RevolutionDB

Sabine - I agree with you, a lot of the design materials (textiles, tile, etc.) leave a lot to be desired. I would advise that you learn Photoshop or a similar graphics program (if you haven't already) ASAP, and learn how Chief uses images as textures and materials in the program. Once you figure out how to create tileable materials, you will be able to get the look you want (using images you can find on the internet) of materials that you would like to use in your designs. There are great free resources on using Photoshop to create tileable materials (just use google) as all 3D programs need textures to make the models look more realistic. Many manufacturers have textures on their websites that you can use to create materials in Chief. When it comes to 3D models, that's a bigger hill to climb. The more complicated the item, the harder it is to create from scratch. Chief has gotten a lot better with Bonus and Manufacturer libraries, and is well worth SSA. Otherwise, 3D Warehouse, 3D Sky, and Syncronia are good resources. If you want to see some great examples of 3D artists at work (to learn about their techniques) check out ronenbekerman.com. It will blow you away - but the tools and tactics they use can be applied to Chief in limited ways. Good luck!

@johnny - to me, it looks like the texture scale for the log width and the line fill pattern are not a match. The origin seems to be at the bottom of the house and as the texture fills upward, the misalignment becomes larger. It has the appearance of chinking, but only due to the light and dark tones of the wood texture.

I have no experience with the software you are using, so this would be a shot in the dark: have you tried using an intermediary program, such as sketch-up? Try importing into sketch-up first, and see if the different formats it accepts are coming through as one solid piece, or in separate pieces. If you have access to 3dsMax, I would try that as well. You could also contact the company that makes your software and ask them if the software has the capability of exporting separate entities, or if all exports are made to be one object. Good luck!

Scott: If you are interested in an easy way to migrate your computer installation to a new (larger) SSD without having to reinstall Windows and all your applications, I would recommend the free software "Macrium Reflect". You can find it here: http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx I used this software to accomplish replacing my C:\ drive (SSD) with a larger one (128GB to 256GB), and also to save an image of my PC in case I need to restore it. It works like this: run the program and save an image (a snapshot) of your current C:\ drive. Save this to a different hard drive (not C:\) if possible - this can be an internal hard drive or an external hard drive. Create a boot disc (CD ROM or Blu-ray) with the Macrium Reflect software. Remove your 128GB SSD and set it aside. Install the new, larger SSD. Boot your computer with the rescue disc (it will load Windows PE so you can use the Macrium program). "Restore" your image to the new SSD from the drive where you saved your image file. Now your computer is restored to its previous condition, but on the larger hard drive. No need to reinstall Windows, applications, or change any settings back to how you like them - they are all there. Hope this helps! Rob

Agreed Perry, that is a shortcoming. I ended saving the .ico file in the Chief main folder so it's easier to find when I need to do a program update and reset the icon.

Similarly, I was hoping to experience faster speeds and haven't seen it yet. I upgraded my video card from a GTX660 to a GTX970 and so far have seen no noticeable difference either.

My pleasure - I love this forum. Just trying to give a little back when I can.

I always have trouble seeing the little "X8" in the corner of the icon to determine which one is the 32-bit and 64-bit version, so I created this icon to make it easier. I thought I would share in case anyone else is interested in using it. I uploaded a .jpg preview so you can see what it looks like before downloading. Rob CA X8 x64.zip

I think it's based on the property line because in the future if the neighbor decides to build closer to the shared property line, then there would be a fire separation issue if the structure isn't protected. It's all about keeping fires contained to properties, and the best way to do that is to base the regulation on the property line. Structures come and go.

I had to do this on a project in Minneapolis, we were less than five feet from the property line. Had to install fire-rated gyp board sheathing and soffit materials.

@WendyatArtform - You are 100% right! I am a total dork! I think my last post suffered from "I should have looked it up before I opened my big mouth." LOL. Thanks!

EDIT: Please disregard the comment below - I am 100% wrong and should have looked it up first! I use anno sets, and my only wish is that I would like the anno set to trigger a different "current CAD layer".

FWIW, I've experienced that behavior when opening an existing wall and changing the "Thickness" in the "Wall Specification" DBX. Chief creates another copy of the wall with the "_2" at the end, then "_3" and so on.

Can I get credit for the essay in the poster's class if I provide my own answer?

I made this one to use with the x64 version of CAX7. Looks like this: CA X7 x64.zip

Draw a section of your house, and measure and locate a line that is 84" (7 feet) above the finished floor. Our local codes require that at least 50% of a half-story room (like your second floor) be 7'-0" or above in order to be a legal bedroom/bathroom/living space. This will enable you to have a bathroom with enough height for a shower, and doors that aren't clipped. You can do one or all of the following to increase the height of the second floor ceiling: raise the pitch of your roof (10:12, 12:12, or more); build knee walls on the second floor (as suggested earlier) to raise the starting point of the roof, and/or increase the width of the house. It looks like your design has a narrow corridor down the center where you could stand upright. The knee walls are very low, looks like +/- 3'-0", so a person could not stand there. Hope this helps!

Excerpt from Wikipedia article on Degree (Angle): History[edit] The original motivation for choosing the degree as a unit of rotations and angles is unknown. One theory states that it is related to the fact that 360 is approximately the number of days in a year.[2] Ancient astronomers noticed that the sun, which follows through the ecliptic path over the course of the year, seems to advance in its path by approximately one degree each day. Some ancient calendars, such as the Persian calendar, used 360 days for a year. The use of a calendar with 360 days may be related to the use of sexagesimal numbers. Another theory is that the Babylonians subdivided the circle using the angle of an equilateral triangle as the basic unit and further subdivided the latter into 60 parts following their sexagesimal numeric system.[3][4] The earliest trigonometry, used by theBabylonian astronomers and their Greek successors, was based on chords of a circle. A chord of length equal to the radius made a natural base quantity. One sixtieth of this, using their standard sexagesimal divisions, was a degree. Aristarchus of Samos and Hipparchus seem to have been among the first Greek scientists to exploit Babylonian astronomical knowledge and techniques systematically.[5][6] Timocharis, Aristarchus, Aristillus, Archimedes, and Hipparchus were the first Greeks known to divide the circle in 360 degrees of 60 arc minutes.[7] Eratosthenes used a simpler sexagesimal system dividing a circle into 60 parts. The division of the circle into 360 parts also occurred in ancient India, as evidenced in the Rigveda:[8] Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degree_%28angle%29 Can't blame this one on America - gotta blame the technology of the time it was invented. Dividing degrees into 60 equal parts fit with the paradigm of the day, and made the math easier than all those never-ending decimal places. Unless you're building heart monitors, does the 10,000th place on a degree measurement really matter? "The Metric System is the tool of the devil! My car gets 40 rods to the hog's head, and that's the way I likes it!" Abraham Simpson, The Simpsons

AMD processors do not compete with Intel at this time at the high end of processors. They are a great low-budget alternative when choosing/building a system.

Ditto what Gawdzira said. Stay away from AMD processors, you will regret it.

FWIW, here's my two cents: First off, cores are king but frequency is also important. I'm running an i7-3930K OC'd @ 4.4Ghz. It's a six-core (12 with hyperthreading) so at the same frequency theoretically mine would be faster than your quad-core (8 with hyperthreading) assuming Chief can use all available cores, which I think it does. Think more cores and fast clock speed = faster renders. The clock speed and number of cores on the 4790k is greater than the Surface 3 i7-4650U processor, so your new PC should be faster. You should run the exact same raytrace at the same resolution with the same settings on both and see how they compare. Don't expect to use your powerful PC for other tasks when it's rendering. The processor is maxed out on that task, using all cores to their potential. There's no overhead left for other tasks at the same time. Whether your computer is fast or slow, the rendering process uses all of its processing power to the max. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the tip Perry, but I went with the wee one - the Disto E7100i. I don't see a way to change accuracy in the manual.

Chief needs to figure out a way to show stairs broken on the floor plan. Many people have complained about this problem - you can't have both the plan version and the 3D version correct at the same time. I would pull the stairs back and never show a 3D of the top of the stairwell.

Awesome ideas - you should post this in the "Suggestions" sections for the Chief folks to see it.

I watched the video as well, and I was interested until I started thinking about all of the issues that others have mentioned before on this topic. Additionally, I always take "extra" dimensions to make sure I stay on track - for example, if I can get line of sight across the whole house front to back or side to side, I will write that dimension down as well. It has saved my behind in the past. The system described in the video looks like it would be better applied to an insurance/restoration company where you would build each room separately, like you would in Xactimate or similar. I did take advantage of the discount on the Leica Disto and picked one up. Looks like an upgrade over the Bosch, although I don't really need 1/32" accuracy. Guess I will be doing a lot of rounding in my head...

Thanks for this tip! I never use rich text; I just don't like the interface of rich text or how it looks on the screen. I always thought the leader line tool was limited to rich text only, so I'm excited to start using it with plain text!