Google Sketchup Pro 7 is out

pichuneke

I just made some orbits with my model of Roman Theatre (2.000.000 faces). I believe that I saw a small increment in speed. But it's something subjective. I use a q6600 with 4 cpus and I see that there are not improvements in that field. It would have helped me a lot.

Perhaps Dynamic Components may have helped me when I was modelling the cavea (the seats). I don't know if they work well with curves as I haven't tested it.

Textures are sharper, but to be honest, I usually render the model with kerkythea and I don't know if this would influence the final result in kerky.

These are my first impressions.

Tim Danaher

Ermmm....

http://sketchup.google.com/product/gsup.html

Starting at 1:09, is that a component cutting a wall with thickness, or is that just wishful thinking on my part?

Stu

mmmmmm

kwistenbiebel

I was a bit embarassed looking at SU7 in the office (I relocated to Perth Australia recently and am working for a 'boss' now in a 60 people arch firm). As a co-worker and I imported a parametric car component, we started playing with the options (turning tires, clicking the hood to change color,etc..) and we just started laughing. This is toy stuff. 'Parametric' could be a good feature for self made components though...

Unfortunately.......
we weren't able to explain to the executives what benefits the new SU7 has over the old version. The shadow bug is still a bug.(animation with shadows switched 'on' gives rubbish output)
Bugsplats still occur on large files containing 3D trees (e.g Xfrog).

There are some good things...
overlapping intersections is good for dxf/dwg imports of CAD plans and the unique texture thing can come in handy although it needs the extra things Plot Paris mentioned.

The price for the update is right. 95 dollar is what I can imagine paying for 2 or 3 good plugins Whaat would make.
The update could easily be called 6.X though.

I'll be patiently waiting for SU 8.

@Google: Please solve the real workflow issues(High poly,64 bit)in next release even when it would make SU a 1000 dollar piece of software.

Stu

Hey Kwisty! Welcome to OZ!!

Coen.....
Stu wrote:
Baz, I can operate ACAD LT in my sleep and from the reports coming in about Layout 2, dont throw away your cad apps yet

"I don't get this statement. The reports coming in from layOut 2 are overall positive (in fact I haven't seen one negative thing about it). So why would you not want to throw away your other drafting apps yet? Doesn't make sense to me."

I havent had a good look at Layout yet and as I mentioned above Im happy with the CAD app in using now but I have seen it stated by a respected CAD using architect that he's not taking Layout seriously as a CAD app as it cant do dimensions.

But from what you know from the Beta forum, all the ACAD, Vectorworks, ArchiCAD using architects and CAD jockeys there have ditched that stuff in favour of Layout??

thomthom

@unknownuser said:

Okay, let the ranting continue. The more you rant, the more I will prove you all wrong. SketchUp 7 RULES!

I'm very interested in seeing an more in depth article to the changes in SU7. Because I'm one of them that's finding it hard to stop the big changes. Best thing I've seen is the dynamic components. But I'm wondering if that's something that would have worked just as fine in SU6 as it's a ruby script. Then you got the minor things. But I can't shake the feeling that this is SU6.5. Whatever changes has been made to Layout and Style Builder doesn't interest me, because I can do fine without them. Big changes to them doesn't justify a larger SU number. (And I felt that Layout 1 was a beta product, so Layout 2 is what I consider Layout 1.)

I know that the ASGVis people, making the V-Ray plugin, has been struggling to get all info about the model processed by the render engine. Has there been big changes under the hood that unleashes more control to third parties?

I'd really really like to know what makes for the major version update.

ilay7k

Please quieter , it seems we are frightened all team
and they go to dArk siDe of matter, young Skywoker

AD, you know what's AD

herodes

The major release was due to a number of reasons. Possibly just and only marketing related.
The time since last release was a major one, the other one was that they thought that by giving a point release would be too discouraging to the community. Let's admit it... it is a point release status. Nowhere near the release anyone expects, even the developers themselves shouldn't consider this a proper major release.

To the people wanting high-poly support and shadow bug gone: The toolbar arranging bug isn't still solved! Give it a try!

There are new icons! horray!
Dynamic Components! Great ruby script it could have gone on the market on its own,... to interfere it with the Sketchup releases. It had already started to happen from the community... take a look a the dynamic dimensions ruby.
Layout! Wonderful!,... although if they could actually see some usage statistics they'd probably ditch the whole project.
Style Builder! nice!... again, offer it as an addon. Don't package it with the main distribution of SketchUp.

Yes I am being hard. But you know what I've been waiting for a long time for this release and what I basically see is a big excuse,... and this is from an end user. there is no other feedback to see. It was a long journey waiting for Sketchup 7 and from what I can see there was nothing worth waiting 2 years for.

Now I am feeling betrayed because I have suggested Sketchup to a number of people myself. I think that I haven't really pushed them to the right choice of software. Sketchup is taking a wrong direction.

The trial I downloaded surely isn't a Pro version of anything. I remain at the 6.x versions until further notice of improvement, I'd also like to see the scripters continue to develop on the 6.x version so that Google sees what has happened and quickly amend this. The less the community embraces this the better and quicker the next release will be,... note this down.

The old king is dead,... long live the same-old king!

Gaieus

@thomthom said:

I know that the ASGVis people, making the V-Ray plugin, has been struggling to get all info about the model processed by the render engine. Has there been big changes under the hood that unleashes more control to third parties?

This is an interesting point and question, Tom.

Plugins (and the ability of SU to communicate with them) started with SU 4 (although I didn't use it then only since SU 5) but what I know is that they have been adding different (and more and more) possibilities to SU to be able to communicate via plugins.

One big step forward was webdialogs in SU 6 (afaik) which opened a whole new arena for plugin developers and we can all see and enjoy this. It must have included some hard work on the SU backend and base code as well.

Now I can nimagine (but of course do not know since I am a total non-scripter) the same with DC's; they wouldn't work in SU 6 because they had to change the base code of SU in order that they can operate.

Obviously we don't know yet what other doors are opened now for newrs plugins but hopeully the gurus will discover that area as well. Tomasz already found one and hopefully he will be able to exploit it for the su2kt exporter - just to be specific with a render engine as a 3rd party software.

pilou

What is exactly the "Shadow bug"?

baz

@stu said:

@baz said:

@stu said:

I just cant think of a good reason to spend that $180AUD or so....Anybody?

hi stu, I havent tried v7 yet, but if the improvements to layout are as they say, it will be worth the 180 for that alone, i hope to throw the other cad apps away for ever!

baz

Baz, I can operate ACAD LT in my sleep and from the reports coming in about Layout 2, dont throw away your cad apps yet

well I wont of course, but I live in hope and anyway I have to wait for chief australia to get up to speed with the update.
baz

herodes

You can witness the Shadow Bug in all its glory in the following picture. The red circle is my edit. BTW this is from the Sketchup 7 demo.
This has to do with the camera frustrum clipping volume and the shadows calculations.

I also found this post from past May,... I am really annoyed now... http://bit.ly/AjoH

Shadow Bug...

Pixero

@unknownuser said:

Compare the jaw dropping amazement and excitement of the release of Tools on Surface, Subdivide and Smooth etc etc etc with Su7!!.....It's just embarrasing!

Well said.
After a first quick look I can't see all that much new. What HAVE they been doing all this time?
About the shadow bug still beeing there it IS a major thing. It means doing animations in Sketchup is NOT possible without an external renderer. I dont believe a professional software should be called professional with such a major bug not beeing fixed. Nuf said.
I'm kind of hoping some ruby gurus would start a opensource app project to be what SketchUp should have been.
We havent seen any feature list yet but things are so far NOT looking good.

ilay7k

about toolbars, 1. if put new script(or group of scripts) with iconic toolbar, modify workspace of sketch-up...need configure again. 2. But if you remember several attempts to put toolbar in right place(or under other) , i can it from 1st in 7-n
And if we are beginning to compare applications, this "feature"(messing with toolbar) is in rhino3d too(even it has sticky feature to lock position of toolbars)

i found that wxRuby-framework is fast load in 7-n than 6

Sorry for my bad English

Mike Lucey

Hi Guys,

I've read everything with great interest. I do appreciate that the overall consensus is a but that's the problem a great product often has when it comes to releasing improvements.

When SketchUp opened its doors to Independent Ruby Scripters it may not have realised that this could have been a two edged sword! I think they now realise that this was in fact the case. But at the same time it was the proper and mature action to take as it allowed for market driven Rubies to be put on the shelf and they are being loaded up there at a great rate! Maybe SGU should form tighter working relationships with the Independent Ruby Scripters at least to the extent that each party would know what the other is doing.

I am a SketchUp 'Die hard' simply because I have not as yet seen a better option that offers me the same easy of use. If and when one comes along I will give it very serious consideration but I see nothing on the horizon at present so I most definitely will continue using SketchUp even if it still has the much mentioned shadow fault and lacks the desirable speed. Both of these problems can be lived with and worked around although it would be nice to see the end of them. Google would do themselves and the general community great if they advised a date for the resolution of these problems and I feel it would be greatly welcomed by many Pro Users.

So all in all I suggest that we look at what we have in SketchUp V7 and discover new uses and ways we can leverage these features in our work flow at the same time as requesting the shadow and speed issues to be resolved. I am sure they will be sorted at some time but again it would be nice to have a date.

Mike

fakircho

Well after all this waiting, i have to say i was expecting more from the PRO version.
I think the update is fine for the free version.

I really would like to see more emphasis going towards Sketchup PRO. Like the previous posts
point out, we have been shown some amazing stuff by the ruby community and surely Google needs to better that. In this release they have not even come close to matching it.

Have say that the application feels more responsive but need to do some real work over a period of time
to be able to say fr sure.

A lot effort has gone into Layout and it shows. However that is how it should have been released in the first place.

I see a lot of people are disappointed because they were hoping to see certain features implemented, and i am one of them. However i have to say that i am glad they are still developing Sketchup coz after taking so long with version 7, i was having doubts if we were ever going to see another version.

I will reserve my final judgment for a while until i have put it through its paces, but so far feels like 6.5

silver_shadow

tadaaaaa sketchup 7.5 lol
just teasin. Listen guys, in the end, sketchup is sketchup, we do what we can and even stretch it capabilities, and in the end...its probably the community that makes sketchup a better program. If it were not for the rubie script writers, to whom i bow, this would not be so super. What is nice tho, every one can sort of customise what they need and only load that into their su. i think its awesome. alot of programs dont allow you to be that flexible.
To su 7, its not bad, even thru all the time we waited, it still turned out to be a better version of su 6, a bit faster tho,graphics was the first thing i picked up, cleaner and nicer look to the models, and maybe down the pipeline...so other needs will be filled.
From me to su 7, and yea i made some harsh comments, they made it better
and thats prob in the end... all that counts.

free agent

in the Ruby discussion forum, theres the ruby wishlist by that guy from google, can anyone confirm that ruby scriptors will be able to do more than they could with su6? or that any of the wishes were implemented>?

JuanV.Soler

Well,
after all is not that bad.
The rectangle_selection issue seems to be solved.
It is nicer and better the way you can now draw. Origin is clearer and the references to axis works better.
Moving objects keep the axis references better.
I have not yet found how it works the Dynamic Components but it must be cool.

And Layout works as it should. Pity the dimensioning, but...

So i would say that SketchUp has now stabilized.

Google, we are now ready for the new features

herodes

@juanv.soler said:

Well,
Google, we are now ready for the new features

Well said!