What Would Be 1 Thing You Would Love To See Ca Fix Or Add?

[Nicinus]

I would rather CA to fix all the "work arounds" first (stairs, niches, elevations, columns, etc and etc) than for them to spend their efforts in improving the rendering engine  - I think what we get works great for quick presentations (I have seen others who create some nice renderings inside Chief) - my 2 cents

 

+1

[bernie]

as Doug said........."...Room heights, ceilings, and the whole interaction with multiple floors has proven to be very hard to make easy to understand. Partly because it is hard to visualize in 3D what everything does and partly because what Chief does is far more complex than even experienced users of the program usually understand so the simple solutions that have been proposed break down for various reasons. We have from time to time discussed creating a "story pole" interface for solving this, but so far the ideas that we and others have come up with don't appear to make the problem of communicating the complex interaction of multiple rooms on multiple floors all with various potential heights and platform levels above and below work out to an interface that is easy to understand. To some extent I think this is mainy related to not making platforms an editable entity, but there is probably more to it than that......."

 

so my 1 wish would be for a "story pole" that works intuitively from the ground up (not top down) also for split level homes whereby I can select each item on the pole and define its attributes.

some sort of graphic that shows you what you are adjusting and the graphic adjusts in real time would be useful.

 

example for 2 story:

first floor foundation - either mono slab or subfloor - a new type of subfloor created to handle floor joists sitting on timber piles with no perimeter wall. piles are at perimeter. very common.

first floor framing height to top plate. either 1 or 2 member top plate.

first floor midfloor joists of either floor joists or parallel chord trusses, plus floor thickness (the ply etc).

2nd floor framing height to top plate level.

2nd floor roof framing of either rafters or trusses. either sloping or flat ceilings.

 

best if the tool worked by grouping platforms into group numbers - so it would be easy to define each platform group and handle split level and also handle platforms connected to (garage) slab that you want at same finished floor level as the garage.

eg garage attached to house is 1 platform group

room next to garage and the 2nd floor above is 2nd platform group.

 

just an idea.

[Nicinus]

This was probably the one most different concept for me when I started to learn Chief, and I'm not aware of any other program with the same room based paradigm. It is very clever and has many uses, but is so different that it takes a while to adapt as it affects so many areas. I find it a bit cumbersome when having to do story wide changes, and having to make sure all rooms have been set correctly.

 

I would love to see it combined with the more traditional level thinking, where a datum can be set and named, and then referenced from for example wall dbx as top level etc. This could be used in the defaults for structure with values relating to them, making some values more logical and easier to decipher. It would also be helpful for annotating elevations.

[LASdesign]

1. Auto Update for elevations

No Stringer checkbox in the Staircase Specification dialog box

Corner Window Tool

Break Line Tool for cabinet shelves and soffits

[zowie123]

The ability to rename, reorganize and rid unnecessary garbage from the main libraries.  Updating manufacturer libraries would not renew garbage we got rid of.  

 

Better library organization and distribution on the Chief Site.   

 

Search sub categorization that can be controlled by the user, so we can control search terms for items. 

 

Library search is abysmal.  

[Mark3D]

Roof trims like gable flashing valley gutters and where roof meats wall flashing

[Charlie]

I think we should have sounds and effects that we can turn on when doing 3D views - interactive meetings w/ clients would be a riot.   When roof planes join, when walls snap, windows are placed, etc.   - you get a cool sound.  Maybe a little smoke burst.  It seems this would be easy to do since all the video games do it.  It would make work much more fun.

this site has all the stuff - 

http://www.bfxr.net/

[keithhe]

I have come to believe that these types of threads are simply an exercise in exercising. That is, with few exceptions, not many people from CA show up on this forum and not at all sure if they take note of this, or if they do, whether it has any influence on what they will add to the newest iteration. I might be wrong, but the stairs thing, and auto update elevations has been something I've heard about as long as I've been a member of this club and yet it still has not been addressed. That's too bad as I suspect the very best barometer they could possibly have comes from the very people on this forum, who not only actively use, test and find solutions (work-arounds) to problems, but further, help to spread the knowledge with others. That, perhaps more than anything CA could offer in a new X??, is what makes CA so useful.   

 

Just my 2 cents.......

[ragetoca]

I think CA should start compensating members who help other users solve CA issues / troubles. How? Give them discounts on SSA or perhaps resource materials - in all honesty some of the expert users are actually saving CA money and time by taking a load off their customer support <<<I might be completely off on this but that's what I think

[keithhe]

I think CA should start compensating members who help other users solve CA issues / troubles. How? Give them discounts on SSA or perhaps resource materials - in all honesty some of the expert users are actually saving CA money and time by taking a load off their customer support <<<I might be completely off on this but that's what I think

Agreed. I typically will come here first and CA as a last resort. I rarely have ever needed to call them.

[mthd97]

I don't think CA will really change much in the room box system.

But If there was a way of docking a group of room modules to a storey datum plane that might help with editing a group of rooms on a pafticular storey or on a split level plane?

Just my thoughts with what Bernie said above?

[HumbleChief]

I have come to believe that these types of threads are simply an exercise in exercising. That is, with few exceptions, not many people from CA show up on this forum and not at all sure if they take note of this, or if they do, whether it has any influence on what they will add to the newest iteration. I might be wrong, but the stairs thing, and auto update elevations has been something I've heard about as long as I've been a member of this club and yet it still has not been addressed. That's too bad as I suspect the very best barometer they could possibly have comes from the very people on this forum, who not only actively use, test and find solutions (work-arounds) to problems, but further, help to spread the knowledge with others. That, perhaps more than anything CA could offer in a new X??, is what makes CA so useful.   

 

Just my 2 cents.......

Sadly, this is my perception as well. If you read this thread there are some great ideas and suggestions but how many will we see actually implemented? Few, if any and I don't begrudge the developers. They have an agenda, a business agenda that we the users cannot begin to understand.

 

This thread is the most useful tool any software developer can have but that business agenda will always trump what the users actually want to see changed. It's just the way it is with almost every piece of software. We can scream about stairs and story poles but there's another list of changes we, the users, can know nothing about. That list is based on factors the users typically don't care about like complexity and cost of implementation. On the other hand the developers care everything about complexity and cost of implementation so there exists this great void between what the users want and what the developers will actually deliver.

 

Again I do not begrudge the business decisions that CA makes but I am done deluding myself with thinking that suggestions made in these types of threads move any thing more than bytes through the internet. The changes we'll see will be the changes that are decided in headquarters and may or may not reflect ideas presented in threads like these.

 

Generally I'm pretty happy with new features and appreciate all the hard work it takes to make them so but I've just changed (lowered) my expectations and have learned to adapt to whatever comes my way through the CA development process and be happy with what I get to play with next.

[Rosco2017]

I think we should have sounds and effects that we can turn on when doing 3D views - interactive meetings w/ clients would be a riot.   When roof planes join, when walls snap, windows are placed, etc.   - you get a cool sound.  Maybe a little smoke burst.  It seems this would be easy to do since all the video games do it.  It would make work much more fun.

this site has all the stuff - 

http://www.bfxr.net/

Sound effects. Now that would be interesting! LOL +1

[DRAWZILLA]

I have come to realize that Chief does what they do, and I really have no idea what that might be, and I have no control of it. One thing I do know is, they do listen. For many years a lot of people here complained about Slabs needing a complete makeover and, shazam, it appeared one day. There are a lot of other things like that. I just don't know when that might be. I have a feeling Stairs might be close to the top of the list. All we can really do is suggest a feature and if enough people do it then ,it shall be, sometime in the future.

[keithhe]

I'll reserve my theory until X7 comes out. I suspect that the amount of man hours required for the fruit version had them all pretty tied up but now that it is done, many of these things could potentially be on the list. Perhaps it would be nice if they at least would communicate their priority in making these decisions as to where they will put their resources (other than the whole business and needing to make a profit blah, blah ). I think of the SSA as primarily my annual tax to keep the newest version, rather than actual support. By paying it, in advance of knowledge of what I might get, it's a bit like on Let's Make a Deal, guessing which curtain to pick.

I pick curtain number 2.......no make that curtain number 1.

[lbuttery]

However, CA can also put time and resources into a disaster

like the library system in X3

 

that then had to be ripped out and replaced in X4

 

if they communicated with an inner circle of chiefers

when setting priorities and deciding on solutions

they might be able to avoid such mistakes

 

I have liked every release since ver 9.5

lament that some of my favorites are still missing

and enjoy what is given

 

and start the ask/demand cycle all over again

 

Lew

[ACADuser]

I would like the option to pick & pick ILO pick + drag for most commands.

Try to zoom in to pick precise point for a dimension then to get to the other side of the house before releasing the mouse button.

I can't pan, I have to use the arrow key to pan to the other side of the house to pick the precise point. I hate this!

Maybe there is a better way & I haven't discovered.

Clearly I prefer to pick & pick not pick drag.

[chief58]

I have suggested and would like to see us be able to take a cade block, or lets say if we are making a manufacture's lib for a window company we us all the time once we get it to what we want that window to be and we want to add it to our lib, we can select a lib that we have made and when we save it the object goes into that llb not into the my cad blocks lib and then we have to move it to the lib we want it in, this would save steps.

 

I also would like to be able to have the window manuf. in the windows dbx not in the components or the components lib in the window dbx

[Joe_Carrick]

I have come to realize that Chief does what they do, and I really have no idea what that might be, and I have no control of it. One thing I do know is, they do listen. For many years a lot of people here complained about Slabs needing a complete makeover and, shazam, it appeared one day.

Perry,

 

Do you really thing that Slabs (Especially Mono-Slabs) are OK?  I absolutely can not get them to work the way I need them to be.  The cross section is not correct for the way they are actually built.

[Jay_on_Cape]

However, CA can also put time and resources into a disaster

like the library system in X3

 

 

 Lew, it was version X3.....it's time to let it go....

[DRAWZILLA]

Perry,

 

Do you really thing that Slabs (Especially Mono-Slabs) are OK?  I absolutely can not get them to work the way I need them to be.  The cross section is not correct for the way they are actually built.

They are 100 better than they were, even if there are still problems, I can usually get them to work but not on the first try.

[lbuttery]

Jay:

 

just making a point that CA doesn't let us know what their priorities are

and how they can waste resources by not consulting the "gurus"

 

this why some requests go undone for far too long

 

so my comment wasn't aimed at an X3 issue - but an example

 

so CA makes major improvements to mono slabs and from the postings

on this forum they still don't have it right

 

CA should identify and consult SME's on the various features/topics

 

Lew

[mthd97]

We have seen poll posts in the past.

How about getting a priority list from Admin of say 25 things to fix or add into CA.

Then all CA users can mark their list in order of thier priorities then CA can publish the results?

[lbuttery]

very few chiefers take polls

 

Lew

[keithhe]

very few chiefers take polls

 

Lew

Lew, can we do a poll on how many Chiefers take polls?