How to build large complex polygon objects in ArchiCad?

[Anonymous]

Hi!

ArchiCad have some timeproblems and memoryissues with complex large polygon objects, how shall we build our objects for making it so easy as possible for ArchiCad to handle?

What is your experience?

/Tobias

[TomWaltz]

What kind of large objects did you have in mind?

[Anonymous]

Now I'm up to build a roof object that make roof-tiles like picture in link below

http://www.lafarge-roofing.com/products_services_roofing_tiles.html

Now I have build the roof-tile in 3d and saved as GDL that I after that imported to my big roof object. So every rooftile are static.
But one side of roof take alot of ArchiCad power (I have build laaaarge gameworld that doesn't lag like ArchiCad does with a tiny modell (relative) like this)

Is there a better way than make the rooftile static? Maybe I have too fine resolution?

[TomWaltz]

What's wrong with a bump-mapped bitmap?

[Dwight]

Archicad users should know that Version 11 provides a substantial improvement representing roof tiles in renderings.

First of all, few users are aware that The LightWorks Surfaces include a Color Shader called roof tile that is paramteric - it offers several tile patterns including the Spanish example our colleague wants to use. the drawback has been that the partial implementation of Lightworks meant that the tilework was replicated with no relief. Ugly as your Cousin Bertha.

It has been a long-held belief that Roof tiles depicted in 3D are too much for Archicad to render. Time and RAM beyond reason. Some users make elevation views of their work once with the modeled roof tile and then save the views as lines, replacing the modeled tile with line work by tuning off the tile layer and pasting in the tile line work.
[Thank you, Duane. Call me. We should catch up.]

In version 11, Graphisoft implemented additional Displacement shaders corresponding to many of the color shader patterns to add depth and realism. It is tiresome to match scales between the shaders when you edit, but it is easy to test the default settings.

This is the basis for the "LightWorks in Archicad" Version 11 supplement.
Please buy now before they run out as supplies dwindle steadily.

[Anonymous]

TomWaltz wrote:
What's wrong with a bump-mapped bitmap?

Nothing wrong with bump-mapped bitmaps for 3D views and renderings... but for sections?.. well for me i will never use something like that.. if i need special appearance in section i would use a line type that looks like tiles-section... but i've seen people asking for that... and they use an old object.. can't remember the name now..its a french object with many options for tiles.

[Dwight]

whatever wrote:
[..its a french object with many options for tiles.

In France they call it the "English Object."

[Anonymous]

Dwight wrote:

whatever wrote:
[..its a french object with many options for tiles.

In France they call it the "English Object."

sorry for that i meant that te object options are in french !! i thought that may be a hint for someone to remember the name of the object

English object!!?

[Anonymous]

I've been using bumps since the first day I've got an ArchiCad that supported bumps, not tested displacement in AC 11 though, haven't enough time with a 3 week old boy in the house. (but GDL is fun or something).

Bumps or displacement shader in ArchiCad is boor (can't speak for AC11)... It makes you got almost real thing, but not all the way. (starting AC 11 and check right now). Ok, the displacement shader in AC 11 works alot better than in older versions , but it's only a fake, not real stuff. And I want the real stuff now, maybe AC can't handle that in a good way?

[TomWaltz]

I think it technically can handle it, but the performance hit would be pretty serious. I think you would have to want the polygons pretty badly.

I tend to use a self-repeating 2D objects for sections of things like that.