Chief architect versus Archicad

[Anonymous]

I'm a user of chief architect and I am looking for people that have switched over to archicad. What do they like and dislike

[Anonymous]

The last post here is back in 2008. Has anyone looked at Chief Architect lately? It's on my radar, thanks to a persistent client.

I looked briefly at the demo video, got half-way through their talking points, before realizing that most of what they do seems to be more efficient than AC. Isn't Chief Architect supposed to be a budget solution? Why is it they are outperforming (apparently) AC in terms of ease of use, interface (live dimenions when dragging a window into placement) etc.

One other clever thing I noticed - draw a roof, and it automatically places the ceiling. Simple, but brilliant stuff.

[Richard Morrison]

There are many things that Chief does better than AC. The new X3 release is going to be even better.

If you're doing mostly single-family residential, you should be looking at Chief. However, there are some things that are easy in AC that Chief just doesn't have. e.g.:

Teamwork
Schedules are far more robust and flexible in AC.
You can adjust the origins of fills more easily in AC.
Direct PDF import in AC. (Can only do JPG/TIF/PNG/EMF, etc. in Chief)
AC has better favorites & magic wand. CAD tools are more sophisticated in AC.
AC library objects are more parametric. On the other hand, Chief has a far more extensive residential library collection.

Bottom line is that there are many things that each program would benefit from having from the other.

[Anonymous]

Well, now that GS has aquired Zermatt, maybe they should pick up Chief, and roll VW, AC, and CA into one.

Speaking of walk-throughs.... how does Chief perform in 3D?

[Richard Morrison]

LINZ wrote:
Well, now that GS has aquired Zermatt, maybe they should pick up Chief, and roll VW, AC, and CA into one.

Speaking of walk-throughs.... how does Chief perform in 3D?

I think you should download the free demo and try it out. They also have a free "client viewer" so that your clients can do their own 3D walkthroughs. No need to buy the equivalent of Zermatt.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure if Chief does this, but being able to lock walls, doors, window locations, etc. to each other when resizing structures would be such a huge help!

Thanks for your info so far. I think I will download the demo and play around on it. You mentioned an X3 release? What are the release schedules like for Chief? Is it coming out soon?

[Richard Morrison]

No, there is no "lock" other than locking a layer. Resizing is more like stretching putty. Walls stay joined. You'll really need to try this.

Releases seem to be on a slightly longer than yearly average. I think annual was their original goal, like GS's, but they've been doing major rewrites that have slowed them down. X3 is in a public beta mode right now, so it will probably be "officially" released in a matter of weeks.

[Anonymous]

Chief is for children . Archicad is for architects .

[Richard Morrison]

archibaldo wrote:
Chief is for children . Archicad is for architects .

So, how long have you been using Chief, Dude?

[Anonymous]

The release date for x3 was jul-08, and the 3d capabilities for chief are far superior than archicad, i used adt, ac and did the transition to chief about 2 years ago, like i said for single homes its perfect, easy wt tools and the new render engine supposed to be really good, we upgrading our machines tonight so in about a week i give you guys a feedback

[Anonymous]

Great to hear! And considering you are working in Canada, the local experience doesn't hurt a bit! Looking forward to your thoughts.