Can I have a Gripes & Bitchin' for Su 2014 thread?
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@arcad-uk said:
Only played with Bonzai for a few hours but seems to have the modelling features that TSU should be feeding into their major upgrades by now. Oh and they have a support system that is keen for feedback and development ideas
... If you are reading this JB you better get your running shoes on!Agreed on the modeling tools. The included architectural tools alone are time/money savers. One just need to invest their time into learning the procedures. Something I still need to do myself.
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@chicos said:
seasdes
Could you elaborate on your transition from SketchUP to FormZ. I am considering moving to FormZ but I worry about its complexity.
I don't think you should worry about complexity in that sense. formZ has more functions than SketchUp but where they overlap (in modeling primarily) formZ operates in a very similar fashion to SketchUp. You should be able to transition very quickly.
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I would also throw in my 2 cents behind FormZ as a good option for people looking to transition elsewhere (and at this point I think transitioning is the only prudent option).
It really is sad that it has come to this. I waited to say anything until I was sure, but there is no mistaking it... I still stand by everything I said last year, however there is no need for me to repeat myself.
Best,
Jason. -
@jason_maranto said:
I would also throw in my 2 cents behind FormZ as a good option for people looking to transition elsewhere (and at this point I think transitioning is the only prudent option).
It really is sad that it has come to this. I waited to say anything until I was sure, but there is no mistaking it... I still stand by everything I said last year, however there is no need for me to repeat myself.
Best,
Jason.Hi Jason ......... tip toe, tip toe, tip toe (Mike tip toeing away)
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So for me, FormZ was the 3D software I was using before I switched to SU. After I made the switch, I never looked back. SU is just so much more flexible to use, FormZ is like molasses in comparison. I may still have look at Bonzai some day, but I just haven't really been that interested to go back. For me, Blender is where it's at, but with geometry quickly modeled and imported from SU. Plus, no Vray for FormZ, so for me another reason why it's a non-starter.
Hi Jason! Yeah, agreed, no new points to make. Sad isn't it.
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An announcement 6 months ago that SU 2014 was going to adopt RUBY 2.0 would have had tragic consequences how?
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I'm not sure if this is really a modeling soft... but maybe we have a new player
in a few days we'll know more
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Bonzai 3D is current on special for $150 off regular price:
This could be a good time to make the switch for people looking to do so.
Best,
Jason. -
@jason_maranto said:
Bonzai 3D is current on special for $150 off regular price:
This could be a good time to make the switch for people looking to do so.
Best,
Jason.Hasn't been updated for a loooong time.
Check blog, support sucks! -
I just checked, the last update was May 2013 -- that is less than a year ago... I'm not sure what you're trying to say.
Best,
Jason. -
@jpalm32 said:
@jason_maranto said:
Bonzai 3D is current on special for $150 off regular price:
This could be a good time to make the switch for people looking to do so.
Best,
Jason.Hasn't been updated for a loooong time.
Check blog, support sucks!Bit like SU then! Putting a new badge on the box doesn't mean anything meaningful happened to the software inside; which really hurts when you are paying a subscription and the changes amount to bug fixes and minor improvements with more new bugs.
I also wonder if SU is really still alive because of the Sketchucation forum rather than any Google or official SU support forum?
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I stand corrected, here is the latest update -- at the end of last month:
Having dealt with this company I will say they are definitely far more responsive than SketchUp.
Best,
Jason. -
@arcad-uk said:
I also wonder if SU is really still alive because of the Sketchucation forum rather than any Google or official SU support forum?
fwiw, i'm constantly bumping into people using sketchup in their work.. as in, most of the architectural, engineering, landscape design, production firms i collaborate with on per project basis have sketchup and we'll often share files/ideas through sketchup (even though it may not be either of our main software).. a few of the firms are using sketchup as their main software.
but, i've never once bumped into someone here or at the trimble forums that i've also worked with in real life.. point being-- i think sketchup land extends far beyond what we see happening online.. most people using it just use it and aren't a part of an online community / user group.
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You are probably right Jeff when you factor in the free version; the point I failed to make though was the official support forums and bug reporting pages don't exactly fill you with reassurance that anyone gives a ****, unlike here!
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So a whole bunch of plugins do not work with 2014 and this is pissing me off.
Maxwell, Vali Architects Instant scripts, Compo Sprayer???
Was there really no way of making the old ruby scripts work regardless of the Ruby 2.0 changes? Cmon man! WTF 2014!!!!!
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I purchased Bonzai 3D when it first came out thinking it was the way to go. I have upgraded to version 2 and 3.2. I am sure Formz is a great program and was tempted to upgrade to Formz thinking it may iron out some of my gripes with Bonzai 3D but did not. I then discovered SU plugins that gave me all the capability I needed coupled with the easy base functions known within Sketchup and a community that can write code that can probably satisfy most users. I have not used Bonzai for any project yet and i can not see myself doing so. Sorry this was not a bitch or a gripe.
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@jeff hammond said:
fwiw, i'm constantly bumping into people using sketchup in their work.. as in, most of the architectural, engineering, landscape design, production firms i collaborate with on per project basis have sketchup and we'll often share files/ideas through sketchup (even though it may not be either of our main software).. a few of the firms are using sketchup as their main software.
Increasingly, when I send out SU files, I get SU files back. What I mean by that is a lot of the work that I do is shop drawings for contractors, millwork companies, etc. The majority of that work is done in AutoCAD LT (although I'm migrating my 2D drafting to Rhino). I send the drawings to the contractor and they pass them along to the architect who sends back red lines for revisions. Sometimes, to clarify a point, I'll send along a SU to show a detail in question in 3D. Almost as a rule now, the architect responds with a SketchUp reply. That wasn't true a couple of years ago but now it's almost standard. It's like once I've established that SketchUp is a acceptable means of communication, the architects dump their Revit, MAX and whatnot in favor of SU to communicate with me. And the work goes faster.
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@valerostudio said:
So a whole bunch of plugins do not work with 2014 and this is pissing me off.
Maxwell, Vali Architects Instant scripts, Compo Sprayer???
Was there really no way of making the old ruby scripts work regardless of the Ruby 2.0 changes? Cmon man! WTF 2014!!!!!
A lot of softwares break plugin compatibility with new versions. SU was spared until now, but it's more like an exception.
So yeah, a little patience is requiered until the remaining 10% plugins get a compatible version, but sometimes this kind of change is really worth it.
It's not like SU2013 was suddenly broken, you can still work. -
@valerostudio said:
Was there really no way of making the old ruby scripts work regardless of the Ruby 2.0 changes? Cmon man! WTF 2014!!!!!
There really wasn't. Ruby 1.8 have reached end of life long ago and 1.9 is heading that way. Ruby 2.1 has already been released and Ruby 2.2 is due next Christmas.
Ruby 1.8 to Ruby 1.9 was the biggest change as the Ruby interpreter changed their core to a new one. There was no way for us to avoid plugins breaking as the development of Ruby isn't done by us.
The reason we updated was many. One of the biggest reasons was that Ruby 1.8 had no Unicode support so a large potion of our international user base experienced problems regularly unless they took extra care to use only English characters.
Another issue was that due to the lack of Unicode support we could not move the Plugins folder out of Program Files. This caused a number of security permission issues with plugins that haunted many users.
For SketchUp 2014 we included more developers than ever before in the testing. We even had an alpha testing phase so developers could get in early to update their plugins. Unfortunately there is always someone who we missed to invite and even of the ones we invited not everyone had gotten around to update.
I think extensions warehouse is at ~65% 2014 compatibility - though I suspect there real number is higher, it's just that some developers haven't updated their information yet.
It's unfortunate that extensions broke, but it really was a damned if we do, damned if we don't situation and going with the Ruby 2.0 upgrade was really the only way to move forward.
The lack of updates to the SketchUp Ruby API under the Google area gave a good stability for end users, but not good for developers in terms of lacking features. Eventually we had to do this, but it's not something we anticipate would happen often. It looks like the Ruby 2.x branch is being kept backwards compatible - which should allow us to keep up to date with Ruby while at the same time not breaking extensions.
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