User base misconceptions in this forum

[Petri]

The so far undisputed truth is that only some 30% of VW users reside in the U.S. of A. This forum does not therefore reflect the majority of the user base. The majority of VW users are subsidising the development of various add-ons that are relevant only in the U.S.A., paying for NNA presence in "trade shows" in the U.S.A. and so on.

What's the point of this rant? Well, perhaps nothing in particular, but maybe to let at least someone to know that this forum is not a true representation of VW users globally.

For you smug Yankees & Dixies, I wish the best of luck in the German or Hungarian -language Nemetschek AG forums (not to mention the phone support from Kerala) in the near future. (Goulash is a soup, not a stew. P?rk?lt, on the other hand, is a stew. Say cheers from me to Istvan The Gray at the "Apostolok" in Budapest and order the carp soup - it is fantastic!)

In case the support person in Kerala or Tamil Nadu has a really good recipe for a sambar or poriyal, please let me know. There's always something wrong in my system.

And a Happy New Year to everyone - almost forgot that.

Edited December 30, 2006 by Petri

[jbrhwy]

Petri

What about those of us that do not need walls, roofs, slabs, insulation, chairs, etc, but use it for site drawings (starting to use the 3-D capability so I can keep track of all those underground utilities)? For my purposes it would be great if NNA would put there effort into improving road design tools, COGO tools, DTM & offseting polylines, actually all tools that struggle to handle objects with UTM coordinates.

Nice to know that all those tools & features that I am paying for, but don't need, is actually a subsidy for american building designers.

In the interest of world peace I will live with it, all the best to everyone for the New Year.

ps VectorWorks is still the best software for my work.

[alanmac]

I think its a misconception to believe a forum represents a user base.

I know many users of software, not just Vectorworks, who never visit, look at or sign up to any forum related to the software they use.

So at best it represents a view of some of its users and the

various aspects, problems, situations they encounter whilst using the software.

As for the remarks about subsidising the development of plug ins only of use for the American market is, in my opinion tenuous.

I use the basic version and as you can see from my signature I'm still using older versions. The reason for this is when upgrades are released I find most of the new features that I may actually use don't come with the basic version.

So I could quite easily say my upgrading of the basic version is subsidising the work on specialised versions I don't even need to use.

At the end of the day I really don't know what you hope to achieve from your post.

I doubt if it would bring about a change in how NNA does business, and certainly as part of the Nemetschek group it has to work in conjuction with the groups overall plans.

We can only second guess what the purchase of Archicad and its addition to the group will mean in the future.

Maybe its a case of here are three products in the area of CAD, Allplan, Archicad and Vectorworks. As a user you have a choice of three product lines to suit your individual requirements and budget.

On balance I'm happy to continue to use VW as my CAD program of choice and believe whilst, as with all things, there is room for improvement, it's still a great product.

Happy New Year

Alan

[P Retondo]

Regardless of the points made here, this forum is an extremely useful tool for me, and, I hope, for NNA and others. The input from those who have contributed to this thread is most particularly valued, along with many others who have contributed valuable insights and advice.

So all I have to say is "Thanks" and hope that the New Year brings more of the same.

[Damon Design]

I second that notion!

A lot of us have used VW for years and yet will still come up against something that just isn't working for some reason or another-usually we just haven't tackled that particular problem before. A query posted on this group usually brings helpful answers quickly and with no attitude about the apparent obviousness of the solution.

Regardless of where you are residing, thank you for your help!

Happy New Year!

[Petri]

This is all exactly right!

The point, if any, was however that if NNA takes its cues for future development from these discussions and American trade shows, they get the wrong picture.

While the national distributors obviously bring the feedback they get to the attention of powers that be, these powers are only human. The voice of many is easily more effective than the voice of a few, although these few might represent thousands of users.

[Petri]

What about those of us that do not need walls, roofs, slabs, insulation, chairs, etc, but use it for site drawings (starting to use the 3-D capability so I can keep track of all those underground utilities)?

Indeed. If it is any consolation, the "industry series" are a move to this direction. Obviously removing the basic wall, floor etc tools from "Fundamentals" would be pointless. However, the new, quite sophisticated, wall style system is only in the Architect and Designer -versions and this is probably how things go in the future.

An even more modular system would be nice, but I'm not sure how cost-effective it would actually be to distribute. Unfortunately, 3rd party development is not really working in the VW-world.

Edited December 31, 2006 by Petri