TheKitchenAbode

That's not very definitive. Any ways the customers are already speaking through this forum so what's the difference. As far as the industry is concerned they only have to look at the customer base of other competing software, go read their forums and you will most likely see what they like and dislike. Also, there is a cost consideration to all of this, given Chiefs features and flexibility I really doubt you could find a better valued package that serves such a wide range of users. Graham

I'd really like to see a discussion to define "The Right Architect" or the right Builder, Contractor, Interior Designer or Decorator. Everyone will have a differing opinion as to how the software should look, feel and function. There is no Holy Grail. Personally, I suspect that of Chief Architects user base Professional Designated Architects do not represent the majority. Regardless of this there are several who do participate in this forum and they definitely provide extremely high valued input & guidance. In fact I don't here them griping all the time, suspect they roll-up-their-sleeves and are able to figure most things out on their own. Graham

Agree David - I mentioned in my post #51 that it appears the OP has an "Axe to Grind". I Also believe that there are some who unfortunately think that sophisticated software will be inherently easy to understand and not require any learning. I for one have yet to find such a program. This is not an excuse to be complacent but I believe Chief has done a decent job at automating a wide range of functions. Are they perfect, not always, but given the complexity of such an undertaking one really has to give credit where credit is due. What may appear to be a simple operation, such as build a roof, is likely an extremely complicated thing to program. For it to function properly it requires that the underlying structure be 100% correct. This correctness not only relates to wall heights, connections and angles, but also that the underlying structure is such that given the automated roof function built-in parameters a roof can be properly configured. The user defines and controls this, Chief just tries to build the roof as best it can based upon what you give it. "Garbage in, Garbage out". I like to hear about any program that does not function on this premise. Graham

That would certainly cause the problem. The plan definitely shows that the center cabinet is not tight to the wall and as such it is forward from the adjacent cabinets. Good eye Michael. Graham

Mark - For some odd reason the generic sun can't be accessed/adjusted if the elevation is in vector mode. It works if you select standard or any of the other render types. In vector the generic sun is fixed at a specific angle, the only way is to rotate your plan instead of the sun. Graham

Mark - There was a discussion about something like this a few months ago. One user suggested changing the % shading on the pattern so it will show. I played with this problem and concluded that it is related to the generic sun and the vector elevation mode. Try the shading change, I think this is the only current solution. Graham

Try setting the horizontal offset to "0" and see if they connect. If so then Chief is not seeing the molding as touching alomg the gables. If this works but you do not want the molding to extend over the box at the front the change the material thickness to 1/16", alternatively you could set the horizontal offset to 1/16" less than the material thickness. Graham

I think Cheif did it the way Micheal mentions so that another user would not discover your full product key #. Keeps it secret. Graham

What a nightmare that would be. Here in Canada we have a National Building Code, then each province has their version and then major cities/locals have their versions. That's just the main building code. Then there are the separate codes for Electrical, HVAC and more. They are constantly changing via amendments and of coarse major revisions every 5 years or so. Last time I was involved it was even more complex in the USA. Would not give that suggestion 5 seconds worth of consideration. Graham

Had a bit of time to Raytrace that desk chair. Renders fairly good under the right lighting conditions. Just made a few minor changes to the reflection on the black plastic and used a slightly more pronounced texture for the fabric. Graham

Paulin - Thanks for the info and pic. The Raytrace settings seem to be a good starting point. Uncheck "Photon Mapping" and run a comparison scene. It should run much faster with far less pixilation. Not sure of the image size from your attached pic. Would suggest a width of at least 1200 px. If the pic is too small then there is just not enough pixels to capture the information. I find that you should get a reasonable rendering within 10 passes. If it's still looking really bad then its a good indication that either the settings or lighting is not ideal, more passes may help but it would be far more efficient to address the root cause. Keep posting your progress and we will try to tweak this step-by-step. Graham

Looks like you are progressing well with your Raytracing given the time you have been working with this. Yes, there are some issues that if addressed would push this further along. Lighting - there are some lighting issues here. The most obvious are the two table lamps and the bar type over the bed headboard. By any chance did you increase the height of those table lamps? There is an issue that when a light fixtures size is altered that the position of the light does not get adjusted. If you look at the light it is emmitting from the base and not the lamp shade. The light point can be adjusted in the fixtures DBX. The bar fixture light intensity should be reduced as it is creating a blown-out intense white spot. Furniture - The desk chair looks to be out of proportion for one thing, looks to be too deep (seat to long). Suggest reducing this and maybe position it a bit further into the desk. I'm certain this chair could look a lot better with some material adjustments or by using some hidden (3D) lights to bring out the colours. I have experimented with a number of library items and have found that under the right lighting conditions they can render out quite well. If the lighting conditions are not ideal then they can look really bad. Just wondering how many passes and how long this ran for. Also, you should likely save your pics as JPG instead of BMP, this would reduce the file size to at least a quarter over the BMP. Graham

Please post your render pic so we can see what's going on. Also when you say slow, state the time, number of passes and pixel width and height. Otherwise it is almost impossible to provide any worthy suggestions. Graham

Could you post some examples of your output so we can see if this is a model issue or a render issue. There is no doubt that some models are very basic but on the other hand the assigned materials, lighting and render method can have a significant impact also. Graham

The tile size can be adjusted in the material DBX, "Pattern' for the 2D display & "Texture" for the 3D display. There are a wide range of tile texture patterns in the Datile manufacturer library and the is also a Bonus Tile library. You can also create your own texture & patterns in Photoshop or just google "Free Textures", there are a number of sites you can download from, also try the Setchup 3D Warehouse. Graham

There may be other methods but I would take an existing brick tile texture from one of the library items. Drop this into photoshop and then place my real photo pic on each brick. Save as a jpg and then use this as the tile texture. Did this once before and the result was fairly accurate. Graham

Thanks for the vote in confidence. I was planning to contact Roger. Understand the exchange rate issue. Just renewed my SSA 2 months ago and got slaughtered on the exchange rate, with that and our great 13% HST sales tax it cost me almost $750 for the year. Ouch !!! Graham

Eric - I should have mentioned that it was a forum members upload and not a standard Chief Library item. I have not had time to evaluate the new Bonus Metal materials that Perry mentioned. Did you try any of them and if so how do they compare to the one I provided? Graham

Pleased that it worked out. Here is the link to the main forum page, there are a number of specific forums. https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/ Select Symbols & Content and use the search for "stainless steel" it's in there somewhere. Graham

Here's my library version. Give it a try and see if it works for you. Graham Brushed SSteel Horz_Reflective.calibz

The one I typically use was provided by another user, it's named Brushed SSteel Horz, you can find it over in Symbols & Content. The only change if I recall correctly is I changed the material properties to reflective and increased the reflectivity. This seems to work fairly well and makes the stainless look half decent in a camera view render and a Raytrace. See attached pics. Graham

The built-in Windows uninstaller does not necessarily remove everything and it is common to find all kinds or files and folders left over. There are other third party uninstallers that do a much better and more thougouh job of cleaning things up. I use Revo Uninstaller most of the time as it has 3 levels to choose from as to the depth ofr removal. Graham

Got that right!!! It seems that the only problem with this, at least from some, is that they only get a "Work Around". Oh No! I'm in trouble now Graham

Thanks Larry. I think you make a good point that if a user is accustom to another software package then it can be a real struggle when switching. I recall this back when spreadsheets were evolving rapidly, VisiCalc, 123 and then Excel. Regardless of the benefits it was a major challenge to get existing users to take the time to learn a different approach. There however is an important message in all of this which is no matter how powerful a piece of software is it's acceptance is highly dependent upon presenting this power in as intuitive and easy to understand way as possible. Most users do not have the patience, time or background to play a game of "Find Waldo" when they want to get something done. Graham

This one was done by inserting blank areas. I changed the box material to stainless to get the blank regions (channels) to look correct and the door/drawer fronts to a stained wood. Graham