BONZAI 3D RELEASED
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Just a heads up for another SU look-alike.
As a former FormZ user I'm on the hit list.
Demo available.
Lots of functions but too many menus to get to them.
Will handle big files but IMO SU is still the King.
http://www.bonzai3d.com/bonzai3d_homeN.htmldtr
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I thought this had been out for quite some time now, we had a big thread on it and everything (although i'll be dammed if i can find the aforementioned big thread.)
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bonzai does have several tools that could be very useful in SU, specially if working in the architecture field
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I was impressed by the "10 reasons" video. Read some of the old posts, and would like to know if anyone here has recently worked with it, and has any updates to the previous concerns? In regards to rendering, at worst, one could export to free Su, and render with it's plugin:-)
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bonzai 2.0 in beta:
@unknownuser said:
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b3d 2.0 offers 3D dimensions, 3D clipping planes (non-destructive sectioning), a Walk-through tool, six new NURBS tools for blending, merging, and extending curves and surfaces, overhauled printing, adjustable size of tool icons, improved view navigation work-flow, and more.
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The RenderZone plug-in offers photorealistic rendering, including global illumination and ambient occlusion. It is compatible with formZ RenderZone Plus and allows the smooth transfer of rendering information between the two applications.
i dunno, i'm pretty sure they're gonna get my 500 bucks eventually.. they seem to be developing the app quickly and openly which is obviously lacking on the SU side of things..
i haven't checked their site in a while but i did last night and saw they have almost 40 videos up now..
http://www.bonzai3d.com/bonzai3d_video_320N.htmlsome of that stuff looks superb.. especially when compared to SU
what i really wish would be both Bonzai and GSU to support each other's files.. both could export and import .skp and .bzn .. this is from a pure user point-of-view but i'm sure the business side of things will kill that dream..
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@kwistenbiebel said:
I remember from the older Bonzai thread that there were quite a few bugs that crashed the software. Have these been resolved?
The beta thread?
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I remember from the older Bonzai thread that there were quite a few bugs that crashed the software. Have these been resolved?
The fact that there seems to be open communication about development is a major plus so I will be keeping my eyes on Bonzai.
Also, the NURBS and freeform tools invite me to have a look.
Perhaps Bonzai-to-Sketchup could be a good workflow to be able to keep on using the mainstream render engines.... -
I am not sure which thread it was.I had the impression that Bonzai was out of Beta for quite some time now so I take it that they solved things.
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I had many crash problems with the beta. Not had much time to test the final - but from a quick trial some while ago it seemed much better. Now my trial has expired...
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@unknownuser said:
support each other's files..
Sorry to hijack the thread, but if file format support is even a tiny bit important to you, I dunno... Rhino seems to be "the" program for crazy architecture nowadays and is what is used in some Colleges (besides SketchUp), so if you want to be able to seamlessly collaborate with other people (or be able to open your own files in the future) I'd say go with Rhino or MoI, as both use the same file format. At least to me, this thread is the only place on the Internet where I read about Bonzai3D... besides Bonzai's own website. Everyone else out there seems to be talking about Rhino, Revit, 3dsMAX and SketchUp, but Bonzai3D is almost unheard of.
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True, Rhino is the sh*t these days if you go contemporary
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But it isn't the easiest to learn....so does Bonzai3D has the advantage here? -
moi looks sweet.. but, i'm on macs and i've asked m.gibson about the future of moi and other platforms...
@unknownuser said:
I wish I could do it, but it is just not going to be feasible to get it done
anytime soon.i have wenatchee which is the mac rhino beta and i just can't get into it.. i'll try for a day or two but then give up realizing the major commitment required to get to know the program.. i sometimes think that once it's out of beta i will take a few classes and learn it properly.. if you're saying rhino and sketchup work more_or_less seamlessly together then you've just made my commitment that much stronger.. with my version of rhino though, i can't import a .skp file or export to it.
with bonzai, all their videos were made on macs so that makes me feel a little better about the app.. i'm not too concerned with how popular the product is because if it does what i want it too then that's fine..
[edit] or maybe we're talking about something different when it comes to supporting each other's files.. i'm not talking about guaranteeing i can open a bnz file 10 years from now.. i'm talking about opening a bnz file in SU today
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Jeff, its not very feasible to open SU files in rhino/moi/bonzai as they are all NURBS modellers whereas sketchup works in polygons. Basically this means the models youd get from converting a sketchup file to a rhino/moi/bonzai file are very hard to manipulate using the toolsets of a NURBS modeller.
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i'm pretty sure you can work with meshes in all those programs too.. well, bonzai you can and i think rhino too.
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fwiw, it's mainly SUs lack of nurbs that has me looking elsewhere.. what i'd like to do is something like:
do all my blocky stuff in SU the take key parts of that into a nurbs modeler to build the weird surfaces. then back into SU as a mesh.and who knows, maybe after i learn a different app i'll ditch SU alltogether but i don't really see that happening... it's just too quick and plenty accurate for a lot of the stuff i need to draw..
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@unknownuser said:
i'm pretty sure you can work with meshes in all those programs too.. well, bonzai you can and i think rhino too.
Fair enough, i havent got any experience with rhino and bonzai, so i was just going form what ive seen in MoI and solidworks.
If your looking for quick and easy NURBS id seriously consider MoI, its pretty light weight and fast and has very good Su export, so could fit nicely in to an MoI->SU work flow with a bit of playing around.
edit: doh, forgot you where in a mac.
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Remus, for that Jeff needs to switch to... gasp... Microsoft Windows. Don't worry, Jeff, Windows is not that bad nowadays. You can always use dual boot. (or vmware? Oli uses it for windows apps)
Jeff, I tried to do what you are describing (Main app > secondary app > main app) with ArchiCAD and other modelers years ago, but it's just too tiring having to export > import > cleanup all the time. I guess I've just grown lazy. Back in my ArchiCAD days I used an external renderer with it, but now I prefer integrated ones in SU.
But if Bonzai fits the bill and you don't see yourself "bootcamping" or "vmwaring" anytime soon, then go for it and tell us how it turns out.
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@ecuadorian said:
Remus, for that Jeff needs to switch to... gasp... Microsoft Windows. Don't worry, Jeff, Windows is not that bad nowadays. You can always use dual boot. (or vmware? Oli uses it for windows apps)
ha, learning a new OS sounds way worse than a new app
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i just missed the whole windows thing somehow.. i grew up with macs and most of my friends/associates use apple computers as well.. nyc is fairly mac-centric so maybe that has something to do with iti do think if i could automatically know any application, i would pick rhino but with what i need software for, i don't think the amount going into mastering it is worth it.. or, maybe i'm misunderstanding it and it's not so hard to learn afterall ?? i mean, if it's only twice as hard as sketchup to learn then that's fine..
bonzai however seems like a familiar app to me.. it doesn't seem like a daunting undertaking to get into it and produce some drawings i can actually use for something..
i just wish someone else from this forum would guinea pig it instead of me
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so, bonzai will import .skp just fine (well, as long as it's version SU6.. they say something is wrong with GSU7 files for them to be able to incorporate them ?)
fwiw, this is exactly the type of stuff that i'd like to draw in another app besides SU because even with some of the rubies out there, this still requires a lot of work to do cleanly and accurately..
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Jeff, I apologise for the shameless plug, but have you had a look at Punch software's ViaCAD? Worth mentioning because of the terrible lack of good CAD on OS X. ViaCAD (or VC as we users know it as), has very powerful surfacing tools, some of which, are derived from CATIA technology. VC has translators for SketchUp (as well as AutoCAD and Inventor and many others), costs $99 and works on a Mac too (I use both OS's, but know what I prefer!
). VC actually looks like a mature Mac app (not Cocoa, but near enough with floating tool bars and drop down menus from the top of the screen), unlike Bonzai, which to me, looks like a bad PC-to-Mac port.ViaCAD also has a big brother called Shark FX, which costs a bit more, but has far more advanced parametric, surfacing and CAM tools. You'll also be forgiven for thinking that they both look like Ashlar Vellum or TurboCAD, because VC originally started out being licensed to these companies. I think that VC makes an excellent partner for SketchUp (so does QCad, but that is a different story!)
regards,
Tom
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