ArchiCAD 18 announced

[Laszlo Nagy]

Find the official announcement and new features at:

http://www.graphisoft.com/archicad/archicad-18/overview/

[Bricklyne Clarence]

JaredBanks wrote:
The multi-edit is awesome. To me though the killer feature is the improved PDF control. Layer management of imported and exported PDFs makes them so much more useful. Our PDF sets sent out become that much better.

BUT BUT BUT

Exploding PDFs into vectors is going to be one of the most used features. Every cut sheet on the Internet is ours to use. No more searching for DWGs or .GSMs or whatever. Every product has PDF data. And most of that was created in autocad or some equivalent. So just drag, drop, explode, and do with it as you will. Need the right size for that elevator? Grab the cut sheet and drop it in. Explode and grab just the parts you want. Or if you can just turn off the layers and you're done. Window details from the manufacturer? Break metal? Joinery info? It's all there in PDF. We can now gobble it up and use it however we want. So rad.

Oh and things like QR codes? PDFs of those can be exploded into fills as well (if you've noticed the QR code in my Shoegnome Open Template http://www.shoegnome.com/template/, that's how it was done).

I think it's also important to focus on that quote in the beginning of the press release. This release (like future ones) will be about process and workflow improvement. A new stair would be great, but revisions, PDF control, integrated rendering, IFC/BCF improvements those are large scale process improvements that will change how we work more than us not having to do work arounds for geometric issues like stairs.

That's a bass ackwards approach to the program's improvement if you ask me.
If Graphisoft are investing so much time and development resources implementing changes that more concerned with workflow "improvement" and changing how we work (like with the Building materials in the last version), then all that means is that users are going o be forced to spend more time learning these new workflows (sometimes when the old ones worked just fine) just to be able to actually do the work-arounds necessary to address the basic feature shortcomings (like the oft-mentioned Stairs and custom GDL-object creator) that GS are either unwilling or unable to address right away.

Shouldn't they be addressing the basic features and shortcomings first before tackling an over-arching thing like "workflow improvement"?
I don't know.
That's just my opinion.

As for this version release, yes the Render engine upgrade are much welcomed after a long time with such a sub-standard engine (and if only for the upgrade of the material editor or material editing process , which would conceivably be useful to third-party add-on renderers as well), but because it was so long in coming, much of the user-base has pretty much moved on to the extent that you'll find even Cinema4D users prefer to user third-party renderers themselves (like Vray, Maxwell, Octane) to their own C4D program.
So to that degree it will not affect the workflow of most people anyway.

The Revision management looks promising but I think the most bang for the (relatively small) buck will be from the multiple-object editing and constraints feature.

Still haven't a clue what the whole BIMCloud thing was all about, but I suppose it's not that big a new feature if it's not being featured in these videos.

[Anonymous]

I'm currently using max+vray for the renderings and the export to max, texturing etc it's very time consuming.
I hope that the new rendering engine isn't as bad as lightworks was. Can it calculate the global illumination?
later edit: i've watched the videos and it seems promising.

[Anonymous]

I will admit that I'm just average when it comes to knowing and using ArchiCad, but having been a user since 4.1 I have been a first person witness to its evolution. During all that time I can't recall a time when a new release didn't surprise me with Graphisoft's vision and implementation of unique new features that looked way beyond many user's oft repeated gripes.

More specifically, I don't remember ever thinking in retrospect, "I really wish they hadn't introduced this new concept, I'd rather they fixed that ------- tool that doesn't work the way I want".

Again, I'm just an average user and really have no idea of what I think the future of cad should be.

[KeesW]

The revision feature will be very useful. Can it be used to control alternative design solutions at initial planning stages?

[Barry Kelly]

KeesW wrote:
The revision feature will be very useful. Can it be used to control alternative design solutions at initial planning stages?

It will keep track of your design changes if you treat them as a revision.
But it will not archive your model at different stages so you can't use it to swap between designs.
You can publish PDFs with automatically amended names to suit the revision so you can have a paper record of your design alternatives but the model will only have your latest change.

You will still need to create alternative complete models or hidden layers or whatever method you use now to keep all your alternative designs.

Barry.

[KeesW]

That is disappointing.

[Anonymous]

Disappointing yes. I am a bit underwhelmed by this one.

I too had really been hoping that Graphisoft would include some kind of Phasing or Design Options Filter. I would have thought all this really requires is an extension of the Renovation Filter (which I think is a great tool) - so as well as current Existing, Demolition, Proposed filters, you could have Proposed Option A, Option B etc.....Currently design options have to be modelled either by having duplicate models (a pain), or overly complex layer combinations (also a pain)

And why still no update to the Renovation Tool so you can set the renovation status of individual skins in composites - currently there is no (easy) way to add say a new external insulation layer to an existing wall, which is a pretty common requirement now for retrofit / refurb. works.

As a small architectural practice doing mainly residential works (ArchiCAD SOLO user), to be honest these kinds on basic productivity improvements would be much more beneficial to me than the integrated C4D Rendering (probably won't come with SOLO Version anyway?), or BIMServer Cloud, but maybe I am not Graphisoft's target customer anymore.

[Anonymous]

i still miss stuff like:
better calculations, lists,
improved stair tool,
true representation of curved lines in sections, 3D
some commands in AC needs to much clicks to be accomplished (see what Steve J did with one click command rule),
free form representation without slowing down computer
better handling imported models form Sketchup, 3ds,
Google site insert 64 Bit,
GDL editor ...
Improved Morph
Archicad - parametric design

etc...

Corporations rule the world so i guess when GS fulfill their wishes...then wishes from single user will come on TO DO list

See ya

Good job for new and much much better render engine + other stuff...I can't wait to test AC18 !

[Rob]

Bricklyne wrote:
That's a bass ackwards approach to the program's improvement if you ask me.
If Graphisoft are investing so much time and development resources implementing changes that more concerned with workflow "improvement" and changing how we work (like with the Building materials in the last version), then all that means is that users are going o be forced to spend more time learning these new workflows (sometimes when the old ones worked just fine) ....

Ironically your workflows were affected by the software you use so you judge them from the second hand perspective so to speak (you have learnt those workflows and did not develop them). I guess it is in the human nature to resist any novelties that comes back perhaps to the time when a cart pulled by a person was replaced by horse power, hey! I don't need a horse it works just fine, of cause it did but give it a go dear. Every AC release encompasses lots of brain power behind it so although your opinions are more than welcomed see it for your self first. Also as an architect I believe you are obliged to keep up with continuing professional development that almost every national professional institution requires as your mandatory obligation. Considering (and assuming) that AC is your primary tool you are investing to your own progress (referring to the brain power that GS R&D pored into this).

Bricklyne wrote:
As for this version release, yes the Render engine upgrade are much welcomed after a long time with such a sub-standard engine (and if only for the upgrade of the material editor or material editing process , which would conceivably be useful to third-party add-on renderers as well), but because it was so long in coming, much of the user-base has pretty much moved on to the extent that you'll find even Cinema4D users prefer to user third-party renderers themselves (like Vray, Maxwell, Octane) to their own C4D program.
So to that degree it will not affect the workflow of most people anyway.

I believe Lightworks is considerably good rendering engine however C4D is definitely the top notch. The trick here is not the engine itself. It is the implementation that was regrettably rather mediocre with Lightworks. I think GS has learnt the lesson and spent some long hours on UI that is meant to be for architects (as opposed to viz artists). Creating a very decent output takes literary 2 clicks. But of cause you can switch to the expert mode and deal with a crazy lingo such as Ambient Occlusion, Caustics or Irradiance.
Coupled with the background processing technology that was re-used from automatic junctions in AC17 this solution will give you effectively two softwares running concurrently on the same machine (that is any number of rendered images + continuous work on AC model or documentation at the same time) without switching to and fro between applications or even computers.... and all of this within familiar UI of AC and without painful licensing fees, agreements and/or renewals of any other stand-alone rendering software.

Bricklyne wrote:
Still haven't a clue what the whole BIMCloud thing was all about, but I suppose it's not that big a new feature if it's not being featured in these videos.

completely different cup of tea that should be discussed within its own topic.

[DGSketcher]

Dan wrote:
currently there is no (easy) way to add say a new external insulation layer to an existing wall, which is a pretty common requirement now for retrofit / refurb. works.

Just want to add a +1 to this. It is certainly very common in the UK. How it is addressed I will leave to GS but it also needs to integrate with the energy evaluation.

As for the upgrade... "familiarity breeds contempt" is an old phrase and having been separated from AC for the last three years due to the "crash" I can say having watched a lot of training videos and seen the changes in the last two releases AC has taken some HUGE steps forward and I am actually enjoying working with it again. It is only when you can't use it you appreciate how powerful the software is and what you are missing. This v18 release may seem quite subdued but I think there are quite a few productivity benefits which will hopefully receive greater clarification soon such as the multi-edits.

I'm sure I read somewhere that the GS roadmap is one of improved workflow, if it is, I hope it is one of working smarter rather than bloatware. There is a Sketchup forum which has a "Doh" thread full of tips and tricks, it would be great if there was something similar here for all those little cmd-clk shortcuts which the programmers included but forgot to document.

Good to be back.