robdyck

@scottharris Thanks for the update Scott. I'm looking forward to it!

I had one customer this spring ask for a lumber material list. He was especially concerned about budgeting due to the out of control lumber prices! So I produced a list to his exact specifications, which I know quite well because I subcontract framed for him for 10 years. I summarized the list and excluded certain board lengths to reduce the number of line items. If the list is too long, most people's eyes will glaze over before they've reviewed the first screen. I added in all the prices from his supplier for him and then sent him the materials list. Client response: "I'm not very impressed, I don't want to pay for this." I'm attaching the list and the 3d model viewer. A note, in some places there appears to be a single board or hanger sitting by itself randomly. They are actually stacks of multiple items that have been replicated in the same location the correct # of times. The trusses were not built to be part of the materials list, but in this home I actually needed to model trusses so I could figure out the major bearing components and also produce the correct type of additional roof framing lumber. The model isn't perfect, I only cleanup what is necessary. https://3d-viewer.chiefarchitect.com/go?share=371420518625556 Sample Framing Material List.pdf

The 2 lower items are clearly shall corbels with an applique and the upper portion is a panel with an applique. You can find almost identical items in the Hardware Resources catalog. Image below: I stretched the applique to a similar size as the corbel. I reduced the depth of the corbel to 1.5"

Layer assignment and modeling becomes especially important in this scenario. A brief example: Will a polyline materials list include an existing wall if the polyline runs partially through it? This requires that existing walls be on their own layer, not include in materials and preferably, without any framing. Or be prepared to weed that garden, over and over.

Yes, I have, but not as much as some others. The program is perfectly accurate to the model you create. It is strictly an input-output equation. A somewhat useless material list is easy to create. A complex and accurate materials list is quite time-consuming and, in my experience, few customers have the foresight to pay for this information. If you offer it for free or next to free, then you may have some takers! The definition of a complex and accurate materials list could be debated, but all of my builder clients will not settle for the omission of all the items that Chief doesn't automatically produce. This means you either spend time putting more items in your model, or devising other methods to account for the components that don't automatically get produced. Real efficiency in materials lists could be achieved through volume when working with a large home builder. But if you have multiple builders in multiple regions, there are so many variables to factor in that it becomes time consuming. Not impossible, at least if you could get paid for the same amount of time that their estimators would spend compiling the same information, but good luck with that. Perhaps in regions other than western Canada, builders are more interested.

That looks great Scott! I sent an email awhile back but haven't had a reply yet. Is there a time frame for when new beta participants will be added?

I'm not an interior designer, but I could offer some suggestions that would improve this particular rendering and the same principles would apply to other designs. You clearly have at least 2 light sources in the plan that are reflecting on the feature wall. Consider replacing the light sources with recessed lights. This will improve realism. Reduce the thickness of the area rug and change its material to something that complements the floor tile and feature wall...and is a bit more current in its style (not casino flooring) 4 different side / coffee tables. That's too many different styles and too many different material types. The lamp between the yellow chairs is too tall and the lampshade material needs to be adjusted (reduce the texture size, blend to a lighter color) Upholstery: You have mayo, ketchup and mustard. Start with the mustard...blend to a medium dark neutral tone and add a bump map from the texture file. Possibly reduce the texture size. Similar for the ketchup chair. Add some pillows to the sofa...so many that you could never sit on it! Or maybe just 2:) Realistic upholstery textures will transform this image drastically. Add a sill to the exterior door and change the camera backdrop to something more realistic. A blank sky backdrop and a few 3d plants would do. Change the material of the green book. This just screams Chief Library item. A bit more polish on that floor tile would be logical. Thinner battens on the feature wall would look a bit more stylish. Lastly, absolutely no red wine near my white sofa! Everything I mentioned is meant to improve the image / scene and not intended as negative criticism!

That is the solution.

Fix this wall! It has No Room Def. checked and is an Attic Wall.

Sorry Gene, but Chief isn't the problem in this case. It appears that you simply haven't planned out the geometry and this looks as though you're just winging it, trying to draw walls at random angles in hoping that it creates your desired appearance. You need to plan the geometry with some sort of logic and then build the model using the geometry for reference. Plan the overall shape of the arc, figure out the desired # of segments and then use the transform/replicate tool to copy / rotate the objects about the center point. In this case, I cleaned up the geometry to an overall 45 degree segment made up of 6 @ 7.5 degrees. I drew a cad polyline for the overall segment, cad lines for the dividing segments, and one cad line to help align the first wall segment. I then copied the railing wall as noted above. I used 1 room divider at the right end to help control the railing-to-wall connection.

There is a Components Tab for objects only, not for materials. Simply double click on almost any object and review the tabs on the left side of the dialog.

No. Twinmotion has its own rendering techniques.

I don't remember if it's always been this way, but it certainly has for some time. Line weight do not display correctly in the Vector View technique used for elevation / section views. They display correctly in layout, but not in the native view. In the image below, I've shown 4 example with line weights turned on. I've added CAD lines in red that match the line weights for the material pattern, the Walls Normal layer, Walls Foundation layer and Terrain Perimeter layer. The CAD lines display correctly, the model does not.

Have you tried using the cabinet tools? Why not post a pic or sketch of what you have in mind?

All good over here as well.

The Raise Off Plate dimension should = desired vertical height at baseline - Vertical Structure Depth. Chief should then auto-build framing for the attic walls and leave the wall top plates at the default height. You should also have "Trusses" checked in the Build Roof dialog.

To expand, it is important to note that creating a copy of an existing layer will keep all the initial properties of the copied layer. In other words, to move interior walls to a new layer, do not create a new layer. Rather, make a copy of the layer Walls, Normal and rename it Walls, Interior (or whatever you'd like).

Does a 3d tour made up of interior 360 images work for you or do you specifically want to navigate through the model? I can't see how you could move through a chief model using RTRT. I don't think you can even record a walkthrough using RTRT, which, if true, is a major drawback. https://kuula.co/share/collection/79vqh?logo=1&info=1&fs=1&vr=0&autorotate=0.24&thumbs=1

It wouldn't be the worst idea to spend a few more seconds being a bit more precise with your question. Are you referring to this? https://shop.wagnercompanies.com/pre-assembled-railings/aluminum-heavy-duty-railing

The next step would be further adjustments to the light data for various fixtures and added lights.

Depending on what you need to show, it's a good idea to have a light set for each camera.

For Camera 4: turn on the layer for interior lights. Adjust the automatic light count to something high, like 200. Even better, create a light set for that camera and turn on all lights and set them all to cast shadows.

You could give something like this a try. I used 2 doors, 2 different width. They overlap by 5/8" in plan view. Then I modified a door symbol's stretch plane. Do not mull them.

All you should need is a light source that is on in that view and shadows toggled on.