DeLayDesign

Hey experts.  Here in Chicagoland we do a lot of dig downs to create a better head height for basements that were built short.  I have my work arounds to show this properly, but I've always wondered if there is a better way.

So - how would you tell chief to do this?

Thanks in advance!

There is a teacher here in Illinois that is teaching it at Harper Collage (not a high school, as you asked).  I'm not sure I am thrilled with the 'teaching' they are doing though as we've hired a few from the class and well... they aren't really prepared for real life applications.

You'll want a pretty decent graphics card if you are wanting to run raytraces.  I built my PC with Ibuypower.com  A few years ago my system cost $2400 delivered; not sure what it would cost today - but it's pretty OP.

10 hours ago, keilrd said:

Hi, I hope someone has encountered and solved this issue before. I've had it happen in the past and somehow it either corrected itself, or I accidentally did, but it has reared its ugly head again. When attempting a ray trace from an interior camera view in this particular file, after the first pass or two, maybe three or four at the most, the thing falls apart and renders what's been attached here. I can have another file open though, and it renders just fine.

 

I have tried blanking all (except for the cameras) the plan where the rendering's been working, then importing the problematic plan into it but then the cameras that worked go into the same faulty rendering mode - where it is all pixelated and/or half black. I've attached two photos of the render problems, (as well as the problematic file and the one wherein the cameras work fine at render time). The ones I've been working with are all in the entry hall and have been colored red for the moment.

 

I don't think it's a hardware issue as the cameras in other plans work just fine at render time.

 

I'm using X7 on an ASUS ROG VW75 with NVIDIA GTX 670M.

 

I'm sorry, but the problem file itself is 17 MB, so I'm unable to attach it. I tried to delete things to get it smaller, but apparently, there wouldn't be much left if I deleted enough to get it small enough, so anything anyone can offer without the file in hand is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

Mark

 

 

Hmmm.  I've run into this before, but not recently.  It could be caused by a few issues.

1.  Lighting.  If the lights you are using aren't set up correctly with the correct lighting properties or the materials in the lighting aren't transparent.
   1. Your lighting isn't actually in the room.  It would require you to change the defaults of ceiling mounted lights etc. but if you lighting is inside your ceiling it may be trying to light the space but is passing through the ceiling material.
2. You have an object in your room that Chief doesn't like.  I know it sounds odd, but I built 3D versions of roll trays for my clients so they look authentic.  If I forget to remove them from a corner unit, for example, I get a similar raytrace (in PBR).

I would make sure your graphics card is up to date.  Some of my designers have issues with elevations if their AMD graphics card is out of date.  It really is difficult to know without the file.  Perhaps you could create a google drive link and share it with the group?

 

On 4/5/2023 at 7:27 PM, Barton_Brown said:

Curiosity question for those with systems that use the Intel I9-13900K processor and do ray tracing: How many cores/threads in CA can you enable for ray tracing before the CPU junction temperature exceeds 80 degrees C ? 

 

I recently got my new system and was disappointed to see that even with a 3-fan liquid cooled CPU, ray tracing with more than around 8 cores/treads selected in preferences (out of 32) resulted in Tjunction of 80+ degrees C. (don't exceed 100 degrees C)

 

While the i9-13900K system is definitely faster for a lot of tasks, it turns out that the ray trace times on this system versus my older water cooled i7-6900K system with 16 cores/threads enabled has roughly similar ray trace times without the heating issues... bummer/

 

Is this heating issue to be expected with the I9? I knew it ran hot, but was not expecting the heat limitation when only a quarter of the cores are 'cranking'. Is it my system, or just a 'live with it' situation?

 

Thanks,

 

Although I'm not a PC buff when it comes to builds, I did just recently have to replace my AIO cooling system which sounds similar to a system you're using. (liquid cooled - three fans; but have a total of 9 fans in the case)

You may want to look at your cooling system to see if it's functioning correctly.  I only do GPU renders for exteriors when I have used the old '2D' plants that don't cast shadows in PBR @ChiefArchitect- looking at you (still) for a resolution on this.  That said my unit actually dropped my temp by 3 degrees Celsius when I kicked on the render. (dropping from 35 degrees to 32 degrees)  I'm thinking your cooling system is defective.

In any case - if you can you really should be using the PBR more.  It really is above and beyond the old method of rendering.

Hey @Ange822

This is an issue with PBR's refractions.  I run into it all the time when I try to do a PBR on a room and have used 2D plants on the exterior.  They won't show up through the glass.  It's an issue @ChiefArchitecthas been asked about (at least from me); so I'm hoping for a solution soon.  If you turn off 'refractions' in your PBR settings I'm sure it'll come through, but it won't look as 'nice and realistic' 

@ChiefArchitect; I tried that and it didn't work as I need it to.  Your support team told me I should square up my ends in order to get the sharp angle to go away.  I did this and it works visually, but I don't think it's accurate in an 'actual buildable' manner.

@Smn842 - the subfolder checked does allow me to see the items once I've clicked the subfolder, but the preview doesn't help unless I want to scroll through everything I have in that folder. 

@ChiefArchitect





This is how X14 works.  When I click on the folder under my Customuser Catalog for example, I can see the two folders I've created for my work flow.  Interior and exterior materials in this example.

This is X15:  It shows me everything in the folder and is incredibly annoying.





 

It just doesn't work.  Please @ChiefArchitect - tell us you're coming up with a fix

You can see as I try to see what's in each folder without having to click into it, nothing happens.  When I click on a folder, I should see all subfolders, then when I click on a subfolder, I should see all object inside that subfolder.

Hey @RookiePete

If I'm understanding correctly, you're wanting to add multiple appliances to one tall cabinet (For example) and have those appliances show through into the schedule?

My set up a little different than default as I've already created CAD details for my schedules and listed them accordingly, so that step won't apply to you... but what I have noticed with some of the manufacturer catalogs is, they forgot to check the correct schedule in their model information so you'll have to do that yourself if you notice they aren't showing up in the schedule.  You'll noticed after I add the warming draw it shows up in my schedule, but the AWD double oven does not.  I have to open that object specifically to correct the missing schedule.

I'm using X15 at the moment, but the multiple appliance feature was available for a few versions prior.

14 minutes ago, Joe_Carrick said:

Eric,

I think Adam was pointing out that it might not be a good idea to try to search for "Vacuum". 

Ha - with the way this new catalog works you'd probably think that! ha ha.  Actually, I tend use the right click 'show in catalog' feature a lot - saw 'vacuum' as an option and though - hmm, what do you do?!.... I found out.

I've already emails @ChiefArchitectsupport, but I was curious if anyone else knows of a fix? 

I thought we had a way of clipped the ends of the fascia similar to how you can clip the stair stringers against walls; but maybe I'm mis-remembering?  I pulled my gable back hoping I could hide it; but it's still showing through.

Also - frieze boards never seem to work 100% correctly all the time but for some reason this one doesn't want to mimic the left side of the gable.  

ha!  @Chrisb222.  Apparently it works like a 'disc clean up' on your PC.  It removed "unused files". Mine cleaned up quite a few - I haven't experienced any issues with the catalog since doing it so hopefully it stays that way.  It's probably helpful, but I didn't know what it would do and didn't realize it was going to lock up Chief for a good five minutes or more.

I mean; it's probably useful because it helps to free up space, but I had no idea what it was going to do and it took a good bit of time.

So - maybe don't click it unless you're prepared to sit for a few minutes while it does a clean up.

Hey @RobUSMC

Chief has certainly come a long way - but has a little bit further to go in order to match some of the quality of other rendering programs like Lumion.  That being said the rendering capability with X14 or even X15 is pretty spot on.  A lot of times it's a matter of what kind of graphics card your system has.  I've experienced some really powerful laptops and PCs with impressive graphic cards NOT have raytracing capability.  I'd be sure yours has that capability.

Additionally, lighting has a huge impact in how your renders will turn out.  That and choosing decent materials.  A lot of the basic materials that come with Chief aren't great.  Heck even some of the manufacturer catalogs don't always look great.  It takes a little bit to figure out what the best set up is for your view.

Try focusing on your lighting, but maybe create a free profile on the 3Dwarehouse (powered by SketchUp).  I pull a good bit of items from that platform to help enhance my renders.

This render is completely Chief; but I did import some 3D plants, a new rug, and draped blanket to take it to the next level.

My light settings follow the video Chief released on rendering a few months back - I believe when they launched X14.



  

I hope this help!

On 3/8/2023 at 9:26 AM, j2narchitecture said:

Hello.

 

How do you create a hole in a deck floor?

I have two decks with a spiral staircase going up from one deck to another. 

I need to cut a hole in the deck floor for the spiral stair. Tried using the 'hole in floor' tool with no luck.

Also tried, creating a railing around the stair and making it into an "open floor" with no luck.

Any help is appreciate.

Thank you kindly.

 

Hey @j2narchitecture

Mine seems to work "OK", but I do have to connect the 'hole' for the opening to an outside wall with an invisible room divider.  I think I have this turned off by default in my software, but out of the box it should be turned on to connect 'island rooms' (or something like that

You could also try drawing a box with the cad tools converting the polyline into a 'hole in floor' this option didn't require a room divider tie in.

Also, like @Alaskan_Sonmentioned - make sure your deck is set to 'automatically regenerate deck framing'

3 hours ago, RobUSMC said:

Can someone tell me where to download X-15?  Its not in the digital locker.

Be sure your SSA is current.  I don't think the download is available for anyone who didn't continue their support past X14.

Dang! Sorry @stevenyhofmaybe @ChiefArchitectcan weight on this.  Seems like an issue that needs resolving

Yeah; it's a bit annoying, but one way I've overcome it is to use the soffit tool and add a very thin (1/16") molding to the sides the same height as the beam.  You can tell the beam to sit under ceiling and it will automatically slope following the ceiling.

The moldings allows you to then have two different variations of the material traveling in the correct direction if you need.

It sounds odd.  I don't know much about it, and haven't heard of it before today; but they don't even have the ability to import DWG files so in my opinion that's trash.

Thanks @DBCooperThat's the ticket!

I'm sure we've all done it, we've flipped the mouse while in 3D and the camera starts spinning.  Sometimes slow, others super fast.  

Now that I want to do it on purpose (without creating a walk-thru) I can't.   Anyone have a tip?

OK; so what I ended up doing was pulling the first floor wall down manually, then grabbed the second floor wall from the side (the top wouldn't let me pull it down) and pulled it all the way across the front face.

Bizzar

ar.

It's not very often I come across them, but from time to time they pop up.  I can remember figuring out how to make it work for me before, but now I can't see to remember.

I know I can build it in sections with invisible walls, and place the columns myself, but what's the proper way to get chief to realize the first floor wall shouldn't travel past the second?

@GeneDavis - Yes sir.  as-builts.

I found a thread from 2020 that reference the manual - I looked it up.  Windows width in the window dialog is in fact including the frame.  We are trying to correct our practices and ultimately adjust out methods of measuring.  One issue we run into constantly is 'window sizes'.  Your method is how our Kitchen and Bath designers measure, but some of our 'drafters' come back with frame to frame dimensions and that's what they put in chief as their opening size.

I believe Chief Architects room planner (not the same program) has a way of checking a box that will allow you to input window width frame to frame.

Also - a Window Sash and window frame aren't the same thing.