renderings

[decorators3]

Hi

 

I'm asking opinions of external rendering  platforms (CHATGPT-LUMION-TWINMOTION-MYARCHITECTAI) . I've been using Chief for quite some time but the SSA is 229.00 US monthly which translate to 331.00 exchange rate for me.  (getting pretty pricey ) I've been paying this every month  for 2 years.  I thought that once I had my SUBSCRIPTION paid I could purchase SSA for more sustainable monthly  fee but have discovered  that it is a perpetual subscription.  I have cancelled effective Dec. 17.  Then I have to revert back to X11 -  so very disappointed x11 does not have the polyline grass feature which adds so much more to the exteriors plus other options.. 

 

So can anyone offer an option

 

Cheers

Levina

 

 

 

[johnny]

You’re better off investing your time in learning how to move from Chief to an AI-based, controlled rendering workflow. That’s clearly where things are headed, and after a lot of research, I’ve figured out how to get predictable, controllable results from AI rendering. It’s too complex to fully explain here, but once your node matrix is set up, you can re-render new projects in under 30 minutes (with adjustments) for a perfect 4K output. The challenge, for now, is training yourself to control the AI and build a consistent workflow.

 

In my opinion, learning Lumion or Twinmotion this late in the game isn’t worth the time, and I say that as someone who knows both tools well.

[decorators3]

1 hour ago, johnny said:

You’re better off investing your time in learning how to move from Chief to an AI-based, controlled rendering workflow. That’s clearly where things are headed, and after a lot of research, I’ve figured out how to get predictable, controllable results from AI rendering. It’s too complex to fully explain here, but once your node matrix is set up, you can re-render new projects in under 30 minutes (with adjustments) for a perfect 4K output. The challenge, for now, is training yourself to control the AI and build a consistent workflow.

 

In my opinion, learning Lumion or Twinmotion this late in the game isn’t worth the time, and I say that as someone who knows both tools well.

Thanks Johnny

Do you recommend any   AI-based, controlled rendering workflow - (ie) chatgpt or my archietec AI 

[landry454]

Long time listener first time caller.... Don't know if I should start my own thread but I think this is relevant to the original post. Which direction we will all go moving forward? 

 

I watched a you tube video as I had my coffee this morning on this new banana on googles gemini. Gave it a whirl. They give you some free ones each day then it is about 20 bucks a month. Uploaded this front elevation and simply asked it to render it in a modern farmhouse style. literally took 10 seconds to come back like this....  I feel like my 12 year old kid could do this now. Googles computer farms are so much more powerful than any home pc running chief could ever be. This is the future and its here. Chief will need to partner with an AI company and build this into their software to stay relevant in this area moving forward. 

 

We will still need to do floor plans and cross sections with building code zoning and site specific details but for renderings for the clients this is by far better and way easier than anything I have done in chief in my first opinion. I see it added some posts I didn't have (probably should it looks better) but I am sure as you add more specific prompts it would get better and better. 

 

[Renerabbitt]

On 11/23/2025 at 4:22 PM, decorators3 said:

I've been using Chief for quite some time but the SSA is 229.00

This is quite substantially discounted if you pay annually.

 

On 11/23/2025 at 4:22 PM, decorators3 said:

Then I have to revert back to X11

Check with chief, you may be able to use a prior version such as X16.

Also, for me SSA is the cost of doing business. Consider this, in 4 or 5 years your older software may not support your newer hardware if you upgrade a computer. This is a common occurance, where new graphics drivers or hardware render an older software incompatible. The inverse is true as well, such as the intel macs not being supported in X17. 

My last two cents and its specific to my workflow but the templates I have from my historical data are 50-60% more efficient than they were in X11. That more than covers the cost difference of staying up to date with SSA.
ALSO, and keep in mind I do a high volume of jobs, just schedule wrapping alone saved me near $500 on the year, and 3d dimensions saved $1K just from an efficiency standpoint...so the new versions features paid for the cost of the software