TheKitchenAbode

Here is a test to demonstrate this Z-Fighting. This is a Standard view camera. On the protruding portion wall I have a Psolid with one face positioned to be in the same plane as the drywall face. It Z-Fights. On the main wall behind I have 2 Wall Material Regions. The lower region has a thickness of 2/32", cut finish is unchecked. It Z-Fights. The region above has a thickness of 3/32", cut finish unchecked. No Z-Fighting. Seems that below 3/32" you run the possibility of Z-Fighting even though the material has a thickness beyond the underlying surface. Graham

You mean Vector view???, shows in Standard view for me. Graham

Understand but if one needs to output a standard view or Raytrace you have to fix it. Also, if you are in a standard view with a client it really does not look good, big distraction and the client is certainly going to ask what the hell is that. Graham

Here is another example using the technique I described. Will post the model a bit later. - took the Raised Panel Beaded door from the lbrary and olaced in the plan. - applied a 1/16" flat molding to the rail & stile face, slightly less in width so as not to obscure the bead. - applied a 1/16" psolid to the raised panel face, slightly less in size so as not to obscure the raised edges. - saved to user library as a door symbol. - set cabinet door/drawer type to it. The colour scheme was the adjusted as follows - main door was made a dark stain. - my applied rail/stile molding was this stain but lightened. - my applied raised panel skin was this stain but lightened slightly less than the rail/stile one. You can just colour the door/drawers with the spray can, real easy. Graham

I am almost positive that this has nothing to do with the video card. I can predict it's occurrence and recreate it. Just worked on one a few hours ago. As mentioned in my prior post, Chief sees the two materials as occupying the same space/plane. Not saying that this is not a bug of some sort but for some reason the wall paper is not being seen as being beyond the drywall paper face or if it is it is of insufficient thickness to be properly determined as being so. Graham

Thanks - Scott is correct we call this Z fighting. It occurs when two materials, one in front and one behind, occupy the same space or almost. Chief does not know which one to display. The material on top, your wall paper needs to have some thickness beyond the drywall face, say 1/16". If the object you are attempting to cover has a layer option the you can define it there. You can also use a material region which also permits a thickness of layer option. When ever this occurs just remember two things cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Graham

Would be beneficial to provide a bit more detail concerning the particular behavior you find strange. What is happening and what are you trying to do. Please keep in mind that we also have work to do as we attempt to help you out. Graham

Agree - take our comments as just something to take into consideration as you attempt to define your business, why repeat the pitfalls of others, learn from them. There are many ways to stay clean and ethical in this field and be able to establish a viable, profitable and rewarding business. A simple example, for existing residential remodeling/additions and custom in-fill homes clients will be using an Architect, however most at this level provide more traditional drawings, plan and elevations. Many clients have difficulty in envisioning this space from a 2 dimensional perspective also, most Architects are not really interested in how the rooms layout will be from an interior design/decorating perspective. Clients come to us with their drawings and we work with them on this aspect. Now the client knows for sure that the kitchen can truly accommodate their appliance, cabinetry and functional needs. Better to confirm this before the walls go up. Graham

If memory serves me correctly, that few years ago is now about 10 or maybe more. Thanks for reminding me of my age. I should however clarify that you do not have to have a professional designation to prepare the drawings, they just need to be reviewed and stamped by someone who is in order to be accepted for permit submission. This I am in full agreement with, what I myself dislike is that they also made a few other changes that really impact on small existing residential remodeling work. The most impactful is that they redefined the meaning of the term structure, it use to be assumed that this meant the loadbearing elements, it now means any framing member. Now if you wish to change an interior door width from say 30" to 34" in an interior nonloadbearing wall you are supposed to get a obtain a permit. It won't be long before needing a permit to paint that door. Graham

Are you sure about licensing in Massachusetts. Some jurisdictions have exceptions for a home owner building their own house but this does not apply when you are contracted to do this on belhalf of someone else. In my local the building department will only accept drawings stamped by a professionally designated Architect, Engineer or Designer. If you don't have this they don't even want to talk to you. Graham

You can just Zip it and attach it. Chief has a max upload file size. Graham

Thanks Tom - Just corrected my link, that was my e-mail address. Appreciate the New York offer, but I first have to go to Wasillan Alaska to thank Michael (Alaskan_Son) for his support. Owe him a King Crab lunch. In the settings I provided, you can also use the "Uniform Intensity" instead of the "Ambient Occlusion". This functions as an overall brightness control, use 5.0 to start and then just adjust up or down for the desired look. When your ready to tackle some lights let me know, would be pleased to assist. Graham

Agree, you need to be careful so as to not be accused of missrepresting yourself. There are some fairly rigid rules concerning particular words that may be construed that one has a particular Professional Designation. I am a Medical Doctor versus I provide Medical Services, a court would not deem it unreasonable that a person could assume that if you provide Medical Services then you are a Doctor. If on the other hand you stated Servicing Medical Doctors you would likely be ok. This however would only be the case if upon looking at your activities it was clear that you were not actually providing Medical Services under some form of disguise. Graham

I believe the marketing focus group has spoken. Just imagine how much Chief would have had to pay in $$$ and time to a consulting group to get this answer. Graham

I guess there are two ways one can see this in. As a user I want everything to be free, don't want to pay for the software, library items or my taxes. As a business I want to be compensated as much as possible for everything I do. Unfortunately like most things in life it's rare that you can have your cake and eat to. The challenge is how to strike the appropriate balance. I use these library items extensively and understand that their creation most likely involves a considerable effort in time and expertise, and as such this cost impacts upon Chiefs bottom line. Unfortunately for Chief they have a single product that provides only two revenue generating branches, the initial one shot sale and the ongoing SSA. Currently any and all costs must be borne by one or the other or some shared split. The other stradegy is the one currently being discussed, create another revenue generating branch, the library catalogs. Whether or not this is the appropriate approach is really determined from a marketing perspective, costs need to be passed on and which method will be the most palletable to existing and potential new purchasers. Graham

If you do not want the uppers to show then just turn the appropriate layer display to off. As mentioned by Solver the fill color for the object can be changed to none or whatever fill style you like. There are also controls that allow you to move objects to the front and back of their group. The most obvious of these commands is displayed in the bottom of the screen tools when you click on an object or if you right click on an object in the pop-up menu. There are also other group move commands in the objects DBX, believe under line style. These may help, but there are some limitations on this. Graham

I suspect you are changing the dimensions using the global setting. You likely need to only set the individual dimension. Must say that having different dimension formats in the same layout could lead to confusion. I do have some clients that ask for this, I generate a separate layout, never mix the two. Graham

Use to custom counter top tool to form the counter top around the sink. Sounds like you floated the sink in place, not actually placed in the cabinet. Just adjust the height of the sink to get the exposure to the counter top correct and the adjust the cabinet height to align with the sink bottom. Graham

Tom, the issue is related to lighting only. Also, the settings I provided are very basic settings. Just remember to turn off all light sources or these settings may not resolve the problem. Bringing the light sources back in will likely require some other adjustments to get the scene to Raytrace correctly. Graham

Really appreciate your compliments. I know that in some of my posts my desire to assist may not always come through as such. Trust me, my intentions are always intended to help and at times to provoke a more in-depth discussion. Thanks Again, Graham

Sorry I was absent, had a client meeting. Hey! Looks pretty good. Congratulations. Just a suggestion, always use those base settings to start with. Just make sure to have all of your lights turned off. You can add these back and adjust for them after you get the overall ambient lighting correct. Think in the terms that each type of lighting is layered, ambient first, light fixtures second and then the exterior lighting effect. You will also notice that you can significantly reduce your Raytrace times and develop a more methodical and predictable Raytrace strategy. It's not really as difficult as you may have been led to believe. Graham

No problem. Lets fix that floor. In camera view use the material selector and click on the floor. Select properties and chang it from polished to reflective and set the reflection to about 6%. Run again, set Raytrace to 10 pass limit. That will be enough to judge the effect. Post pic. Graham

Ok, first problem, sparkles has been resolved. Now lets get rid of the high intensity sun light. - Open Raytrace DBX - Click "Edit" - Select "Lighting" - Uncheck "Use Camera View Settings" - Set "Use Ambient Occlusion", min = 0.1, max = 10 - Set "Direct Sunlight = 0 - Uncheck "Enable Environmental Lighting" - Select "Advanced" - Uncheck "Photon Mapping" Run a Raytrace now and post image. Graham "Lighting", set "Direct Sun Light" =0, uncheck

Looks like a lighting issue. Suspect you are relying on the light fixtures (table lamps) to light your entire scene. You likely need to add some 3D area lights to increase the overall ambient lighting. If you are using your camera view settings in the Raytrace DBX you could also try increasing the light settings in the 3D view settings. I never use the camera view settings for Raytracing but I know many do. Just out of interest how many passes and how long are you running this for. Also, if you post the plan it would be easier to make some more specific suggestions. Graham

Chief is just a tool that if properly understood and utilized will allow you to better express your talents. It is your talent that you are selling not Chief. Keep in mind that selling and making money involves a lot more than just generating drawings in Chief. You need to have the appropriate skills not only in your field of endeavor but also the inter-personal skills to effectively communicate and deal with your clients, be responsive to thier needs and be prepared to deliver on your promises. To be profitable you need to understand, practice and operate like a business. You also need to be realistic about the risks and your ability to accept and manage this if you wish your business to be sustainable. You must believe in yourself but don't be naive, understand your strengths and recognize your weaknesses and be willing to do what's necessary to get the right balance. Graham