Is Sketchup, keeping up
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Hi Guys, I just saw this video and found it very interesting and objective and it aligns somewhat with my own thoughts over the years. Is it time Sketchup grew up? any thoughts?
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In my years using SketchUp what stands out most to me is the user outgrowing the app. The need for faster modelling, rendering, file size handling results in the user looking into their neighbours garden and getting jealous of their lawn.
SketchUp ticks the box for fast conceptualisation. It won't ever be a Blender, Maya, C4D etc. And in my opinion it doesn't need to be. If a user needs 'more' then add to your arsenal.
Ask a C4D user to draw a cube and add parametric dimensions to it and they need to buy a $20 plugin.
Every app has an anchor holding it back.
My prime gripes are the lack of a roadmap and their licensing model. Other than that it does what is says on packet.
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Well said Rich and I completely agree.
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@l i am said:
Is it time Sketchup grew up? any thoughts?
I think it's time to "grew up" for years now. To improve the standard modeling features has been requested many times. But since Trimble doesn't seem to be interested to do it, i don't think this will ever happen (of course always referring to the absurd excuse of keeping the program "simple" - while i think any newbie has a much harder time to get informations about plugins, finding, downloading and maintaining them, instead of getting confused by a few more features like beveling or rounding corners).
There are some good points mentioned in video, but i don't think that the solution would be "plugin packages", as long as these plugins wouldn't be based on native code to run faster than the current plugins, because one of the biggest problems of the current plugin based solutions is their lack of performance. It's just laughable to watch a progress bar for some bevel operations (for multiple seconds or even minutes) while other programs can do the same in real-time and non-destructive for years now.
And i don't think that Trimble should add a renderer to SketchUp. There are many rendering solutions available and this would make the already very slow development even slower.Regarding "live components" i have to say that in my opinion they shoud be fully integrated into sketchup (and work like parametric objects in AutoCAD or Revit) and not be based on external or even online apps. But i think i can see what they are doing here...
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I have thought about this for a ong time now and frankly the argument has plus and minus followers. Some like the simplicity and others wish for more complexity.
Overall I think the balance is right. There are annoyances but frankly they fade into the background as long as I make progress I can be happy with. Good enough is the close ally of too ambitious, we know where THAT leads...... -
@mike amos said:
I have thought about this for a ong time now and frankly the argument has plus and minus followers. Some like the simplicity and others wish for more complexity.
Overall I think the balance is right. There are annoyances but frankly they fade into the background as long as I make progress I can be happy with. Good enough is the close ally of too ambitious, we know where THAT leads......To keep it simple has been the fundamental of sketchup from the very start since way before Google had it, Simple almost cartoon like interface as not to scare of newcommers to world of 3D. I get that. but toolbars such as Sanbox tools are there to be found, they are not in the default tool set. But I need to ask why arn't advanced functions not in there somwhere so as the user gets nore advanced they can load them to the toolbar? and go deeper into the program to find those more sophisticated functions. Round corners, quads, Window maker, and a whole lot of other "anvanced" tools. We have to pay for third party plugins that come and go, are not tranferable to a new version of SU or are sometimes pretty clunky, and due to the evidence by many questions on Sketucation anout lost or outdated plugins and other issues with plugins. I think the argument that SU needs to be simple is true but it could be done without compromising that if trimble put there mind to it.
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@rich o brien said:
My prime gripes are the lack of a roadmap..
They can't publish any roadmap because there isn't any road. Apart some gradual performance improvements there was not any progress since turning it into 64 bit.
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I get the demand from users, times change and Sketchup seems to well, not much.
Part of the argument seems to be that if someone else develops apps and extensions, the Sketchup team do not have to. The original developer was/is vehemently against complication of the base program and there was a bit more than tears before bed time to get 64 bit.
I can see a place for a set of extended toolsets but whether that will happen, I doubt it.
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I'd be happy with an included (not plugin) fillet and chamfer tool. Yes, I have the plugins and I also know about the arc trick.
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