Core Materials Changes in X10 Library Browser

[Chief_Content]

Hello All!

 

Welcome to those of you using Chief Architect X10!

 

You may have noticed some of the selections in our generic Core Materials are quite different in the new release. We re-vamped some of these categories and replaced them with versions that we hope are much more accurate and realistic, and are also higher resolution and quality.

 

If you don't feel like you are seeing these changes, please run the "Update Library Catalogs" command from the Library menu and then restart Chief Architect to ensure you have the most current Library Browser content.

 

Specifically you'll notice differences in these areas:

• Blocks
• Brick
• Landscaping
• Roofing
• Sheet Metal
• Siding
• Stucco
• Textured Glass
• Tile
• Wood Flooring
• Wood

 

Although things have moved around a bit you should not experience missing file errors for plans coming forward from previous versions. Even so, I highly recommend maintaining plans via the "Backup Entire Plan" tool when transitioning from one version to another, simply because it is a reliable way to archive your projects for posterity and to transition between versions. If you prefer older materials, you can always add your favorites to your User Library from existing plans.

 

We will continue to update the remaining Materials and categories in the Library Browser, so you can expect to see more additions in the future. 

 

If there are specific materials that you would like represented in our generic material selection, please let us know! We are working to improve the quality and usability to be as relevant and as useful as possible. You can e-mail us your ideas, or post them in the Suggestions forum.

content@chiefarchitect.com

[Chief_Content]

For those that are curious about the Textured Glass changes, here’s a guide to help you select the right kind of glass for your plan. 

 

To get the best results you’ll need to render a proper Raytrace, so if you’re working in Standard or PBR views, glass will behave more or less the same way it always has.

 

The 3D effects of the glass are created by leveraging Normal Maps, so feel free to change the Materials base color to get different shades or the Texture Source in the Material Properties to get some impressive glass effects.

 

We can’t wait to see what creative results you come up with!

 

-Chief Content Team

[Chief_Content]

Hi Friends,

 

We've released another update to Core Materials! From the Library Menu, choose Update Library Catalogs to get the latest changes.

 

In this revision, we've improved the materials in the following areas... expect to see some new selections and improvements to existing items.

• Lava Rock
• Naturals
• Stained Concrete
• Framing PSL and LSL Materials

Additionally, we've made enhancements to the Buechel Stone catalog, including better scaling and more Normal Maps.

 

We also made improvements to the Materials Metal Bonus catalog. This catalog was originally intended for the Home Designer crowd, who don't have access to the Ray Trace and PBR Rendering Technique. The improvements in Material Properties on these look pretty nice in PBR for professional users too!

 

AND... Stay tuned for the next Bonus Catalog release... this should be available very soon, and has even more selections of materials to leverage in your designs.

 

As always, please share with us what you would like to see in future catalogs (content@chiefarchitect.com), and help us connect with your favorite brands. Tag "@chiefarchitect" along with the brand in your posts on Facebook, Instagram, and "@chiefsoftware" on Twitter.