How will the switch to subscription affect you?
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Subscription change everything between Sketchup and users community.
Your work is not your own. If you stop your subscription, you can't access to your file. Trimble increase prices, reduce service and benefits (for example, we have lost functions as Google earth and Google street view).
We have minimal shamed updates to charge clients each year as changing the name of the layers to "tag" or empty group ! : ))
I can't remember another example of shamed updates in the software industry !
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Don't forget the $120 fee for dashed lines year before last
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I've been a SKP using since the old @Last days (2002 or there abouts. V2!) I even went to the first basecamp in Boulder back in 05!
I don't wanna sound like an old'"Back in my day. . ." doofus-- but really...back then it seemed like the Mission of sketchup was just to be a simple, intuitive and easy to learn modelering program that pretty much anyone--from kids to architects--could download and start using in about 1/2 hour.
Sketchup only really took on higher levels of sophistication because of a community of wizards out in the world developed the plugins for differnet missions. Google and Trimble didn't seem to give a heck or a darn about developing it into anything more, so the idea of these high subscription fees seems ludicrous to me. IT seems to me that Trimble is looking to basically kill sketchup--(death by a million lost users!) rather than support it.
Luckily i have a work situation where subscriptions can be paid for but for a long time I carried my own license and it was working fine for me. but when i retire, in a few years, and still want to do some modeling as a side gig or for fun. . . Sketchup might just be a fond memory of an antiquated old kitchen appliance that will be probably get replaced by a new blender.
I don't suppose there's any chance of @Last buying it back?
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In fact we were told that Trimble was going to use SU to develop a NEW BIM system (iirc). Years later and nothing yet.
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We have 2 users at the University I work for, myself and a PM/Architect. He has already asked me about going forward. I am our dept's (Planning and Construction) "IT guy" as well as Asst. Dir. of Space Allocation. We can afford this price increase but I'd like to see something in return from them in the 1st year for this more than double jump.
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Answer to the topic question: it won't affect me, I already stopped upgrading and am holding on to my 2018 perpetual license for as long as I can.
I too am a bit concerned about the warehouse models not being available in older versions of SU as time goes on. I appreciate the Collada option, maybe that's all we need to make sure models continue to be backwards compatible.
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How will the switch to subscription affect you?
The little I do use SU for these days will get less and less, the days of excitement and participation are over, just look at the developers, remember when every week we had new and exciting plugins? now? not much at all.
The innovation has stopped, the product has reached the peak of what it can on it's limited core, now they are milking every cent from it.
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@solo said:
The little I do use SU for these days will get less and less
What software have you switched to?
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@solo said:
The innovation has stopped, the product has reached the peak of what it can on it's limited core, now they are milking every cent from it.
I agree that currently it has reached an end of the road as it exists. It does have potential but it needs to be given a chance to grow and I don't see that being under Trimble. Honestly, I think AutoDesk could, with their army of engineers, take SU and mature it into a great 3D/CAD platform. I know this is NOT a favorable option to many as I see the "hip" hate of AutoDesk on these forums ALL too often. Sorry, I've used them since '89 and knowing AutoCAD has kept me employed for decades.
imo as always -
@glenn at home said:
@solo said:
The innovation has stopped, the product has reached the peak of what it can on it's limited core, now they are milking every cent from it.
I agree that currently it has reached an end of the road as it exists. It does have potential but it needs to be given a chance to grow and I don't see that being under Trimble.
I concur with you and Solo that SU development has long since plateaued and there is unlikely to be any significant advances, given the current combination of product management and ownership.
However I also think the AutoCad hate is much like the Adobe hate — mostly well-earned
No doubt that AutoDesk has great CAD engineers, but I would much rather see SU move to someone like Robert McNeel & Associates (Rhino) where the company philosophy is a lot closer to AtLast's originating intention.
Not that either move is ever going to actually happen!
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@db11 said:
@solo said:
The little I do use SU for these days will get less and less
What software have you switched to?
Cinema 4D and Vectorworks, depending on the project, SU is used for previz fast designs and storyboards and the more robust software's used for the fine details and finished designs ready for build. Less and less people use Sketchup in my field, I sometimes feel like an outlier using MS paint while everyone else is using Photoshop.
The ONLY reason I still use SU is the plugin authors that have kept SU going and as we see, they no longer create new plugins like they did and Trimble just do not innovate, unless dashed lines are what you want. -
Thanks for the answer Solo. Seems similar to what I've heard from pros in other domains as well.
It has been disconcerting over the past 2-3 years to see how many of the top 3D designers and visualization pros that used to frequent and contribute to this board have dropped off — on to other software.
And it's true that the unbridled enthusiasm and excitement that used to attend the SU community with each new upgrade cycle has mostly given way to cynicism and repeated disappointment. Now this.
I'll likely renew my Classic license one last time, then run out the clock on SU for as long as it remains compatible with my (future) hardware / OS.
In the meantime, for long-term future-proofing I have broken the ice with Blender (thanks Chipp!) and am giving serious thought to buying a Rhino license — which I've trialed a couple of times.
Oh well, nothing good lasts forever
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I for one do have a copy of Form Z Pro and it is getting better with each release. Also they openly allow for their free version to be used FOR ANY PURPOSE WHAT.SO.EVER
It can also import SKP and DWGs with the free version (wat?). It's stair tool is better than almost any I have used with SU..yet.
It does a good job in bringing in a model I did in SU.....
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@db11 said:
...and am giving serious thought to buying a Rhino license — which I've trialed a couple of times.
Oh well, nothing good lasts forever
Have you looked at MoI 3D? It's a DAMN fine 3d modeler!
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@glenn at home said:
I for one do have a copy of Form Z Pro and it is getting better with each release.
It's been a while since I've looked a Form-Z, so I'll take your suggestion and check it out — thanks. I have looked at Moi and have followed most of Pilou's links to Moi announcements and feature updates — but I haven't tried it out yet.
I trialed Rhino because I needed to import a .obj into SU that needed a lot of cleanup first. My current inclination towards Rhino is due to its maturity (vs Moi) and its more complete feature set — especially for 2D output. Most of my (paid) work requires a set of either Construction or Workshop Drawings, so replacing LO functionality is a must for me.
My interest in Blender is for organic modelling and possibly rendering/animation. I see it, for now, as more of a complement to SU than a replacement.
But I'm not about to make any certain move away from SU yet. I won't rent software under any circumstance (and not due to pricing), but it's possible that with a future SU 2021 license I'll be able to get another decade out of SU.
Who knows - maybe SU2021 will finally be the real breakthrough we've all been waiting for these past 5 years!
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@solo said:
How will the switch to subscription affect you?
The little I do use SU for these days will get less and less, the days of excitement and participation are over, just look at the developers, remember when every week we had new and exciting plugins? now? not much at all.
The innovation has stopped, the product has reached the peak of what it can on it's limited core, now they are milking every cent from it.
That is so true. It seemed like there was always something new to download and try. TIG Whaat, and ThomThom and others on the forum have been doing great things but now it just seems like there is a dearth of real innovation out there. You have been missed on the forums Pete. I learned a lot from you. So I kinda figured you had moved on to greener vectors.
I check in every once in a while to see what's going on, but SKP seems to be dying out. Heck. .. does anyone even get the newsletter anymore? We used to get one every month?
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@solo said:
The ONLY reason I still use SU is the plugin authors that have kept SU going and as we see, they no longer create new plugins like they did and Trimble just do not innovate, unless dashed lines are what you want.
Sad, but true..
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I calculated the cost of the new Trimble SketchUp license under forced subscription over periods of 5 and 10 years:
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136% increase compared to SketchUp under Google period.
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71% more expensive than SketchUp under LastSoftware.
Over 10 years, Rhino costs half the cost of SketchUp
With a BIM extension (PlusTech on SketchUp, VisualArq on Rhino), over 5 years:
- SketchUp + PlusTech costs 20% more than Autocad LT !!
- SketchUp + PlusTech costs almost 3 times more than Rhino + VisalArq!
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@glenn at home said:
@db11 said:
...and am giving serious thought to buying a Rhino license — which I've trialed a couple of times.
Oh well, nothing good lasts forever
If you learn Grasshopper (free extension integrated into Rhino), you will see that it is better than SketchUp user experience. You will get x100 in your workflow. Getting things in seconds instead of an hour.
And the new SketchUp license cost two times more than Rhino under 10 years.
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@christopheadb said:
If you learn Grasshopper (free extension integrated into Rhino), you will see that it is better than SketchUp user experience. You will get x100 in your workflow. Getting things in seconds instead of an hour.
But can you make 2d drawings/sections etc automatically from a 3d model as easy as when using layout?
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