As I am basing our company on a Sketchup Pro workflow, I am worried about its future and I would like to know if I am the only one with these concerns.
Concerns:
November passed and still no new version of sketchup, especially as it will be only a pro version.
Sketchup 2018 only had 1 maintenance update and it took them 1 year to do so.
Move to the web, this wouldnt have been an issue if not for the lack of support of the desktop version.
I know Trimble is not allowed to share information, but some communication would be helpful.
Honestly, with the the release of Adobe (what ever the heck it is. I’ve read about it but couldn’t find it). It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if Trimble is ready to pass the torch. Much like Google did a few years ago.
I hope not! But more than anything, please dear god, don’t let SketchUp become a subscription!
I’m still using CS6, because I’ll be damned if I can justify even 20$ a month to have Photoshop that I use maybe a few times a month.
I can see how free is a good strategy, especially with the schools and the thin and light laptop trends for everyday consumers, having it accessible to the masses without downloading anything or set up might be a good move.
However the Sketchup Free user demographic is not the same as the Pro, as business is based on the reliability and consistency of the software. And here is where my worries arise, when the consistency has been shaken with the untimely releases.
I actually like Sketchup Pro current payment scheme, with the initial payment of the software and the continued yearly maintenance. I find this to be my favorite way of acquiring a software.
+1
My architecture work is 100% based on SketchUp, lots of plugins (commercial, free and developed by myself- investing a lot of time), lots of (3d) libraries that I made the last 10+ years and of course LayOut.
The lack of communication on Pro’s future while investing in a web version worry me as well. Few maintenance releases / no fixes for many-year-old annoyances (run a plugin while the outliner is open…) isn’t what I would like to see the SketchUp team doing.
Crossing fingers V2019 shows I don’t need to worry and I can rely on SketchUp Pro for many more years to come.
What else would the SketchUp team do, if SketchUp Pro was discontinued? Only SketchUp Free (seriously, free)? Didn’t they recently have the most successful BaseCamp ever?
I think some people here are moved to tears when they read how much you care about the next release.
I suspect it is sensitive proprietary info so we won’t get an answer, but it would be fascinating to see a breakdown of BaseCamp attendees vs SketchUp version. Attendance is costly, so it seems unlikely that a lot of people who use only SketchUp Free would attend. More likely is that we would see hold-outs still clinging to (e.g.) SketchUp 8.
Why would they do that? They need demanding customers who want a powerful, performing application. They just weakened the non-commercial version (by making it web-only and ending inappropriate commercial use) to strengthen the professional version, something that should make you confident! The other way around (weakening the pro version), it really wouldn’t make sense!
Some still prefer SketchUp 6! With striking colors
If Pro was to move to the web, no matter what the fee was, I would be one of the first to hold out and not look back. The main reason would be the unreliable internet connection I have.
I use a render extension which hasn’t been updated for over 18 months - due to a complete rewrite which the developers have shared with the community.
So for Su, this could mean they are putting in even more updates than you might expect.
