Trimble 3D warehouse

solo

However. . .it sounds like a hugejob for even a good-sized team of modeling experts.

I nominate Pete.

Hey, if the pay is right I'd do it. Heck I'd even be willing to fix minor errors on potentially great models by doing cleanups, reversing faces, purging, setting it on 0.0.0, scaling, etc, the little things that make huge differences

MrMikeEsq

@unknownuser said:

However. . .it sounds like a hugejob for even a good-sized team of modeling experts.

I nominate Pete.

Judging by the post count, it seems he spends enough time slacking off that could be spent single handedly organizing a new 3D warehouse. I jest

Marian

They could have voluteer reviewers who are approved by the devs or some sort of mechanism. That way they can have a huge team of people sorting stuff for peanuts.

jason_maranto

I see the Warehouse the same way as I see free material repositories for render engines -- it's a great idea, and seems like a useful tool... but the better you get with the tools the more you realize that there is no substitute for doing it yourself.

Even on "good" models I can spend as much time "fixing" them as it would take to just make them from scratch.

I think the crappiness of the Warehouse is partially responsible for the bad reputation of SketchUp -- I think the time and money would be far better spent offering free comprehensive video training showing good modeling techniques to all SketchUp users... it's that whole "give a man a fish/teach a man to fish" thing.

Best,
Jason.

solo

@unknownuser said:

I think the warehouse is partially responsible for the bad reputation of SketchUp

Excellent point, and yes many judge SU by the crap they find in the WH.

There needs to be a better front room, good solid models, easy to find categories, best ranked (by a knowledgeable modeler) appear first and all low ranked junk last.

Then you search for a Kohler faucet I want to be able to get a drop menu of model types, an option to search only manufacturers commissioned models or by highest ranked. I also do not want to search for something only to find it's just a 2D cutout or not available for download.

DiditzZz

Here's my thought on the WHO (Warehouse Optimization), algorithm in WH search engine should be based on:

Quality of 3D. Is the 3D model a solid model or just a plain cut-out of an object's screenshot? Ex: a speaker/an amplifier with detailed buttons, twitters, and switch, OR just a cutout of the said speaker/amplifier's front screenshot.
Quality of "images used". Is the 3D model including some maps/materials that are either not good quality (low res) or too high resolution? It would be a pain when designing interior with lots of image-based models needed to be imported, and some are having 5000x5000 pixels or more.
Status of 3D. Is it just a 3D where its grouped or is it made "component". Is the component mirror-based when it comes to editing one side of it?

Suggestion would be (from me) to let 3D reviewers add badge for items that are "render ready". So if a WH item has a render ready status badge given, it'll be more likely to appear on first pages of search. Not sure how it'll work though.

Just my $0.02

solo

@unknownuser said:

Suggestion would be (from me) to let 3D reviewers add badge for items that are "render ready".

Good idea.

solo

@unknownuser said:

All this Trimble discussion has been interesting. . .from what I was able to wade through. .. but I noticed that none of you hit on the Major MAJOR point of the whole potential takeover. . .

What does this mean for the Speed Challenge???

That's a whole new thread!

david_h

All this Trimble discussion has been interesting. . .from what I was able to wade through. .. but I noticed that none of you hit on the Major MAJOR point of the whole potential takeover. . .

What does this mean for the Speed Challenge???

(I have a record to protect, you know!)

bmike

Render ready?
Sure.

And I want a badge or category for entourage stuff that won't be larger than my entire project.

I'll sometimes look for a fridge, couch, car, etc.
And bring in something that an OCD SketchUp user built after discovering meshes, and then modeling tiny details down to the threads on the screws.

Useless.
For me.
Maybe not for you.

So you'd ideally want:

Render Ready:
hi poly count, UV maps, textures, etc., for dropping into models going for photorealistic renders

Scale / Placeholder Ready:
simplified models, to scale, with detail suitable to... architecture?

And I'd hope that manufacturers would do a better job with their products. I quit trying to use a specific window or door, now I just have 5-6 of my own, of a simplified design, to drop into projects.

findthong

3DWarehouse = Open-source Turbosquid.com
IMO A lot things can be learned from those commercials.

Alan Fraser

My suspicion would be that Trimble...as the new owners of SU...will help manage (sarcasm there) the 3DW for as long as Google needs it for populating Google Earth with manually made content. After that, it's anybody's guess.
We've already seen links on this forum to very impressive examples of scanned, auto-generated buildings and terrain. It's only a matter of time before Google Earth follows suit. As Pete (or was it Jeff?) suggests, SU is old technology for populating a globe...nether fish nor fowl...not fast enough to build an entire city, not accurate enough for professional purposes...and 3D buildings in general are nowhere near as practically useful as Street View.

I can't think that Trimble are going to be overly impressed with the vast majority of the content available, which makes me doubt that the 3DW will continue long in its present form. Vetting content is a non starter...SU is now way too big; and the rate of upload is stratospheric. The 3DW is based on the model of Objective Networks, the free precursor to FormFonts. ON was vetted...and it took a small army of student volunteers at CalPoly in San Luis Obispo to do it...and that was when SU was Pro only, with a tiny userbase. We are way beyond that stage now; and the logistics of control are simply impossible.

It may be OK limiting it to manufacturers etc, but the free exchange of models by casual users is utterly unmanageable on any kind of regulated basis.