Archiplus

[2raarchitecture]

I have just being informed I have a subscription for Archicad plus. After just being about finish paying 8k for the license. They say i have to p[ay $800 more! or else i will have to pay 2k for the next release. (Thank you for not holding a gun to my head) Please, I wonder honestly if I can get some feedback about getting this or not. I rather safe 1.2k and I really have no choice. I hate scams! I guess this is what i get for not wanting to pirate the program and work without a license!

Alternatively, can you please advise on the best way to make the most out of this?

[Eduardo Rolon]

It is not a scam it is the cost of the upgrade which as with most software are released on a yearly basis , you don't have to pay it and you can stay in your current version for as long as you want.

IIRC if you let it lapse then the price to upgrade goes up but it doesn't matter how many versions you jump.

You already paid for your current version +01 which I am guessing is 24 and 25. If you don't don't plan to upgrade to 26 then don't pay the $800 but to make it worth it the next time you upgrade should be for version 29 in order to save not paying the yearly $800 x3 = $2,400 if the price hasn't gone up during the years you stayed in 25.

[2raarchitecture]

I just want to do the right thing, and this gets very frustrating. I know of people very close not paying anything at all, and I am trying my hardest to stay current. I think it's excessive as designers are not paid fairly anyway. On this note, I would like to gather honest feedback regarding the need to keep upgrading every year or wait until 29. it's very hard now to make ends meet. 

[2raarchitecture]

I have been using this forum for morale and support. Because I work on my own, and I have no other colleague that does the work. I rely on this to keep myself going. Thus, this is the one thing i really appreciate. Thank you for your answer and your support.

[Martin Jules]

@2raarchitecture It would be kind to upgrade your license every year even if you were not satisfied with the corresponding features.

[Barry Kelly]

Your Archicad supplier should give you a list of what is included with the Archicad Plus (Select Service Agreemnet (SSA)).

Not only will you be able to upgrade to new versions each year, you should also have access to an additional surfaces library.

You may have access to additional objects from the distributor (this seems to vary depending on the distributor).

It should also cover loss or theft of the license so you do not have to purchase a new one - there may be replacement fees involved for administration and again check with the distributor if this is part of the agreement.

And a discount on the Archicad Learn portal if you are SSA member.

And there may be more.

As Eduardo mentioned, if you are looking to upgrade each year anyway, then it is worth it.

Barry.

[Marc H]

I can appreciate the costs, as I pay out-of-pocket for my Archicad. What I did was  budget out my BIM platform needs over a 3-year timeline at a time, for both hardware and software.

After setting the initial costs, I set aside $500/yr for hardware plus the cost of upgrades (which then became an Archiplus subscription). I also budgeted for training in each of the first few years. (I took Eric Bobrow’s Best Practices 3-day course and it was well worth it. A course like that will save weeks of effort and help establish good workflow habits.) 

I think of my BIM platform as a central hub in my technical work environment, especially with the increasing data management capabilities. And I think of the GS programmers as much like architects in working to design a great platform with a huge diversity of needs by all of us.  I want them to be compensated for their professional work, too.  In AC, there are a lot of great tools, and if you are like me, you’ll want to have the newest ones within a month or two of their release. PARAMO is a great example, and before that was the Program Manager, the interactive Stair Tool, the Curtain Wall Tool, etc. Things we now think of as routine. Now there is also the MEP module (which I was paying for separately) and there is also the TwinMotion link, which I do not have time for, but I’m sure others here do use it extensively.

I hope this helps.

[ethanbodnar]

Going through this experience too! The one thing I realized recently is that Graphisoft only supports a certain number of Mac OS versions back. So if I don't continue paying $800 a year eventually I won't be able to upgrade my computer OS since AC won't work on it potentially. 

While the last two years of version releases gave my small residential design practice almost nothing in new features it's tricky to decide if the $800 a year is worth it, but then I get worried I'll fall behind or they will in fact come out with some valuable new features / tools.

[2raarchitecture]

hank you very much for all of your answers. I value this support as I do work by myself. I hope the best approach is to make the most of the new features and plus website, to really juice it out, as there is little to no choice. It would be helpful to offer some tier or breakdown. I know of people not paying for all types of software, so I understand the value due to developers. I will ask to make arrangements to pay this in installments and try the make the most of it. I appreciate all of your answers. 

[2raarchitecture]

On this note...I would like to find collaborations, to do work together. I will post about this on the forum, but I welcome working together with any of you. Thank you!