VHampton

So many excellent improvements on current features as well as some interesting new ones. The ability to create a depth perception, sun tools, speed of raytracing ...the list goes on. EDIT: It just keeps getting better and better. Thank you to everyone in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

That's the solution. Thanks to the wall offsets, outlets can be placed in the neighbor's yard if one wanted to.

Thanks Glenn! Glad I replied to the thread!

This will shed some very helpful light on what you're after: Link to Twin Motion Animation Tutorial on YouTube ...at 4:46 into the clip, he'll explain.

What is being sought after is not available. not yet anyway. The only thing which the program may 'remember' where it was last opened is the library. After it is "undocked" there will be recollection of where it was last positioned.

Auto walls will build (on the foundation level) when the foundation senses a roof above. Note how the 1st floor is held inwards. Shouldn't they be aligned w/ outside of foundation? Anyway, the roof is causing them to go skyward. You could turn of "auto-rebuild attic walls" and that will tell them to stay put.

ok... so patterns and fill turned off on Export results in a clean stripped down wall. Perfect for the receiving end. That's typically how AutoCAD users like them. The fill and hatches can make wall adjusting a bit of a pain in case they need to move anything.

You're welcome. Yes - unmark fill when exporting. This way, cabinets, stairs, and fixtures won't arrive as solid black. If floors and decks have tile patterns as the designated room fill, that's when patterns can be turned off. Not sure if that includes hatch in the wall though. For good measure open up the exterior wall type and make sure that "no pattern" is designated for the plywood. This will ensure a clean wall without the default pink hatches every 12 inches on center.

Every AutoCAD user that I work with has zero issues. Engineers, Surveyors and interior designers. Chief .dwg exports always come in clean, and they can turn the stuff off which doesn't pertain to their work. ie... cabinets and CAD blocks. Only minor complaints have been with wall fill, and wall hatching (angle hatch is the default pattern for plywood in our software). That can be altered in your plan file by changing the wall setting, or by turning off pattern lines before export. As a general rule, Chief walls are kept clean and without patterns (on my end) This avoids headaches on theirs. Regarding export calibration... feet and inches is typical. Surveyors prefer feet. No bad joke intended. Agree w/ Michael's method as well. It sends the entire story... and they can easily extract what they need.

Per Gene's point every engineer is different. For the ones who draw and specify the steel and the mechanicals, CAD files are a must. However this unfolds... The end user should be receiving plans without any "fill". (This why the Chief cabinets and stairs are being imported as solid dark). Just check the setting to turn fill off upon export. It'll be a big help to them. Some folks like wall layers off as well. That can be done in your layer set settings. They can also adjust layers on their end as well (sorry for stating the obvious).

Agreed. Thank you Justin. Per my initial suggestions (to Kate) flat parcels can often have the terrain removed. Hillside contours however should necessitate the terrain import so that the TM model is correct. By way of example, I just worked on a bluff side project, and the grade was quite important to show in the TM model. BTW... really nice work! All the best -Val

Glad to be of help Kyra... and thank you Steven. Rosetta options sometimes pop up immediately when using a certain software. Many may not be aware that this box needed to be checked with Chief Architect. In case folks from the future may want to learn more, this link from Apple is somewhat enlightening: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211861 All the best - Val

You're very welcome... and yes, always be careful with the 3D warehouse. They have incredibly helpful things on the site, but any objects over the 2-3MB range should be used sparingly. Example... they have some awesome cars and trees on the site, but objects w/ over 12megs of data means that they've got many many surface layers. That can bog a plan down quickly. Stick with low-poly objects whenever possible, and the plan file will remain fast and smooth - as it should. By way of example, pretty much all of the Chief Architect 3D library inventory is on the lower end of the surface count spectrum. Regarding a way to track down where things went side-ways, try opening the manage archives folder. Top left under Find. Choose one of your past files (Manage Auto Archives) going back to the approximate date of when the program started acting up, and then give the RayTrace process a go. You may be able to sleuth your way through the steps in what may have been introduced or changed before things went haywire. In the camera view delete or turn off various objects to see which ones may or may not cause the crash. Since the file is archived, there's never that uneasy concern as if you were taking apart the original. Good luck with that! ...It's great to know that you can RayTrace again. ...as any FYI, when you have a moment place your system specs. and current version of CA in the signature if you have time. In the eventuality that users may have to pay a visit in the future, having info. on system spec.s can help folks who may be trying to help. Not that it's needed here, but the forum police hand out warnings on occasion. Lol All the best.

You can use WeTransfer to upload a file. It's free. Totally safe, and our print shops use them for ease of file transfer. Anyway, the upload will result in a link which can be copied or emailed. Files can get so large these days that email often won't send them, and likewise, they can't be posted to the forum. Regarding TwinMotion, yes, it's like driving on the opposite side of the road at first. lol. Just takes time. Everything is bizarro including how the mouse works. Lumion operates the same way. So to answer, the landscape in their virtual world needs to be adjusted. When you click on it (the landscape) it will highlight and the ground can be raised or lowered to the correct elevation. Sorry to make this sound all too easy, but there truly is a low learning curve. You will be amazed at the results.

While I don't have a MacBook, M1 chips can RayTrace as do the newer M2 chips. Obviously there are still issues here and there. Again, many software developers are making their very best efforts to accommodate the hardware changes. Having said that, I was a Windows user for many many years, and the very best computers (for rendering) are typically Windows systems with the magic Nvidia card. Gaming computers in particular. CA has always been extremely loyal to its user base and it wasn't until something like 8 year ago that one could even use CA on an Apple product. They will come through. The folks in the tech department are continuously making improvements on the software. X-15 may possibly result in some welcome upgrades.

You're quite welcome. In having explored every possibility on one project, I discovered that the culprits were a couple of garage sconces. After they got deleted from the plan file... Presto. Ray Tracing was possible again. Could it be that one or more items were introduced to you project in recent days? It seems that lighting is the Achilles heel to the M1 chip - not just w/ Chief Architect, but other software makers as well. I've been doing extensive research, and despite the hype of Apple's chip (which is an extremely fast and hearty work horse) it does have a couple of quirks to be worked out. Not any fault of the software developers. Intel chips have always been the industry standard. The M1 is new, and cut from a different cloth so to speak.

Have had crashes as well. Turning off the lights has helped alleviate the problem. I don't make many interior views so this has been reasonably acceptable. But for those who do interiors, this crashing issue will hopefully be looked into. If you note on the Forum, you'll see many people with Apple products (M1 chip) discussing TwinMotion in recent months. It's a viable alternative for rendering. The problem is however... RayTrace type of renders are unsupported in TM. But there is excellent refraction quality on glass and metallic surfaces, and the results can often be quite good. Sorry that this is not a help. If anything it merely confirms that you are not alone in your findings. CA techies review the forums and may be keenly aware. Keep the faith that a new release is coming, and perhaps in due time this crashing issue is going to be addressed.

To add to Michael's comments... TM is an extremely helpful tool to enhance model making. That said, Chief still has incredible potential to render exteriors. Much of it has to do for example, with user settings. That's all. With the correct camera views, texture settings, vegetation and sun angles... that's what's going to make your model shine. If you wanted to post that particular plan, it would literally take less than ten minutes to bring it from a 3 to a 10. In any event, TM animation such as moving clouds and the leaves rustling in the trees is really amazing. Water ripples too. Maybe one day Chief will have a similar functionality. I have faith. Chief continues to make advancements year after year. Export a 3d overview of your model as a .dae file (or 3Ds) no terrain. You can settle the house into the ground upon import. Regarding the possibility of reimporting to CA, TM files won't be in a format to come back into Chief. Once it's a TM model it stays that way.

Another option is to go to File> Manage Auto Archives. While you won't get a specific hourly tabulation for the day, it is very possible to gain some perspective on the general start and completion times. The trick is to hit "save" as soon as you start work, and as always, "save" when taking a break or closing up shop for the day. Taking a screen capture of the archived dates and time blocks will allow it to be printed for tabulating the number of hours.

Ditto on making the completed house into a symbol. No muss no fuss. In an effort to keep the symbol smaller, you could turn off layers of whatever objects might have many surface counts (prior to the symbol making). Either way the symbol will be large, but it's so much easier than having to deal with wayward walls and objects when the new plan file is imported.

that's the answer. If the balcony rail moves over, then the newel will receive the stair rail. The offset is obvious.

Thank you Mick. ...and this is what I meant about the default grass in Chief. It sure is green! Not that there's anything wrong with vibrant green, but often times there's a client expectation for models to look as life-like as possible. A worthy render invariably sells the design because they (the homeowner) can visualize themselves within the scenery.

Chief's default "Grass 7" works really well but the texture size and colors are slightly too lime green. Going a bit darker gives the best results. Same with a simple adjustment with the texture size. ...and yes, TM is an extremely handy software in conjunction with Chief. Render capability in Chief has come light years in recent history, and things will probably only keep getting better. ...Looking forward to X15 even more now. Thank you for the preview!

Yep. That's probably the best solution. ...and on a side, it's always great to see folks at CA perusing the forums, and doing the follow up. The OP's thread is ancient history now, but conversations like this always prove to be a helpful resource for future users. ...and maybe even the suggestion box on new releases. Have a great rest of the day.

It may be plausible. Windows can be made into varying sizes, and can be assigned to the door schedule. There's no option to add hardware (to the "window"), but the handles can be inserted as a symbol. The one on the left is a door. The one on the right is a window.