I was talking to a friend who is on the the Softplan + subscription plan. I never looked at the difference, just assumed I would get all of the symbols and textures. I paid for the 2022 upgrade, which costs more than the subscription. I chatted with someone at Softplan, Shannon, who was not overly helpful and basically said I had to purchase the subscription also to have access to more symbols, etc. I feel that people who have had Softplan for years and have upgraded for years are being penalized for being loyal.
#4
Posted 02 September 2021 - 07:53 AM
Hi John, I don't see it as being penalized, I see it as more of a carrot/stick approach to guide folks to preferred distribution and operation of product. Most large software companies use this model, ever hear of Adobe, At&t, Comcast/Spectrum.
Symbols are great however I need SP+ export to ResCheck for energy report needs....for me that cuts hours of entering house data.
At this point to maximize your buck, you should wait till V2024 arrives then jump to SP+ BEFORE purchasing regular V2024.
- David Zawadzki likes this
#5
Posted 02 September 2021 - 07:58 AM
Don't forget that the subscription also comes with access to their cloud storage for backups and the upgraded online support. It is money well spent.
- Rick Kingsbury likes this
Five out of four people are not very good with fractions
#6
Posted 02 September 2021 - 09:06 AM
Here are all the reasons I did + when I first found out about this option:
https://softplan.com/?page_id=699
https://idahocustomhomes.weebly.com/
Twinmotion 2024, Autocad, SoftPlan 2024, Solidbuilder, Chief Architect X15, Sketchup, 3D Home Architect, etc.
CyberPowerPC Syber Forti SFG9EX Gaming Desktop Computer, Intel Core i9-9900K 3.6GHz, 32GB RAM, 3TB HDD + 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 10GB, Windows 10 Pro
.Disclaimer: I'm not saying I'm Superman. All I am saying is no one has seen Superman and me in the same room together.<p><p>
Softplan user since 1989
#7
Posted 02 September 2021 - 08:30 PM
Thanks, I understand all of that and agree, I guess my point got a little lost. I was just on remote control and just kept upgrading without reading into it but was just a little upset when I finally had a minute to realize the difference and asked Softplan about it they didn't offer me the option of putting my purchase toward Plus or any other option for that matter. I guess at this point I'll have to wait for the next upgrade.
#8
Posted 16 September 2021 - 08:41 PM
I think it's a very fair system. I agree that it funds development of some extras that only those who want those things need to pay for, but then eventually everybody gets the benefit, and actually not penalizing those who choose not to pay. It probably induces the program to move along faster than it could otherwise for both groups.
While I believe this I think it could be better...
It's really great that you can make symbols with Sketchup files and use the 3D warehouse. Is there some way that symbols we've created as users could be shared among users in a similar repository? Collectively we've probably made tens of thousands of symbols many dozens or hundreds of the same thing.
One idea I will suggest is a button one may click on while in the symbol library looking for a symbol that would let you suggest a symbol you needed. What better time to give that data to SoftPlan for them to assess demand, and 100X more likely that you would do it than sending in a suggestion or trying to think of symbol suggestions if surveyed.
Maybe then a tally of suggested symbols, somewhere on the SoftPlan website, of suggested symbols that could be upvoted would leverage that, and maybe even a place in that tally where a user could share a symbol tallied.
I'm sure there are copyright issues or something with sharing user developed symbols made using an underlying DWG so that may be too much for SoftPlan, but I think the basic Idea of getting requests to SoftPlan through a point of need portal would pay dividends. I think if something like this were a reality there would be hundreds of requests for an Aker shower unit for example.
Any thoughts?
- Steven Wohlgemuth likes this
#9
Posted 17 September 2021 - 03:40 PM
I think you might be wise to actually ask what is involved in upgrading to plus at this stage ... Since you've been buying for a while they may be able to do something for you. Worst case scenario is wait for 2024, but they may offer something better.
There are 10 types of people in this world ....... Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
Softplan user since version 5.5.2.5
www.homehardwarekingston.ca
#10
Posted 23 September 2021 - 08:27 PM
I like the SP + program
i use use support a lot.
I use the cloud storage
I am really glad that i switched to soft plan 10 years ago.
i have a question about symbols after reading the above about
symbols and getting them from a 3D warehouse
how does one find the libraries and import into a SP drawing or a SP folder for future use?
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