Graphisoft public roadmap - Follow-up conversation

[Gordana Radonic]

Dear Community, 

We're excited to have published our roadmap!

We'd love to hear your thoughts and questions. Please feel free to use this thread for discussion.

Graphisoft Insights announcement: https://community.graphisoft.com/t5/Graphisoft-Insights/Graphisoft-public-roadmap/ba-p/375281

Public roadmap on the Graphisoft website.

Thank you.

[Bawar Tanay]

HI @Gordana Radonic 

Can we have next to ideas a wishes tab, where you can put every wish in your database.

And that community can vote on it.

That way we can say that every x month graphisoft adds the most voted wish in to the next archicad version?

Guys what you do you think about that,?

[mthd]

Graphisoft could send every registered Archicad user the top fifty on the priority “to do list” and we can fill out a survey on our top ten priorities in order and send it back to them maybe ?

Edited to top 50 and every registered Archicad user to do the survey.

[Bawar Tanay]

Yes that could be,

But they already have a database of the wishes, every wish was posted had been put in a database and given a wish-number.

And those where already screened and looked by graphisoft.

So why dont we just say lets vote on those wishes.

I do understand on what is the aim for ideas then. I feel like the ideas tab is more a tab of ideas from nemetchek and thought of adding more complexity (mep and structural calculations) and not something from the user base right now.

I still think it's better

To use Archi cad for architecture/building technology

Dds cad rename to MEP cad use for MEP

And maybe let graphisoft buy structural software and rename to struct cad and use that structural models.

And then remake them In a way that they work perfectly together.

That is the way to get autodesk kind of feeling.

Instead Graphisoft/nemenchek  wants to follow autodesk revit, make archicad extremely heavy and complex so that no one can work on it.

Bytheway

Would love to work graphisoft haha you can hire me hahaha.

Jokes aside would love to help out and make graphisoft great again even with the future in mind. I think I can of like the idea of MEP cad struct cad and archicad but not in one software

@

[torben_wadlinger]

I miss the bug-fixing-tab. And the "we are hiring because we need developers, desperately"-tab.

[Andrea8200]

There is also a section in the roadmap with a wishlist where people can vote? 

It woul be nice suggest ARCHITECTURAL implementation to share with the users that can vote.

Other much more younger software as d5 render has something like that.

[Israel de Quevedo]

ddscad should become the revit version owned by graphisoft, a software to design the most specific construction details of a work, including MEP, not only be used for that, there are other disciplines that require complex systems that do not work in architecture software , such as, for example, structural reinforcements, wooden structures, (already included in ddscad), design of steel parts, masonry, roof details, and complex structural systems, (such as deconstructive facades).

Archicad must focus on architects, that is, on project management from its conception, parametric design, visual design, that is, more focus on art, design, communication, and direction.

archicad was never the competitor to revit, graphisoft must create a real competition to autodesk and sell it all over the world.

[Takis]

Dear Gordana hello,

I'm a structural Engineer and I use Archicad for over 16 years.

it is great that you shared with us the Roadmap! thanks.

My opinion is that, once Graphisoft has set the bases for real collaboration, knows exactly what to do and which tools are needed to this purpose.

The point isn't what is going to be implemented but when those Roadmap tools will be available in Archicad for full collaboration. I hope very soon.

Reinforcement tool is very welcome (as we suffer enough years for this with other 3rd party addons) but I noticed that Steel Connections are missing from the Roadmap plan.

AC26 Int.

Takis

[DGSketcher]

@Gordana Radonic Any chance of getting the Roadmap date stamped or change logged? It would save us from playing "Spot the difference" when nothing has changed.

[Rex Maximilian]

Should we make a betting pool with an over/under date on when any changes or improvements will be made? Put me down for $100 on over 30 days! 😂

[Nuge]

As has been said before how about fixing/enhancing the tools we already have,  most of what's been developed over the last few years is promising BUT terribly implemented (folders, attributes, stair, railing, curtain wall to name a few). fix these first before looking at BimX , MEP & Structural,  those areas should be very low priority

So my wish is for Graphisoft to revisit some of the previous developments and update them to work as they should.  Also, don't reinvent the world,  pick up tools like Land4 and include it with Archicad,  it's what the mesh tool should look like.  CI Tools Door & Window Builder / Coverings,  these are good examples of what Archicad should look like out of the box 

And finally focus on the small things that will make users workflow better,  a few examples below

LIVE LAYER PALETTE

EMBEDDED WEB LINKS

STANDARD THICKNESS MESH

MULTI LEADERS FROM LABELS

UNLIMITED REFERENCE LEVELS

LIVE ATTRIBUTE MANAGER PALETTE

SPLITING TABS ACROSS MULTIPLE MONITORS

METADATA WINDOW

[4hotshoes]

Archicad is nearly 40 years old. In the first 10 years, Archicad was way ahead of the pack. I remember reading in Cadence magazine the annual 3D Cad shootout. That was way back in the 90's just before Archicad was going to Windows. Apple was not doing so well at that time. Back then AC5 through AC9 where way beyond what most Autocad users could imagine being possible. And Graphisoft was just as bad at marketing back then as they are now. BUT Graphisoft was innovative! They were years ahead of anything referred to as competition. Revit was not yet on the scene. Now many other developers have copied the concepts in Archicad (ChiefArchitect, Revit, etc.) and BIM was not even a term yet, coined by Autodesk. Graphisoft was innovative and could define the BIM app to be what ever was best for its users, since there was no real competition putting on any pressure on the side of development. All that they needed to do was to provide a way to read & share DWG's.

But for following 10 years, the competition kept improving. AutoDesk offered to buy Archicad. Graphisoft refused (thank goodness). And they bought a virtually unknown, emerging app named Revit and bundled it for free with Autocad during that period of time. Revit gained a strong foot hold. And then it was no longer free as the AEC market was now committed to the natural step from Autocad to Revit. Autodesk made sure that that step would be easy.

Then for the last 20 years, Graphisoft discovered that Revit had taken the lead and they were now playing follow-the-leader in CAD software development. All of the sincere, innovative, development that had established Archicad as the clear leader in the AEC-BIM/CAD world was eventually placed on the back burner (all the stuff in the "Idea Pool"). Archicad is still a better app, because that is how much further ahead it was. But it won't be for much longer, because it would appear that Graphisoft has lost its vision, core value and drive for excellence. If GS remains on the nominal path that it is on now, it will eventually go the way of DataCad, which was another CAD app that was way ahead of its time.

If Graphisoft wants to be great again, it needs to rethink their vision and why Archicad was great. For starters:

1. I would recommend listening and acting upon user feedback. Users are your experts.
2. Quit chasing Revit! 
3. Fix all of the broken features in tools that were never fully developed 100%. There is a lot of dumb stuff that need simple fixes to make the process smarter and less frustrating. Each user reading this could easily come up with 20 little fixes that have been ignored for the last 20 years.
4. Reverse the Roadmap list. The stuff in the "Idea Pool" is on that list because that is where the best ideas are. There is nothing in the "Coming Soon" list that any users were begging for. Look at the lists again and note that it is indeed in the wrong order of Making Archicad Great Again. (Oh boy, I just made a political reference, sorry. Not my political preference. Hoping to redefine MAGA, 🙂 

If Archicad is to take the lead again, it needs to be a leader in innovation. It can never be a leader by marching to someone else's dumb beat. Take care of the customers and users you have and give them all of the best ideas on the back burner. Do it right GS or someone else will.

[torben_wadlinger]

Everything you write is correct. All this has been said to Graphisoft in the past years by different users in different circumstances. Without success. Instead, a CEO was installed who had previously only done marketing for decades. And that's exactly how the brand is currently developing: much ado about nothing.

But why does nothing change? Because the sales figures are right. Archicad is growing in the important markets (Asia, North America). Therefore, in the boardrooms they believe that everything is done right - regardless of what the users say (who have no idea anyway). But even Apple can no longer afford this attitude.

We all know: Archicad is developing too slowly, the error list is constantly growing and with the new strategy they are deliberately bypassing their core customers. They want to be like Autodesk, but forget that Autodesk covers a much larger market. And is also more innovative in the meantime. What is the most innovative feature in Archicad? Probably the BIMcloud. I can't think of anything in the core product that has caused a significant productivity boost in the last five years. Rather the opposite is the case (keyword: disappearing dimension chains, text fields that move by themselves, more than two years until the M1 version - and here only just ahead of Autocad).

All we can do is "bash" the product managers and keep our fingers crossed that, by magic, everything will suddenly happen very quickly. But even if Graphisoft implements everything on the road map in the next five years (really EVERYTHING), they are still five years behind the competition. Autodesk is now integrating Spacemaker AI into Revit, and who knows where they'll be in five years. BIM is no longer an issue - AI and ML are the defining trends.

We say (in Germany) that the fish stinks from the head, which means that the problem is always to be found at the top. Why does no one want to buy a US car? Because they are poorly made and their technology is outdated (except for Tesla in terms of technology). Why does the whole world want German cars? Because it is solid technology and they are excellently manufactured. Archicad has evolved from a Mercedes to a Chevrolet. And at a price of a Porsche.

[Mjules]

It's about a management issue on Graphisoft's part. 

[mthd]

True and also who pulls the strings at the top as to what is developed further first.

[snow]

Hi there,

It is interesting to see what is planned currently. Yeah!

I'm glad to see that 'Design Options' is the number one topic. Because that's not working in Archicad now, I've to struggle almost every day with it.

Hope it will really work. 🤔

Every thing else in the 'Coming soon' area for me, I feel more 'might be nice to have', but I'd liked to see some other things there, necessary to a better workflow in architectural planning... like...

Improvement with GO, joining of elements, model options for sections and elevations in MVO and so on (I don't have a personal list yet...)

[torben_wadlinger]

Let's face it: Archicad is a Dinosaur and Dinosaures are dead!

ChatGPT and ...

Maya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU50yDPAnJs

Blender

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGqd4l0qZ7Q

Dall-E and Revit

https://youtu.be/wRWnqGvlbnk

And more ...

SWAPP and Revit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrJE5k-quog

Spacemaker AI and Revit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhrDXRoAufY

No Archicad in sight.

[Mjules]

Whether we like it or not, Revit is becoming the leader in terms of Building Information Modeling (BIM).

It is the only BIM software which is also taught at CEGEP and universities in the province I currently live in. Therefore, the firms there don't have any other choice, but to use it. 

[Romans]

THIS is how and where the current development is going. Current tools and methods (2D-line drawing!) like AutoAD and SketchUp will very soon become obsolete (and the according skills, therefore jobs, too). And yes, Archicad also feels like a dinosaur in this regard and is lacking way behind. Please check the provided links and think about the consequences. 

These are just some examples of how fast and with a huge impact on our profession the developments are evolving.
Please stay informed about what is going on.

[DGSketcher]

I wouldn't be so quick to write off Sketchup. I know of users who have dumped Revit and gone back to a fusion of Auto$AD and Sketchup due to their basic simplicity. As CAD packages become evermore complex and the price of entry rises you will see startups looking at the low cost shallow learning curve options. Those cost saving will be passed on to the client by small agile business. Big business will have over invested and lack the specialist operators to respond to anything other than huge investment projects... "We don't touch anything less than a billion".

I have been saying for years that AC needs simplified to make it more accessible to new users; you just have to look at the forum posts to know how difficult it can be for them to grasp even the basics. A complex UI with growing irrelevance is not the way to build a fan base.

[4hotshoes]

I agree. Sketchup is here to stay because it is flexible and very intuitive and has a simple structure that is very adaptable for different users. Sketchup is focused for the AEC industry but cheap enough for new users to explore ideas with it.

when apps like Revit and Archicad try to be all encompassing for an industry as diverse as AEC, the apps get big, bulky, bloated, more difficult to learn and prohibitively expensive for the smaller firms. However, the small firm of (1-10) users are where the majority of users actually work, is a mistake. To ignore them and cater to the mega firms is an eventual dead end as a limited market.

I personally have my own copy of AC, but since I now work for a local firm. I cannot justify to keep paying for SSA as the price keeps climbing. I am being pushed out of being an Archicad user. I was hoping to keep my options open. 

[Romans]

We are talking about real 3D and BIM applications, and SketchUp is not. It is about sticking faces together in 3D space. Nothing more. The information generated in SketchUp is useless except for visualization. Advantage: it is easy to use and not expensive. 
The cost factor is otherwise really a huge roadblock and impacting the budget heavily, especially Revit (see all the open letters complaining about it). The Revit users are already in this cost trap with no way out. GS is unfortunately also heading this way with its subscription offers: ~ 250 € / seat / month is insane; imagine you have 5 or more seats..... (https://graphisoft.com/buy-now)

The discussion here was about the impact of AI tools. See SWAPP: these kinds of tools will attract developers and investors (and their building departments), and not only the big ones. It will increase competition and stress for small-scale offices/studios as well.