ArchiCAD 9 is shipping in mid-September!

[Bence Kovacs]

Dear Archi-Talkers,

We are happy to announce on ArchiCAD-Talk that ArchiCAD 9 will be released in September 2004. Shipment will start with the INT, US and GER versions followed by other localized language versions over the coming months. Based on the results of extensive beta testing we are confident that this version will be the most robust version of ArchiCAD ever. Please check www.graphisoft.com for the official press release on ArchiCAD 9! And... enjoy!

Bence Kovacs
Vice President

ArchiCAD Product Management
Graphisoft

[Anonymous]

Djordje wrote:

My FIRST reaction was somewhat like yours - "Oh no, 8.2345 that pretends to be 9". Then I started using it and it dawned on me. As Ben the Beta champ said, try going back to 8.1 after a time. No way!

.

I think you are falling in a trap. Its obvious that selecting using area and not handles its match smarter and easier, and its obviouS that the minor interface enchancments are great.

BUT

What you are excited about is stability. Am i reading correct?
But you are asked to buy stability that OUGHT to be there in the first place?
Am i wrong?

IF 8.1 was ultra stable and had area selection +1-2 things more,
would you say that 9 is great?
If the answer is NO, then v9 is 8.2.

[Dwight]

We will have a Greek leg wrestle over this the next time I come out your way, but the new rendering engine is a FUNDAMENTAL IMPROVEMENT.

So it gets a number all to itself.

[Dwight]

BTW: The American humor columnist Dave Barry has been making fun of a Greek word: Tipiyotki

What does it mean?


http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/dave_barry/9377544.htm

[Fabrizio Diodati]

Of course, you cannot use the current version of the Cigraph add-ons with ArchiCAD 9 because this last one needs a new re-compiled version of each add-on.
But I want to take advantage of this place to make Graphisoft my “public” congratulation.
ArchiCAD 9 is a real milestone (once again, more impressive than you can suppose by looking at the demo), the Beta Testing phase has been very professional and useful and, for the very first time, they also provided the 3rd Party Developers with the opportunity to test their products together with the new version of ArchiCAD.
As soon as Graphisoft will release the final Developer Kit we will release our updates.
Once again, they will be free of charge and you will be able to download them at www.cigraph-store.com , I will post here an announcement in order to notify when they will be ready.
If the Developer Kit will arrive when GS promised us, I can say that probably the add-ons update will be available a week after the official ArchiCAD 9 release that means that, probably, the most of the ArchiCAD users will be able to download the add-ons update before to receive ArchiCAD 9 from their Distributor: it never happened till now and this demonstrates the professional way in which Graphisoft handled ArchiCAD 9.

Friendly
Fabrizio

P.S. Of course also ArchiStair for AC 9will be available together with the other ones...

[Anonymous]

Dwight wrote:
BTW: The American humor columnist Dave Barry has been making fun of a Greek word: Tipiyotki

What does it mean?


http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/dave_barry/9377544.htm

Sorry but the word is propably non existant. Just for the sake of the report i guess. Many greek word end in "otiki" like "dimotiki" witch means public, and i think he is LOST IN TRANSLATION
All words sound to him like "xxx"otiki.

And one more commend.
The new rendering engine is not a fundamental feature i guess for all of us. For GREAT renderings we have to use external expensive rendering programs. I wont say its not good, but i want more building tools, not that finishing tools are bad.

[Anonymous]

Fabrizio wrote:
ArchiCAD 9 is a real milestone (once again, more impressive than you can suppose by looking at the demo), the Beta Testing phase has been very professional and useful and, for the very first time, they also provided the 3rd Party Developers with the opportunity to test their products together with the new version of ArchiCAD.

Dear Fabrizio
Is stability and interface tweaks what makes you say that V9 is a milestone?
If yes please let me ask you.
You are a developer. If you make a product, unstable, buggy, with sloppy interaface, will you introduce a new version with all that fixed, naming it a new version and require users to pay an upgrade?
Isnt every developers obligation to produce stable , buggless (as possible) products?

Another Question. GS decided not to develop stairmaker, the products most critisized object (and stairs are a basic building block of a building).

Archistair is free today but you may decide you want a fee later, and that of course is fully natural, besides its your property.

If GS going to sell stability witch is what every program should be? Will a sales person tell me that 9 is more stable than 8, and that will be an argument in favor of a developer.
Its like me, going to a customer and tell him that the buiding i am trying to sell him is much safer than the previous he owns? What do i expect, that argument to be in my favor? Stability is an OBLIGATION of EVERY product. And that is the only thing i am not willing to discuss. Every other issue is open for discussion

[Anonymous]

We've been using AC9 on real projects for about two months.

No scientific tests, but it _feels_ like we're about 20% more productive with this (c/f 8.1)

I'm not sure what the debate is;
a) if it is about a number then this is irrelevant!
b) if it is about paying for an upgrade (or not wanting to do so), or 'is it worth the money' then i) this depends on how much you'll pay (GS local marketing policy) and ii) how much benefit you will get from the new features

We are still working very happily with Office 2000 (and have not paid money to upgrade to Office XP).

But the (individually small but cumultatively large) new features (as documented elsewhere) in Archicad 9 will make it well worth the upgrade for many users. Particularly those who work within an organised office.

As for the integrated LW render engine; this is really useful for quick/medium interior development renderings. (For 'superb' renderings an external rendering program is (still) required. Naturally so IMHO. Some would say that most architects aren't good enough at rendering anyway, and for 'superb' renderings should get outside help anyway).

"Don't knock it before you try it" - as Confucious might have said.

- Stuart

[Anonymous]

StuartJames wrote:
We've been using AC9 on real projects for about two months.

No scientific tests, but it _feels_ like we're about 20% more productive with this (c/f 8.1)

I'm not sure what the debate is;
a) if it is about a number then this is irrelevant!
b) if it is about paying for an upgrade (or not wanting to do so), or 'is it worth the money' then i) this depends on how much you'll pay (GS local marketing policy) and ii) how much benefit you will get from the new features


- Stuart

Can you please decode the 20% productivity increase in your opinion?
I mean try to understand what you are really using that is productive.

My guess 1. selection 2. more space due to docable paletes....3.? 4?
I am frustrated because all that took 2!! Years. That means to get real features i have to wait for another 2??
This is why i am really angry

[Fabrizio Diodati]

Dear oreopoulos,
I was talking from the software point of view and not about update fee or “philosophy”.
The new issues implemented into ArchiCAD 9 make the users much more productive and once you started to use AC 9 you will never come back to AC 8.1.
On the other hand, AC 9 is faster than the previous versions: let me highlight only a simple example (of course regarding our products which, running inside/together with ArchiCAD take advantage of this issue): ArchiTerra is at least five times faster than ArchiTerra under AC 8.1… and we didn’t change a row of our code (I mean to make it faster).

But this is only my point of view.

“GS decided not to develop stairmaker” AC 9 doesn’t include a new StairMaker but GS never says they will never develop a new StairMaker.

“ArchiStair is free today but you may decide you want a fee later” Who does it know? For the moment enjoy this free version and, please remember, that the compatibility updates for our products are always free of charge! Someone who purchased the first version of ArchiTerra (for ArchiCAD 6.0) still can use it because we always provide free of charge update to be compatible with the current version of ArchiCAD.

Once again. Just my point of view…

Friendly
Fabrizio

[Anonymous]

Fabrizio wrote:
Dear oreopoulos,

The new issues implemented into ArchiCAD 9 make the users much more productive and once you started to use AC 9 you will never come back to AC 8.1.
On the other hand, AC 9 is faster than the previous versions: let me highlight only a simple example (of course regarding our products which, running inside/together with ArchiCAD take advantage of this issue): ArchiTerra is at least five times faster than ArchiTerra under AC 8.1… and we didn’t change a row of our code (I mean to make it faster).

But this is only my point of view.

“GS decided not to develop stairmaker” AC 9 doesn’t include a new StairMaker but GS never says they will never develop a new StairMaker.

Dear Fabrizio

GS did not say it wont develop stairmaker, but if after 2 years the most talked and most troublesome object of AC is not even touched, isnt that a problem?

If your customers said that somthg in architerra is not working as it should, and you make a new version, are you going to ignore that? I guess not.

Everyone that speaks for the V9 says about stability and speed as the best pros for the product.
You are in the business, please dont tell me that you would make e.g architerra v3 and tell customers to upgrade (if you required a fee generally) just because its faster more stable and has 1-2 more features.

AC is not an operating system , to market it for stability and speed. Even if it was, it would not sell, unless it promised zero bugs (that was a joke for microsoft )

And one more thing to make things clear. I dont say that i wont upgrade.
I am an upgrade junkiee, BUT I AM NOT AN IDIOT TOO.
This is not what we expecter after 2 years. If it was 6 months.. ok but not 2 years
But ARE WE GONNA WAIT FOR 2 MORE YEARS TO ACTUALLY SEE SOME FEATURES? BUILDING TOOLS!!!