jhutchison Posted January 30, 2003 Share Posted January 30, 2003 I am having a difficult time deciding whether to stick with Vectorworks or to purchase Archicad. Don't get me wrong, I think Vectorworks is an absolutely fantastic program, and the tech support site is excellent. My concerns are that I am an Architect (sole practitioner for now) , and find that the ability to quickly comunicate 3d changes in my building model to my clients, while continuing efficient 2d documentation of the project is like pulling teeth. Vectorworks models well, and the drafting environment is fantastic. But the integration of the two is very poor. I used Archicad for a few years back in 96, 97, and 98, and quite honestly it's model and documentation hybrid environment was far superior back then than VWA is even today. The cost is really not an issue. If I made the move, I am sure the cost would offset itself in coordination productivilty. My main concern is speed and support. I use mac OS X, and VWA works fantastically on it. It is very fast. I have heard that Archicad is slow on mac, but that may only be because people don't have good video cards, etc...I don't know. Does anyone have any experience using both programs? Any thoughts on the subject? Thanks in advance for any input. Quote Link to comment
Guest Posted January 30, 2003 Share Posted January 30, 2003 I've heard of alot of problems with the new version of ArchiCad, especially on the mac end. They are have some issues with compatibility with Carbon Lib and OS 10, similar to what we had when VW 9 was released. * This is based on what I've heard from customers that have left ArchieCad to come over to the VW world. There are ArchiCad boards on the internet if you look for them. You can read thru those and see what types of problems people are having with ArchiCad 8. [ 01-29-2003, 12:56 PM: Message edited by: Katie ] Quote Link to comment
jfmarch Posted January 30, 2003 Share Posted January 30, 2003 If money is no issue, than switching to archicad is a no-brainer. i haven't used archicad, but my understanding is that is is an excellent design and drafting program that is quite expensive. as i've said in the past, VW is excellent for what is is and its cost. i used to work on autocad (from 1995 to 1998), and i would NEVER go back. I am not sure what you mean by poor integration between 2d and 3d. i'm presuming you mean hot-linking plans and elevations/sections. yes, that would be nice, but vw doesn't do that. so i work around it, and use vw for what it can do for the price. we find the modelling capabilities quite good, and communicating 3d changes very well, although its mostly for our own benefit. good luck with archicad... Quote Link to comment
Stephen Posted January 31, 2003 Share Posted January 31, 2003 We looked at Archetrion and Archicad in the mid 90's. My feeling at the time was that they were great for solid modeling, but not for handling windows, doors, wall compositions, etc. I tend to do a lot of laptop revisions when with a client, but there is a point where I stop because the effort wil be too much for a normal meeting. This is because I can work in such detail in VW, even placing 3D rafters in certain cases. Making revisions through all that detail can be impractical, I agree. On the other hand, VW 3D drafting is so much faster than 2D or hand drawing, and I can get such beautiful drawings that I have no desire to switch. Window and door tools are fantastic, Also, the 3D modeling of a layer link with the walk thru's and isometric views are incredibly useful to a client, and frankly to me. The hardest thing for me is going from layer link to section and elevation views. The clean up is onerous, although MUCH improved. Placing siding, etc. is time consuming as well. And how could I expect the machine to anticipate my particular wishes for line weights, etc. I am fussy about that. I would be interested in knowing how these other programs handle the issues I have mentioned. Oh yes, I have a job which requires Autocad translations. Once through the particular hoops, the task is quite easy and produced quite good output to Autocad results. I think coming back to VW is less successful if you are trying to bring in 3D, but I really have never been sent a 3D ACAD file, so I don't really know. I always do a lot of actual design in VW, as well. I love this program. Quote Link to comment
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