There are a LOT of things Sketchup needs to improve on and I hope they read this because they really need to do so…
Xreferencing capabilities so that people on different teams in different parts of the globe can work on the same model efficiently…just like Revit
Implementing better architectural applications like creating roofs, doors, windows etc like revit instead of having to use a million extensions
Better layout dimensioning and agreement with 2d capabilities, which brings attention to their section cuts and also being able to determine proposed and demolished walls (this is a huge issue)
Dimensioning on layout is kind of a paint and is a bit not accurate some times
Being able to create things also like RCPs as on option view so that you don’t have to flip your model upside down
Tagging could improve with generating reports and updates on models so that you don’t have to export your model in revit for these better capabilities
Well, now that the “Sketchup for iPad” thingy is out of the way, I am sure they used the free capacities in shifts around the clock to fix Layout. 2023 will be the year. I feel it!
The workshare option in Revit involves creating worksets (who gets to do what etc) and continuous syncing local files to a cloud hosted project.
Besides charging extra for this feature ( $945 p/y for each user) I find it easier to set this up in SketchUp by splitting the model into separate models which can be viewed in a ‘coordination model’ in Trimble Connect. ( you can load multiple models in the 3D viewer )
You can also insert reference models in the desktop app which can than be used to inference and model your part of the whole project.
Collaboration comes included in SketchUp Pro (Trimble Connect Business plan is included) and with the shipped extension
That’s actually not true. People give you their main file and you link it to your model and make sure coordinates are the same just as your explaining and then to upload the changes you would use bim 360, and we were not charged for that ever…to use only as a viewer then naviswork.
If it was as simple as you say with Sketchup then everyone would know about this and would be training others, but that hasn’t been the case. Everyone tells you something different. I have done the separation of models and everything you said and it was a huge mess because it would not only double save the file because both could not be working on it at the same time, but also when you would try to update the main model things would be double, triple, or more times copied in there making it a mess. We used the xref extension and even tried paste in place. It all didn’t work and even “reload” splitting the model into separate component models and reload many times would end up not in the right position. Then don’t even get me started to what mess it creates on Layout and basically have to redimension everything pretty much every time you re link or update model.
I use Trimble Connect for collaboration in large projects exactly as you mentioned.
First, create a Project Folder on Trimble Connect, then:
Create “model files” just for modeling, you can seperate files as much as you want then publish them to Trimble Connect. Ex: 1st Floor, 2nd Floor, Stairs, Landscape, Exterior, Interior…
Then you can use uploaded model files on Trimble Connect for reference, each model can refer to other by “Import Reference as Visual Model” which you can’t edit the reference file.
Every changes in “model files” need to be re-published to Trimble Connect.
Create “combined files” for different purposes. For examle: I want to make document drawings for Elevations, so I will create a blank file named “Elevations” then import relatived “model files”, this help file not contain unneccessary models (ex: interior, furniture…).
Create scenes, styles on this combined file then send to LayOut.
With this workflow, we can work together in a same time: designer, modeller, drafter, mep engineers…
I send you a link of a project I have done already, all live!
Sharing a central file (main model?) and then linking it in your own project is different than ‘working in the same model at the same time’.
It’s just a downloaded version of the shared ‘main model’ (you have to detach it before editing itself)
Collaborating and using certain ‘main models’ as a single source of truth requires some discipline from the one who’s in charge.
All the performance issues can be solved by changing the API of the software, sketchup uses OpenGL, which was good 15 years ago and it is a cross platform API, but now it’s too old, and the performance compared to other softwares is noticeable. A lot of programs use DirectX for windows and metal for MacOS, i know it could be extra work porting it to two different APIs but OpenGL isn’t the solution nowadays, max stopped OpenGL support so the OpenGL version is an old one with over 10 years, in that time every other API has improved a lot. Recently I modeled something in blender with a lot of geometry, but the viewport was perfect without any lag, then I exported to skp and it was imposible to work, the lag was unbearable. I love skp but if they don’t fix this performance issue I’ll have to use another software, like archicad or vectorworks which already ported it’s software to run natively on apple silicon macs using the Metal API.
Is your profession 3D application programming so that you can make such a sweeping statement?
All 3D modelling applications tend to have the same kind of issues regardless of the API. The ones I have used have been based on OpenGL or DirectX, and there is no difference between the two. All applications have the same bottleneck: they are dependent of the performance of the single processor thread they use. Autodesk promised a multithreaded 3D Studio Max more than 25 years ago, and it still has not materialized. Rendering can be broken to threads, modelling cannot.
Did you read well what I wrote? I’m not talking about modeling, I know modeling uses just a single core, it’s about the API I complain, vectorworks and blender have ported their softwares to supported API for MacOS which I use, and those programs can handle a lot more geometry without lag on the view port, which image is generated by the gpu, not cpu.
That is not correct. Both are needed. 3D geometry is handled by the cpu, while the gpu takes care of raster processing (textures, shadows…)
Have you compared the performance between different applications with the exactly same model, and the same realtime display features? Does Blender support realtime shadows, textures, profiles etc.?
I use Archicad daily. Its 3D window is slower than SketchUp.
AFAIK modern Macs don’t even have a dedicated GPU…
A quibble: there is no separate GPU, but one is integrated in the Apple Silicon M1 and M2 chips. It shares memory with the CPU all on one chip, so communication between them is exceptionally fast. But sharing memory means greater risk of filling it up. I always recommend getting the most memory you can afford; it cannot ever be increased because it is part of the chip.
I have 64 gigs of unified memory in an m1max MacBook Pro, and the exact same model I used on blender and sketchup, in blender the viewport was smoth, even on the eevee render viewport style, or with matcaps to calculate reflections and shadows, but in sketchup it’s not smooth.
well… we have extensions for these things. vanilla SU won’t do it, but that’s the way it works. a kernel of tools around witch we can add layers of complexity.
besides, in my case, no, I don’t need uv mapping, sculpture. I do architecture work and as it turns out, cubes, and their variants, are a huge part of the job. UV mapping and textures in general are usually dealt with at the rendering step.
So my take is… we all have different ways of using our tools, and if a tool doesn’t suit us (anymore), we can always jump to another one.
No, profile edges aren’t selected, but it’s a very high poly model. Usually when I work with high poly model I use the Xref plugin, to work in different viewports, but this time it’s not posible cause it’s just a big model. However the lagging doesn’t exist with exactly the same model in blender, I say it’s the same because I modeled a part on skp, then exported to blender and again exported it to skp.
I have to agree with the people here bringing up obvious performance issues while working with complicated models. I don’t know why it is so, but there is considerable lag just navigating the viewport, which on a day to day basis gets extremely annoying. Also, there are issues with zooming in and out. It will randomly zoom in through many layers of walls for no apparent reason. It does this often and causes problems in the workflow. Honestly, these problems are huge because they are always present.
The tools, the interface, and the end results are why I still come back to renew this software, but will not continue much longer if the devs don’t adress these issues soon.
