Sketchup prehistory
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No, Jon, it was already version 5 but then the two (pro and free) versions were much more different (way less functionalities in the free version).
I first encountered with the free "Google" version last summer and started to use that. Only later upgraded to the Pro version.
This (learning the free version first) was extremely useful for me since I had no architectural and CAD (or actually any other 3D software) background except for working with 3DE people "hand by hand" in archaeological visualizations. So now I have my own tool but I doubt that I would've bought the pro version only after 8 hours of playing around... -
was it very well known before google bought it?
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I started using Version 2 just after it was released. In those early days SketchUp wasn't very well known. It was just starting to get noticed in architectural journals. It was a brief mention in an article in Canadian Architect that had me curious. Although really not all that long ago, in those days relatively few people had any kind of high-speed Internet so on slow dialup's it took some motivation to do the big download. I remember telling many people about it but they couldn't be bothered to sit through an long download. Also I think many then still didn't really believe 3D modelling would be all that useful or that it could ever be easy enough for them to learn casually. At that time all other three-d programs had huge learning curves and you had to be very dedicated to struggle through lots of trial & error just to get anywhere. In the work environment 3d modelling was far too time-consuming for most firms to even consider. It also was associated with presentation work and not design.
SketchUp changed that. Even in version two it was quite stable and very practical to use. All the basic functions were there (I think). Those who would try it would find that they could learn it easily, it was fun, it allowed creativity to blossom, and it could fit into one's work-flow. It was word of mouth and tradeshow demos that saw the numbers of users grow. There was almost no advertising. By the time Google bought it I'd say it was well known in the Architectural community. For us I don't really think it is any better known after Google bought it. The release of the free version has allowed it to reach new users in the hobby arena. Those new users would never have bought a $500 version.
Regards, Ross
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@ross said:
...Those new users would never have bought a $500 version.
I've bought it, Ross... And I had started "in the hobby arena..."
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Ahhhh, The good old days!!
I came in at version 2.
After searching for my first 3D app. I found a ridiculous 3D add-on to ACLT, then Design Workshop [which never excited me] and then finally, Eureka!! SketchUp!!
After pulling up a couple of squares, texturing them, importing a Palm tree, turning on the shadows and orbiting...I was hooked!...say about 30 min. flat!!
SU in those days was without text, dimensions, transparency and a lot more obviously, but was still incredibly useful.
SkechUp output was... well just that. This was before the Dennis or Marshall techniques and photo realism was just an impossible dream. Piranesi did however offer the chance of post processing at that early stage.
The forum consisted of three, then four sub sections and there was a core of about 20 contributors including about 3 @Last guys. Very exciting, innovative times.
People I remember from then include Ross, Mike, Susan Sorger, Grant Marshall, Kevin Hui [PushPullBar] and Frank [said in a whisper].
Ah well...we all move on
[And although this was all a while ago I still don't quite feel prehistoric
]Stu
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Google has the marketing budget and time frame that @last never could touch. They can flood the world with skippies and dominate the low poly market. Everyone can now communicate to some degree in 3D.
It's not a new tacit. Adobe mastered it well. They gave away a free PDF viewer so Acrobat would dominate a document format. I highly doubt Photoshop Elements has diminished the allure of Photoshop. Rather it's an affordable platform to master - until if and when - the user upgrades.
SU is now a more mature and commonplace program. It will never go back to early, novelty days. I don't miss it. 3D document expectations are changing. I like going forward, and many new features are being added. For one, only a free version would atract some of the new, innovative plugin developers popping up that now benefit SUers.
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The first version of SU I tried was 2 or 3 I think. It was great for me, I was just about strictly AutoCAD and a bit of 3DS max and Rhino before SU. IMO 5 added good features but 6 was good too, layout could have been better. I see Google's intervention as positive as long as they continue to develop SU as a serious tool for architecture and design alongside its Google Earth and hobbyist uses.
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gata, that's a pretty rosy view of SU's present position and future [ I can't actually agree but hopefully SU Google will stop lurching from one inept fiasco to another and finally start producing the goods.]
But we are talking about past right now, and if , for example, we were using our given names I would probably recognise you from 'way back then'
Stu
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stu, i'd hardly call sketchup "one inept fiasco after another." As far as im concerned SU is a dammed good piece of software, and even better, it's free. I dont know what more you could ask for really.
rem
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I'm not talking about the software I'm talking agout how Google have handled it.
Leaving aside the old chestnut of Google devaluing our expertise in SU by turning it into a hobyist freebie.
But how about V6? It would seem Google [rightly] felt that V6 was so average that they couldn't actually charge people for the upgrade. And Layout which, in some form, was demo-ed at the @Last bootcamp convention, was still in Beta form 18 months later. And then there was the melt down when they actually released the upgrade. And then there was the the very real fiasco of moving the forum to Google groups. And then there was the most recent service release stuff up.
And please let me make it clear that I'm not bashing the SU people who work at the coal face....they all sound motivated, dedicated and working their bums off....but its the bean counters and string pullers that we never hear of, that worry me.
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fair enough, i'll be quiet for the moment as i know very little aobut what google have done with SU (thus the thread!), but from what you're sayign it doesn't sound very good.
rem
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The way I view the free upgrade to 6, is again a marketing thing. Google can afford to try to get everyone on the same playing field as there are some programing changes in the works. I recently noticed one of them as I had to reload SU6 fresh. And that's the location of the Templates directory.
One of the SU6 updates moved the PC Templates directory to C:\Program Files\Google\Google SketchUp 6\Resources\en-US\Templates. The old Templates folder still exists, but there's a new folder now. Something is going on...
Google has recently released more online resources for plugin developers. Jim has announced a few of them in the Ruby forum before the SU newsletter. So I know I'm not alone noticing the changes afoot.
I've maintained my hardware and software menagerie, and as such I've no problems with any upgrade. I've only noticed a little software conflict with Style Builder Beta , and I'm confident SU will fix it.
SU is gaining popularity, there're 6 language versions to manage, and if the SU folks needed the resources of the parent company to help - and that meant moving to Google Groups - that's fine with me (although I wish Groups search was better). I like nice tools to do my job too.
It's apart of my nature to overlook a few 'bobbles' and focus on the future. What's happening with this little program does intrique me.
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and when did version 2 come out?
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Julius, I just checked here and it looks like version two came out some time between June 2001 and April 2002.
Regards, Ross
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Hi Ross,
How can we explain that 2006-2007 go down?
Regards and happy all,
Patrice
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I first heard of SketchUp from DataCAD LLC when SU first came out; they sent a demo CD, with an introductory rate to DataCAD licensees. SU was VERY basic then, a bit too basic to be of any use. I didn't buy a license until the end of version 3, when I saw a noticeable improvement.
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Memories, memories
I was there at the start with V1. I had been playing around with quite a few 3D programs but still took a weekly scour of the Net in search of that elusive 3D program.When I initially stumbled on SketchUp I thought it looked a little unprofessional and childish but decided to give it a try anyway. After just jumping in I was able to produce a textured model of a small cottage in less than and hour without even reading the tutorials. I was jumping around the place! My wife and kids thought I had lost it!
While attending the 3D Base Camp in Boulder I got a tour from Jim Holman, one of the original @Last Team. Jim showed me the original @Last office and the rear rickety annex that housed the computer that hosted the forum. Its a wonder that we are where we are today but as they say, cream always rises to the top
Mike
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I got to download and try SU in 2003 when v. 3 came out. About 15 minutes convinced me that this is a must-have...
Anssi
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I don't think it's too much to say that Sketchup has made my career in many ways. I now do everything in 3d and the quality that it can output has won me lots of jobs. This was from someone who tried Autocad and hated it so did everything by hand very laboriously. I then kept searching on the web like Mike and after trying out lots of 3d software (Archicad, Revit, Allplan, Softplan, Design Workshop...the list goes on!) I didn't find any of them worked intuitively.
One day I came across SketchUp version 1 and downloaded the trial and finally found found something that worked in a commonsense way but frustratingly was only licensed for purchase in the US at the time. I then nagged Tom Wyman at @last and they managed to licence me a copy in the UK and I haven't looked back. Whilst a lot of the original staff like Jim Holman and Tom have left I remain optimistic as those that are working on the software are still committed to improving it. I still keep an eye out for new software but so far, almost 7 years later I still haven't found anything that comes close to its speed and ease of use.
Kenny
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I've been using Sketchup since version 1. I paid for a license at version 2. Ahh I'm having a trip down mamory lane.....
The basic premise of the software is so simple and still core to the programs success.
a line is a line....two connected lines connected together are just two lines...but three lines...the magic third line connected together creates a closed loop and blammo...we now have a surface....all manner of magic is now possible. We can extrude that surface to form a 3 dimensional object...we can move an edge to alter the shape of that three dimensional object....etc. The simplicity of the notion that a surface is just a series of lines, arcs, etc that enclose a plane is still intact. We can paint the surface with a material, we can cut holes into that surface, etc. Once you master the simplicity of the program and realize that your task is to define borders that enclose a plane to create a surface then you can model anything possible.
Now each successive version of Sketchup has added new tools and visual capabilities and surface modeling abilities but the core of the program since version 1 has remained the same.
The beauty and power of the inferencing engine is the programmers way to harness the power of the computer to essentially allow the user the ability to "sketch" or interact with the data in the computer in a way that was revolutionary. I'd wager to say that 75% of what I do on a daily bases with Sketchup can be boiled down to maybe less than ten actual tools or program functions. With a three button mouse and the ability to zoom and pan and rotate the view all simultaneously with out thinking about it allows the user to keep his eyes on the screen and his or her mind on the task at hand and not the computer hardware in front of themselves.
Sketchup has in fact allowed me to take my thoughts out of my head and present them to clients in real time. It's indispensable.
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