A new home for SketchUp
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So he (Mark Harrison) rides in, drops the bomb and scatters!
Not good.
Void of real assurance.
Doesn't stick around to answer some questons. Not good from a PR point. -
Honestly , I think developing a 2D component (Layout?) to Sketchup might just be one of the focuses Trimble has by just observing their background and current core business.
And I definitely applaud that.
I would love to be able to output CAD drawings more easily from SU, intuitively as we expect from Sketchup.
At the same time optimizing current 3D modeling (speed and high poly optimisation) and a good collaboration with the render engine developers (Vray etc..) and Bob is your uncle
.Add some useful BIM plugins for people that need it (not me
) and I see a wonderful future for Sketchup.I have to admit, I don't like the 'corporate' looking abstract website.
Trimbles' website looks like one of those web templates you can download.
A lot of words without meaning.Perhaps the acquisition of Sketchup allows them to add some zzzing to what seems a dusty image.
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@kwistenbiebel said:
Perhaps the acquisition of Sketchup allows them to add some zzzing to what seems a dusty image.
Mmmmm, I could have save myself a lot of typing (above) if I had thought to just say that
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Don't see the synergy.
Do you get a free laser with a Pro purchase? -
I agree 100% with kwistenbiebel's calls for a 3d engine that works much better with a massive polygon count. Any BIM type development is definitely going to need it!
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@bigstick said:
I agree 100% with kwistenbiebel's calls for a 3d engine that works much better with a massive polygon count. Any BIM type development is definitely going to need it!
Most definitely.
In our office, Revit is rolled out as CAD and semi BIM application.
We notice that for projects where collaboration on one 'model' runs up to 8 people, the 'model' needs to be split up in parts referenced in as the software starts to crack with the huge amount of 3D data that is in there..
For example , a simple door component (a 'family' in Revit) has all the 3D information to the detail, making a file super heavy after a while.
My guess is that current Sketchup isn't up to that task.I can't imagine Sketchup becoming a full BIM application for this reason.
It is more plausible Sketchup remains a 3D tool in it's essence, with optimisations and extended tools that incorporates BIM elements.
I can't imagine Sketchup to become a next gen Revit.
And it would be boring as hell in the first place lolFor me personally,I find higher poly count optimisation more important in terms of allowing to use high poly 3D objects like trees, furniture etc, that enhance photorealism a lot when using the advanced render engines...
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I just noticed trimble do have a page on Facebook, they have some videos too if anyone is interested. My new major concern is continuing support for the mac platform as it seems all their other apps are windows only.
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@kwistenbiebel said:
For example , a simple door component (a 'family' in Revit) has all the 3D information to the detail, making a file super heavy after a while.
Then Autodesk needs to take a page from videogame development and adopt Dynamic Level Of Detail (aka "LOD"). The closer you get, the more detail is there. Lumion uses this for vegetation.
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@unknownuser said:
I agree 100% with kwistenbiebel's calls for a 3d engine that works much better with a massive polygon count. Any BIM type development is definitely going to need it!
It's always been my understanding is that SU was developed to be a simple, intuitive and quick application to create 3D models with a somewhat limited poly count. Why create a subdivided cube when a plain 6 sided cube will suffice? Quick is predicated on models that don't have a massive polygon count. So far, SU has been just that ... Take away the simple, intuitive and quick aspects and we might as well use 3DMax, Zbrush or Blender to name a few ...
So, if I were Trimble and I wanted to integrate the SU engine into "field applications" I sure wouldn't morph it into something that would handle high poly counts or an "advanced" 3D engine. There's no need. Consider this: a guy in the field is doing some geo work and needs a model of a particular building for site he's at. He's on 3G/4G for connectivity. Someone at Trimble, for instance, has already whipped up a SU low poly model of the building and made it accessible for downloading to the field. The SU object doesn't need massive polys, or UV mapping or even texture mapping. It needs to occupy a physical space on a plot in a field device. I would expect downloading a SU file under 1meg for instance, would be preferable to something larger.
Another aspect, if the SU engine is integrated into field equipment, we're possibly talking about mobile devices like glorified smartphones with limited processor or memory capacity. So again, handling a high poly count is not useful.
Speculation is so much fun.
Just my spin on it ... cheers. -
I have mixed memories of dealing with Trimble software. Way too many locks however they did have some nifty on the fly topographic tools in the trimble office software. I guess it may be time to roll from ruby to python to cover my bases however. And what will happen to sketchy physics?????
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if for no other reason, the acquisition of Sketchup by Trimble brought a lot of excitement back to a forum that had gone very quiet recently, with the exception of the plugins subforum, always full of good news. these last 24 hours remind me of the time of our rebellion against the move to a google-style board which resulted in the transformation of Sketchucation into what it is today: a 118.000+ strong community.
having said that, I am becoming more optimistic as time passes. I seem to read between the lines of every post by john bacus a lot of optimism and enthusiasm about their move to trimble. I also understand he is saying as much as he can but I get enough from it to give me hopes we are in for a better Sketchup/Layout combo.
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IdahoJ that's an interesting response, of course your right in it's essense simplicity is sketchup's forte however i'm in the archviz business. I love sketchup to bits and i am constantly battling to get the detail i need. It doesn't help that my renderer of choice (maxwell) loves polygons.
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@chedda said:
My new major concern is continuing support for the mac platform as it seems all their other apps are windows only.
yeah, i get that vibe as well..
one thing to note however is that the suTeam are generally mac heads (and one of the snarkier comments i've ever seen online by jbacus has been a win/osx thing and his preference of using mac).. surprisingly, a disproportionate amount of people in this thread are mac users as well..
the idea that trimble would simply drop mac support or cripple sketchup on mac compared to future windows versions just makes no sense (to me)
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I suppose it opens new roads for them, i am also aware that cad generally lives on the pc though.I noticed in Mr Bacus's signature that he uses a mac so i guess there is some hope. I just hope they don't suggest bootcamp like autodesk (max). After all sketch up uses open gl which kind of lives on the mac right ?
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@jpalm32 said:
So he (Mark Harrison) rides in, drops the bomb and scatters!
Not good.
Void of real assurance.
Doesn't stick around to answer some questons. Not good from a PR point.you gotta put yourselves in their shoes.
they could hang out on the net all day and have enough people engaging that the conversation would never end. (meanwhile, the real work is being neglected)dunno, on my job sites, I try to keep client interaction to a minimum.. only the facts ma'am and only issues that are immediate etc.. otherwise, they'll just sit there and chat my ear off all day long.
[EDIT]oh.. and that reminds me of a super strange time i had a couple of jobs ago where the client was fairly openly hitting on me and one of the guys on my crew..
..but i'll save that for the corner bar (or actually, i'd rather not get into the details online.. ..it was just a weird situation and brought a lot of unnecessary stress/complications to the job site) -
We still talking about this?
Relax, all will be revealed in time, contuinue as nothing has happened.
I actually think the psuedo hippie SU team will be a fresh new injection into what so far seems a stiff, results orientated, German disciplined company.
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As long as John and the SU team are going with SketchUp I feel it's going to be ok. I already have everything I need if no one ever changed anything in SketchUp, of course there are things I would like to have... but as far as need? I'm doing pretty good.
The most important thing to me is really this place. The place where I get answers when I need them. when Google bought SketchUp from @Last and shut down the forum they had... we were left scrambling. Thanks to our Father Coen and a few others this new place was born and now with this place we are protected from abrupt change without our consent. Even if the software changes we still have the community to help each-other through the breach. that being said, some of our founding members are not around anymore for this reason or that... and that makes me sad.
So onward and upward to better things and Trimble, we'll be watching... so fly straight.
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John, how ironic. I was just sitting in the bathroom stall next to Mark, thinking the exact same thing. (Sorry for the bathroom humor, couldn't resist). We do get to keep our sense of humor, irony, and, and... what was that third sense, Governor Perry??? Oh yea, EPA.
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@jpalm32 said:
So he (Mark Harrison) rides in, drops the bomb and scatters!
Not good.
Void of real assurance.
Doesn't stick around to answer some questons. Not good from a PR point. -
@jpalm32 said:
So he (Mark Harrison) rides in, drops the bomb and scatters!
Not good.
Void of real assurance.
Doesn't stick around to answer some questons. Not good from a PR point.Ah, come on! John Bacus has replied many times - the product manager. And several of the SketchUp team has been replying on varius channrls. Your claim is unjust.
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@krisidious said:
...... The most important thing to me is really this place ...... SketchUcation ...
So onward and upward to better things and Trimble, we'll be watching... so fly straight.
Nice sentiments Kris and thanks from the SketchUcation Team.
Now regarding your last comment regarding Trimble flying straight! While having my chat with John B yesterday he told me to check out the recent acquisitions by Trimble. This I have been doing this today and am quite impressed. One particular accusation has caught my eye, Gatewing and its x100! You can check it out here ....... Mmmmmm, I wonder if they would be interested in sending one along for a test and review in Catchup
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