Bonzai 3D First Impressions

thomthom · 9 Feb 2009, 14:17

I experience crashing every time after about 30 seconds. I only have enough time to make a cube and draw a couple of lines on it.

Windows XP Pro 32bit, Intel Core2 Duo, 4GB RAM, Quadro FX 3500. 169.96 drivers. I had 181.20, but they lead to terrible performance in SU and would crash when I started two SU instances.

bonzai3d support · 9 Feb 2009, 16:04

Gentlemen,

A number of you mention that you get "instant crashes" after launching bonzai3D. We have found one potential cause of this problem can be certain Windows Customization settings. If you are having this problem, right click on your desktop, select Properties: Appearance: Font Size, is this set to Normal? If not, does setting this to Normal fix the problem?

If you still have trouble, if you go to Display Properties: Themes: and choose a standard theme (such as Windows XP, or Windows Classic) does this fix the problem?

We have also found that it is possible to get a "trial copy expired" message to appear when you are not connected to the internet. We are working hard to get both of these issues (as well as a number of others) fixed as soon as possible.

We also hope to add support for SketchUp 7 format files soon. (As you have discovered, use SKP 6 format until then.)

Please let us know if you have any further questions, suggestions, or problems by emailing us at support@bonzai3d.com , or by posting on our forum: http://www.bonzai3d.com/beta_forum.html

All the best,

bonzai3d Support

xrok1 · 10 Feb 2009, 01:26

@mike lucey said:

@lewiswadsworth said:

it's not what a program can do, it's what a person can comfortably do with the program

Lewis, you never said a truer word

Mike

Its a combination of both

bonzai3d support · 10 Feb 2009, 20:18

Gentlemen,

Glad that most of you are liking bonzai3d so far! We have been working hard, and we are pleased to announce that bonzai3d public beta update (build 7194) is now available. To access this, please click the link below:

(bonzai3d.com)

This update fixes a few critical problems in the bonzai3d public beta build 7188. Future updates will be available through the "Check For Update" item in the Help menu.

Fixed issues include:

Crash on Windows with certain display font settings.
Crash at startup when an internet connection is not present.
Crash when attempting to view Introductory Videos when an internet connection is not present.
Video audio not stopping when the video window is closed.

As noted, this patch addresses these critical problems. We expect to release more patches frequently via the automatic update process to fix the rest of the issues that have been reported.

If you have not yet downloaded the beta version, you can download this new updated version by filling out this short form:

(bonzai3d.com)

We are also working on a number of performance enhancements that will be implemented soon.

Thanks again for your reports. Let us know if you find anything further, and let there b3d!

support@bonzai3d.com

Mike Lucey · 11 Feb 2009, 11:23

Does anyone know what price will Bonzai3D be when launched? I have downloaded and had a little 'play' with it on the Mac .... and NO, its didn't crash

I see no indication of price and was a bit disappointed as I thought this should be indicated.

Mike

altap · 11 Feb 2009, 12:18

Hi!

the answer is maybe here

solo · 11 Feb 2009, 12:25

hmmm, $500 is roughly the same price as SU pro.

fakircho · 11 Feb 2009, 12:31

Does it not strike anyone as strange that Bonzai 3D is version 7, they caught up with Sketchup pretty fast

fakircho · 11 Feb 2009, 12:37

I am still having display issues on XP

bonzai3d support · 11 Feb 2009, 13:36

Fakircho,

What video card and driver version are you using when you get these display issues?

support@bonzai3d.com

fakircho · 11 Feb 2009, 14:18

Nvidia 7900 GT driver 6.14.11.7516

I see that Nvidia have new driver posted a few days ago will give that a go.

UPDATE - driver 6.14.11.8122

Just updated to the latest driver and there was no improvement.

bonzai3d support · 11 Feb 2009, 15:43

Fakircho,

Thanks for your testing and report. We have now been able to reproduce this, and we will get it corrected.

Please let us know if you have any further questions or problems.

support@bonzai3d.com

Phil Rader AIA · 12 Feb 2009, 05:03

Bonzai Beta crashed within 2 minutes of trial..on basic stuff. It's definitely "NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME". Ive been using sketchup since version 1 and to this day I have never lost more than a few minutes of work. It's the most stable and trustworthy program I have ever used. I know sketchup like the back of my hand. They are going to have to pry the mouse out of my hand when I stop breathing and most likely the application running at the time will be SU.

xrok1 · 12 Feb 2009, 05:17

well i figured out how to get my SK models into bonzai, upload them to 3dwarehouse first?

fakircho · 12 Feb 2009, 07:47

"They are going to have to pry the mouse out of my hand when I stop breathing and most likely the application running at the time will be SU"

I fear the same faith awaits me too

redranger4 · 12 Feb 2009, 14:18

Mark,

Per your question......"Bonzai3d will sell at the introductory price of US $499.00 at its expected release date in April."

Hope that helps.

Dan

Mike Lucey · 12 Feb 2009, 17:13

Hi 'support@bonzai3d.com',

There seems to be interest in Bonzai 3D. I have also download and had a peek BUT have absolutely no intention of further investigation until I know what the release cost is going to be! Can you please give us an indication? I have tried searching for this info but had no luck. In fact I have not even been able to locate a price on Form Z!

Also, it would be nice if we could have a name here rather than 'support@bonzai3d.com'! We won't bite you as we are a friendly bunch of folk ..... but again the price indication may change that

Mike

hebrides · 12 Feb 2009, 18:34

The performance/review of these 3d apps seems to model the gaming industry approach. If your engine's "game play" is poor, then make sure there is lots of eye candy.
Truespace is another good example. Building a model is hell, but while you are trying to figure out how to work it, you can play with the thousands of interchangable/snapping, floating, icons and toolbars in multi-colors, Now that's productive.

No chance getting this off the ground...even a free version.

bonzai3d support · 12 Feb 2009, 19:16

xrok1,

No need to upload your SketchUp models to 3dWarehouse. Just save as SKP 6 (or earlier) and use the File Menu: Import command. If you want this file to be merged with an existing project, check the Add to Project Import Option (from the lower left corner of the import dialog).

Mike,

Dan posted cost information right above your post. Did you miss this? If you need any further pricing information, contact sales@bonzai3d.com for details.

Also, WE are "support@bonzai3d" because we are not just a single person, but a group of people who are representatives for bonzai3d. If you want a shorter name by which you may refer to us, you can just write "b3d" if you like.

Hebrides,

Did you actually give bonzai3d a try, and view the Introductory videos? Once you learn a few simple tricks, you should find that bonzai3d is a very powerful program that is also quite quick and easy to use.

If anyone has any further comments or questions, feel free to post here, or better yet, visit our forum: http://www.bonzai3d.com/beta_forum.html or send us an email. We are happy to hear your comments and answer your questions.

support@bonzai3d.com

bonzai3d support · 12 Feb 2009, 19:20

Thomas,

As "Big James" notes, there was a potential problem with bonzai3d on certain windows systems that we have identified and corrected. Here is the relevant portion of our post from the link that James provides:

Re: Bonzai 3D First Impressions
by bonzai3d support on Tue Feb 10, 2009 3:18 pm

Gentlemen,

Glad that most of you are liking bonzai3d so far! We have been working hard, and we are pleased to announce that bonzai3d public beta update (build 7194) is now available. To access this, please click the link below:

(bonzai3d.com)

This update fixes a few critical problems in the bonzai3d public beta build 7188. Future updates will be available through the "Check For Update" item in the Help menu.

Fixed issues include:

Crash on Windows with certain display font settings.
Crash at startup when an internet connection is not present.
Crash when attempting to view Introductory Videos when an internet connection is not present.
Video audio not stopping when the video window is closed.

As noted, this patch addresses these critical problems. We expect to release more patches frequently via the automatic update process to fix the rest of the issues that have been reported.

If you have not yet downloaded the beta version, you can download this new updated version by filling out this short form:

(bonzai3d.com)

We are also working on a number of performance enhancements that will be implemented soon.

Thanks again for your reports. Let us know if you find anything further, and let there b3d!

support@bonzai3d.com