topic Re: ArchiCAD Flashback in Modeling

ArchiCAD Flashback

Anonymous — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:12:52 GMT

Hey

I felt like talking about the "good" old days and would be interested to get some other story's, how it all started.

My first ArchCAD in the late 80ties was the 3.4 Version. Only 16 ( I think) layers which where numbered and you could not change. No curved walls, roofs, no polilynes, layout, not even plotmaker, no rendering, no stairmaker, I am sure there is more but can't remember.

I had a mac II ( I think ) 512 KB of RAM, 20 MB Harddrive, chip I think 16 MHZ, 21 inch screen black and white of course !

Costing if I rember correctly:

ArchiCAD 12000 Dollars
Computer 10000 Dollars
Screen 8000 Dollars
and if you after all this could aford a pen plotter another 29000 Dollars

So the workstation cost you: 59000 Dollars, can't belive today Architects where able to by this !

Cheers Carsten

ArchiCAD, 3D StudioMax, Vray
www.emdeimages.com.au

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:52:51 GMT

When I started on ArchiCAD 3.43 I was using a Mac IIx with the blazing fast 16MHz 68030 processor, a massive 4MB RAM and a huge 80MB HD! I got to bump this up to 5MB when a friend maxed out his machine at 8 megs and gave me his spare 256KB SIMMs. The list price for the computer was $7350US and the 13" VGA Apple color monitor was about $800. Naturally I jumped at the chance to get a 20" XGA screen when the price dropped from $6000 to $3000.

I remember the 16 layers in the 4x4 grid. My "layer combinations" in those days were Post-It notes each with the name ("ARCH plan" etc) and the grid configuration drawn by hand.

It did have PlotMaker and rendering via the venerable Internal Engine (are you sure those were lacking in your copy?) but it did not yet have the arrow tool. I think we had to wait until version 5 for that.

I think you are right about StairMaker. As I recall that came out around AC4 to 4.5 as a HyperCard stack.

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:28:38 GMT

Matthew

4MB of Ram AND 80 MB HD wow this was quite a high end machine for it's time ! Love your layer naming by post it notes, was great idea.

Yes you right I did have a PlotMaker, it's hard to recall all this after so many years lol

I do remember my boss one day proudly coming in with a 50MHZ card, let me tell you the "speed" suddenly was unbelievable.

Can anybody recall when the PC version came out? version 6.5 perhaps?

On another note, your prices where much cheaper, I was working in Switzerland at that time, you guys ripped us off ! lol

Cheers Carsten

ArchiCAD, 3D StudioMax, Vray
www.emdeimages.com.au

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Piotr Dobrowolski — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:10:45 GMT

PC version came with 4.12 , and this was the first version I tried during studying time. The PC version at that time (on Win3.1) workarounded the DOS8.3 naming convention by having internal names. (I still might have the old lib parts with the internal/external names).

Best Regards,
Piotr

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Laszlo Nagy — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:17:22 GMT

The first PC version was in 1993 I think. It was 4.12 or something like that.
I started using AC in 1995 when 4.5 was the current, soon replaced by 4.55.
But at that time I had a Pentium which was pretty awesome.

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 04:16:10 GMT

so 4.12 that's sooner then I can remember! What I can remember is that I was kind of disappointed at the time, because we had something on Apple which "they" could not by on a PC, lol. There was absolutely nothing on a PC even close to ArchiCAD's features and easy of use. But in the long run I new they had to do a PC version, otherwise they would not have survived. Funny enough now I am on a PC because of 3D Studio and vray....

Cheers Carsten

ArchiCAD, 3D StudioMax, Vray
www.emdeimages.com.au

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:58:40 GMT

My first contact with Archicad was v. 4.16 EDU some guy at university have used it. My first own experience was few months later with brand new v.4.55 EDU (2500 DM at the time). I had an old 386 without math coprocessor so I had to use software emulator run before windows 3.11. Believe you me it was SLOW. 800x600 256 greys 13" screen and dot matrix printer. Some of my teachers refused to accept my projects.

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Aaron Bourgoin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:18:06 GMT

I had a copy of the first commercial release of ArchiCAD. It was steam driven and came with two mules to turn the pump. It was expensive, but it came with a year's worth of oats.

The mules have retired now and work at a winery in the Okanagan. The chances of my joining them anytime soon are slim.

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:52:32 GMT

Aaron wrote:
I had a copy of the first commercial release of ArchiCAD. It was steam driven and came with two mules to turn the pump. It was expensive, but it came with a year's worth of oats.

The mules have retired now and work at a winery in the Okanagan. The chances of my joining them anytime soon are slim.

Luxury

When I started with Archicad it hadn't even been invented yet. We'd work 28 hours a day, and have to pay for the priveledge, then we'd get home and Dad would thrash us to sleep with his belt...

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 01:11:31 GMT

But you try tell the young archicad users of today that it's fast and they won't believe you!

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 01:30:35 GMT

They'd be highly sceptical.

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:07:15 GMT

thanks, guys. great storys. Dotmatrix printer, 256 greys, teachers who did not accept projects, two mules, belt and young people that DON'T believe ArchiCAD is fast !?

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:29:43 GMT

Great vids.
Makes me feel exceptionally lucky, because my only problem is I have to sit on a chair made of razor blades to work on AC.

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

vistasp — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 02:10:07 GMT

It's a pleasure to read these stories. Keep them coming!

Lec, sorry to hear about your chair... My only problem is a 2-year-old tugging at my mouse-hand while I'm desperately attempting to click on an elusive mid-point.

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:46:00 GMT

I started with AC4.16 EDU on Mac at the university - there was a "computer laboratory" with Macs and even an Apple colour lazer printer and a scanner! Nobody could afford a computer at that time in Bulgaria, so I spent many days in the laboratory. Three years later I bought my first Pentium with 128MB RAM and 2.1GB HD - this was the fastest computer in the campus! I had a 15" CTX colour monitor which I used till graduation. Switching from Mac to Windows 3.11 was horrible!

Students were not allowed to present projects made using a computer till the third year.

AC could not draw an ellipse then and I had a design entirely with ellipses. So I started to learn GDL, but did not have any success. Finally a colleague, who knew BASIC, helped me with the script.

In the third year at the university I learned Autocad 14, because I was afraid I would never find a job with AC. But next year I got a job exactly with AC, because during the summer vacation I had made several renderings with the new AC5.0, which was able to use maps! It would be fun to show these first renderings, I think I still have them somewhere. 800/600 was a big resolution then.

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Aaron Bourgoin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:56:03 GMT

... clicking on the "Like" button

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:29:19 GMT

Carstene wrote:
Hey

I am sure there is more but can't remember.

I had a mac II ( I think ) 512 KB of RAM, 20 MB Harddrive, chip I think 16 MHZ, 21 inch screen black and white of course !

Costing if I rember correctly:

ArchiCAD 12000 Dollars
Computer 10000 Dollars
Screen 8000 Dollars
and if you after all this could aford a pen plotter another 29000 Dollars

....what's too painful to remember we simply choose to forget...

...with scsi cables, paralel ports and Rainbow keys and the box of floppies that was bigger than you're first house and took longer to install than it took to build Rome. Probably could have rebuilt Rome with just one box. But there was nothing like getting the "fatal error" message with the little bomb icon in it just as the 999,999th of the millionth diskette was ejected.

...oh and escribe.

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:26:56 GMT

I found the pictures in the archives - AC5.1 or 6.0, year 1998. Oh, my dear! 😉

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:47:28 GMT

I remember when upgrades were worthwhile.
I remember when I used to get excited with the announcement of the next release
I remember the new version had new features we could actually use and make our work easier.
It wasnt that long ago.....
Probaly for this present release it is more worthwhile to spend the money on archiforma, objective, or on cadimage add ons.

Ill be on version 12 for the time being....

Re: ArchiCAD Flashback

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:00:48 GMT

yes loved the little bomb icon, it was kind of cute BUT annoying. Saying this the deadlines where much much more relaxed......If you can't do it today do it tomorrow.

great render for it's time Kliment especially the trees, maybe I should dig around in my archive?!