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

[Dwight]

Actually, in retrospect you are an amateur whiner compared to certain others on this list, but you come on strong as a contender.

Someday, the golden belt buckle with the crossed t-squares dripping tears might be yours.

My point is that anger repels, not that you want to catch flies.

How can we make progess as a community without losing good spirit? Mr. ArchiIdeas is my hero, for establishing a place where alternatives can be examined while the TALK is more just folks sharing work arounds and developing obscure tips and tricks.

[Anonymous]

Didn't have a chance to read every thing but I'm don't think that it was mentioned that the Mac version of ArchiCAD 9 now has the shortcut tool bar that windows has had for several years (At least in the screenshots). Many will argue that the Mac should of had this all along (and as a Mac user I wouldn't argue with that) but since it didn't this is technically another new feature for the Mac. From what I remember of my windows days this shortcut tool bar was very useful and increased productivity.

[Anonymous]

There has been much debate about what version ArchiCAD 9 should be called (9 or 8.5). To me this is a no-brainer and it has nothing to do with the number of new features or bug fixes. The ArchiCAD user interface has gone under significant visual and functional changes (just like between ArchiCAD 7 and 8 ). When there is this much change in the user interface it makes a whole lot of sense to change to the next whole version number (so people can identify the look of the software with the version number). I think this is like an unwritten rule of software development. It just doesn't make any sense from a logistical or tech support point of view, to call this release version 8.5 because of this.

As for the new features this upgrade reminds me a lot of the upgrade between version 6.5 and version 7. It did not feel like there were a whole lot of new features, but once you actually got yours hands on version 7 you didn't want to use 6.5 again. I think version 9 will create this same kind of feeling (only amplified because in my opinion version 8.1 to 9 is a much bigger jump than 6.5 to 7). There is no doubt in my mind from the features I have seen on the videos and PDFs that ArchiCAD 9 is much better than ArchiCAD 8. You can't really argue with that; you just have to decide if it is good enough to purchase the upgrade at what ever price you get it for.

For us in the US the upgrade is $500 and for that price I can't really argue considering how much I use ArchiCAD and that it seems to be much better than what I have now (the improvements to text handling alone will save me tons of time and make my CDs look better). If the productivity increases are true, 10% to 20%, it is almost a no brainer for people who use ArchiCAD for Professional Practice. Some people in the beta phase were quoting performance of version 9 to be on par with 7 which is a big improvement over 8 and section/elevation speed improvements of 100% to 500%. This will save me a great deal of time, since I'm working on some large projects in which section elevation generation times are pretty significant. No more 15-30 minute breaks for section/elevation calculations with shadows.

I think people should actually use ArchiCAD 9 before they levy such harsh criticism about it and it's value. Everybody on this forum who has actually used 9 seems to have good things to say about it and doesn't want to go back to 8. I'm sure most people will agree with that sentiment when they finally use it. I just hope my upgrade comes soon the anticipation is really weighing me down. The UPS man just came by, while I was typing this, and dropped of some packages but not ArchiCAD 9. Oh, well there's always tomorrow.

[Dwight]

Such number yagging!

Besides, 9 is pretty close to 10 and calling something 11 sucks, so they'll go to 20 next - sky is the limit. Not so easy giving something a number when you don't have engine displacement or doors to count.

"Exciting "new" ArchiCAD 2000x with turbotextures and six speed sketch transformation."

What counts is staying current - this is what they have for us, this is what it costs. Be there or T-square. Take it or switch. I'd rather fight than switch.

Which emoticon has the black eye?

[James B]

Just thought I'd bring this thread back as I've been away for a while and found the past few pages in this topic quite interesting.

I've used AC9, and I do think it's a good solid update. However, in my field of work it doesn't hold that many benefits for me - which is conceptual modelling, master planning and urban design. For me, improvements in management of linked models, improved layer and story settings, improved modelling features and extended boolean tools (which I use all the time) are my main criteria. That said, AC9 is still worth the update IMHO.

Not everyone will be satisfied and everyone has different needs. Although AC is designed for Architects there are a lot of people and companies out there who use AC who aren't architects. It's a great programme and I'm glad I use it despite it's limitation and failings. But with AC9 it's heading in the right direction and I look forward to seeing where it goes from here

Oh and lastly, I know the frustration with the wish list hence I made archicadideas.com to try to put things in perspective a little and bring some coherency to the list - and to get my wish out there as well.