Google Sketchup Pro 7 is out
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A little too much negativity here IMO. Parametric components will be spectacular. Think about it, you will be able to add more and more detail to your buildings really easily with cool components downloaded from the 3D Warehouse. Roof trusses, balustrades, curtain walling, even arrays of roof tiles.
I like the ability to easily get 3DW content in and out of your models - nice.
I don't use LayOut (although I am a long time Pro user) but it really needed improving, and I hope it is really usable now.
I speak to lots of people who want to draw up plans for their own houses. When their requirements are simple, recommending a CAD package is way OTT. SU and Layout might be perfect for them. Unfortunately LayOut isn't with the free version though.I don't want to gloss over the not so good omissions though. There has been a lot of mention of multi-core. This is misleading IMO. The key thing is the speed and ease of handling large and complex models.
Google has given the wonderfully easy to use toolbox with which we can make anything we want. Yet the more we play with it, the more unusable it becomes. Each time they release an update, they give us more cool stuff to add more complexity, but don't address the speed issue. So we can add as much detail as we want to our scenes, and do it really easily as well and navigate in textured, shaded 3D with shadows - or not.
This brings us onto the shadow bug. Let's face it, you probably knew this was going to crop up
Coen keeps telling us (ad nauseam) that it's a legal issue. Well - yes, and no. Carmack's reverse and its technology is a legal issue. Getting around it with a different approach isn't. How many other 3d apps have this problem? None that I am aware of. If other applications can make it work Google should be able to as well.I think part of the problem is that the Google guys only work on small models that aren't particularly complex. This must be true because I'm quite sure if they found, like I do that with even fairly smallish models with lots of detail get very slow to manipulate and update on screen with shadows and textures on - and I have an 8 core Mac Pro!
This is fair, after all, they aren't design professionals working with horrendously complex models. However they do need to get to grips with what a large segment of their market uses it tools for. The fact that so many of use have been asking about speed when dealing with complex models and shadows, mean that these things are really important for us and genuinely do need fixing. Google - we aren't idly b*tching, we really need this stuff!
In summary, some nice tools that may well change the way we work with SU, but because core functionality needs improving, they may well show up some fundamental limitations of the application. For me 6/10
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Hmm, so far something between enthusiasm and disappointment, this so long awaited update. Some nice improvements indeed.
Has anyone already tried the framerate-testfile by Jackson?
I don't know if it's because of my SU7 isn't pumped up with so many plugins or if its better because of being better.
On my really old and soon replaced P4 machine I had 8.5 fps with SU 6 and 11.9 fps with SU 7. Anyone else experienced this """improvement"""?SU-FPS-testfile by Jackson (thanks again for this!): http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/download/file.php?id=11732
It was mentioned to repeat the test for three times.An effort?
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%(#800000)[Guys, gods, programmes, and eager fans!!!!! whyyyyy!!!
i lying on the ground, and really still cant understand why..
We provve to google it can do it, we proove to google, this program can push boundaries quite far, and all we asked was for multi core and higher poly support. And what do we get...a program with plugins all these fabulous people already made. these were the main issues, why not look at them, but instead make so much of a fuss not saying nothing about how the progress, how this program will perform, ect. Im soo dissappointed. Hearing that this is not happening, i didnt even bother to download it. Now people will turm more and more away to other programs, even to bonzai, because they seem to be doing the same, but their programs can handle more punch. why chase away their supporters. We do not all just build crappy blocks for google earth to show a client hey this is how yours building will sit in a city ect. Yes its a nice feature, but we wanted more. We broke our backs to ask for it. If its no better than su 6, not faster, why should we download the demo, or buy it. If someone from google themslef can explain this to us, i would be really grateful. (if im out of line here, sorry, but im really upset)] -
It seems that you can download the free version of Sketchup 7 now:
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just sad that no one care about this...
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@silver_shadow said:
color=#800000 Im soo dissappointed. (...)
I understand your dissapointment. Yet, we have to move on, and look at the possibilities we have. I'm seriously considering switching partly to modo. Which means that I'll be doing basic modeling in SU, and further detailing, texturing etc in modo. Been trying this approach out, and it works great.
What I mean is: SU's great at some things, let's use it for those then.
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Just bought it, now off to see what its like...
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thanx coen for the clarification.
I did not gave up on su, i love su more than any other 3d application on the whole market hands down.I am just a bit sour, and yes, im geting the blue eye for the team who feels the same, but do not want to say that. Yes all these features are awesome, and i love how these programmers bended sketchup so it actually could do sooo much more than enyone have ever expected it could go. I also understand where you come from, and i do not have issues.
i just wanted to see this happen, and it never happened, we needed that soo much and its just sad. I even made jokes, saying..wow i just hope..maybe su 7 will come out while im working on another high poly model, high poly support and dual core processing would be so great. I love its simplicity, (having these features would nt have changed any of its simplicity, just so much more of an awesome program) thats all.. i can stand up and say at least 50% of this forum would aslo say, its would have been so awesome if that was programmed into it. (in the end, we dont want to use multiple programs to do awesome stuff, why not stick to su all the time) -
I just made some orbits with my model of Roman Theatre (2.000.000 faces). I believe that I saw a small increment in speed. But it's something subjective. I use a q6600 with 4 cpus and I see that there are not improvements in that field. It would have helped me a lot.
Perhaps Dynamic Components may have helped me when I was modelling the cavea (the seats). I don't know if they work well with curves as I haven't tested it.
Textures are sharper, but to be honest, I usually render the model with kerkythea and I don't know if this would influence the final result in kerky.
These are my first impressions.
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Ermmm....
http://sketchup.google.com/product/gsup.html
Starting at 1:09, is that a component cutting a wall with thickness, or is that just wishful thinking on my part?
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mmmmmm
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I was a bit embarassed looking at SU7 in the office (I relocated to Perth Australia recently and am working for a 'boss' now in a 60 people arch firm). As a co-worker and I imported a parametric car component, we started playing with the options (turning tires, clicking the hood to change color,etc..) and we just started laughing. This is toy stuff. 'Parametric' could be a good feature for self made components though...
Unfortunately.......
we weren't able to explain to the executives what benefits the new SU7 has over the old version. The shadow bug is still a bug.(animation with shadows switched 'on' gives rubbish output)
Bugsplats still occur on large files containing 3D trees (e.g Xfrog).There are some good things...
overlapping intersections is good for dxf/dwg imports of CAD plans and the unique texture thing can come in handy although it needs the extra things Plot Paris mentioned.The price for the update is right. 95 dollar is what I can imagine paying for 2 or 3 good plugins Whaat would make.
The update could easily be called 6.X though.I'll be patiently waiting for SU 8.
@Google: Please solve the real workflow issues(High poly,64 bit)in next release even when it would make SU a 1000 dollar piece of software.
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Hey Kwisty! Welcome to OZ!!
Coen.....
Stu wrote:
Baz, I can operate ACAD LT in my sleep and from the reports coming in about Layout 2, dont throw away your cad apps yet"I don't get this statement. The reports coming in from layOut 2 are overall positive (in fact I haven't seen one negative thing about it). So why would you not want to throw away your other drafting apps yet? Doesn't make sense to me."
I havent had a good look at Layout yet and as I mentioned above Im happy with the CAD app in using now but I have seen it stated by a respected CAD using architect that he's not taking Layout seriously as a CAD app as it cant do dimensions.
But from what you know from the Beta forum, all the ACAD, Vectorworks, ArchiCAD using architects and CAD jockeys there have ditched that stuff in favour of Layout??
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@unknownuser said:
Okay, let the ranting continue. The more you rant, the more I will prove you all wrong.
SketchUp 7 RULES!I'm very interested in seeing an more in depth article to the changes in SU7. Because I'm one of them that's finding it hard to stop the big changes. Best thing I've seen is the dynamic components. But I'm wondering if that's something that would have worked just as fine in SU6 as it's a ruby script. Then you got the minor things. But I can't shake the feeling that this is SU6.5. Whatever changes has been made to Layout and Style Builder doesn't interest me, because I can do fine without them. Big changes to them doesn't justify a larger SU number. (And I felt that Layout 1 was a beta product, so Layout 2 is what I consider Layout 1.)
I know that the ASGVis people, making the V-Ray plugin, has been struggling to get all info about the model processed by the render engine. Has there been big changes under the hood that unleashes more control to third parties?
I'd really really like to know what makes for the major version update.
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Please quieter
, it seems we are frightened all team 
and they go to dArk siDe of matter, young Skywoker
AD, you know what's AD
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The major release was due to a number of reasons. Possibly just and only marketing related.
The time since last release was a major one, the other one was that they thought that by giving a point release would be too discouraging to the community. Let's admit it... it is a point release status. Nowhere near the release anyone expects, even the developers themselves shouldn't consider this a proper major release.To the people wanting high-poly support and shadow bug gone: The toolbar arranging bug isn't still solved! Give it a try!
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There are new icons! horray!
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Dynamic Components! Great ruby script it could have gone on the market on its own,... to interfere it with the Sketchup releases. It had already started to happen from the community... take a look a the dynamic dimensions ruby.
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Layout! Wonderful!,... although if they could actually see some usage statistics they'd probably ditch the whole project.
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Style Builder! nice!... again, offer it as an addon. Don't package it with the main distribution of SketchUp.
Yes I am being hard. But you know what I've been waiting for a long time for this release and what I basically see is a big excuse,... and this is from an end user. there is no other feedback to see. It was a long journey waiting for Sketchup 7 and from what I can see there was nothing worth waiting 2 years for.
Now I am feeling betrayed because I have suggested Sketchup to a number of people myself. I think that I haven't really pushed them to the right choice of software. Sketchup is taking a wrong direction.
The trial I downloaded surely isn't a Pro version of anything. I remain at the 6.x versions until further notice of improvement, I'd also like to see the scripters continue to develop on the 6.x version so that Google sees what has happened and quickly amend this. The less the community embraces this the better and quicker the next release will be,... note this down.
The old king is dead,... long live the same-old king!
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@thomthom said:
I know that the ASGVis people, making the V-Ray plugin, has been struggling to get all info about the model processed by the render engine. Has there been big changes under the hood that unleashes more control to third parties?
This is an interesting point and question, Tom.
Plugins (and the ability of SU to communicate with them) started with SU 4 (although I didn't use it then only since SU 5) but what I know is that they have been adding different (and more and more) possibilities to SU to be able to communicate via plugins.
One big step forward was webdialogs in SU 6 (afaik) which opened a whole new arena for plugin developers and we can all see and enjoy this. It must have included some hard work on the SU backend and base code as well.
Now I can nimagine (but of course do not know since I am a total non-scripter) the same with DC's; they wouldn't work in SU 6 because they had to change the base code of SU in order that they can operate.
Obviously we don't know yet what other doors are opened now for newrs plugins but hopeully the gurus will discover that area as well. Tomasz already found one and hopefully he will be able to exploit it for the su2kt exporter - just to be specific with a render engine as a 3rd party software.
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What is exactly the "Shadow bug"?
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@stu said:
@baz said:
@stu said:
I just cant think of a good reason to spend that $180AUD or so....Anybody?
hi stu, I havent tried v7 yet, but if the improvements to layout are as they say, it will be worth the 180 for that alone, i hope to throw the other cad apps away for ever!
baz
Baz, I can operate ACAD LT in my sleep and from the reports coming in about Layout 2, dont throw away your cad apps yet
well I wont of course, but I live in hope and anyway I have to wait for chief australia to get up to speed with the update.
baz -
You can witness the Shadow Bug in all its glory in the following picture. The red circle is my edit. BTW this is from the Sketchup 7 demo.
This has to do with the camera frustrum clipping volume and the shadows calculations.I also found this post from past May,... I am really annoyed now... http://bit.ly/AjoH
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