Hey guys. I have a question in mind that bothers me. What if a major extension developer like Fredo6 or ThomThom decide to not work on their extensions anymore, so their brilliant extensions may not compatible with future SketchUp versions. It bothers me that my workflow (and many other users) is rely on something that has not strong bases. I mean major 3D softwares like 3ds max kinda bought and attached some useful plugins like chamfer, turbosmooth and so on to the main software and from then that plugin is part of the main software.
Could you guys make this clear to me? Thank you.
I feel hopeful. I happened to be looking at the Extension Warehouse approval queue, in connection with some issue or other I imagine, and noticed that Fredo recently updated a Fredo6 extension. Also, Thom works at SketchUp, and hasn’t hinted at leaving.
I was also at the DevCamp meeting three months ago, and so I know about ongoing improvements, and that the extension developers there seemed generally positive about how things are going.
Not that I think that will happen, but I have always been a huge proponent for SketchUp users to understand and being able to fully function without extensions. By doing this you are also better able to select the extensions that best work for your flow.
I do use a few (certainly not enough), but much of my work is done utilizing only native tools.
Hi Colin. I know they both working on their extensions (God bless them). My concern is “What if” they’ll not want (or able) to maintain their extensions anymore in the future?
I have seen some extensions in store that has not been updated from 2013 and they no longer works on newer SketchUp versions.
Those extensions are dead (probably for good), right?
Hi Sonder. Thanks for the reply. I assume not everyone has @Box 's understanding of geometry. That guy is a genius in working with vanilla workflow.
What I’m saying is, for example, why SketchUp shouldn’t have simple functions like “chamfer” or “adding thickness to curved surfaces” (or many other standard functions that SketchUp doesn’t have by itself) in native software?
I remember that someday Solid Tools was a plugin that Sketchup bought and added to native Sketchup. Why that can’t happen to other useful tools?
Extensions that use complied code for heavy calculations, e.g. renderers, need to be recompiled for each new Ruby version. With the exception of these however most good quality extension should just keep working even if no one maintains them. The SketchUp extensibility team is very keen not to introduce breaking changes to the API, and when something breaks it is often because the extension relied on undocumented behavior and assumptions.
Reading your comment, it seems like you’re suggesting that native tools might be enough, or that if someone wants to be truly efficient using sketchup, they could get away with only needing a few plugins. No offense, but that’s certainly not true if that’s what you’re implying.
Being someone who uses a very large amount of plugins and having a very strong understanding of sketchup native tool capabilities and plugin options and useage, I would just mention that sketchup with only native tools vs sketchup with plugins and native tools are COMPLETELY different programs.
Most of the power within sketchup comes from the plugins, of course the native tools are a big aspect of sketchup, however the native tools are very basic and are certainly negelected in attention and improvements by the team. When was the last time sketchup made a large update to the generate report tool, entity info attributes options, or created a new native tool to use? It’s actually pathetic (and I am trying to be polite here), there is very little attention being put towards the program by trimble. According to the update history for sketchup and layout, in the past 2 years we’ve seen a spike in improvement for the software (still not great in comparison to other software, but certainly better than previous years), prior to the past 2 years, it’s been absolutely pathetic the rate of improvement for both sketchup and layout and that’s very clear when reading through the update history over the years and than seeing what a program like blender gets done in a year.
I think it’s a very legitimate concern to be worried about the future of sketchup and it’s on the minds of many, many professionals, there is a lot of evidence backing the concerns, so much that it’s quite scary for a number of people, myself included unfortunately. The programs are simply not taken seriously in comparison to other software.
Hi, I’m the guy who started this thread. amazing that someone responds exactly one year later
I just wanna say I didn’t wait for SketchUp to make a move, I waited like 5-6 years I guess. I’m a 3ds max user now. way more suitable for what I want for my archviz business. great modeling and rendering program, unexpectedly quite accurate in measurement too! I hope this helps someone who wants to do archviz and doubts which app is the right one for his/her career.
It’s a fact that it is possible and can be extremely efficient. I just finished 7 custom homes using just 2 plug-ins. I use profile builder to model trim, and Lumion to render (technically not a plug-in).
Have a look at my book. It describes the entire process without using a single plug-in.
Finishing 7 custom homes in the last 7 months kind of proves it’s efficient I think.
There is no doubt, you are definitely great at using the programs. Seems like you don’t remember us chatting on the forum once in awhile, I know who you are. I have taken your workflow and many other professional workflows and have tried and am attempting to create a hybrid system of my own, I too could write a book and in fact I have started 2 years ago. I think there is a lot of room for improvement in your workflow and I could list off a few things, there are probably the same amount of ways I could improve my workflow though as you could improve yours that I’ve seen.
Just to make a comparison you probably already know about, using a native tool to push pull a group of nested geometry is about 6 times slower than using fredo joint push pull hotkeyed and push pulling from outside of all nested objects, the more you increase the the nested geometry needed for organizing a model, the more that figure of time savings goes up. That comparison can go on and on, simply using profile builder is very limiting to the real potential sketchup could give you if you used more plugins for modelling, but of course, the amoutn of plugins needed to be more efficient also depends on the design itself and how complex it is. Imagine trying to make a curved chair with native tools vs using plugins, that’s like 30x faster using plugins, atleast 30x faster in some cases…
I agree with a lot of what you say, I’m just pointing out that the plugins are really what make it possible to save the most amount of time possible using sketchup. Native tools in atleast 30 ways come nowhere close to the power or speed of plugins and if you don’t agree with that, no offense but it is just a lack of undersatnding on your end of the plugins out there and what they can do and time they can save. The fredo joint push pull tool is only one of dozens of comparisons, there are so many more tools that could make your personal workflow much better, and I base that on some of the models you’ve made. Take fredo thru paint as another example, or, s4u slice, or fredo topo shaper, curic stretch. I could go on and on here. The plugins I just mentioned without a doubt would make you much faster in your own personal workflow, there are many more.
Sorry, I’m getting old. I do remember you with our discussion on level of detail in modeling. I am well aware of the speed some plug ins provide. What I was responding to was you saying that it wasn’t true native tools can be used solely for projects. That statement was incorrect.
The point I make about using native tools, is everyone should get to know them first. Too many people dive into loading up their tool bars with plugins that they don’t understand or don’t need. If you solely rely on plugins you are also relying the developers will keep up with SketchUp updates. If you can run an entire project without plugins you are always covered.
Thoroughly understanding and being proficient with native tools also allows you to better understand which plugins will help your workflow. Workflows always evolve.
I haven’t found anywhere where I said that it’s not possible to create a project like the ones we do using only native tools, I hope I didn’t say that, because I defintely don’t think that, but I don’t see anywhere I said that so… To clarify about “projects”, by projects I’m assuming you mean design projects like you and I do of residential homes/related buildings).
I definitely agree that probably a lot of people might download plugins they don’t need, or don’t know enough about the native tools.
My big point I guess to you is that if you are only relying on native tools and trying to use only a few plugins, you’re rate of modelling speed and efficiency will be much slower than someone like myself who knows exactly how to use many of the plugins I use and when to not use them, when to use them. The plugins I already mentioned would certainly save you so much time in your process specifically but again as I mentioned, this has to do with what you’re designing. We both design homes, I’m sure there is a ton of overlap and usecases in what I do and what you do.
Anyways my main point about plugins - plugins are really where anyone using sketchup can see their productivity go up literally x10 or more, (that is a huge amount of time saved if were talking anywhere between 5x - 20x faster in modelling, probably more than that in some cases) so it’s a no brainer to use plugins and not use the ones you don’t need as you say. I’m interested in saving time, I’m not trying to confuse this for being a production designer, I care about quality, I’m sure you can agree, but I want to save time, I’m sure you do too obviously, you can’t be nearly as fast if you’re only using native tools and only a few plugins, not even close and that’s I guess my big point. I know this very well because I’ve done both and studied all of the methods out there that I can get my eyes on. I have also ran tests of speed using native tools vs plugins.
If sketchup and layout continue on the path of development they have been on in comparison to the amount of things developed per release in blender, there will be a lot of architects and designers dissbanding this platform and that’s an absolute guarantee. The only thing that could keep sketchup and and in the game is the plugin developers or unless of course trimble actually takes these programs seriously and increases their output of development for the products, the native tools and how they have changed over the years is absolutely pathetic and I am trying to be polite, I don’t think there is any arguing that, atleast not when I see what other companies get done in a year. When I look at blender and the HUGE amount of people backing it both as users and financially backing the company, they are extremely serious about the program and it’s development in comparison to trimble, hence the whole layout petition I made and many professional users backing that petition.
I will say, I surely hope Sketchup and Layout really start to improve, it seems like the past year or two they have. I have invested so much of my life into creating a bomber workflow using Sketchup and Layout that the very last thing I want to do is to join another software. Sketchup and speed is all about plugins, native modelling is great but it only gets you so far… I really hope that Sketchup and Layout really amp up their production on development otherwise yes, some company out there will capatilize and totally take them out of the arena. I hope this never happens, as it’s frustrating enough just thinking about that possibility, I hope big changes are around the corner, but the owners of the business don’t really seem to take sketchup and layout seriously compared to other software companies.
No worries at all. I’ve heard the same from many people over the years that I should use more plug-ins.
I’ve put several to the test, but have found simple implementation of the native tools to be extremely predictable, accurate and efficient.
I really put things in perspective since November last year with those 7 complex projects averaging 100 page drawing sets for a one man shop in 7 months. I think that is a pretty strong testament to the power of native SketchUp tools.
