Modeling
About Archicad's design tools, element connections, modeling concepts, etc.

GS clearly does not take the residential architect seriously

rm
Advisor
This is going to be a RANT. So if you are a full time GS apologist, you might want to move on.

This week I upgraded one of my dongles to AC 12, only one! For the majority of my last 15 years of using AC, I have used it on upper bracket residential projects. During that time I have purchased numerous 3rd party libraries for windows, doors, and furniture....because the AC library has had the same pieces of _ _ _ _ for the last 2000 years!!!

This while applications for significantly less money, mostly on the PC side - darn-it, have had features like cabinets that heal themselves when arranged in the plan, windows that actually don't have trim problems and are based on real US manufacturers, doors that don't have trim problems and are based on real US manufacturers, furniture that doesn't look like a kid with a crayon drew them, extrusions, lathes, and sweeps that can be rotated and adjust in 3D, like Objective can do. Obviously the objects should be location friendly, I don't mean to suggest every country should adopt the US objects as standard.....OK, done being politically correct.

I have personally been told by the GS CEO when v9 was out, that by issuance of v11 there would be a "new" and well sorted out library that would be "thoroughly" tested. BS.....I have v12, and I found problems with the windows after working with them less than 5 minutes.....see the attached image, so you know I'm not blowing smoke.

What the heck does it take for GS to build a decent library? Let me tell you, I will have to go kicking and screaming to Revit, but if thats what it takes to access a decent library, I will consider it. Currently you can't access anything on the Google 3D warehouse directly into AC12, and there is NO indication from GS when we will see the plug-in again, if at all. And if your on the Mac side, forget it, you don't have a prayer as the plug-in only worked on the Windows side of AC.

Obviously, if I have stuck with this program since v4.1 I think it is reasonably good. What I find inexcusable is GS willingness to keep putting out lousy standard library sets. In the world of BIM and Photorealistic renderings, GS should be providing a solid realistic library set.....they are not even close!!!!!

I have forwarded the bug to GS through tech support. I am shocked I found the bugs with the windows in less than 5 minutes of using the AC12. God knows what I will find when I dig in further with the doors.

For what I just spent on an upgrade, I am absolutely torqued at how lacking this library still is. The truth is, even 3rd party libraries are very limited - they hardly exist. Clearly GS has not been successful in getting buy-in from US manufacturers to create libraries the way AutoDesk has with Revit. While there are some very generous users out there that give away some very good objects ( THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU ) the majority of GDL objects available just are not realistic looking or don't stay current with AC.

I have suggested this before, and I will say it again. GS there are some really smart, good GDL gurus out there. Get off your wallet and hire these people to ONLY design objects or work with manufacturers of real Plumbing Fixtures, Light Fixtures, Doors, Windows, Furniture, etc....and pay them to test the objects thoroughly. I'm guessing a 1 million dollar investment in the libraries would yield something far superior to what you provide now....I guess 50 dollars might do that as well

.....hey Mr. Gallello - you getting any of this?
Robert Mariani
MARIANI design studio, PLLC
Architecture / Architectural Photography
www.robertmariani.com

Mac OSX 13.1
AC 24 / 25 / 26
123 REPLIES 123
Anonymous
Not applicable
out of interest, who owns/controls the GDLcentral.com domain? Graphisoft?
as it isn't available.
vistasp
Advisor
It's being squatted on by "dotster inc." in Vancouver WA and is apparently for sale according to this link:

http://tinyurl.com/6bpate

Tried http://www.dotster.com and got a similar result. They want you to bid for it.

Best of luck!
= v i s t a s p =
bT Square Peg
https://archicadstuff.blogspot.com
https://www.btsquarepeg.com
| AC INT | Win11 | Ryzen 5700 | 32 GB | RTX 3050 |
Anonymous
Not applicable
haha they want a minimum bid of US$60
they can keep it.
rm
Advisor
stb & vistasp,

Please take your discussion to another topic thread. Your discussion really takes this thread off topic and is exactly why some have asked the moderator to break this thread up as it keeps going off topic.

This thread has NOTHING to do with GDL central or the like.

Thank you!
Robert Mariani
MARIANI design studio, PLLC
Architecture / Architectural Photography
www.robertmariani.com

Mac OSX 13.1
AC 24 / 25 / 26
vistasp
Advisor
Hi Robert,

I fully agree that this thread has been meandering - for most of its life in fact - but I don't have the admin rights to spin off someone's question as a new thread - only the moderators do.

Cheers.
= v i s t a s p =
bT Square Peg
https://archicadstuff.blogspot.com
https://www.btsquarepeg.com
| AC INT | Win11 | Ryzen 5700 | 32 GB | RTX 3050 |
Ransom Ratcliff
Enthusiast
Robert,
You made good points when you started this thread and again in your commentary on the library update.

IMHO, it would not be too complicated or expensive to create high quality local content for the US market. Yes, doors and windows are complex and the macros we have been using are difficult to maintain. But that has a lot to do with the way they are done rather than the way they should have been done.

I would rather see fewer objects provided by GS if each was an example of excellence. Doors and windows haven't changed in 30 years, so their geometry and the logic used in specifying them are easy to understand.

If GS would develop the localized libraries from different source code (i.e. different Main GUID) and using different names (including macros), we could mix and match content from around the world. I made this point to them five years ago and predicted that unifying the source code and macros would make everyone unhappy.

Finally, GSUS (GSNA) never put money into local content after 2000. Ideally, they would provide the quick turn-around on bug fixes that we need. This would be necessary for fixing the commercial and institutional library content too.

Best regards,

Ransom
Ransom Ratcliff
RATCLIFF CONSULTING LLC
Charrette Venture Group
ArchiCAD 4.55 - 28
Apple M3 Max + Dell Precision Workstation
LiHigh
Newcomer
Aaaaaaaaaaaaah.......

GS never make good use of the users who are great GDL guru!

Let put up rewards, I bet a lot of them would jump in....
Howard Phua

Win 10, Archicad 19 INT
Dwight
Newcomer
LiHigh wrote:
Aaaaaaaaaaaaah.......

GS never make good use of the users who are great GDL guru!
Let put up rewards, ....
And on what rational basis do you say this?
Dwight Atkinson
Anonymous
Not applicable
I just looked into upgrading my AC 8.1 to 12.
Choke, Gasp, Heart Attack .... OVER $2000?

First I would ditto everything from the previous post below regarding the libraries available and the ones that are provided having little ridiculous anomalies that wreak havoc with day to day "ArchiCADing".

Now if this were a program costing a thousand or two; and, not that old, I could accept a few glitches. But it is NOT a virgin program.

From the WONDERFUL days of AC 4.5 through 8.1, perhaps including 9; AC has become an "a la carte" program to which GS seems to be catering to the larger firms; and, to "s*ck in" students at the universities. No care that the majority of user are in the smaller offices and need RELIABLE programming and libraries; NOT changing the way things work each time and calling it an upgrade.

I'm angry in case you hadn't noticed!

I helped GS in the early days get off the ground. I dropped AutoCAD for AC and even switched to MAC (best decision ever made for MAC anyway). At the time GS only had AC on the Mac.

I agree with the previous post that GS needs to get off their wallet and concentrate on making AC a robust, comprehensive program, with VERY reliable libraries INCLUDED with the basic AC program.

Oh yes, then there's this ridiculous upgrade cost. YES, I want my cake and eat it too! Hey, I've paid over $7000 so far through AC 8.1. I'm really tired of paying so much for something that each time I have to rethink the way things work because someone brilliant decided that the menu system wasn't in the right order, or something inconsequential needed to be tweaked ..... and then ..... call it an upgrade?

Hey, I know GS is in business to make money. BUT .... I am too!

I LOVE ArchiCAD, but I'm at the point of starting to look elsewhere when they seem to be turning their backs on the people that have helped get them where they are today.

GS, please stop with the horrendous upgrade costs for things that only make AC more complicated; and, you are not addressing the basic simplicity of the program and its intent ....... it is a glorified drafting machine or parallel bar to help ME and my client visualize; and, to help me produce better construction documents.
rm wrote:
This is going to be a RANT. So if you are a full time GS apologist, you might want to move on.

This week I upgraded one of my dongles to AC 12, only one! For the majority of my last 15 years of using AC, I have used it on upper bracket residential projects. During that time I have purchased numerous 3rd party libraries for windows, doors, and furniture....because the AC library has had the same pieces of _ _ _ _ for the last 2000 years!!!

This while applications for significantly less money, mostly on the PC side - darn-it, have had features like cabinets that heal themselves when arranged in the plan, windows that actually don't have trim problems and are based on real US manufacturers, doors that don't have trim problems and are based on real US manufacturers, furniture that doesn't look like a kid with a crayon drew them, extrusions, lathes, and sweeps that can be rotated and adjust in 3D, like Objective can do. Obviously the objects should be location friendly, I don't mean to suggest every country should adopt the US objects as standard.....OK, done being politically correct.

I have personally been told by the GS CEO when v9 was out, that by issuance of v11 there would be a "new" and well sorted out library that would be "thoroughly" tested. BS.....I have v12, and I found problems with the windows after working with them less than 5 minutes.....see the attached image, so you know I'm not blowing smoke.

What the heck does it take for GS to build a decent library? Let me tell you, I will have to go kicking and screaming to Revit, but if thats what it takes to access a decent library, I will consider it. Currently you can't access anything on the Google 3D warehouse directly into AC12, and there is NO indication from GS when we will see the plug-in again, if at all. And if your on the Mac side, forget it, you don't have a prayer as the plug-in only worked on the Windows side of AC.

Obviously, if I have stuck with this program since v4.1 I think it is reasonably good. What I find inexcusable is GS willingness to keep putting out lousy standard library sets. In the world of BIM and Photorealistic renderings, GS should be providing a solid realistic library set.....they are not even close!!!!!

I have forwarded the bug to GS through tech support. I am shocked I found the bugs with the windows in less than 5 minutes of using the AC12. God knows what I will find when I dig in further with the doors.

For what I just spent on an upgrade, I am absolutely torqued at how lacking this library still is. The truth is, even 3rd party libraries are very limited - they hardly exist. Clearly GS has not been successful in getting buy-in from US manufacturers to create libraries the way AutoDesk has with Revit. While there are some very generous users out there that give away some very good objects ( THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU ) the majority of GDL objects available just are not realistic looking or don't stay current with AC.

I have suggested this before, and I will say it again. GS there are some really smart, good GDL gurus out there. Get off your wallet and hire these people to ONLY design objects or work with manufacturers of real Plumbing Fixtures, Light Fixtures, Doors, Windows, Furniture, etc....and pay them to test the objects thoroughly. I'm guessing a 1 million dollar investment in the libraries would yield something far superior to what you provide now....I guess 50 dollars might do that as well

.....hey Mr. Gallello - you getting any of this?
rm wrote:
.....hey Mr. Gallello - you getting any of this?
Unlikely. He has cashed out and left the building.
Richard
--------------------------
Richard Morrison, Architect-Interior Designer
AC26 (since AC6.0), Win10