Modeling
About Archicad's design tools, element connections, modeling concepts, etc.

ArchiCAD Flashback

Anonymous
Not applicable
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
37 REPLIES 37
Anonymous
Not applicable
Anonymous
Not applicable
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 !?
Anonymous
Not applicable
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.
vistasp
Advisor
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.
= v i s t a s p =
bT Square Peg
https://archicadstuff.blogspot.com
https://www.btsquarepeg.com
| AC 9-27 INT | Win11 | Ryzen 5700 | 32 GB | RTX 3050 |
Anonymous
Not applicable
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.
... clicking on the "Like" button
Think Like a Spec Writer
AC4.55 through 27 / USA AC27-4060 USA
Rhino 8 Mac
MacOS 14.2.1
Anonymous
Not applicable
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.
Anonymous
Not applicable
I found the pictures in the archives - AC5.1 or 6.0, year 1998. Oh, my dear! 😉
Anonymous
Not applicable
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....
Anonymous
Not applicable
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?!