Can Sketchup keep up?

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@JustinTSE makes a lot of very valid points. I guess everyone would have their own top ten improvements. For me, built-in simple rendering and LC authoring would be nice, as would hatch patterns. Performance issues for SU and especially for LO are major stumbling blocks for moving up a gear and improvements might also be a requirement for any built-in rendering. My fleeting knowledge suggests that both SU and LOā€™s inability to make full use of modern multicore processors is the bottleneck. If so, it is no doubt something that is easy to identify and hard to implement.

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Just want to note that my intention with this video wasnā€™t to criticize, but more to have a discussion about what a practical future to SketchUp might look like. :sunglasses:

Based on previous posts Iā€™ve seen here, no program that Iā€™m aware of is using multi-core processors for actual modeling operations. Itā€™s used for rendering, but there are limitations to the way multi-core processors handle data that make it not work for the modeling itself (this is what Iā€™ve read, anyway)

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Indeed. I think most regular here would not be here in the first place if they werenā€™t already SU devotees. So posts like yours are more like ā€œgreat program but could be even greaterā€. Thumbs up to that.

Thatā€™s interesting. I have no tech knowledge or enough experience to comment much on how a piece of software makes use of the hardware it runs on. However, my impression is that AutoCad (to name just one) can handle much bigger files than SU can. I am sure someone will come along to explain why a 2D drawing package can do that whilst a 3D one struggles. But you may be right that it has little to do with processor power or architecture.

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Here you go - found the post from @jody back in 2019 - CPUs and Multithreading - He talked about some things I definitely wasnā€™t aware of

Actual performance is a different discussion - itā€™s definitely slower with larger models compared to other programs, but I donā€™t believe the cause is CPU useage

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@JustinTSE i agree your discussion 100%, thats why i shared the video here. If you are against it, i will delete my post, but I think we should talk about this issue openly. I believe users are developing similar softs with advices. I did not get it as a criticismā€¦ i use different softs where developers always ask to users about ideas, features and etcā€¦ thats all.

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@georgemelkadze - Nope - youā€™re good - Iā€™m totally fine with having the discussion here - the whole point of the video was I wanted to have a discussion :slight_smile:

Thanks for sharing the vid!

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There is an ambitious 3D software world out there servicing video games, 3D printing, general product development, and, of course, architecture to name a few. Where SketchUp fits into any or all of this and whether it is ā€˜keeping upā€™ is a good conversation to have, but I think there is a more direct discussion: what does Trimble, Inc. want to do with SketchUp.

Trimble seems to want forum contributors to answer that via their ā€˜feature requests,ā€™ but it might be helpful to probe Trimbleā€™s mindset a little bit. A quick summary of the goings-on at the nearly 4-billion-dollars a year in revenue Trimble, Inc. can be viewed here in their ā€œInvestor Overview 2022.ā€

https://investor.trimble.com/static-files/81e80b9b-b4e5-4e2e-91cd-fb161aebdfe3

I do not see a lot of video games, 3D printing, and general product development under the giant Trimble tent. I do see a whole lot of A/E/C. So, I wonder about this: why hasnā€™t Trimble turned SketchUp into a world-class 3D architecture tool? They have had plenty of time. I have my opinion on the matter, but it would not be popular in this space.

Excellent video, Justin, and very tactful indeed. I agree with every one of your recommendations, particularly the call for more ā€œofficially supported and updatedā€ extensions. Nicely put. One adjustment: software is a big part of Trimble, but I would not categorize Trimble as a software company in the same way that I would categorize Autodesk as a software company. That subtle shift in thinking might help explain a few things.

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@CarolynF You said what I had to say.:clap:

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Well AutoCAD is 3D. It can do solid modeling, surfaces, meshes, nurbs, subdivision (sort of) and has a rendering engine. Has for years. Its just not 3D like SU is.

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  • I miss a more flexible color management system in sketchup. Would be nice to be able to swap one texture for another, or merge them into each other, as you do when you delete a tag, you get to choose to put the objects onto another tag. The list of Colors easily gets large and you lose control of what color is for what use.

  • Lack of proper 2d Dwg export from Layout, and Layout speed, is my main problem though. A proper dwg would respect origin, keep components, proper linework, and layer structure.

  • Agree with the video on many things, although Iā€™m not sure I would ever use advanced modeling tools that twists and bends thing around. You have other modellers and extensions that can do that. A renderer is cool, but would take development resources away from much more important things.

  • A proper tangent to circle snap would be nice, (from circle to circle)but then again you would probably need real circles for thatā€¦ :slight_smile:

  • I have tried the more advanced stretching modes of fredo scale in order to simplify adjustments into many groups/components at the same time, but that just messed with my dynamic components so I gave that up.

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Discussion can take place on numerous issues.
I see a problem in the fact that Sketchup is a paid program that does not have access to the tools and we have to buy those tools one by one and pay a lot of money.
For example: In a program such a simple operation as rounding the edges is impossible. For this you need to buy a plugin that is expensive and not ideal. This is just one simple example. Also why canā€™t a company think for decades about having its own live render? I really like the CLOTH WORK plugin, why not have a program with similar physics support?

  • The scariest thing is that the texture can not be processed on mesh. The only plugin is WrapR, which is also priced. How can everything be costly, or how can such a program compete with other programs? When there is a BLENDER that has more features than SKETCHUP_ is completely free. I just find it pointless to make money on everything, especially since you can not get even half the results that are possible in Blender, for example. I work on different art_ and I need to process the texture, place it correctly, paint, but this is not possible in Sketchup_. (THRU PIANT pluginis not the way out of a situation) (it is terrible)
    I wish there was a brush to use on LAYER_ to paint like it is in Blender_. (mix two or more texture with brush)
    I just like Sketchup and want it developed, otherwise I can use BLENDER too.
    I am trying to say that 3D modeling is very sophisticated and only a program designed to work on rectangular shapes will not be able to develop. Letā€™s make every mouse click worthwhile.
    when i want to get any new job in any company, no one is interesting with SU. everyone asks for BLENDER, MAYA, MAXā€¦
    i am realy interestingā€¦ what changed in SKETCHUP from version SKETCHUP 8, i mean any new feautresā€¦ ??? PS. SU 8 was 12 years ago.
    sorry for my English :slight_smile:

I donā€™t think this as as simple to do as it is to say. I kind of talked about it in the video, but what does this even mean? They could definitely wall the program off (from a drawings system standpoint) and turn it into Revit Lite or something, but I donā€™t think that meets the stated mission of SketchUp, nor is it something Iā€™d like to see. It would remove the flexibility inherent in the program and make SketchUp something it isnā€™t, which I think would be a mistake.

SketchUp is a very small part of Trimble as a whole, and Trimble definitely is not a software company, but Iā€™m not sure how strongly this shapes the discussion, other than Iā€™m sure Trimble has at least some interest in what direction SketchUp takes from a features standpoint

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I bet, after reading the first comments: this topic will turn around in a few days: sketchup vs. blender and blender is better and why canā€™t sketchup like blenderā€¦

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The problem I think at least partially with this is that UV mapping can also get very complicated, even with proper topology, which most beginner SketchUp users donā€™t (and probably shouldnā€™t) understand. If you donā€™t model your topology properly, texture/UV mapping gets very tricky. That I assume can make this a bit of a hard line to walk in terms of features vs complexity, which is why Iā€™d like to see a tool like this added as an extension.

I do kind of disagree about what the tool should look like - if we assume that SketchUp is still going for simplicity, I think a tool similar to ThruPaint would be more useful for the majority of users of SketchUp. While WrapR (and Blender UV mapping tools) are more advanced, I think theyā€™re probably more powerful than most SketchUp users need, but againā€¦thatā€™s just my opinion. A lot of these discussions are more complicated I think than ā€œwhy canā€™t SketchUp do thisā€ and they go back to the ā€œwhat does SketchUp want to beā€ discussion. Without an answer to that, itā€™s VERY difficult to figure out some of these harder feature questions.

Always a productive discussion :rofl:

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I have been thinking about the topic at hand, my thoughts:
Oh, it would be really great to have all the features discussed so far in SU.
I like many others do not have a need for many of these bells and whistles.
But if they were included, the howling and the crying about SU raising its price would be very loud indeed.

So in short, you wanted a dog but got a cat instead. Trying to turn the cat into a dog would be expensive and the results would suck.
If one wants a limousine, pony up the cash and upgrade.

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If ur replay is about my comment, i will answer, that maybe this is enough for you, because you are not interested to develope your skills more) it is enough for you to draw for example just cube room and cube sofaā€¦ yes, when i pay money for product, I have no longer need to pay for other tools and plugins and its is normal ))) i dont create cube forms and easy models so i need what i typed <3 :)) so you can not think and tell who needs what and etcā€¦ keep it for you <3

Thatā€™s rightā€¦

Now that Blender has proper CAD functionality :wink:

@JustinTSE i agree to you in all. i use THRU PAINT very well but sometimes i need to export model in Unity and textures where i used THRUPAINT dont works. anyway i dont say Sketchup would be Blender :smiley: i just want to say that there would be a little bit more features. i love modeling in Sketchup and it is logical, i dont understand the anger of some people :smiley:
and finaly i wish Sketchup would be compatible for game engines much more.

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