27 replies to this topic

[John Vogel]

This is a very informative forum discussion. My boss and I are still trying to figure out which drawing and rendering programs we want to settle on. Over the years, we have used Structure Studios, Cedreo, SketchUp and SoftPlan. All have strengths and weaknesses. We have not used Vray. That being said, I am trying to determine if Vray users will work directly with SoftPlan drawings or if SoftPlan drawings need to go through SketchUp or another software program before going to Vray.

[Michael Roman]

V-Ray will not work directly with Softplan.  You will have to export to another software, such as Sketchup, in order to render with V-Ray.

[Matthew Dunson]

This is a very informative forum discussion. My boss and I are still trying to figure out which drawing and rendering programs we want to settle on. Over the years, we have used Structure Studios, Cedreo, SketchUp and SoftPlan. All have strengths and weaknesses. We have not used Vray. That being said, I am trying to determine if Vray users will work directly with SoftPlan drawings or if SoftPlan drawings need to go through SketchUp or another software program before going to Vray.

One company product I am highly anticipating is Lumion 2023 simply because they are going to offer Ray Tracing. I think most users can agree that SoftPlan has decent native rendering capabilities integrated for quick renders and visualizations that most clients will be satisfied with. That is where I emphasize on the term "satisfied" since there are other programs like Vray, Lumion, D5 Render, etc. that have stronger rendering outputs because the software is focused to execute that single task well. What I am appreciative is that SoftPlan offers highly detailed geometry out of the box (for most cases) that helps with the realism when exporting to an external software for rendering (kitchen cabinets, wall profiles, and manufacturer symbols for example). While I do agree that SoftPlan can use better rendering capabilities, I also agree that SoftPlan should also keep their focuses on improving geometric accuracy and program features that will help with the overall program experience and when exporting for rendering. The new SoftPlan 2024 released features for pools, scalable posts, and more to come, all help with getting users more geometrically realistic renders when rendering inside SoftPlan or when exporting to another software, eliminating the need for additional modeling for certain elements. I comment on Lumion 2023 simply because they have a large asset library that eliminates users having to source out extensively for models, textures, etc. and the addition for Ray Tracing in the 2023 version will help with photorealism but that version is yet to be released. Vray is great in Sketchup for SoftPlan because SoftPlan exports beautifully (for the most part) to Sketchup. This is where the pros and cons for any software can be evaluated. Sketchup (in my opinion) does not have as strong animation capabilities for the camera as Lumion unless you use a lot of extensions but if you are solely focused on still imagery, Vray may be a preferred option. Vray is an industry standard that can get highly photo accurate images because of the advanced rendering engine but requires an additional software like Sketchup to import SoftPlan models and has a high learning curve. There are many other softwares that I am not mentioning simply because it comes down to what the user is comfortable with. Great renders can be made with a multitude of softwares and it sometimes takes a lot of research, time, and comparing apples to apples to see what fits your workflow. SoftPlan is doing a great job improving their software as a whole, and while users (myself included) do cherish the 3D improvements from time to time, I also look back and see what else SoftPlan focuses on that ultimately impacts our entire workflow and so far, SoftPlan 2024 has features that I see myself needing that may improve the accuracy of renders regardless of what program I use.

 

@John Vogel, like you mentioned, all rendering programs have strengths and weaknesses and I encourage you to keep exploring the forums to see what other SoftPlan users are experiencing. I hope I was able to give you a little insight into a few programs I have been looking at using, to help with your decision to progress your workflow. 

[David Kauffman]

Please don't go down a rabbit hole like Chief Architect did. I understand the desire/need for renderings to wow clients. If a third party software can work for you don't beg softplan to create a rendering engine. If you need please ask for a live link adder or something simple like that. 

 

The developer has a finite number of hours to code and create. If they fill it with writing a rendering engine NOTHING else gets done. I lived it with chief. I was a user of chief since 1997 and left because we have not had any decent productivity tools or fixes to issues that are broken but, we have 60 plus cabinet libraries and can dimension to within a 1/16" on cabinet faces.

 

I'll put my fireproof underwear on so you can flame away but my job is to create accurate and usable construction documents. If your job is to create renderings, you are using the wrong program. Please softplan keep creating stuff like I've seen in the 2024 teasers (swimming pool aside).

 

I'm not looking to start a fight but why does everyone hyper focus on renderings? I'm really liking the materials list since I went to class to learn to tweak it.

 

Dave Kauffman

[Steve and Carla Farnam]

"I'm not looking to start a fight but why does everyone hyper focus on renderings? I'm really liking the materials list since I went to class to learn to tweak it."

 

Dave Kauffman

 

Dave what class was available for generating a materials list? Was it a Softplan Softtlist class?  Thanks,  Steve

[David Kauffman]

 

"I'm not looking to start a fight but why does everyone hyper focus on renderings? I'm really liking the materials list since I went to class to learn to tweak it."

 

Dave Kauffman

 

Dave what class was available for generating a materials list? Was it a Softplan Softtlist class?  Thanks,  Steve

 

Yes, the one offered by chief as an online class. The instructor was good and through. Being able to be productive most of the day and only a few hours in class made my boss happy. I been able to tweak the existing

materials or create new ones that my framing list good enough to order by.

[Matthew Dunson]

Please don't go down a rabbit hole like Chief Architect did. I understand the desire/need for renderings to wow clients. If a third party software can work for you don't beg softplan to create a rendering engine. If you need please ask for a live link adder or something simple like that. 

 

The developer has a finite number of hours to code and create. If they fill it with writing a rendering engine NOTHING else gets done. I lived it with chief. I was a user of chief since 1997 and left because we have not had any decent productivity tools or fixes to issues that are broken but, we have 60 plus cabinet libraries and can dimension to within a 1/16" on cabinet faces.

 

I'll put my fireproof underwear on so you can flame away but my job is to create accurate and usable construction documents. If your job is to create renderings, you are using the wrong program. Please softplan keep creating stuff like I've seen in the 2024 teasers (swimming pool aside).

 

I'm not looking to start a fight but why does everyone hyper focus on renderings? I'm really liking the materials list since I went to class to learn to tweak it.

 

Dave Kauffman

I think SoftPlan is a great software that has the right balance of 3D capabilities and technical features. Finding the right balance is always hard for any developer trying to create a well-rounded product, and from your personal experience with Chief Architect, I have only observed the program without using it. But from what I can tell, SoftPlan has held their focuses on trying to fix the issues and constraints so users, like you said, can create "accurate and usable construction documents" and that is the hyperfocus for most users utilizing SoftPlan. I think out of the hundreds of suggestions I have submitted, only a few have hit into the 3D rendering area simply because it is far more important (at least for my workflow) to have the accuracy in the drawings than it is in the rendering since Architectural Drafting and 3D Visualization artists are two completely different jobs. There are plenty of third-party programs that can solve a lot of problems users have when rendering but that is just the process of workflow until SoftPlan has the time to improve on those features natively in SoftPlan. So far, every new feature for SoftPlan 2024 I can see myself utilizing (especially building options for plan sets). I'm excited to test the new version once it is fully released! 

[Michael Roman]

I agree, Matthew.

Design and Visualization are two separate fields.  I don't feel Softplan should go down the road of trying to be a visualization software.  It is the best, in my opinion, residential design software out there and the rendering tools in it are good enough for most projects.  If they try to develop more rendering abilities or try to improve what they currently have I feel that the rest of the tools will not receive the attention that they need.  I already feel that they are going down that road to a certain extent with Manufacturer content.  I would prefer if they would skip all of the manufacturer content and instead spend the time and resources on implementing the suggestions from the users to make the software even better than it is. 

 

If you try to include too many capabilities the end product suffers.  I feel that way about traditional AutoCAD.  You can do anything with AutoCad, but because of that, I don't feel that it is exceptionally good at anything.