Revit 2012 Another horrible release

[Anonymous]

Man, it seems that Revit really doesn't want to compete with Archicad. I think many Revit users will switch now to AC.

http://autodesk-revit.blogspot.com/2011/03/autodesk-revit-architecture-2012.html

[Anonymous]

blobmeister wrote:
Man, it seems that Revit really doesn't want to compete with Archicad. I think many Revit users will switch now to AC.

http://autodesk-revit.blogspot.com/2011/03/autodesk-revit-architecture-2012.html

haha. You are joking right

[Anonymous]

3d tagging? Come on now, is that a feature we would be happy with? I hope Graphisoft doesn't spend time on this nonsense.

[Anonymous]

I like the new 'create assembly' tool. I could see it implemented in ArchiCAD a bit like the internal elevation tool but looking inwards with extra automatic top and underside views.

I've also noticed a rather childish and condescending blog post by a reseller on the bimboom blog saying how sad he is for ArchiCAD users and that we should 'give up the fight' now that R*vit 2012 has been released! Is it just me or is there still very little comment or reaction by R*vit users online yet, and the few that have commented so far (and aren't resellers) are mainly negative? So where are all these tweets and blog posts he mentions that we should be crying over?

I'm not sure many of the features announced would actually help the average residential architect who doesn't build bendy swoopy buildings i.e. 95% of all architects, so perhaps it's the majority of R*vit users who should be 'giving up the fight' and moving to ArchiCAD instead!

(Awaits the deluge of posts from R*vit users!! )

[Anonymous]

We're only a small practice and are going back to Archicad after being with Revit for a couple of years...really can't stand the interface, can't work in axo views, hate filling in endless spreadsheets they call dialogue boxes, all in all no emotional attachment...2012 version is so...well, so, so.The best comment I've read to date:

"If this is a real list of the most significant improvements... it looks like the description of some useful features of some witty plug-in.... why they do not work on the main part of the software....??!! I pay two subscriptions for this? Hopefully the real release will reserve us something more....

Now Graphisoft has a whole year jump on them...

[Chadwick]

Former ArchiCAD user and current Revit user here - I still lurk these forums from time to time. Just wanted to throw in an opinion here:

All of these features that any program tauts for a new release are the minor concern. What's more important, like it or not, is market share. This is what is going to drive widespread use of software. Why do you think AutoCAD was more widely used than ArchiCAD? Same for why Revit is more widely used now. I think it has less to do with the feature set of the software than we'd like to think...

Apple has been a master of this. My phone can do anything an iPhone can do and probably more, but most people don't care because most people SEE everyone else with an iPhone. You flood a market with your product or even images of your product and most people are likely going to gravitate towards it.

Another example is how Microsoft is winding down hardware production of the Zune MP3 player. I had a 120GB Zune for the longest time and liked it better than any iPod I had ever owned. I had an "enlightened" view in that I knew that the Zune was superior in some ways than the iPod and if the majority didn't know that then that was their loss. I 'knew better'. But now the Zune will be gone. So what good does that outlook do for you in the long run?

[Dennis Lee]

MP3 players and CAD software platforms are two very different things to compare here.

For me, I chose AC 5 years ago, and have been enjoying the ride so far, and will be growing my practice for years to come with AC. What's really funny is that the MP3 player analogy kind of brings to mind Microsoft vs Apple competition, but not in the MP3 player market. All the main stream business people thought that PC was the way to go, Apple may be better but it just doesn't have the "market share". Look where we are now, even Autodesk is making their software for the Macs now.

I think people should stop looking over the fence and concentrate on learning their program of choice more in depth. They are both very competent programs, it comes down to how you like the interface, the work flow, and maybe preference of the corporate philosophy.

[Chadwick]

The main reason Autodesk cares to make software for Apple products now is because of their increase in market share.

And I do believe you need to keep tabs on other software in your industry. If you don't you could be left in the dark when your software of choice disappears. Look at what is happening to Piranesi and MicroGDS. I'm not saying they are going to be gone but their future looks very shaky.

That being said, keeping tabs on other software doesn't mean you have to unabashedly blast the competitor every chance you get.

[Bricklyne Clarence]

Is it just me or does Revit Server and Revit WorkSharing look disturbingly similar (yet, oddly still archaic) to ArchiCAD's BIM server technology and Teamwork 2.0 - a 2 year old technology, by the way.

And I notice a lot of their other new features are also things that already exist in ArchiCAD or have been staples in ArchiCAD for years like better DWG production and control, 3D views and details (also known as 3D Documentation in ArchiCAD and also 2 years old.), the create parts feature also looks like another way of saying ArchiCAD's core/skin representation capability.

It would all seem to validate the assertion that Autodesk developers craft their development strategy by way of a copy of the latest version of ArchiCAD sitting on their desk and also by taking a look at GS wishlist forums.

I'll admit that there are some new features that would be nice to have in ArchiCAD (mostly the massing and modeling tools - but that's a whole other argument that GS have to resolve on their own), but from the looks of it and from the negativity of their users so far, it would seem like Autodesk have spent this release playing catch-up to Graphisoft and opened a wide door for GS to get through.

The question is, will they (GS) take the hint and the opportunity to go right through and take the initiative with AC15?

[Anonymous]

Dennis wrote:
MP3 players and CAD software platforms are two very different things to compare here.

I think people should stop looking over the fence and concentrate on learning their program of choice more in depth. They are both very competent programs, it comes down to how you like the interface, the work flow, and maybe preference of the corporate philosophy.

I totally agree, we started using Revit 'cause we thought that was the way to go, Autodesk marketing doing their thing!
In the end it wasn't for us. As architects, we think we are "visual" people and the Revit interface and the clunkiness of it was so distracting, and believe me we tried every combination of graphic cards imaginable!!
To my mind software to a designer needs to be "transparent". We think and design in perspective, and so use the program as the first schematic design tool, having dumped our drawing boards a decade ago!!

I to have an iphone but I've owned every other brand as well over the years! It is the only phone I never had to read the instruction book...its all to do with the interface.