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GS clearly does not take the residential architect seriously

rm
Expert
This is going to be a RANT. So if you are a full time GS apologist, you might want to move on.

This week I upgraded one of my dongles to AC 12, only one! For the majority of my last 15 years of using AC, I have used it on upper bracket residential projects. During that time I have purchased numerous 3rd party libraries for windows, doors, and furniture....because the AC library has had the same pieces of _ _ _ _ for the last 2000 years!!!

This while applications for significantly less money, mostly on the PC side - darn-it, have had features like cabinets that heal themselves when arranged in the plan, windows that actually don't have trim problems and are based on real US manufacturers, doors that don't have trim problems and are based on real US manufacturers, furniture that doesn't look like a kid with a crayon drew them, extrusions, lathes, and sweeps that can be rotated and adjust in 3D, like Objective can do. Obviously the objects should be location friendly, I don't mean to suggest every country should adopt the US objects as standard.....OK, done being politically correct.

I have personally been told by the GS CEO when v9 was out, that by issuance of v11 there would be a "new" and well sorted out library that would be "thoroughly" tested. BS.....I have v12, and I found problems with the windows after working with them less than 5 minutes.....see the attached image, so you know I'm not blowing smoke.

What the heck does it take for GS to build a decent library? Let me tell you, I will have to go kicking and screaming to Revit, but if thats what it takes to access a decent library, I will consider it. Currently you can't access anything on the Google 3D warehouse directly into AC12, and there is NO indication from GS when we will see the plug-in again, if at all. And if your on the Mac side, forget it, you don't have a prayer as the plug-in only worked on the Windows side of AC.

Obviously, if I have stuck with this program since v4.1 I think it is reasonably good. What I find inexcusable is GS willingness to keep putting out lousy standard library sets. In the world of BIM and Photorealistic renderings, GS should be providing a solid realistic library set.....they are not even close!!!!!

I have forwarded the bug to GS through tech support. I am shocked I found the bugs with the windows in less than 5 minutes of using the AC12. God knows what I will find when I dig in further with the doors.

For what I just spent on an upgrade, I am absolutely torqued at how lacking this library still is. The truth is, even 3rd party libraries are very limited - they hardly exist. Clearly GS has not been successful in getting buy-in from US manufacturers to create libraries the way AutoDesk has with Revit. While there are some very generous users out there that give away some very good objects ( THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU ) the majority of GDL objects available just are not realistic looking or don't stay current with AC.

I have suggested this before, and I will say it again. GS there are some really smart, good GDL gurus out there. Get off your wallet and hire these people to ONLY design objects or work with manufacturers of real Plumbing Fixtures, Light Fixtures, Doors, Windows, Furniture, etc....and pay them to test the objects thoroughly. I'm guessing a 1 million dollar investment in the libraries would yield something far superior to what you provide now....I guess 50 dollars might do that as well

.....hey Mr. Gallello - you getting any of this?
Robert Mariani
MARIANI design studio, PLLC
Architecture / Architectural Photography
www.robertmariani.com

Mac OSX 13.1
AC 24 / 25 / 26
123 REPLIES 123
Karl Ottenstein
Moderator
rm wrote:
I have forwarded the bug to GS through tech support. I am shocked I found the bugs with the windows in less than 5 minutes of using the AC12.
I reported the bug in your screenshot during beta or when 12 was released - a long time ago (relatively) anyway. It, and who knows how many other library bugs are logged in the 'system'.

A library patch / update is overdue for 12. There are too many things in the library that just do not work in 12 and make it impossible to get correct results.

Karl
One of the forum moderators
AC 27 USA and earlier   •   macOS Ventura 13.6.6, MacBook Pro M2 Max 12CPU/30GPU cores, 32GB
jbArch
Newcomer
Try changing between reveal types (e.g. studwall or studwall w/siding) and you are in for some real fun... sit back and watch as your casings magically get reset, forcing you to re-enter all the casing sizes, sills, etc.

But hey Robert, at least GS gave us the ability to do cottage windows this time around, by adjusting the sash heights. That's a cool feature that's been missing for quite some time.
AC 21 (8002) & 22 USA
Mac OSX 10.14.5 on MacBook Pro 2.3GHz Intel i7, 16GB Ram, NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2GB VRAM, 500GB SSD
rm
Expert
Seriously,

Anyone who needs to use windows ( let see that should qualify a few architects and designers ) might want to consider voicing your concern to your reseller. I did not know Karl had already reported this very same issue to GS. I am not surprised as he is usually on top of these things. What is truly bothersome is that he reported this same issue during beta testing or shortly after 12 was released. GS apparently has chosen to ignore it or at least set it as a very low priority.

GS encourages all the resellers to push subscriptions - I know many of you have heard the sales pitch. MY OPINION... Accountability of GS to fix known bugs in the current version v_ _ seems to be non-existent, as many users will have already prepaid for the next version via their subscription. So why should GS be motivated to fix real problems in the current version?

Perhaps users should consider adopting a buy every other version strategy. Why, my 14 years of using AC shows me that GS seems to have a tendency of not fixing some ( not all ) serious issues until one or two releases after a bug has been reported. If a "buy every other version " approach was widely adopted by GS customers, would this buying strategy motivate GS to fix known bugs faster???

Since I do have to get work done, for now I'm going to be forced to down-grade to v11. At least I will be able put trim on my windows. Short of the Curtain Wall tool, I don't see any revolutionary difference between 11 and 12, though in fairness I have not worked in v12 very long......thats because I CAN'T, I need the doors and windows to work with trim.

Come on GS, how do you publish the object library with a straight face anymore?
Robert Mariani
MARIANI design studio, PLLC
Architecture / Architectural Photography
www.robertmariani.com

Mac OSX 13.1
AC 24 / 25 / 26
Karl Ottenstein
Moderator
rm wrote:
Since I do have to get work done, for now I'm going to be forced to down-grade to v11. At least I will be able put trim on my windows. Short of the Curtain Wall tool, I don't see any revolutionary difference between 11 and 12, though in fairness I have not worked in v12 very long......thats because I CAN'T, I need the doors and windows to work with trim.

Come on GS, how do you publish the object library with a straight face anymore?
jbArch gave another example, and the forums have more reports of library issues in 12 (and in the 11 migration lib that is part of 12). I'm trying to find time to report even more window/door issues...

Robert - I would recommend that you stay with 12, but use the 11 library. You will not be able to use partial structure display (core only), but will still be able to use the other features of 12 such as multicore support, smart dimensioning, 3D document, etc. And...there are quite a few bug fixes in 12 beyond 11 (not surprisingly) - I have one colleague/client who has a file that crashes in 11, but works in 12...

Regards,
Karl
One of the forum moderators
AC 27 USA and earlier   •   macOS Ventura 13.6.6, MacBook Pro M2 Max 12CPU/30GPU cores, 32GB
__archiben
Booster
rm wrote:
.....hey Mr. Gallello - you getting any of this?
... all the way to the bank mate, all the way to the bank.
b e n f r o s t
b f [a t ] p l a n b a r c h i t e c t u r e [d o t] n z
archicad | sketchup! | coffeecup
schagemann
Enthusiast
in the spirit of this thread another RANT WARNING

regarding the object library may i add to the above that the following was always beyond me...

1. how can graphisoft (anyone) rely on product manufacturers to generate objects in a proprietary language, when traditionally they even struggled to provide proper 2d cad drawings, let alone good 3d models (low polycount);

2. and even if someone commits to providing GDL objects now pretty much every year have to adjust their parts to work with the latest "new features"... unless you see this as a business model;

3. if for each yearly halfbacked new feature - which may have been a bug report a few year's ago - we are advised not to migrate and finish the project in the version it was started (which btw seems to be graphioft's official line) or have to go through the same painstaking process of limited functionality and bug reports, then there is a fundamental flaw in graphisoft's approach;

IMHO development is generally a good thing, but it needs to be substantial enough in order to be a) feasible and b) sustainable.

ds.
macinteract
Design Technology Managers.
All  on macOS | since AC 6

Archicad Framework > Smart Template 27
Smart Tree, Transmittal and Universal Label and other smart GDL Objects
By Architects for Architects.
Anonymous
Not applicable
The ArchiCAD library supported by neither GS nor manufacturers is precisely why ArchiCAD in the long run is a dead end street. If we represented a vital enough community manufacturers would be making it their business to provide the simple parameters it takes to make a parametric object a useful and accurate "commodity" I find much of the library to embarassing to show to clients. The unavailability of the google earth connector to 12 is a painful reminder of how poorly ArchiCAD is perceived in the world outside of our little community. End of rant

Cheers Cary
ArchiCAD 12 build 2285 usa full
windows XPsp3
Rick Thompson
Expert
I have been using Smart Parts library for years, and only during one beta testing were there any problems, and those were fixed pretty quick by Neil, the developer. He has always been responsive during beta to make any changes. During AC12, there were no issues I ran across, and I didn't even look at AC's windows and doors then.. still haven't. (All I do is residential work). It might be worth while to consider simply not using GS's windows and doors at all. It seems that section of the library regularly has problems, and has taken years to get up to the level Smart Parts has been for a long time. It also simplifies library migration. I am still working with plns I started years ago that have migrated through many, many AC versions without any problems (well, window and door related).

My view is that GS has only minor interest in developing the library, so I have minimum expectations. They seem to put all the limited resources into splashing some new feature each release date (which I rarely need doing residential work), only to continue to bury many sorely needed fundamental fixes. If you want a rant (yours was milk toast ), lets talk about the calc function. How there's a piece of DOS like work.
Rick Thompson
Mac Sonoma AC 26
http://www.thompsonplans.com
Mac M2 studio w/ display
Anonymous
Not applicable
FWIW Al gore invented the internet and John McCain the blackberry
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