Bonzai 3D First Impressions

bonzai3d support

Plot-Paris, Lewis, Phil, et al,

We have found that with specific customizations on certain Windows based systems, it is possible to get frequent crashes with the first edition of bonzai3d Beta. We have identified the cause for this and released a correction for this.

Please see the excerpt from another thread for details:

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:

http://bonzai3d.com/bonzai3d_download_update.html

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:

http://bonzai3d.com/bonzai3d_getbeta.html

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

Fair enough. I did not realise the Dan / redranger4 was a Bonzai3D guy.

hebrides

@unknownuser said:

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.

Yes I did. It downloaded and set up fine. I listened to the tutorial. As soon as I started to use the tools it crashed. Next time up it hung together ok. I was able to draw some basic shapes no trouble. The first really annoying thing for me was finding a way to select an object and rotate it. I like to pick components up as if to inspect them by hand. I was surprised that this simple action couldn't be achieved without instruction. Reaching to pick up and inspect a model is 3d 101. I could see right away that navigating complex models was not going to be a strength of bonzai.

I have to think about what I have accomplished in SU and compare that to the learning curve required to get close using bonzai. I may have been a little harsh but until you guys start to work on your "game play" I will have very little interest.

If you want to learn about "game play" then you will find the best example of this by watching a pro SU user build a model. Then watch again...and again. It really is poetry in motion.

pilou

Is that normal the 30 days trial beta?

kwistenbiebel

@bonzai3d support said:

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:

http://bonzai3d.com/bonzai3d_download_update.html

Do you guys use an auto responder?
I saw the exact same text in the other Bonzai thread.

pilou

CTRl + C, CTRL + V

Pixero

I tried to do the update but it stopped with some kind of "Update failed" message.
I'm on Vista by the way.

Gaieus

Sometimes I also come across pplications which do not have a price tag. Well, with a Beta software I can imagine the reason or the cause so I wouldn't worry (yet).

But true that when there is a real, commercial software and it doesn't say anything about the price, it is quite annoying. Hope Bonzai won't do that.

redranger4

Gaieus,

I posted the answer to the price of bonzai 3D on Page 5 of this thread in the answer to Marks question.

Dan

Gaieus

Thanks, I see.

Sheik

Well I have played with Bonzai for a few evenings now. It is too buggy to really start working with it, but that will probably improve soon.
I must say I like it. This is close to what I wished SU7 would have been like, and some more.
Some parts of the UI still feel a bit unintuitive and some stuff could have been streamlined, but on the other hand there is a bunch of stuff I would really like to see in SketchUp. There are things that SketchUp definitely does better, like inferensing, so it is still hard to decide. I think some parts of the UI are still not completed, like the materials editor, so Bonzai will still improve (will SU?).
So far I have not found anything that I would consider to be a dealbreaker, if considering it as replacement for SketchUp. But they need to solve some of the bigger bugs before it is possible to put it to a real test.
Sheik

bonzai3d support

Gentlemen,

This is just the first public beta of bonzai3d, and there are definitely more improvements in the works.

While Redranger is not on our staff (he may be a "bonzai3d guy"), he does quote our price right -- or almost right -- $499. See our following post, where we will repost our announcement, that some of you may or may not have received.

Pixero,

Sorry, we found an issue with patching bonzai3d on Vista with UAC on. If you either temporarily turn this off, or if you simply move your bonzai3d folder outside the Program Files folder, then the patch should work properly and fix the majority of the Windows crashes.

If anyone finds a specific action that causes a problem, please let us know the specifics. We are working hard to make bonzai3d as good as possible -- as quickly as possible, so anything that we are able to reproduce will be corrected ASAP.

Hebrides,

I think that it is a little unfair to compare a beginning user's "game play" in one software with an advanced user's play on another software. If you want to see an advanced user with formZ, please see our Demo Videos:

http://www.formz.com/downloads/video/video.php

Perhaps see the Penguin or Birds Nest -- or Amphitheater demos...

And of course the interface is being improved substantially with bonzai3d, so this will only make things better and easier.

support@bonzai3d.com

bonzai3d support

Bonzai3d PUBLIC BETA TEST LAUNCHED!

The much anticipated bonzai3d is now available to use in beta version. Enjoy and revel in simplicity coupled with power and ease of use. Those who have tried it out so far have left a few comments ranging from -"I love it", "simply amazing", "this is a sketching program with a spine", to "Great app, well executed and powerful", "bonzai is going to be phenomenal!", "Bonzai3d is everyone's built-to-order 3D Solid thinking tool. Not only it offers all I wanted from a smart 3D modeling environment, but also other things I did not know I needed" We'll let you be the judge. Bonzai3d will sell at the introductory price of US $499.00 at its expected release date in April.
Download your copy HERE: http://www.bonzai3d.com/

form.Z SPECIAL ANNOUNCED!

To celebrate the release of bonzai3d public beta, AutoDesSys is offering form.Z RenderZone Plus with a special discount at 25% off all new user licenses along with a free update to version 7.0 when it is released in the second half of 2009. This special offer ends April 30, 2009.
For more details click HERE: http://formz.com/products/formz/formz_offer.html

form•Z STUDENT AWARDS PRESENTED AT ACADIA
AutoDesSys has been involved in the education of students wishing to master 3D since the early 90s. This year its president, Chris Yessios, presented the awards in Minneapolis at the 16th annual form.Z Joint Study Awards ceremony during the ACADIA conference. Students were honored for their accomplishments in the fields of Architecture,Interior Design, Visualization, Fabrication, and Animation. Read the article HERE: http://formz.com/informz/feb_2009/page2.html

FEATURED USERS IN THIS ISSUE
The following form.Z users are featured in this issue:
Nikalete Funk, Burgess & Niple, Inc., Columbus, Ohio
Dan Manoim, M. A. Ganor Ltd. (D.S.E), Tel Aviv, Israel
Bernd Meissner, meissner>dokuteam, Kissing, Germany

See samples of their work HERE: http://formz.com/informz/feb_2009/user1.html

INTERFACE MULTIMEDIA CREATES THE GALLERY MODEL OF SAARINEN’S TWA TERMINAL

Some of us are old enough to remember when TWA (Trans World Airlines) dominated the sky and its famous terminal at JFK airport in New York City. While the airline is a long lost memory by now, Eero Saarinen remains one of the 20th century’s most prominently acclaimed architects and the designer of this impressive structure at JFK. Interface Multimedia assisted in the creation of the gallery model of the TWA Terminal using form•Z to design it as part of a touring exhibit piece in Europe and the US until 2010, the centennial of Saarinen’s birth. Check it out HERE: http://www.ifmm.com/project_page.asp?c=4&type=714936&ccc=719572

form.Z USER IN THE NEWS

Renowned architect and form•Z user, Giorgio Boruso was honored in New York City at the Interior Design’s 2008 Best of Year Awards for his design of FORNARI HEADQUARTERS Milan.

Explore - Design - Deliver

Let there b3d

Bonzai3d is a new 3D modeler developed to fill in the demand for a quick, easy, simple but, most importantly, geometrically robust approach to 3D, based on design industry essentials and designer requests. More HERE: http://www.bonzai3d.com/

johnsenior1973

My first impression on seeing the $500 price confirmed is that Bonzai won't be on my computer for much longer.

Sheik

500 would be about 10% of the price of AutoCad, and half of Rhino. I think it is a fair price.
It is less than an architect would charge for a day, so I tink it is not too big an investment.
But SketchUp free is free, so no cometition there....

kwistenbiebel

@johnsenior1973 said:

My first impression on seeing the $500 price confirmed is that Bonzai won't be on my computer for much longer.

I agree with Sheik that 500 dollars is a fair price for a modeling suite.

However, after trying the beta, I am not convinced it would become my modeler of choice.
It hasn't got the intuitive approach Sketchup has (3 selection tools etc...).
On the other hand, maybe when practicing more ....
Having Nurbs is the way to go, so that is definitely an advantage.

A disadvantage is that there doesn't seem to be an animation option and no link to 3td party major render engines. But I guess those can be added in a later phase. However, making a render plugin takes a lot of time so I reckon a year later would be the time to judge again.

That is the beauty of Sketchup : all the high end render engines are already available, a big community, a great model resource with a lot of potential a.k.a 3d warehouse, a large professional user base because of the existance of both a free and Pro version..... a lousy developer though

xrok1

i think at this point the plugins and the community are what makes SK what it is. just try and imagine using it without any plugins; ouch . BTW, thankyou every ruby master out there. that being said, there's really no way for anyone to ever replace that that.period, full stop

Google should be on there knee's to the people that really make SK what it is! IMHO

dazza

@xrok1 said:

i think at this point the plugins and the community are what makes SK what it is. just try and imagine using it without any plugins; ouch . BTW, thankyou every ruby master out there. that being said, there's really no way for anyone to ever replace that that.period, full stop

Google should be on there knee's to the people that really make SK what it is! IMHO

I couldn't agree with you more

Gaieus

@kwistenbiebel said:

Do you guys use an auto responder?
I saw the exact same text in the other Bonzai thread.

Probably Pilou is right...

Well, I merge the threads anyway...

bonzai3d support

@plot-paris said:

when I had a look at the beta of Bonsai 3D, I was a bit shocked - because that little application showed me how limited SketchUp really is. in the few moments between crashes of Bonsai 3D tools such as the 'bend tool' the 'round edges' tool or the 'twist tool', alongside with the truly fantastic real-time boolean operations (that are so much cleverer than what SU does), showed quite plainly how far SketchUp still has to go.

Gentlemen,

We have now released the third update to bonzai3d. This update focuses on stability issues, and it should now be in much better shape. If you would like to try it, visit the bonzai3d web site (also still under construction) here:

http://www.bonzai3d.com/

We have also released a number of introductory videos that you can view to see if you want to try it.

We hope you like it. If you have any feedback, please don't hesitate to contact us.

support@bonzai3d.com