third party package IMHO.

Thanks mike. Sorry David.

I have one in my basic tools palette shown below. Not sure if it's in all versions though, I'm using the VWA 2008 OzCad edition. If it's not visible in your Basic Tools Palette check under the other line tools or in the workspace editor.

Oh! My guess is it's a 2008 Renderworks feature then. I only discovered it myself not so long ago trying to get around the same problem with wood textures.

It would be good if a texture image could be rotated when imported where the Tile, Filter, and Softness settings are. To add to Peter's suggestion, which I use, vectorworks has an easy option for exporting a texture's source image for editing. If you right click a texture in the resource browser there is an option there called extract image. iphoto makes a good rotate, crop and colour editor.

It's not incorrect either way, it's just a result of which direction the Surveyor sites along a boundary. Another little trick is to stick with the survey bearing and just enter the boundary distance as a negative value. Frank, a useful addition to the property line tool would be the ability to choose the unit value that the property line displays from the PIO. At the moment you have to change the Units of the drawing to have it report in meters while the rest of the drawing may need to be in millimeters.

These 2 threads have been very interesting, but Chistiaan, if you don?t feel your comments have had a VW vs ArchiCAD focus, I think you're kidding yourself, that?s how your comments read to me. By differentiating ?general 3D modeller? and ?building modeller? you?re placing these two softwares into two distinctly different categories, which I don?t get. Lightwave, Modo and the like are general 3D modellers, VWA and ArchiCAD are definitely building modellers, just with different approaches and at different points in their evolution. If you?re looking for higher efficiency / dollars and you believe ArchiCAD can deliver for your team, I don?t understand why your office wouldn?t quarantine suitable projects and be running them through on a single edition of ArchiCAD to see if there?s proof in that pudding. I?m not at the big end of town but my experience of switching from a CAD environment to Vectorworks a couple years back has been very positive. I use the OzCad edition of VWA and have invested plenty of time into customising libraries and developing templates to suit my preferences and work. The ability to build VWA around my own requirements I regarded as one of the strengths of VW. I?m very sceptical of your ?flexibility is overrated? argument. I've moved from AutoCAD to 3D modelling with considerable amounts of integrated data that I pull directly from the model now, I have vastly improved presentations (straight from the model as well), I encounter far fewer errors and have a workflow that allows me to design as I go. Of coarse, I hope VWA is going to improve, add features and functionality, but expecting VWA to turn into ArchiCAD seems unrealistic when the two products will always compete by defining their own approaches to BIM, each of which are likely to provide a better fit to different parts of the industry.