The guys from @Last must be disappointed to see what has become of their baby.

Moreso, I think they would be genuinely upset to know there are so many disgrunteled SketchUp users.

Most of us suspected that it would end up this way, but of course we hoped it wouldn't.

And, because I am a sentmental kind of guy, I am going to take a moment to thank everyone from as way back as @Last and to all those who (until now) have made so many valuable contributions to SketchUp which have made it such an enjoyable and affordable software to use for so many years.

SketchUp has spawned some incredibly talented people over it's time eg some brilliant modellers, extension developers, amazing render platforms etc. And, so many friendships from around the world have been formed through the various forums over that time.

Cast your mind back 20 years. Who could ever have imagined or predicted we would be producing the type of images we are today ?

I sincerely hope that common sense will eventually prevail, and SketchUp will be allowed to resume its place as an affordable 3D modelling tool as it's founders intended.

Good to see you are safe and well Majid, and congratulations on the birth of your son.

I remember many times over the years you would disappear from various forums for a while and have us all wondering if you were OK, and then you'd pop up, always cheerful, and always with a positive spin on life.

You are highly respected and much loved my freind.

Will it have 'TRUMP' emblazoned on the sides...??!!!

Happy New Year guys.

I hope you are all staying on the 'straight and narrow'...!!

I am looking forward to March 10....that will mark my 3rd anniversary of being cigarette free...!!

Happy New Year everyone...!!

Just a thought as to why so many people may be missing. In addition to some of the reasons given thus far, I had some thoughts on this some time ago, I don't know how valid they are but they might be worth considering :

It is possible, like most things in life, that even though many of the contributions in here (and add to this site the many other sites) are still quite amazing, that some people are not as easily excited by what they see.

Are we (and I am speaking generally here) becoming a little complacent and possibly not as appreciative as we once may have been ?

As a relative newbie to SketchUp in 2005-6 I was 'glued' to a couple of forums several times a day because I couldn't get enough of some of the stuff being produced, and I would ask hundreds of questions (and probably annoyed the hell out of some people at that time !) and those extremely generous people were always (and still are) patient, generous and willing to give their valuable time and knowledge to help those of us who wanted to improve our skills.

I see fewer questions being asked, which leads me to also conclude that many are becoming familiar with modelling and rendering much faster. There is a vast array of video tutorials which are easy to follow and provide the less experienced with instant information. Perhaps students are better educated these days too.

I suggest this because there was a time when I was blown away by a relatively simple raw SketchUp model, then came a few modellers who began creating more complex and detailed models, developers began creating amazing add-ons and then along came a few rendering engines which took models to a new level, and now those rendering engines are offering even more features and are relatively easy to learn.....all of this occurred in a relatively short period of time.

Sorry for making that a looooooong read...!!

@solo said:

You live on a boat that rocks, using a VR headset which is disorientating and drinking wine, level of difficulty: Insane.

...and wearing a life jacket would be bloody uncomfortable too..!!

yeh mate, a truce would be nice but that seems to be a pipe dream.

When I watch the 24 hour world news channel, I brace myself for news of yet another nightmare happening somewhere in the world...it just won't stop...!!

Hmmmmm....and that's $US

It converts to $944Australian dollars...might have to think very carefully about whether or not I upgrade.

I seem to be using ArchiCad more often and SU less often these days, although I must admit I get far better rendered images if I model in SketchUp and then render with Twilight or Thea......but why do anything twice !!??

I have made quite a substantial investment in ArchiCad over the past 5 years and that includes the 'Select Agreement' which means I also receive the new version each year.

@juju said:

@gareth said:

With every disaster comes an opportunity.....

.....if sea levels rise substantially, someone who owns a property 2 streets back from the beach might eventually have a beachside property and the property value will increase...!!

I don't think 2 streets back will cut it though (depending on topography), and imagine the view with so many dilapidated structures in the water.

yep...and that's why i carefully chose the words 'might eventually'

....certainly wouldn't help if there are rows of multi storey apartments on the beachfront though....the view wouldn't change for a very long time....!!

On a serious note, humans have a lot to answer for and if Futurepast's comments about methane are correct (and I have no reason to doubt it) it is something that should be acted on quickly.

I recently watched a documentary about some scientists here in Australia who have discovered that methane gas can be more than halved by mixing a particular type of algae with cow fodder (and much easier than using a cork...!). The next step is to find ways to commercially harvest vast quantities of the algae...!

Nice one mate...!