mthd97

I think X9 sneak peek information shows that more important things have been added to make our 3d modeling easier. I like the niche tool, cupboard counter top overhangs to all sides, cupboard doors and draws shown open. The short room ceiling etc are all good for the product for interior design. When you look at the categories CA caters for, everyone gets a specific improvement they need. For structure the sill plate set down is good too. I could go on but waiting on XX and future versions we all have to wiegh up the resources we spend on CAD product's too see if we are investing wisely. There are a few things I like about Revit a some things I don't like about it. In the end we all have limited time to make an analysis of the software we will choose and we can't know all the positives and negatives before we buy and try it out.

Hey Jonnoxx you are entitled to your opinions and I would like you just specify the problems with Chief Architect you are having. There are legitimate things that can be fixed in CA we just have to be more patient till they get addressed. In the meantime don't get upset with us Aussies as we are notorious for making fun of each other, it is actually a compliment but it can get out of hand if not correctly understood. Take care all the best with whatever CAD software you choose.

ShaneK, I started working for Contractor's like you but I was paid by them to do the design concept, design development, construction drawings and documentation. This worked well for me. Edit: I trusted these employers as they dealt fairly with me and I with them but they are getting harder to find these days.

I was thinking of the slang word for it in the Sea Shanty songs ? Funny stuff anyway we are only kidding.

I was in a very similar situation to you before going out on my own. I would not recommend you do this as there are many sharks in the water who will try to use you for free design work. Never ever work for free. Get paid in advace with a deposit to cover all the work for your design concepts and design development. Outline the costs clearly as you progress thru the job. All the best if you take the plunge.

Blind Trust ? Or seeing specific requests applied ? 1) Curved Roofs 2) Mono Slab types 3) Subscription (SSA) 4) Ridge Capping 5) Room Devider line 6) Niche tool 7) Stair tool Improvements What else have others seen ? What do they call the punishment of throwing someone overboard and dragging them over the barnacles under the ship ?

MM we have our own elevation display standards for cupboards and so does the NKBA in the US. We are left to make our own templates as you know in Australia with line styles and layers etc. We all expect our software to work properly too. When we had our Australian dealer, things were a bit better for us then with the template supplied. All the best.

I like to search the Videos and manual first then search the forum. Then ask the big guns, old gun slingers and young guns and if that fails put in a suggestion or get another app than can do the job with minimal fuss.

Ironing out problems, is my illustration of fixing them, the small ones take one pass, the bigger ones, take several or more passes to iron them out. As to rewriting parts of the program CA have done that in the past and will do it again if necessary. We need to show the team trust and the more we show the more response we get.

Jonnoxx, I have had many of my specific requests applied in latter versions of CA and that is why I am still here. If you could specify clearly the problems you have with using Chief in the right section of the forum, and if they are legitimate they will get listened to and applied. I think you need to have more respect for the CEO and the work the programmer's put into Chief with the resources they have. Perfection is not possible in this world but we all aim to do our best with what we have. I don't regret having Chief in my tool box for my work since V6.0 1999. No problems no upgrades.

Get the full version demo for free off the website and try it out first. I use ArchiCAD as well but CA is a very fast modeling solution for all American style houses. If you want slanted walls and the like and a very high level of customisation then look elsewhere. If your main customer base is contemporary American style houses then having a license of Chief is worth it if you got time to learn it. Those main problems with the program will be ironed out eventually in time but Chief will not be used for extreme homes anytime soon.

Archicad made this easier with Cinarender.

Thanks Chopsaw for doing this video for us in CA. It shows what we can do in a 3d view as I don't use the 3d window for drawing walls in CA. It is nice to know the the scaffolding is there to improve it with dimensions and a 3d grid etc. I wasn't challenging you, I was asking you to show us. I also looked for a video first but couldn't find one. Here is a challenge, who knows from what version we were able to extrude a wall in a 3d view like Chopsaw just did ?

Yes true, some things are overly complicated in CA and every CAD app has it's long winded way's of doing things too. I think we could show that SP does have some very good things about it that we can improve in CA. I agree with the parkwest list, especially the ML point but CA is better for Designers and SP is better for Builder quantity surveyors IMO. A merger or takeover would be worth it for me. I really like SP SL add on.

http://softplan.com/?page_id=1284 Chopsaw can you show me your video of you drawing walls from scratch in the 3d window with Chief Architect please ?

We might not be moving as fast a the big BIMs but we are more advanced than SP in many ways. I do like how you can draw and edit walls in a 3d overview with SP once we get this along with a few more features we will have fully surpassed them. It's good to have healthy competition in the same league as it helps advance the residential apps we use.

This is what I was concerned about in my above post. Quote: "Chief's roof tool is the most versatile and creates the most stable areas of a drawing (roof doesn't automatically change hgts when you move walls or adjust floor hgts etc.). I wish they would stabilize or provide floor platform thickness and floor elevation locks so that a floor platform remains as drawn when moving interior partitions." Yes, this is very important and urgent. Has X9b fixed this ? If not then, can we please make serious progress in XX thanks. Like we can lock a roof plane, we should also be able to lock room heghts etc when making any changes to the 3d model to overide automactic rebuild updates that throw the modeled room shapes out of place. I would say, that this is the biggest of all problems with Chief Architect, If we can fix this in XX we would have landed on the moon with XX. A giant step forward for Chief Architect and small step forward for the programmers of this app.

Have you found more stability with X8 or X9B ?

MSS3 works ok with X8 and X9 Beta but I need to test it out more with the new touch screen functions added to X9. I am not happy with the down time on Windows tablets for them to update, as this stalls the internet browser.

Thanks, Richard & Chopsaw. Yes I have to ask support about getting into the other part of the forum. I think it should be ok to discuss basics now as they have been revealed in the sneak peak. Yeah I can see it being a help with set outs and even templates too. I will have to do some testing with stairs and split level housing in X9b.

RE: "Custom Room Definitions", Can anyone tell me what the advantage of this new feature is ? We have been able for a long time to change the room definition to what we we choose. Even if we are not using the room for what it is set out to be in the room definition parameters as we can create our own custom room label. So I would like to know what the purpose is for this tool ? By the look of it we can create other room types with thier own specific room characteristics that differ from the room default list itself ? Correct me if I am wrong, since I have not been able to set up my X9 Beta Discussions forum to see what other testers are saying and doing with this tool yet.

Thanks mate, will those short ceilings and room default changes help you out ?

Where can I found out more about Join Me, sounds like a very clever idea to me ?

People do allot of silly things out of ignorance and that is why it is good to be well informed about how things work and how to use them properly. In Archicad there are many ways to do things but most don't require laborious work arounds or major fix ups for simpler and more complicated housing. Extreme home design is another story.

The more I see of X9 the more I like It. Drop Ceilings just great, stem wall ledges great too !