to renew or not to renew (that is the question)

[Gadzooks]

12 hours ago, Jonathan Pickup said:

It is cheaper in the long run to have Vectorworks up to date, rather than paying the price of not having tools that you need. 

 

How do tools that don't work factor into your continued support of VW Jonathan?

[Jonathan Pickup]

9 minutes ago, Gadzooks said:

 

How do tools that don't work factor into your continued support of VW Jonathan?

was there supposed to be a link to show which tools don't work?

[Gadzooks]

4 minutes ago, Jonathan Pickup said:

was there supposed to be a link

 

No - Just emphasis.

I think most forum members will know which tools I mean.

 

Edited September 3, 2018 by Gadzooks
explanation

[Ross Harris]

Exactly - I’m getting frustrated with consistent freezing, crashing where it just vanishes - I’ve had to set 5m auto backup intervals because it’s so random. I moved a slab in small project today and it hung - tried the same thing a few different ways an the only thing that fixed it was saving with a new name!! 

Sketch lines on forground hidden line now refuse to show on new projects... I have to turn sketch off to get hidden lines back, custom render works will all of a sudden stop working properly until I restart VW.... the callout tool that was ‘enhanced’ a version or two back was nothing short of half baked... the ‘sticky’...I could go on. When it goes, it runs great... until it starts slowing down...

i’m 99.9% certain my issues aren’t the pc... I still have a Revit license to maintain for the last Revit project nearing completion and have been using a colleagues spare archicad seat to see if the grass is greener, both softwares run great to the point of ultimately reliable...

[Gadzooks]

2 minutes ago, Aspect_Design said:

see if the grass is greener

 

Always a difficult call.

 

If only VW would 'turn around' the failing tools rather than messing around hunting for the next 'fanfare feature'

 

Such a pity that the commercial pressures so hugely influence the ongoing product development over fixing some well known problems.

 

I'm a huge fan of VW since MiniCad, and, like others, prefer the devil I know! I just have to learn the workarounds and thats why this forum is one of the best 'features' of VW 😍

 

 

 

[michael john williams]

For example, unworkable large file sizes.

 

For instance sketch facility making the files so large and in affect unworkable. Other programmes such as Sketchup do not have a problem. The sketch mode was the main reason we purchased Vectorworks. In retrospect we should have purchased Sketchup. For instance file size of 50 mb for 2D sketch drawings of a small house. I don’t know how larger practices cope with larger schemes.

 

Also file size increasing significantly when adding pdfs or images [low res] into a vw file. 

 

You can not submit online for planning approval such large file sizes and indeed generally email to clients, consultants and builders. 

 

Viewports taking too long to update.

 

Frequently vw 'not responding'

 

Our pcs are high spec, and well over the min requirements, and so this should not be a problem for a CAD programme.

[line-weight]

1 hour ago, michael john williams said:

For example, unworkable large file sizes.

 

For instance sketch facility making the files so large and in affect unworkable. Other programmes such as Sketchup do not have a problem. The sketch mode was the main reason we purchased Vectorworks. In retrospect we should have purchased Sketchup. For instance file size of 50 mb for 2D sketch drawings of a small house. I don’t know how larger practices cope with larger schemes.

 

Also file size increasing significantly when adding pdfs or images [low res] into a vw file. 

 

You can not submit online for planning approval such large file sizes and indeed generally email to clients, consultants and builders. 

 

Viewports taking too long to update.

 

Frequently vw 'not responding'

 

Our pcs are high spec, and well over the min requirements, and so this should not be a problem for a CAD programme.

 

All these problems I recognise too. Add in:

Push pull tool not finding faces.

Renderworks viewports blacking out until file reopened/VW restarted

Inability to neatly edit linework in hidden line viewports

Basic tools like door, window, stairs having significant limitations which haven't been addressed over many updates

Structural member tool doesn't work properly (correct me if I'm out of date and it's all fixed now)

General slowness and glitchiness with screen redraws, phantom selection highlighting and so on

 

I really do hope that VW have gone some way to addressing all this with VW2019.

[Ross Harris]

9 hours ago, line-weight said:

I really do hope that VW have gone some way to addressing all this with VW2019

Hopefully! Jim has commented the focus on 2019 was quality... but after 3 service packs and still the issues prevail, it points to larger issues in the software that can’t be fixed by patching. I really do hope 2019 is a stellar release... but on the flip side, Aus/NZ customers are gonna have to wait 2-3 months to update after release for it to be ‘localised’.

11 hours ago, Gadzooks said:

Always a difficult call.

Certainly is - and there have been times when I’ve wondered if I’d done the right thing coming from Revit. Little things like the the callout tool, the laborious way to add additional dimensions... which become big things after a while. My right click menu has become stupidly big to get around some of the issues and save my hand (I’ve already got a trackball to combat RSI). 

Having to make a decision to buy into a platform and workflow in the demo period is always a push - VW has some amazing tools that have made my life much better, but not being able to fully assess the impact of things like manual viewport updates and general instability leaves a taste in the mouth when the quirks and issues start to overtake productivity.

I’m possibly setting up an office with three other designers and a planner; two of them use Archicad, the other on Revit looking to change. There will be no question where he will go when he sees the issues I have, and as much as I‘ve talked up the good points of VW, especially when I start swearing on multiple crashes, blacked out renders and getting coffee every time I need to render viewports... So it’s looking more and more like I’ll need to upskill to be able to share the workload between colleagues- 2019 will almost be a deal breaker if it’s a lemon.

 

Edited September 3, 2018 by Aspect_Design

[line-weight]

1 hour ago, Aspect_Design said:

 larger issues in the software that can’t be fixed by patching.

 

Yup I feel like that's where we are at present.

[michael john williams]

Reckon its too late for 2019....it will be out in a couple of months! But these issues and concerns have been voiced before so hopefully vw has taken notice this time.

[ptoner]

As a large office, we also have been experiencing the above issues and more. Its really not acceptable. Also being on Apple machines, we have the impending removal of OpenGL, which VW does not seem to the addressing, constant SMB issues, that both Apple and Vectorworks needs to resolve. Apple also removing AFP support in their next major update. 
We have had issues like this for months, with no decent feedback/solutions. I doubt they will be listened too and in 2019.

[Neil Barman]

On 9/3/2018 at 2:17 AM, Aspect_Design said:

I’m getting frustrated with consistent freezing, crashing where it just vanishes...

@Aspect_Design If you are indeed still running VW2018 SP1 as your forum signature states, it would be good to update to SP4.

[rgcn]

On 9/2/2018 at 11:18 PM, michael john williams said:

I foresee no major improvements in 2019 so the question arises again. However we have renewed VSS for another year but more out of loyalty and with the hope there will be a significant improvement in speed and performance as a preference over add ons. Also as a VSS subscriber more exclusive tutorials and training and advice for free. Currently you can get all this training and advice on the web for free without VSS and get the licence every 3 years at a competitive price. So what is the advantage?

 

Rather than the web training should be local in the UK rather than just in London and be more than a few tutorials.

 

@michael john williams Are you using 2015 as per your signature, or are you currently running 2018?  As there have been significant improvements since 2015.  Also, if you have been watching the teaser tuesday info by JimW? You will see that they are indeed working on performance within 2019.

 

Rob

 

[michael john williams]

2018.

[Ross Harris]

9 hours ago, NeilB said:

@Aspect_Design If you are indeed still running VW2018 SP1 as your forum signature states, it would be good to update to SP4.

I’m on SP4  ... after a long wait for it to be localised

[line-weight]

Well. I decided NOT to renew this year, meaning no versions beyond 2018 for me until I decide it looks like there's something worth paying for.

 

Reading these forums over the past couple of weeks makes me think I made the right decision.

Edited September 26, 2018 by line-weight

[Gadzooks]

@line-weight Exactly - Me too.

 

'Emperor's new clothes' 

[michael john williams]

'image effects' on viewports is the best bit so far. Saves time trying different render modes and waiting for viewports to update and render and the occasional crash on more complex renders.

 

 

 

[line-weight]

I thought this was an interesting reason to upgrade to 2019, sent to me in a VW promotional email:

 

 

So 2019 is "drastically more stable" than 2018?

[michael john williams]

well, and despite support, our vw 2019 keeps crashing.....so no improvements there in stability!

[Christiaan]

10 hours ago, line-weight said:

I thought this was an interesting reason to upgrade to 2019, sent to me in a VW promotional email:

 

 

So 2019 is "drastically more stable" than 2018?

 

In the past year 2018 did become drastically more stable. v2018 started off pretty well as it was but v2018 SP4, SP5 and SP6 are some of the most stable versions of VW I've used. So we're watching this space because if there was one feature that allowed us to hit one of the biggest deadlines our practice has ever had (before Christmas), it's stability.

Edited January 7, 2019 by Christiaan

[michael john williams]

I guess you have not got 2019 yet? I must admit we did not see improved stability in 2018. Its nice having the little add ons and improvements each year but not without stability. Like you say stability and avoiding 'not responding' or crashes is priority and other advancements come second.

[ptoner]

We continue to see stability on or 30+ workstations with VW2018, on OSX 10.13 machines.

 
Both VW 2018 & 2019 on OSX 10.14 cannot be used a a daily driver. Why too many bugs and Apple themselves say the software is not supported with a pop up warning when running VW2019 SP2. 
So I am waiting for a version that is not as buggy, before upgrading all the companies workstations to Mojave and VW 2019. Any word yet?

EDIT: Adequate testing with open betas is required, in actual working environments, cause these bugs should have all been identified and sorted long ago IMO. 

Edited January 7, 2019 by ptoner

[line-weight]

2 hours ago, Christiaan said:

 

In the past year 2018 did become drastically more stable. v2018 started off pretty well as it was but v2018 SP4, SP5 and SP6 are some of the most stable versions of VW I've used. So we're watching this space because if there was one feature that allowed us to hit one of the biggest deadlines our practice has ever had (before Christmas), it's stability.

 

I can't say I've noticed any 'drastic' changes in stability over the course of 2018. But the statement from VW is part of '10 reasons to upgrade to 2019'. The clear implication being that going from 2018 to 2019 will provide a significant improvement in stability. That's not the impression I've got from the many comments on this forum, but do they provide a misleading picture of the reality?

 

I've not upgraded to 2019 myself.

[Markvl]

All of our new projects are now on 2019 and I can say I haven't experienced the crashing that others have noted.