*Yawn* Alternatives to SketchUp
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I personally would stay away from Autodesk stuff unless your are wanting to invest a SERIOUS, SERIOUS amount of time, money and resources into getting people up to speed on their 3d software. Maya and Max both have near vertical learning curves and prices literally 10x that of sketchup.
Modo302 may be a closer alternative, but I have no experience with that app.
I'm looking forward to see what else comes up in this thread.
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@tinanne said:
How about Blender?
PS, your avatar freaks me out!
Yeah, forceps delivery...what can you do?
The question is apps that work like SketchUp. Fossa, I don't plan on using it, I just need to mention them in my review of SU 7. And modo and Blender are so far removed from SU that they're not contenders.
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Tim,
I think that is where you are going to run into issues. There really is nothing that compares (closely) to Sketchup. Programs like (I hate to say this) Autocad have features like Sketchup but are not a direct competitor to Sketchup. Nothing is going to beat the simplicity of Sketchup (even though with simplicity comes limitations). Let us know what you find.
Scott
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I think that is the beauty of the predicament he is in. He needs to present the alternatives that the company could use. And list all the pros and cons of each software. In the end, nothing beats sketchup if you're talking about usability, speed, affordable plugins, etc. So it'll be great fun to talk about the "alternatives" when we all know there are none
Chris
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3D Via Shape, Truespace and Blender.
If you're doing a review then why does the comparison have to be apps that work like SU? SU is pretty much unique in the way it models, so there really isn't a direct comparison.
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JS1973 --
Because that's what the commission calls for. This is for 3DWorld magazine.
I wish upFRONT was still around
... hah! that reminds me:Design Workshop refuses to die...
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Hah!
Nice one, Frenchy....like it, like it...
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MoI migh be worth a look, quite similar in the thinking behind it, i think, but uses quite different technology (NURBS instead of polygons.)
Silo might be worth a peek as well, although i dont really have enough experience with it to say much more than that.
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Remus --
MoI is lovely, and Michael's done some amazing things with new ways of thinking about the interface -- I, for one really appreciate what he's doing
. Thing is, it's just not aimed at the same market as SU. (Can't wait for version 2.0, though... it may have construction history in it). -
So your looking for programs that have a similar market to SU and a similar methodology?
If so id have to join the 'that could be tricky' crowd. Thats why SU is so successful, as it has a niche.
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@unknownuser said:
I think that is the beauty of the predicament he is in. He needs to present the alternatives ... And list all the pros and cons of each software. In the end, nothing beats sketchup if you're talking about usability, speed, affordable plugins, etc. So it'll be great fun to talk about the "alternatives" when we all know there are none
@unknownuser said:
MoI is lovely, and Michael's done some amazing things with new ways of thinking about the interface -- I, for one really appreciate what he's doing . Thing is, it's just not aimed at the same market as SU.
If the criteria is only about finding a comparable program that works in a similar way to Sketchup, maybe there isn't one, maybe 3d via (but its still in beta). The low cost of SU might define it's market more than just ease of use alone.
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I wish someone would develop an interface plugin that allows blender to be used like sketchup. Maybe google should license their gui?
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I remember looking at Softcad 3D years ago and a recent forum post on here states that it's still available http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/viewtopic.php?f=179&t=14664&p=111107&hilit=softcad#p111107
On paper it looks good but I never found it half as easy or useful as Sketchup. I see Design Workshop was mentioned. I can't believe it's still around, I don't think it's been developed in years judging by their web site which still looks exactly the same. Again superficially similar but it doesn't compare to SketchUp in terms of ease of use and power. Sketchup was really ground breaking and 8 years later, there still isn't anything to compare to it that I know of. It got me into computer design from drawing by hand after trying Autocad, Archicad, Revit etc and getting frustrated with all of them.
I'm still interested in alternatives and I'll certainly investigate Form Z spin off in development, Bonzai 3D when it comes out, but given the time Sketchup has taken to evolve into the programme we have today I'd be surprised if anything new could rival it at least initially.
Kenny
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These are free open source apps but both have sketchup-like simplicity. Still under development, but Advocado is quite similar. (Tim Sorry if this is off topic as you probably want to only compare commercial apps).
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@chris fullmer said:
I think that is the beauty of the predicament he is in. He needs to present the alternatives that the company could use. And list all the pros and cons of each software. In the end, nothing beats sketchup if you're talking about usability, speed, affordable plugins, etc. So it'll be great fun to talk about the "alternatives" when we all know there are none
Chris
I can't agree more with the statement above. I've been keeping my eyes open for about 2 years now for simple 3d modeling apps and nothing even comes close to the ease of use of sketchup. Its not perfect, and has limitations but has filled a niche market that no one else seems to have any offerings for.
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I just found this on the autodesk website. Show your colleagues this and tell them in 3 to 4 years version 1.0 may be available for a small 4 digit fee (not including subscription that will probably be mandatory by then).
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I saw a video of that, kind of like autodesk's version of hypershot.
I'm interested in it, if it doesn't become vaporware. -
Nothing will ever compare to SU's workflow, so let's forget about that, however there may be something that will be just as easy and maybe with even more features, but a Sketchup it will never be.
I have found Hexagon 2 to be a great addition to SU, able to handle millions of polygons, facillitate nurbs using a cage system, offer texture and sculpting brushes, UV mapping, simple to learn and fun to use....but even with all that, it's not SU.
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DesignWorkshop has indeed not been developed in something like 10 years. If it still runs on your computer, that's about it.
Artifice is focused their online architecture magazine Architecture Week (?), Great Buildings Online, and keeping a web presence (which I am thankful for because they host the PowerCADD forum, which is failing along with that software's slow demise).
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