Sure it is much better. And easier, but not faster.
However, I'm sorry to disagree, but this is NOT AT ALL CLOSE to radiosity.
DO NOT BE SATISFIED WITH THIS !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Radiosity illuminates shadow areas with reflected light that contains the color of the reflective surface producing beguiling softness and luminosity. As in Artlantis, the radiosity can be turned up to prevent the normal energy decay of light to create dreamlike spaces, successfully disguising a paucity of design intent with gossamer rays.
Ray tracing brings no life to the subtleties of an image and that is why we must have complex photographic lighting to make interiors interesting; not murky and black.
Users should know that while Graphisoft has licensed all of the superior rendering qualities of the excellent LightWorks Design product, they are slow to integrate the features. This is incredibly frustrating after visiting
http://www.lightwork.com/
to see what this rendering engine can do once completely implemented in an application.
Write to your reseller. Write to Graphisoft. COMPLAIN.
Complain that you purchased a full-featured software that promised LightWorks but what you got was a hobbled, obsolete version of LightWorks.
Archicad should have a complete, modern rendering engine with real time preview and a proper materials library, not "archives," and we should be accessing the lightworks materials on their web site that can't yet be used.
Graphisoft obviously have allocated their resources to technical development rather than artistic development. It is an immense undertaking to revamp materials and lighting shaders to implement radiosity. For them, it's always been an afterthought.
Last year I was given an Archicad T-shirt with the slogan, regarding BIM, "It's Time." I took this to mean "No One is Going To Call You an Early Adopter."
Graphisoft: It's Time to bring Radiosity to Archicad
Please write.
Dwight Atkinson