I can image other things to do on these locations…
We are more restricted by the thought of not having internet than the actual lack of it, I think
FTR, we have a thread discussing this, but it auto-locked on us.
(Ask admin @Caroline if you wish to have it unlocked to post.)
btw, did I have said already that auto-locking threads is plain rubbish?
I cannot be stated too many times.
I’m wouldn’t mind paying for some version of SketchUp for the desktop (Make or otherwise). The problem is that for my hobby needs SketchUp Pro is far out of my budget. Some of the current issues with SketchUp Free are that it doesn’t work as smoothly, and doesn’t work with a 3dconnexion SpaceNavigator. Also I hate subscriptions services, unless they are very reasonable and include features I need or want. The current subscription for SketchUp Shop is costly, and does not provide any appealing features for me.
I would very much like to see a ‘hobbyist’ version of SketchUp desktop that costs around $75 to $90 (US). Unless there are dramatic improvements in SketchUp Free or Shop I would need to use Make until it no longer is supported. At that point I will need to evaluate the available options.
A SketchUp Make in the $100 - $200 price range is affordable for most people. I am a huge advocate for this direction if SketchUp and Trimble will take it. You are never going to do away with the need for a desktop version of the software, the web based thing is fun and gimmicky but not a serious platform for getting any real work done.
You will struggle to find something comparable for free, the closest thing I have found (that I also have) in terms of ease of use, and most importantly speed… is Rhino - However that is around £900. It looks more complicated than it is in reality, I have learnt it in only three months since starting my new job. One of the best things about it is that it has native support for SketchUp files (as long as you back-save them to 2014 for some reason).
After Rhino, the second best thing (in my opinion) is Modo, super powerful and quite quick, however that is more at around £1450.
However with Modo, as with Creative Cloud, you can choose a monthly subscription that you can get down to around £50. That takes it about equal to Creative Cloud in terms of cost. That’s equals to about 6 beers where I live so almost at hobby level 
Blender is free but quite complex in terms of the interface. I have been trying to learn it for years, I sat down to finally get it over with and it took at least 8 months to be even semi-proficient. I have left it alone again now and using Rhino instead.
There are tons of other things in the middle, but generally even the Pro price of SketchUp is competitively priced. Unless you are on OSX, Make 17 should still work for many years to come, it’s hard to speculate what the impact of Apple moving away from Open GL will be, however given we are looking at a post 2020 timeline I would imagine the online version of SketchUp free (or the paid for online version) will have addressed many of the issues raised by folks over the last few months (plugins, offline use etc).
If you want to see a good Cloud demo, check out Octane Render. OTOY • OctaneRender: Overview From this main page navigate to ‘Cloud Demo’ in the top toolbar, and then choose ‘Octane 3 Demo’.
Buying a software license implies for most users a commercial usage, which would surely kill the Pro sales significantly… besides Make would be crippled down e.g. by not supporting extensions… you surely would not be happy with.
Form Z Free - Free
Form Z Jr - $495
Form-Z - $995
BricsCAD Shape - Free
MOI 3D - $295 Very similar to Rhino. Developer used to work on development of Rhino.
Yes I do enjoy Moi3D but I never went further than the trial since I already had Rhino.
Some great stuff coming out of it however, if I had not got Rhino via work it would have been a likely candidate for home!
free for commercial usage?
Yep, 100%
“form•Z free is a great way to start exploring the power of design with 3D solid modeling. This version has no restrictions for professional, academic, or home use.”
Also same file format as the 2 paid versions.
Same with Shape…
“BricsCAD Shape is free of charge to everyone, with no commercial usage restrictions.”
Agreed. I don’t own it either as I really don’t need it but it was so easy to use and a great bargain for it’s price.
The current SketchUp Make (2017) is already a crippled version of PRO, no solid boolean tools except for the one and no layout. However it still runs extensions.
The native solid tools are already crippled by not honoring components, axes, materials etc. Not all people need LO either. I used SketchUp for years and years as a hobby user with no need for it whatsoever. When I started using it for projects in architecture school on the other hand LO became indispensable.
Very well said. I believe they had their reasons and an upgrade to pro still beats out the competition. I do hope one day they offer a month to month sub for us who would like to use an updated version of sketchup without the bugs of a later or outdated version. I am sure they will hear the call for it and one day make it so. As long as the investors don’t get greedy.
Your friend could easily save it as a SketchUp 2016 model for you to open. Takes only a second.
Fair point. I hadn’t thought of that at the time.
Just created an account here to say that I’m dissapointed about your decision to discontinue Sketchup Make. I have no interest in using a web-based application, and without support, Sketchup Make can only possibly last so long. I’ve been using other applications more and more, this will just serve as a catalyst to speed up that transition.
I can’t imagine this will be a good thing for your Sketchup Pro userbase either.