IdahoJ,

This behavior is definitely not normal, and crash issues should now be fairly isolated. Do you get the crash just launching, or do you need to do something else afterwards to cause the crash?

And did you make sure to install the Microsoft vcredist.exe component?

ThomThom,

There is a known issue with Place Content with Metric units that can cause a zoom problem on some systems. We are working to get this corrected, but if you go to Edit: Preferences: Language, and select English Units, you can then test the Place Content without this problem.

support@bonzai3d.com

Gentlemen,

We have now released the third update to bonzai3d. This update focuses on stability issues, and it should now be in much better shape. If you would like to try it, visit the bonzai3d web site (also still under construction) here:

(www.bonzai3d.com)

We have also released a number of introductory videos that you can view to see if you want to try it.

We hope you like it. If you have any feedback, please don't hesitate to contact us.

support@bonzai3d.com

@plot-paris said:

when I had a look at the beta of Bonsai 3D, I was a bit shocked - because that little application showed me how limited SketchUp really is. in the few moments between crashes of Bonsai 3D tools such as the 'bend tool' the 'round edges' tool or the 'twist tool', alongside with the truly fantastic real-time boolean operations (that are so much cleverer than what SU does), showed quite plainly how far SketchUp still has to go.

Gentlemen,

We have now released the third update to bonzai3d. This update focuses on stability issues, and it should now be in much better shape. If you would like to try it, visit the bonzai3d web site (also still under construction) here:

(www.bonzai3d.com)

We have also released a number of introductory videos that you can view to see if you want to try it.

We hope you like it. If you have any feedback, please don't hesitate to contact us.

support@bonzai3d.com

Bonzai3d PUBLIC BETA TEST LAUNCHED!

The much anticipated bonzai3d is now available to use in beta version. Enjoy and revel in simplicity coupled with power and ease of use. Those who have tried it out so far have left a few comments ranging from -"I love it", "simply amazing", "this is a sketching program with a spine", to "Great app, well executed and powerful", "bonzai is going to be phenomenal!", "Bonzai3d is everyone's built-to-order 3D Solid thinking tool. Not only it offers all I wanted from a smart 3D modeling environment, but also other things I did not know I needed" We'll let you be the judge. Bonzai3d will sell at the introductory price of US $499.00 at its expected release date in April.
Download your copy HERE: http://www.bonzai3d.com/

form.Z SPECIAL ANNOUNCED!

To celebrate the release of bonzai3d public beta, AutoDesSys is offering form.Z RenderZone Plus with a special discount at 25% off all new user licenses along with a free update to version 7.0 when it is released in the second half of 2009. This special offer ends April 30, 2009. 
For more details click HERE: http://formz.com/products/formz/formz_offer.html

form•Z STUDENT AWARDS PRESENTED AT ACADIA
AutoDesSys has been involved in the education of students wishing to master 3D since the early 90s. This year its president, Chris Yessios, presented the awards in Minneapolis at the 16th annual form.Z Joint Study Awards ceremony during the ACADIA conference. Students were honored for their accomplishments in the fields of Architecture,Interior Design, Visualization, Fabrication, and Animation. Read the article HERE: http://formz.com/informz/feb_2009/page2.html

FEATURED USERS IN THIS ISSUE
The following form.Z users are featured in this issue:
Nikalete Funk, Burgess & Niple, Inc., Columbus, Ohio
Dan Manoim, M. A. Ganor Ltd. (D.S.E), Tel Aviv, Israel
Bernd Meissner, meissner>dokuteam, Kissing, Germany

See samples of their work HERE: http://formz.com/informz/feb_2009/user1.html

INTERFACE MULTIMEDIA CREATES THE GALLERY MODEL OF SAARINEN’S TWA TERMINAL

Some of us are old enough to remember when TWA (Trans World Airlines) dominated the sky and its famous terminal at JFK airport in New York City. While the airline is a long lost memory by now, Eero Saarinen remains one of the 20th century’s most prominently acclaimed architects and the designer of this impressive structure at JFK. Interface Multimedia assisted in the creation of the gallery model of the TWA Terminal using form•Z to design it as part of a touring exhibit piece in Europe and the US until 2010, the centennial of Saarinen’s birth. Check it out HERE: http://www.ifmm.com/project_page.asp?c=4&type=714936&ccc=719572

form.Z USER IN THE NEWS

Renowned architect and form•Z user, Giorgio Boruso was honored in New York City at the Interior Design’s 2008 Best of Year Awards for his design of FORNARI HEADQUARTERS Milan.

Explore - Design - Deliver

Let there b3d

Bonzai3d is a new 3D modeler developed to fill in the demand for a quick, easy, simple but, most importantly, geometrically robust approach to 3D, based on design industry essentials and designer requests. More HERE: http://www.bonzai3d.com/

Gentlemen,

This is just the first public beta of bonzai3d, and there are definitely more improvements in the works.

While Redranger is not on our staff (he may be a "bonzai3d guy"), he does quote our price right -- or almost right -- $499. See our following post, where we will repost our announcement, that some of you may or may not have received.

Pixero,

Sorry, we found an issue with patching bonzai3d on Vista with UAC on. If you either temporarily turn this off, or if you simply move your bonzai3d folder outside the Program Files folder, then the patch should work properly and fix the majority of the Windows crashes.

If anyone finds a specific action that causes a problem, please let us know the specifics. We are working hard to make bonzai3d as good as possible -- as quickly as possible, so anything that we are able to reproduce will be corrected ASAP.

Hebrides,

I think that it is a little unfair to compare a beginning user's "game play" in one software with an advanced user's play on another software. If you want to see an advanced user with formZ, please see our Demo Videos:

301 Moved Permanently

(www.formz.com)

Perhaps see the Penguin or Birds Nest -- or Amphitheater demos...

And of course the interface is being improved substantially with bonzai3d, so this will only make things better and easier.

support@bonzai3d.com

Plot-Paris, Lewis, Phil, et al,

We have found that with specific customizations on certain Windows based systems, it is possible to get frequent crashes with the first edition of bonzai3d Beta. We have identified the cause for this and released a correction for this.

Please see the excerpt from another thread for details:

Re: Bonzai 3D First Impressions
by bonzai3d support on Tue Feb 10, 2009 3:18 pm

Gentlemen,

Glad that most of you are liking bonzai3d so far! We have been working hard, and we are pleased to announce that bonzai3d public beta update (build 7194) is now available. To access this, please click the link below:

(bonzai3d.com)

This update fixes a few critical problems in the bonzai3d public beta build 7188. Future updates will be available through the "Check For Update" item in the Help menu.

Fixed issues include:

1. Crash on Windows with certain display font settings.
2. Crash at startup when an internet connection is not present.
3. Crash when attempting to view Introductory Videos when an internet connection is not present.
4. Video audio not stopping when the video window is closed.

As noted, this patch addresses these critical problems. We expect to release more patches frequently via the automatic update process to fix the rest of the issues that have been reported.

If you have not yet downloaded the beta version, you can download this new updated version by filling out this short form:

(bonzai3d.com)

We are also working on a number of performance enhancements that will be implemented soon.

Thanks again for your reports. Let us know if you find anything further, and let there b3d!

support@bonzai3d.com

Thomas,

As "Big James" notes, there was a potential problem with bonzai3d on certain windows systems that we have identified and corrected. Here is the relevant portion of our post from the link that James provides:

Re: Bonzai 3D First Impressions
by bonzai3d support on Tue Feb 10, 2009 3:18 pm

Gentlemen,

Glad that most of you are liking bonzai3d so far! We have been working hard, and we are pleased to announce that bonzai3d public beta update (build 7194) is now available. To access this, please click the link below:

(bonzai3d.com)

This update fixes a few critical problems in the bonzai3d public beta build 7188. Future updates will be available through the "Check For Update" item in the Help menu.

Fixed issues include:

1. Crash on Windows with certain display font settings.
2. Crash at startup when an internet connection is not present.
3. Crash when attempting to view Introductory Videos when an internet connection is not present.
4. Video audio not stopping when the video window is closed.

As noted, this patch addresses these critical problems. We expect to release more patches frequently via the automatic update process to fix the rest of the issues that have been reported.

If you have not yet downloaded the beta version, you can download this new updated version by filling out this short form:

(bonzai3d.com)

We are also working on a number of performance enhancements that will be implemented soon.

Thanks again for your reports. Let us know if you find anything further, and let there b3d!

support@bonzai3d.com

xrok1,

No need to upload your SketchUp models to 3dWarehouse. Just save as SKP 6 (or earlier) and use the File Menu: Import command. If you want this file to be merged with an existing project, check the Add to Project Import Option (from the lower left corner of the import dialog).

Mike,

Dan posted cost information right above your post. Did you miss this? If you need any further pricing information, contact sales@bonzai3d.com for details.

Also, WE are "support@bonzai3d" because we are not just a single person, but a group of people who are representatives for bonzai3d. If you want a shorter name by which you may refer to us, you can just write "b3d" if you like.

Hebrides,

Did you actually give bonzai3d a try, and view the Introductory videos? Once you learn a few simple tricks, you should find that bonzai3d is a very powerful program that is also quite quick and easy to use.

If anyone has any further comments or questions, feel free to post here, or better yet, visit our forum: http://www.bonzai3d.com/beta_forum.html or send us an email. We are happy to hear your comments and answer your questions.

support@bonzai3d.com

Fakircho,

Thanks for your testing and report. We have now been able to reproduce this, and we will get it corrected.

Please let us know if you have any further questions or problems.

support@bonzai3d.com

Fakircho,

What video card and driver version are you using when you get these display issues?

support@bonzai3d.com

Gentlemen,

Glad that most of you are liking bonzai3d so far! We have been working hard, and we are pleased to announce that bonzai3d public beta update (build 7194) is now available. To access this, please click the link below:

(bonzai3d.com)

This update fixes a few critical problems in the bonzai3d public beta build 7188. Future updates will be available through the "Check For Update" item in the Help menu.

Fixed issues include:

1. Crash on Windows with certain display font settings.
2. Crash at startup when an internet connection is not present.
3. Crash when attempting to view Introductory Videos when an internet connection is not present.
4. Video audio not stopping when the video window is closed.

As noted, this patch addresses these critical problems. We expect to release more patches frequently via the automatic update process to fix the rest of the issues that have been reported.

If you have not yet downloaded the beta version, you can download this new updated version by filling out this short form:

(bonzai3d.com)

We are also working on a number of performance enhancements that will be implemented soon.

Thanks again for your reports. Let us know if you find anything further, and let there b3d!

support@bonzai3d.com

Gentlemen,

A number of you mention that you get "instant crashes" after launching bonzai3D. We have found one potential cause of this problem can be certain Windows Customization settings. If you are having this problem, right click on your desktop, select Properties: Appearance: Font Size, is this set to Normal? If not, does setting this to Normal fix the problem?

If you still have trouble, if you go to Display Properties: Themes: and choose a standard theme (such as Windows XP, or Windows Classic) does this fix the problem?

We have also found that it is possible to get a "trial copy expired" message to appear when you are not connected to the internet. We are working hard to get both of these issues (as well as a number of others) fixed as soon as possible.

We also hope to add support for SketchUp 7 format files soon. (As you have discovered, use SKP 6 format until then.)

Please let us know if you have any further questions, suggestions, or problems by emailing us at support@bonzai3d.com, or by posting on our forum: http://www.bonzai3d.com/beta_forum.html

All the best,

bonzai3d Support

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the warm reception on your forum. We hope to be able to provide answers to all your questions.

We have found that there can be issues when running bonzai3d without an internet connection. We are working to get this resolved ASAP.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

bonzai3d Support

@unknownuser said:

@unknownuser said:

Now people will turm more and more away to other programs, even to bonzai,

Vaporware.

Gentlemen,

We are pleased to announce that bonzai3d Beta has now been released. You can take it for a test drive by clicking on Get Beta from the upper right corner of the bonzai3d web site:

(www.bonzai3d.com)

Enjoy!

bonzai3d support

8. bonzai3d should work fine when not connected to the net -- although the net is required to view the introductory videos. If you are having trouble running bonzai3d when you are not connected, please email your specifications to support@bonzai3d.com so we can invistigate this.

Ecuadorian (et al) -- I am sure that if you take the time to fully investigate bonzai3d, you will not be disappointed.

Again, please don't hesitate to contact us directly if you are have any questions or problems. You can also check our Forum at: http://www.bonzai3d.com/beta_forum.html, where you can get more info and quicker feedback.

b3d!

bonzai3d support

To address a few specific issues that have been raised on this thread:

1. Initially demand for bonzai3d was incredible and it swamped our servers. We have dramatically increased capacity, and it should be running properly now.

2. If you are still having stability issues on Windows after updating your system and video driver, please send your system specifications to support@bonzai3d.com so we can test with your specific hardware configuration.

3. Navigation: You can zoom in or out with the wheel mouse. You can orbit the scene by clicking and dragging with the Ctrl key (WIN) or Command key (OS X) pressed while dragging the cursor with the left mouse button pressed. You can pan by dragging with the middle mouse wheel pressed. You can navigate with the arrow keys. And you can access many more navigation functions via the Edit Menu: Key Shortcuts: Direct View Navigation commands.

4. The introductory videos are not yet on our web site, but we are working on this. If you have downloaded and run bonzai3d Beta, then you can access the videos from the start-up screen. See the Navigation video -- and others for details on how bonzai3d works.

5. Fakircho -- you mention that you can only zoom out with your track pad. Which navigation technique are you trying to use?

6. Lewiswadsworth -- You mention that you are getting reproducible crashes. Can you please send your BNZ.zip file to support@bonzai3d.com so we can investigate this?

7. Tim Danaher -- There are some similarities with formZ, but there are many many differences. Have you checked the introductory videos yet, and really given it a try?

... to be continued

bonzai3d Support

Gentlemen (and ladies?),

Thank you for taking the opportunity to try our new software, bonzai3d! Bonzai3d is a new 3D modeler developed to fill in the demand for a quick, easy, simple but, most importantly, geometrically robust approach to 3D.

We have worked hard to make it as powerful, user friendly, and intuitive as possible. We are convinced that if you take the time to watch the introductory videos, and give it a test drive, that you will find it to be both easy to use, as well as a powerful modeling program.

bonzai3d is still in beta, so some irregularities are expected, and these will be corrected as soon as we are informed about them. However, some of the comments posted in this thread raise suspicions that there may be problems with the systems on which it is being run. bonZai3d utilizes OpenGL extensively, so it is rather important that you hvae properly installed and up to date video drivers. Likewise, for operating systems. We do not want to bother you with too many technicalities, but we will be happy to help you if you are interested in the details. Also, if you have any specific questions about features of b3d, we shall be happy to answer, here or on our forum: http://www.bonzai3d.com/beta_forum.html (It is preferable to post questions to our forum, as we monitor these more frequently -- and thus we can respond more quickly.) You can also email us at support@bonzai3d.com if you like.

Concluding this we would like to thank you all for hosting a discussion about b3d. We would also like to take this opportunity and express our respect for the SketchUp application. We have no interest in "killing" it. On the contrary, we expect SketchUp and b3d to compliment each other and hopefully this will be made easier when SketchUp evolves to the next level, as many of you have been requesting. Of course, you can also expect b3d to continue evolving as we hear feedback from you, and our other users.

We will make another post that includes more specific answers to questions you have raised here.

bonzai3d Technical Support
support@bonzai3d.com