Michael_Gia

22 hours ago, selectbuilder said:

I have just purchased a HP monitor to run with my MacBook pro

Ok, I went through this very painful and educational experience. 
Forget what everyone is telling you here.  
 

This is the deal with MacBooks and their retina displays when hooked up to an external monitor. 
 

It’s all about the ppi (pixels per inch, aka pixel density)

The ppi on your external monitor has to match your MacBook display or be half of that density. 
 

If it isn’t 1:1 or 2:1 then you’ll have “fuzzy” text, quite a bit of lag (even though you probably haven’t noticed that yet, but it’s there)

It has to do with how hard your processors have to work to translate the image onto your external monitor. 
This translation happens at 60Hz. That’s a hell of a lot of calculations even for a super duper MacBook.

I actually had to downgrade my external monitor from a 4K monitor to a 2K monitor (QHD or 1440p) in order for the image to be as sharp as on the retina and with no lag. Or at least I experienced and increase in “snappiness”. You’ll see. 
 

I don’t recommend going with a 4K monitor.
 

Pixel density is dependant on screen size. There’s a formula for that. 
 

For example, I went with 2560 x 1440 for a 27” monitor which works out to 109 ppi and my 16” Macbook is 5120 x 2880 which works out to 218ppi, which is roughly twice the external monitor’s density. Which is an easy translation process for the CPU’s. 

Hope that helps. 

11 hours ago, Chrisb222 said:

I knew exactly what you were talking about,

Thank you for the confirmation!
 

I thought I was going crazy.

Do you know how often I have to print a plan view to pdf just so I can verify line weights?
 

What gets me is how many on this forum will just blindly defend Chief on such a crucial omission. 
An omission that could probably be fixed with a half line of code. (Talking out my rear end, here)

Chief’s biggest strength is the speed at which you can go from plan, to 3d model, to construction documents, complete with framing and interior trimming.  No software is more efficient at this than Chief.  
In my opinion, it trips at the finish line for not being able to accurately output to screen what those construction documents will look like. 
 

What a shame. 

13 hours ago, Roxi0112 said:

I’m looking for your experience and suggestions for the Best Printer. Any feedback would be appreciated. I’ve heard Epson Supertanks are amazing and at the moment my supplier has Brother Inkvestment in stock. should I wait for the Epson or go for the Brother? 

I just threw out an Epson eco tank.  Lots of ink but crap output. 
 

I ordered a Brother MFCJ6955DW.  I should get it this week.  

21 hours ago, GeneDavis said:

You should think this all through and do a request in the suggestion section for the change or changes needed to achieve this.

I’ve made a request in the past. I’m not even suggesting anything revolutionary, although judging by the push back from some on this forum, you’d think I was trying to recruit them into my own private cult. 
Every software of this type has a real “print preview”.

Even software like MS Word, Adobe Acrobat and Illustrator have a ctrl or cmd “0” to see a 100% print preview that shows true line weights.

Maybe when Chief sees how so many oppose something as fundamental as a true print preview they figure there’s no use in allocating resources to making such a change in the software?  Of course this assumes Chief actually reads this drivel…

14 hours ago, JanFriedli said:

 

Say one has a long continuous walkthrough with say 1-2-3-4 keyframes that wastes a lot of travel time to get from say keyframe 2 to 3 where the travel from 2 to 3 is really not necessary

 

If you find yourself struggling with walk throughs, you can always record your screen as you pan around, preferably with a space mouse. Then you can stitch together various clips and even create transitions between clips. 
 

The other option is to get acquainted with Twinmotion. It’s a lot easier to create videos with that software. 

On 5/23/2023 at 1:08 PM, BruceKC said:

I can't figure out how to do stairs so that they show correctly on each floor

I think what you have to keep in mind with stairs, is that there should be a "breakline".  Anything above the breakline is dashed, or whatever you please.

Where's the breakling, you ask?

Well, if you look at your floor plan and can see an opening where the doors are then the "cut-view" is a little below your door headers.

So if you have 80" doors then you are probably looking at a plan view that has a breakling/cutline at around 78".

If you really want to see the effect of this and see exactly how your stairs should appear, then take a perspective floor overview and select a top view.

Then use the cross section slider and set it to 78".

This is what your floor plan is showing you in 2D.  Try to match that with your stairs, as well.

An orthographic floor overview would be better but for some crazy reason Chief won't allow us to use the cross section slider in this view for some strange reason.

Too bad, because we could overlay the 2D floor plan over this in a layout and get a true annotated dollhouse view.

Maybe X16?

3 hours ago, Chrisb222 said:

my 2022 Studio M1 Max 32GB 500GB SSD handled the file just fine

I've seen a few videos that show a significant speed increase when going from 250g ssd to 1T ssd.

I'm not well versed in all things computer so I don't understand how a larger ssd can have such a dramatic effect on performance?

And the bummer is, apple charges such a premium for 1T ssd.

It's rather disgusting that even the base pro and studio models don't come with 1T ssd as a standard option.

1 hour ago, Chrisb222 said:

Michael, my 2022 Studio M1 Max 32GB 500GB SSD handled the file just fine

Hey thanks, Chris!

That confirmed exactly what I was hoping for.

Handling large plans is the litmus test, for me.

It's hard to decipher which systems are fast, because most YouTube videos focus on benchmarks, which don't translate to anything in the real world, for me personally.

Now the question is, do I buy now or wait to see if Apple will be announcing the M3 next month, which rumours suggest that it might support realtime rt?

Not that I actually have a need for rtrt, but it would be nice once in a while.

I always get this as well with those wine coolers. 
I bet the solution is something embarrassingly simple. 
I can’t figure it out, though.  

4 minutes ago, para-CAD said:

Loaded M1Max MBP works great.  

How does it handle large projects?

I’m thinking of getting an M2 mini with 32g of ram and a 1T ssd. 
 

My current MacBook is sluggish only when handling large multiplex buildings. 32-Plex condo units etc. 

I also don’t really need super renderings. 
 

Here is a typical multiplex if you don’t mind taking the time to see if your system can handle it?  Where my MacBook lags is just while working in plan. For example, selecting any item and opening its dbx takes a full 3 seconds. Funnily enough it actually handles a 3D full overview in standard render without a hitch. 
 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xa9kfs0luwiknoe/>CITY PLANS 32-Plex Carignan.zip?dl=0
 

Uh oh, … the forum police. Better run and hide. 

2 hours ago, Alaskan_Son said:

If you are suggesting that camera clipping should clip what gets sent to layout then you're literally just moving the layout box clipping tool to the plan file and removing the function of camera clipping

I think you’re starting to understand how this tool should work. 
 

It’s not subjective. 

1 hour ago, HumbleChief said:

'm simply looking at the tool through different eyes and it seems to me a clipping tool should clip the view according to the clip lines presented in the elevation view.

You are absolutely right!  Don’t adjust your vision or glasses. 

A clipping tool should be exactly that, it should “clip”.

Unfortunately, many people on this forum have only ever used Chief and are unaware of what a clipping tool should be. 
It’s not a novel concept. I think Chief has a half baked tool and hopefully will correct it soon.
…And not as a new feature in X16 but as a fix for X15. 
 

18 minutes ago, DBCooper said:

 

@Michael_GiaSo I gave you one of the down votes because, first, you are completely wrong because there is no problem modeling what he wants in Chief, and second, which is probably even more important, your post does nothing to actually help GMcGee solve his problems.  

 

Chief’s terrain tools have not improved or changed since X6 or X7, when I first started paying for SSA. 

We’re at X15 now. 

You’re good with this?

2 hours ago, GMcGee said:

Any further thoughts?

Don’t use Chief to sculpt terrain. 

edit:

Downvote me all you want, but this post will show that there is no solution to what OP is looking for. 
The fact is we have limited ability to properly and predictably sculpt terrain in Chief, for the moment. 
Instead of downvoting, prove me wrong.

Best way to shut me up, I wont even mind. 
 

There’s also this which is cheaper, although a smaller screen, it’s is still 2560 x 1440. 
 

I like that it doesn’t look like it comes with a skateboard like the very gaming Rog Strix. 
 

As an apple guy I don’t see the difference other than screen size.  Plus I’m cheap. 

17 hours ago, Kbird1 said:

I'd suggest spending the extra $400-500CDN and getting an Asus Strix

How about this, then? 
and the screen is 2560 x 1440. 
(Thanks for reminding me about resolution)

Hey there, I’m thinking of getting this Alienware X14 laptop. 
 

I’m led to believe that it would have much better performance than my current 2019 MacBook Pro. 
 

I’m getting it to do the occasional real-time ray trace, both in Chief and Twinmotion. 
 

Can anyone comment on this?   For the money, is there a better alternative?  
(Canadian dollars, by the way, so roughly $1450 USD.)
 

21 hours ago, NeptuneKandB said:

How can I change the size of these elevation markers? In floorplan view they show up correctly, but when I send it to Layout they are huge! 

 

Thanks!! 

What’s PG? 
 

I mean, it doesn’t exist. 
Keep it simple, like 4/7 for drawing #4 on page 7. 
Or if you’re going to use lettering then at least stick to the established drafting conventions. 
And only use lettering if your plan sets are so numerous that they are divided by discipline, like A for architecture, S for structural, etc… 

I hope I’m not offending you, just trying to help.

57 minutes ago, dskogg said:

There doesn’t seem to be a way to protect file

Send a copy?

I actually have a Dropbox folder that I share with my client or other associates. 
 

I just drag copies of files in there that they can access for whatever purpose. 
This way they always have the latest version. 

The only issue is that it requires discipline on my behalf to make sure that folder always has the most up-to-date files in it.

Adhd and bouts of laziness are my enemy. 
 

31 minutes ago, mthd97 said:

https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/10/19/m1-pro-and-m1-max-gpu-performance-versus-nvidia-and-amd

Great if you’re editing videos and photos. 
 

Not so good for rendering. 
 

Bad advice, I would say. For this forum, at least. 
 

and I’m a self admitted Apple fanboy.

2 hours ago, Chrisb222 said:

At 1.5" the plate disappears

Do you have “flat ceiling” unchecked?

The vertical grain on the beams above the posts is more disturbing to me.

The floating railing is fine.

But seriously, you can just drag the well behaved railings over and they will correct the problem... most probably.

I've had this happen to me as well but only in X15, even though there is only 1 porch room defined, I'll have the railing on the right side floating and the one the left it will sit on the porch.

Also, just take a screenshot and copy paste it into your comment from now on.  That's the quick and dirty method we prefer here.  Don't make me work at looking at your pdf, if it's just an image.  

1 hour ago, stayfitjim said:

I am about to purchase a new laptop

What's your budget?

Don't buy apple for architectural rendering.

13 hours ago, JakeFoxBuilders said:

Hi Michael - I am not understanding how to copy and paste the terrain elevation data. When I copy it over it is blank and creates a poly line box. Even after I create a terrain permitter, still only a poly box will paste. What am I missing? Thanks!

Maybe post the plan?

As long as you are pasting elevation data onto a terrain then it will behave as elevation data.

Are you grouping the elevation data as a block and pasting it, or as individual items?