X17, what's the consensus?

[Michael_Gia]

Other than a slick new project management system, I don't feel there's much else especially with respect to a lot of the long standing issues we've all been whining about.

 

I can acknowledge that this new file system is the way to go, I just hope it doesn't take me as long to adopt as it did with Saved Plan Views.

 

Anyone else have anything to add?

[PhillipCA]

We will be hosting webinars over the next month highlighting a few (but not all) of the new features. You can learn more here: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/events/. 

 

[crdsplans]

Would have like to had an option to export either a .mxf or ifc file

[SHCanada2]

As someone who does most of my projects in a few hours, there was not a lot of feature changes, so far as I have played around,  to improve my efficiency (except project management mode). The new project management mode is quite nice and is quicker for starting a project and using reference display sets. Showing Stairs on either level feature will be nice for garage suites and site plans as well as the walkthrough improvements, when I do them.

 

I look forward to the webinars to see what I may have missed. There are always some good nuggets to pick up

[Designers_Ink]

The new Speedtree Library is a great addition in X17 if you are into doing high end exterior renderings.  In our office, we work on projects as a team, so file sharing easily is important to us.  The way our existing file storage and sharing process works in our office (Dropbox), I haven't figured out a way to use the managed project part of this upgrade without adding too many steps from what we do now.  Hopefully, with more research, we will figure out a way to integrate our workflow with the new system and it work as smoothly as our current system.  I just haven't figured it out yet.  I think the splitting of schedules is a great addition.  Being able to save roof labels in the defaults will save me some time on each project. 

 

Everyone uses the software differently, so the "important things" are going to be different for everyone.  There has been years a lot of my "important things" got upgrades and some years where other users' "important things" got upgrades that didn't really affect me much.  This is probably one of those years from what I have seen so far with it, but overall I think the software continues to get better and is worth what I pay for it. 

 

[HartDeNoble]

Really like the project management tool, great addition. We really need to improve the construction tools like so many have requested. Layer based fills (this will fix the poche from X16 that is basically an incomplete tool in my opinion), improvements to wall intersections (especially short walls), fix boxed and flush eave settings (super quirky), stair tool improvements such as being able to edit each tread individually like we can with landings (grab handles on all sides), porch/railing improvements (see steve nyhof post on this), curtain wall tool (railing tool is a start), and personally i think we need to have wall heights expressed individually and not be room, but I was told this was not possible (which is disappointing). I hope we can get more construction tools/ improvements in X18. I know I made a list which is frowned upon but I know these are all very popular requests. 

[chuck_phillips]

Yea I feel the same way.  I attended the webinar regarding the project management system and it became apparent that this project management system would not work for anyone beyond a casual user.  The system will only work for those which save all their files to a single computer.  The system does not work with server systems, or cloud services.  The project management system seems to be all about sharing files but it isn't setup to share files in today's environment.  They promised that this was just a stepping stone.  I will not be using the new project management system, I can't, I use google drive to allow some file sharing.  So considering that the big release is just a stepping stone, which is not usable for so many users it don't really see anything in X17.

[VHampton]

The best photorealistic projects still tend to rely on third-party renderers to really shine—but credit where it’s due: X17 brings some great updates. Thanks to the CA team for pushing things forward. The presentations always help sell the project - not just to clients but to the various architectural review boards within each municipality. 

 

Here’s a quick rundown of the new rendering and visualization features, and they're all really helpful:

• Anisotropic materials – more realistic stainless steel and brushed metal finishes

• Interactive material mapping – scale, rotate, and adjust textures right in 3D

• Sun study walkthroughs – simulate daylight changes with a fixed camera

• Water animation – adds movement to pools, fountains, etc.

• 3D text & dimensions – annotate right in 3D views

• Cross-section slider – adjust cut planes on the fly

• Material builder (Windows) – custom tile, wood, and grout control

Still no AI rendering built-in yet, but exporting to Twinmotion, Lumion, Enscape, or D5 is a solid workaround for higher-end visuals.

Looking forward to what’s next.

[ComputerMaster86]

Everyone is going to have different feelings about X17 but, there are a bunch of small improvements and new features that are really going to be beneficial to me.  Together they all are going to help my day to day work flow and help me save time, small bits at a time.  It all adds up though!  These things are...

• The rework of "Angle Snaps / Angle Guides".  This is a huge biggie for me.  I work with a lot of 2D drawings, like 2D steel layout drawings.  The X17 "Angle Snaps" are boat loads more useful to me and a lot easier to work with.  You can read about the complaints I used to have for angle snaps on this forum.  Great work Chief!
• 
• "Select Next Edge" edit toolbar icon.  This is super helpful in selecting really short line-segments or overlapping segments that are part of a interconnected polyline, like a molding polyline.  I have struggled in the past to turn off a molding on the edge of really short segments of molding polylines.  A person can specify a hotkey for this edit toolbar tool and cycle through (toggle) the different segments of a complex multi-segment polyline at a fast pace.
• 
• Both "Line Separation" and "1st Line Offset" under your various "Dimension Defaults" is now affiliated with a special dimension snap mode.  It uses the values you have specified  under "Line Separation" and "1st Line Offset" under your "Dimension Default".  If you are manually placing or repositioning dimension lines, it will snap the distance specified for "Line Separation" when referencing another dimension line.  Likewise, if you are manually placing or repositioning dimension lines, it will snap the distance specified for "1st Line Offset" when referencing something like a wall.  Definitely a time-saver for cleaning up dimensions in a plan view.
• 
• 
• When using "Continuous Draw Mode"  you can press the "Tab Key" to enter a precise distance and it will let you continue with "Continuous Draw Mode".  In X16 and prior pressing the "tab Key" would end "Continuous Draw Mode".  This works for drawing walls and drawing polylines.
• After a wall segment is drawn or a wall segment is broken into two or more segments, you can use the edit handle to continue drawing with that same wall type.  What is different in X17 is you can now use "Continuous Draw Mode" when doing so.  In X16 and prior "Continuous Draw Mode" was not available for already placed wall segments or wall segments that were broken into two or more segments.  Basically they expanded the occasions where "Continuous Draw Mode" is available.
• 
• We now have sub-folders for organizing "CAD Details", Cross-Section / Elevation Camera Views, 3D Camera Views and Plan Views.  I was starting to think that sub-folders would never happen.  If you have a growing collection of "CAD Details", you will welcome this.
• 
• We can now drag and drop items stored and listed under a plan file in the "Project Browser" onto our layout page.  This is very handy useful feature.
• Hex Color Codes.  If you ever tried to reference a color by typing or copying and pasting RGB values this process was made easier.  You can type or paste HEX Color Codes into the color chooser dialogue box.  RGB is three separate number values.  HEX is only one value.  Easier to type or copy and paste.
• 

[Chrisb222]

4 hours ago, VHampton said:

Here’s a quick rundown of the new rendering and visualization features, and they're all really helpful:

• Anisotropic materials – more realistic stainless steel and brushed metal finishes

• Interactive material mapping – scale, rotate, and adjust textures right in 3D

• Sun study walkthroughs – simulate daylight changes with a fixed camera

• Water animation – adds movement to pools, fountains, etc.

• 3D text & dimensions – annotate right in 3D views

• Cross-section slider – adjust cut planes on the fly

• Material builder (Windows) – custom tile, wood, and grout control

 

None of that is useful whatsoever for me. Water animation? Seriously?!? Fix the stair tool.