Has anyone come up with a way for SU to compute a path up a slope based on characteristics of neighboring cells - see example, probably from IDRISI GIS?

Also cost surfaces, this could be the real cost of working on cells with different slopes, aspects or soil types, with the result being a change in color of cells, or output to a table with a cell reference. These are also used to predict e.g. plant occurrence based on site variables.

I have some pseudocode (from others) and many examples and algorithms if this interests anybody.

Stairs 2nd Ed.2001.Stairs. by Alan & Sylvia Blanc.
Lots of figure-ground drawings, sketches, analysis of routes involving height changes, garden architecture - A perfect book and really enjoyable to read.
kindle - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stairs-Sylvia-Blanc/dp/0750648465

Thanks Francois, I too use SU and VW, and your process will be very useful for me.

Thank you Roland for sound technical advice and to Kristoff for comic relief.

Finally getting a new PC built. What are your recommendations, warnings etc?
Also do you also use Vectorworks?

System will be Windows 7, tower (so no more mobile chip slowness, better cooling etc).
Will have two external monitors, possibly one with new 218ish ppi display.
Hoping to start Twilight, with Thea later on.

Work is mainly landscape, so lots of organic objects/high edge counts. Also do a lot of animated model presentation (Joinme).

CAD working environment is Sketchup Pro 8 and Kerkythea, plus Vectorworks 2012. No intention of changing anytime soon as they both work fine.

Only other graphically intense software is ArcGIS & GRASSgis.
Current system is a Toshiba Satellite Pro L500 notebook.
64bit
Intel 2x Duo 2Ghz.
Graphic card is ATI Mobility HD 4500
Ram: 4GB

Hi Kaas, Great plugin, really, really useful - I really hope you're able to make a SU 8 version.

go to http://www.sdmitch.blogspot.com (a VERY frequent contributor here) and look for Select by Polygon near the botton of the page, it works very well, and there's even a video Sam made to explain it.

Great result eric, I like the reflected light on the portico ceiling and shadowing across the curving wall surfaces, that's enough for me - I don't need photoreal and this helps me think that I'll buy Twilight soon.

Welcome to Sketchup Max,

When you say line drawings, what is the image format they come in? If it's jpg, tif, png or bmp just go File>Import and then in the dropdown choose the File of type dropdown and select your file.

BitmapToMesh is more useful when your image is say an aerial photo where the tool interprets different color pixels as different heights and then makes a nice contour surface of them - BUT only use images of say 100 x 100 pixels else you'll crash.

IF your images are simple like you've shown here you're probably better off tracing them - after all you only have to draw half and then mirror it - get the mirror tool http://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?listtype=1%26amp;author=0%26amp;category=0%26amp;search=mirror%26amp;submit=%3F - but there are many many ways of doing things in SU so keep asking questions as you go forward

There is a tool called image trimmer (search for it in the pluginstore), but read carefully first.

Have a look in plugin store for Tig's components to grid - it places all a models components on a grid centered at the origin (0,0,0)
http://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?pln=components_grid

I tend to avoid using Roundup in planting schemes as it shuts down essential root-fungal associations (mycorrhizae) and harms human health... 'Thus, glyphosate enhances the damaging effects of other food borne chemical residues and environmental toxins.':

'Glyphosate’s suppression of cytochrome p450 enzymes and Amino acid biosynthesis by the gut microbiome: pathways to Modern diseases - entropy 2013, 15, 1416-1463' - full text link to mdpi - a science publisher: http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416?utm_medium=referral%26amp;utm_source=pulsenews

and like this:
"Glyphosate tends to be moderately persistent in soils and there are several half-lives documented for the herbicide, ranging from 3 days when applied to a silt loam, to 270 years when applied to a clay loam." -

'The Synthesis and Reactivity of Novel [Co(L)(PMG)]n+ Complexes. MSc thesis, Cusiel, University of Canterbury, NZ'. Link to a NZ university: http://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/handle/10092/1312

I've studied herbicides towards my degree and it was categorically stated that Roundup broke down completely in the soil and was not residual and was 'safe'. It is hard to find papers critiquing modern herbicides, and with the second paper, though published in 2005 has only been cited twice. Researching Monsanto may be bad for your ability to attract research funding perhaps.

I too find it mind-boggling that ms would actually create an account here.

Just found this on BLDGBLOG http://bldgblog.blogspot.co.nz/2014/10/touchscreen-landscapes.html - a real sandtable with realtime surface painting and more, in the link make sure you watch the linked vid - lots of possibilities in that - how soon before someone reverse engineers and re-releases it

Very elegant Dave - I'm always on the lookout for clamps, these will go in my (ever growing) things to make list.

Hi Tak2hata What an amazing plugin! This will revolutionize how I design cars into spaces. A real game changer - what would you charge (or is it even possible) to make this work with SU pro 8. ?

Agree totally, always get model releases from anyone whose image you publish, otherwise someone will sue your pants off.

DOD3R - have you had a look at this http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=21077 - I haven't played with it yet but the images and discussion look very promising.

I had this issue earlier this year, I found that by ridding Google from my life and my computer I was able to get the service back - I was getting odd error messages saying the service was not available for my region (NZ)

I assume you're only modelling the surfaces that we can see in the above image? I.e. Is the duvet (and the bed) a solid model or just an upper skin?

Thanks Aaron, that sounds more useable

Waiting, wainting...still no answer since last week AND I sent the same query as an email.