Archicad 26 Preview

[Carlos Cordeiro]

UPDATE: registration process is now closed. We will proceed with some administrative tasks and the access links will be sent shortly.

Graphisoft is proud to announce the launch of the product preview phase of our software development for Archicad 26. This is in lieu of an expanded Beta period. This year, we changed our product Beta process to make it more streamlined, efficient, and effective. However, recognizing the need for customers to try our upcoming release in advance and in order to collect your feedback, our product preview will be launched at the start of our Beta period when all languages of the preview software are ready - INT, USA and GER, around April 14th.

If you would like to participate in the preview, please submit your request here.
Feedback regarding the product preview can be provided through the Jira Service Desk, available after registration.

We are looking forward to your participation and feedback in the upcoming User Group - register here .

Thank you very much for your interest!

Sincerely,

Product Success Team

[Bricklyne Clarence]

I mean,......that's shocking to hear that that was your experience as a Technology Preview participant,......but at the same time,.......I'm hardly surprised.

That's exactly what I expected it would be like.

It was basically just a glorified and re-branded Beta-testing process,.....which in Graphisoft's case, is in itself just a glorified bug-testing process with no opportunity to actually give useful feedback to the developers on what to improve and how, but to just basically shut up and tell them what the bugs are.

They're just toying with us now - especially after all that hullabaloo they made last year about making more of an effort to be more open with customers and to interact more.

They were never serious about any of it.

What a joke they are.

[Eduardo Rolon]

It was worse than what you are thinking/writting…

[Bricklyne Clarence]

Now that it's actually been released, I'd love to hear more from the experiences of any Technology Previewers/Beta-Testers regarding their participation in the process since (I presume) the NDA period should be over now.

It's always a mystery what signing up to one of these processes usually entails, and I believe it would be beneficial to those hoping to participate in the future.

I for one, used to (naively) believe it was a back-and-forth process between the developers and testers that allowed a certain level of input beyond just bug-testing. Clearly I was wrong in that belief and I'd be curious to know from those that have participated what their experiences and even their feelings towards the whole ordeal was like.

[DGSketcher]

Take these three words and make a sentence wall, brick & head. I think unless you had a showstopper bug most of the feedback was ignored or added to the sometime maybe pile. Already seeing things in 26 that should have been improved in line with feedback. May not waste my time next year given there wasn't anything meaningful offered in the roadmap today and it seems like no one is listening to their most experienced users.

[Martin Jules]

Meanwhile, I will continue using Revit to make money.

[ArchiMind]

I was in the beta program, it was all about debugging experience, less about implementing ideas. So hopefully that idea of a live document called Road map will bring the Archicad crew in the right direction. 🙂

[jl_lt]

Talk about some vitriolic comments against GS now that it has been released! But they had it coming. You cant neglect your user base like this while pursuing a software from a company with so much resources. At this pace it would take like 15 releases for Archicad to catch up with revit in terms of MEP and structure, assuming Revit stops doing anything.

I didnt see the launch event, but here is a basic concept from school: first work on what the assignment asked for, then you can experiment and explore whatever you want, otherwise you might end with nothing to show for.

GS is venturing unto uncharted territory for them while neglecting some other basic needs. I hope at the end it works out for them, but i dont see any attempt to work on longtime wishes (something that up until now i had hoped they were doing on the background, but it is clear now they are not)  nor do i see an even mildly functional structural software that my engineers can use right away if their strategy is really to lure structural engineers. i won't be giving them any analitical models out of Archicad that´s for sure.

So what is there to show for? You cannot keep building a crystal palace on weak foundations. It is still an absolutely great ARCHITECTURAL software that i love working with, but at this pace it will be outdated soon.  They have already wasted 3 releases with features no one seems to care about nor anyone asked for. At least no one here. Come on Graphisoft, step it up.

Im starting to download it... That is, Vectorworks, just in case 

[Bricklyne Clarence]

I have an even better analogy.

Imagine a client hires you for a commission to design a house for them.
You both set up a schedule for progress meetings to meet up and discuss how the design is coming along and for you to get feedback from him on your design and to get ideas for what he wants.

The last several meetings haven't gone particularly well as he feels you've been focusing on things he doesn't particularly want for what's to be his new home, while trying to sell him on stuff he has no interest in. Meanwhile his list of concerns regarding your design keeps growing by every meeting as none of them are addressed while he picks up on new things that don't seem to work at all.

In the most latest meeting you show up with what you think is a brainflash of an idea to move the large picture window from the hallway facing te ensuite bathroom, to which he responds, ....

"Okay, that's probably a good idea that I wasn't even focused on. It probably shouldn't have been put there in the first place, but that wasn't my main concern.
I'm still concerned with the Den where I shall be spending most of my days in as I hope to make it my home office and for three meetings now I can't see you made any efforts to a integrate any of the ideas I had. What's been going on?"

How long do any of us imagine we would be able to keep a client like that, much less attract new ones based on his recommendations (or lack thereof)?

Luckily for Graphisoft they work in a business model that essentially ensures they still get paid regardless of whether they show up for that progress meetings with nothing more than updated lineweights and a revised titleblock on the Drawing sheets, and with Invoices to charge the client on the other hand.

The rest of us live in the real world where you actually have to show your work to get paid.

This is a large reason why I'm convinced there are no architects working with or at Graphisoft anymore.
Because no way in hell would this ever be tolerated in the world we live in and have to work in.

Some people way think we're being tough on them, but just try for a moment to think of it from the perspective of the business you have to operate in and generate an income from

Would you tolerate this from someone you're paying for their services or products?

And the problem here is that their attitude is essentially,....

"If you don't like it, then you're free to take your business to my (even worse) competitor just down the street and see how you like being listened to only half the time I do......when I do."

The 'abused spouse' syndrome is beginning to have frightening resonance right about now as an Archicad user.

[jl_lt]

Up til this point, and contiuing with your analogy, i assumed Graphisoft were the genius architect that knew better than the client. the kind of dude that takes the requirements list from the client, throws it in the trash can, and then comes up with something the client didnt know he wanted and still ends up loving it. 

But in order to do that, you have to do your own thing and not give a feck about what anyone else is doing. The moment you keep chasing someone else, in this case, Revit, you lose. which is what is happening here.

[mthd]

Apart from wasting my time reading about fruitless debates, how much time to do we need to waste posting here instead of doing our work ?

I am retired and I have read these negative comments many times in the past. If you like Revit, use it if you like Archicad, use it, if you like them both, then use them both.

A software company has many users to please and it cannot please everyone at the same time can it ? 

If you are not happy with what your subscription is paying for, you can choose to not have one.

They are only tools that we use to achieve our ends of designing buildings and the types we are engaged in.

Yes we can put our requests in on a wish list but those who decide what it prioritized make the decision on what is in the next release.

Different users have different needs and in the end we choose what will help us to get the job done as close as possible, with what is available at the time.

Don't waste your valuable time with what is not productive for you.

Have fun using Archicad and make positive suggestions.

Thank you.

[jl_lt]

No. I dont like Revit, but i like even less the fact that they are trying to convert my beloved Archicad in some sort of revit wannabe.

But You are right. I wont waste my time further answering responses like this above

[Paul King]

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@mthd wrote:

If you are not happy with what your subscription is paying for, you can choose to not have one.

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One could say the much same about reading comments you are tired of seeing to be fair  - you can always choose not to.   

A 'take it or leave it' attidude seldom changes hearts and minds or results in useful engagement or persuasion.

We are indeed operating in an effective duopoly. There are no serious BIM contenders for Architectural teams other than Archicad and Revit, for the normal range of multistory / institutional and commercial buildings most practices work on.

There are only two wells in the desert in other words.  Both somewhat poisoned.

If you want to survive in business as an Architect at all these days, you have to pick one of them.  But that does not mean we need to express uncritical satisfaction with the situation.

Revit dominates with its predatory marketing and assimilation of competitors, but with both Archicad and Revit exploiting their effective duopoly control of the market for all it is worth to extract maximum annual income for minimum annual development cost or improvement, egregiously penalising those who might wish to pause on the financial extraction readmill until such time as worthwhile updates are released.  Both relying on the stick, rather than the carrot of intrinisc merit in the upgrades on offer, to ensure we continue.

[mthd]

“A 'take it or leave it' attidude seldom changes hearts and minds or results in useful engagement or persuasion.”

That wasn’t my intention. I was just merely stating that people can choose what softwares to use in their business model, that’s all.

There are allot more than just 2 choices with CAD software as well and as you know.

Yes there are couple of big players out there in the commercial world. I can say that Archicad is willing to collaborate with the other because of the engineering facet of construction being a critical component.

I was in the low rise residential field and I have used other software to do my work as well but Archicad was my first line of choice for the type of work I did.

Archicad does way more than what I used it for.

This site is for Archicad and if some want to rave on about other products that don’t contribute to the improvement of Archicad, then don’t waste your time.

Comparisons are good when you are illustrating an area of improvement but those comments should be in the suggestions for improvements.

Enjoy using Archicad.

[Karl Ottenstein]

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@mthd wrote:

Don't waste your valuable time with what is not productive for you.

Have fun using Archicad and make positive suggestions.

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I think you're missing the point, and of course you may freely choose what you want to read or not read, but I think adults can choose how they wish to spend their time, including posting here.

I see these posts as therapy for people, but also - in their own way - as positive suggestions to Graphisoft who seem utterly clueless about how unhappy the vast majority of users are with the value they have been getting for their subscription dollars for many versions now.    Most people complaining have made a financial, intellectual and even emotional commitment to Graphisoft which Graphisoft has not respected, justifiably creating hurt, frustration and anger.

Make positive suggestions?  There are over 20 years of positive suggestions via wishes and workflow posts in this Community and the previous archicad-talk (which has been ported here).  The point of many people here is that these wishes and suggestions have been summarily ignored over and over.  What is the point of making any further 'positive' suggestions when the things people have wanted for years are neither implemented - nor discussed as part of a road map.

Will most people keep using Archicad?  Probably.  At least for a while.  But customer loyalty - including word of mouth sales to others -  is extremely valuable capital - and Graphisoft has squandered it in my opinion.  It is hard to imagine what they can do to recover it.

[Martin Jules]

This is a situation that could have been avoided and now I'm starting to worry about the future of such a great software like Archicad!

[femi5foot]

The smart reason I wear two BIM caps (Revit and Archicad). Now I am suddenly tempted to try on Edificius (by ACCA), a new BIM software that listens to its users. I most confess Archicad works well for me in my design process but in comparison to Revit, I feel they need to do more.

Yes, users will be dissatisfied when you are left behind in this BIM game of time and deliverables, and Archicad might find themselves trying to catch up. The next generation architect kids are looking for the next efficient user friendly BIM tool, that appeals to their needs.

[Lennox]

Is there any update on the release date  / premiere of AC26 ? I thought that I read that it was going to be July 14th?

[Barry Kelly]

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@Lennox wrote:

Is there any update on the release date  / premiere of AC26 ? I thought that I read that it was going to be July 14th?

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It was.

And before you ask videos should be uploaded to this community soon.

Go to the Graphisoft website and you can download it (if you are one of the lucky 6 language versions released already - AUS is not available even though it says it is).

Barry.

[femi5foot]

I saw a pop-up reading Archicad 26. 2, I guess they were quick to just release the dough version whiling waiting  for the baked version. Interesting times for Archicad developers.

[Martin Jules]

When Nemetschek praises its revenue while it has been unable to respond to my emails on its alternative strategies in terms of passive design features in Archicad 26.