LET'S BRING THE FUN BACK

[Djordje]

... or your top ten ArchiCAD wishes.

Mine is in the topic title, all encompassing.

The particulars?

- concept modeling tool
- stair tool
- parametric object creation tool with graphical interface (doors and windows included)
- sloped top walls
- double curve curtain wall that also punches a hole in a wall
- true curved roofs
- assembly tools (railings, false ceiling, panelling ... yes, I know Curtain Wall can be used for this)
- overhaul of the annotation tools, especially correct dimensioning text orientation
- full backwards compatibility/old file opening and/or conversion tools (long life projects, anyone?)
- OLE (don't care that MacOS does not have it, Windows does not have other things)

And now, you ...

[Anonymous]

Bier wrote:
DEVELOP US BASED LIBRARIES OR LOOSE us SOMEDAY!!!
U.S. based thresholds would be nice;

Come on! Stop it! The world does not rotate around USA, though Mr. Bush likes to think so!

This is an universal modelling application to suit the needs for all the architects, not only the US ones!

Should I aks for Bulgarian Libraries?

At least I would ask for one of the most common windows in Europe - the double sashed window, which is not present in the library!

[Anonymous]

It was not a political statement.
It's a fact that we would like to have more libraries that are relevant to U.S.
builders.
Your free to ask for what you want.
Cant we all?
Bier

[Da3dalus]

My 12 cents...

1. 3D polyline tool (perhaps with extrusions and intersections for pipe, duct, and conduit... Hello ArchiCAD-MEP?).
2. Zone tool with ability to display room dimensions and multi-line text, and change properties for different Model View Options.
3. Improve the Object Library update process (don't simply change all the part names every year so we have to migrate, perhaps use an online database).
4. Spice up the GDL editor with more graphical interface and color-coded/indented code format (think BBedit).
5. Improve 3D OpenGL to do hidden-line and cast shadows, and get rid of the internal engine altogether.
6. Revamp the Label tool to interface with automatic lists/schedules and an internal database to extract keynotes.
7. Create Paint tool to project 2D images on 3D surfaces (roads on a topo mesh, paint designs on a wall).
8. Make automatic scene lighting easier in Lightworks, perhaps with brighteners and backlights connected to the camera location.
9. Fix WYSIWYG problems in layouts (if I use a black background in my model, opaque text is blackened, but prints OK).
10. Allow drag-and-drop copying of Details and Worksheets from one project to another.
and I have to add:
11. Provide some system to allow the Stories to deal with multi-level buildings (this is going to take some thought).
12. Add a check box to Wall properties to set the top of wall at (or some distance relative to) the next story, and change dynamically.

Thank you for your support. Now, if only we could get some market share here in the US. Fight the Autodesk marketing juggernaut!

[Anonymous]

-Bring back Plotmaker!
What do you need that relic for?

[Anonymous]

Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 1:18 pm Post subject: Let's bring the fun back
Hi, please excuse my English...but so it is.

GS needs to think about fundaments of our working and then reorganize AC in many parts:

1) Re-designing graphic interface of AC to be more appealing.

2) Re-designing simplifying or creating solid basic adds-on, sooner as possible:
- Stairmaker
- Openings
- Lists and computing
- Paint/textures managing and vectorial graphic
- Non uniform shapes/volumes, and meshes
- Wall modelig/deforming

3) Organize a new country-oriented library born to be only a clear and fast way to do what is too specific/local, or apt to exclude the use of basic tools/adds-on.(Cold be simple and fast to buy objects/adds-on well made by independent developers)

4) Instead of creating Adds-on as complex as AC please organize their function and use a new simple and strong modeler, common to all of them and a simple performing renderer. First of all we need efficency thoroughness and precision, after we call for excellence.

5) Re-organize managing functions and tools to exclude large parts of them that seems to be repetitive, hipertrophy and often so complex in the way to obtain only poor results.

[Anonymous]

Am I the only person who wants slabs to be fully schedule-able (made up word?) and for them to be recognized by zones?

Improve the Slab Tool by:

1. Increase slabs scheduling capabilities:
. . . .a. Make them fully recognizable by zone(s)
. . . .b. Give them all the scheduling capabilities of objects
2. Add FM Parameters so I can input specific data as needed by slab
3. Full rotation capabilities

I suppose they could also create a new enhanced version of the slab tool and call it something like the "Slab Object Tool", but that seems unnecessary & redundant if these things can simply be added to the existing slab tool.

This seems like the simplest improvement ever and would allow a user to do a myriad of things with this one simple object.

A simple example of how this could be used is to create a countertop schedule where I just use a bunch of these slabs and schedule them so that I can see which room (zone) they are in, the SF (Net of cutouts), thickness, material, etc. I use the slab tool for all my floor surfaces, so this tool could be used in these instances as well.

If I want to do that using the existing slab, I have to save each slab individually as a unique object which adds an immense amount of unnecessary tedium if the slab tool merely had this functionality to begin with.

SIDE NOTE:

I may be unique from most users in that I am a home builder and not only want detailed and accurate plans, I want complete lists of objects that I can use to estimate the cost of the project as well as order my materials from. {If this were easier for architects to create usable and accurate schedules, this would create an additional income stream for architects who could sell these services to builders and I can assure you there is a price builders would be willing to pay for this information because estimating quantities accurately is an extremely tedious process and mistakes are very time consuming and costly, which are pretty much unavoidable when doing by hand. You either have to over-estimate or deal with the time and cost of under estimating}

In most cases, I've found it easier to just make my own objects and model everything myself vs trying to get some tool to create something complex like a staircase. When I have tried to use a stair tool that creates one big object that represents my stair case, it typically can't model the staircase in my project accurately.

Even if it does, it's harder to schedule the parts in a way to make an accurate purchase order from. By modeling the staircase myself using a variety of individual objects, I can not only schedule an accurate parts list for estimating purposes, I can also create a schedule I use to "paint" all the parts (I create a simple schedule that just lists my stair parts, the fill pattern and materials. Then I am able to use this schedule to quickly make the risers paint grade, the treads stain grade, the balusters paint grade and the railing stain grade or some other variation).

To accomplish this, I tend to use the slab tool to create a ton of simple things like stair treads. Problem is, I can't schedule all the slabs like I want to unless I save each slab as a unique object which adds a ton of tedium.

[Rob]

-Bring back Plotmaker!

mate wake up, you cannot be serious here! you make my skin crawl reading this.

[Laszlo Nagy]

vincon2 wrote:
Am I the only person who wants slabs to be fully schedule-able (made up word?) and for them to be recognized by zones?

Improve the Slab Tool by:

1. Increase slabs scheduling capabilities:
. . . .a. Make them fully recognizable by zone(s)
. . . .b. Give them all the scheduling capabilities of objects
2. Add FM Parameters so I can input specific data as needed by slab
3. Full rotation capabilities

I know it does not help you very much right now, but the Object Tool knows all these. Point 3. would need GDL scripting just as well as the geometry of the counter top. But using GDL this is possible to do right now.

[Anonymous]

laszlonagy wrote:

vincon2 wrote:
Am I the only person who wants slabs to be fully schedule-able (made up word?) and for them to be recognized by zones?

Improve the Slab Tool by:

1. Increase slabs scheduling capabilities:
. . . .a. Make them fully recognizable by zone(s)
. . . .b. Give them all the scheduling capabilities of objects
2. Add FM Parameters so I can input specific data as needed by slab
3. Full rotation capabilities

I know it does not help you very much right now, but the Object Tool knows all these. Point 3. would need GDL scripting just as well as the geometry of the counter top. But using GDL this is possible to do right now.

I'm not really sure what your point is, I do understand the object tool does these (and sometimes 3), but it's not free-form in that it allows me to draw odd shapes, edit them on the fly after I've placed them & add cut outs. I want the benefits of the object tool as well as the slab tool combined

[Karl Ottenstein]

...and I'm trying to figure out what any of that has to do with "Bringing the Fun Back"?? But, we all have our own definition of 'fun' I suppose. 😉

Karl