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Valid license required to run AI visualizer? (I assume I have it)

Martin Jan Rosa
Booster

I am an Archicad user with a perpetual license and an SSA contract with a local vendor, and I have access to all updates. However, when I run AI Visualizer in Archicad 28 I get a message that I need a valid Archicad license to use it.

 

I tracked down the information that AI Visualizer is only for Collaborate and Edu license holders. So am I to understand that if I have a license that I previously believed provided me with full use of Archicad with all its features (and I consider the AI Visualizer, which is now part of its standard installation, to be such a feature), that I can now expect to be gradually cut back on various features, only to be forced to switch to another licensing method?

Snímek obrazovky 2024-10-03 v 13.33.00.jpg

 

Operating system used: Mac Apple Silicon

www.martinrosa.cz
GRAPHISOFT Certified Archicad BIM Manager, 2021, 2023
AC 28 CZ @ macOS 15.0 @ MacBook Pro M3 Max
65 REPLIES 65

The writing is on the wall. GS will do everything in their power to force you to subscribe. By terminating SSA completely, they show they clearly think clients who are not in subscription are not profitable enough, so they are willing to lost some of them because of the gain of new subscribers. Only a complete debacle would reverse this course, and it probably isn´t going to happen - even if it does, it would take some years to take notice and reversing the decision would prove very difficult or impossible: who would pay a new full license on some years in the light of what is going on now?

ARCHICAD 28 SPA
Windows 10

Well, it seems like they are following Autocad strategy. Apparently they had big drop in license purchases and lots of unhappy users when they introduced subscription system. But they’re doing ok now ….

Time will tell but it really looks like GS main focus is on large studios and corporations not the little guys. 

Vaclav Slovak
Booster

I have just realised this unbelievable fraud from graphisoft. i cant beleive what i see. I am really dissapointed with this mean move. 

Not fraud as such. Just greed 😊

Has anyone actually tried the new AI visualizer? Is it really something so perfectly developped that it deserves this special status? Is there any actual difference compared to using Stable Diffusion directly?

It is not funny. In case I will be really forced to subscription, left without functional software, I will want all my money for stupid SSA and full version back. And then i will start using Revit - for the almost same price. 

Vaclav Slovak
Booster

At the moment its not fair and not even polite for us, who pay maximum level of payment to have non working tool in the software. 

There is a substitute to autocad Mac and window at 800$ us perpetual it is very very similar to autocad. We did try it an work perfectly. We need autocad to validate drawing before we sent it to the client and consultant. The same for Zbrush that went to subscription but many transfer to Blender that is free and as powerful. Other open source software will appear in the futur. 

What I'm likely to do when the transition happens is to keep the license I have and stop sending money to Graphisoft until it's no longer tenable to use my perpetual license. As I understand it, the subscription model means that Graphisoft will be holding my data hostage - If I decide to unsubscribe or if Graphisoft goes belly-up my subscription project data will be inaccessible. 

 

Graphisoft is not Adobe or Microsoft. Their continued existence in the American market is by no means a sure thing. 

Keppers Design Architecture



AC user since 1997 - currently AC 27

Mac Studio 2022, 64GB, 8TB SSD, Sonoma

MacBook Pro (15 inch 2019), 32GB, 1 TB SSD, Sonoma

iMac 27" retina display (late 2015), 16 GB, 2TB hybrid drive, Monterey

If all the concerns in the comments come true, I believe it’s a completely logical step, as there would be little reason to continue working with Graphisoft. However, I haven’t had the chance to look at other updates in ArchiCAD 28 yet, where it’s great to see that after several years, they have finally completed the Intersection tool, which can now also be used for roofs.

Setup info provided by author