A new home for SketchUp

[Alan Fraser]

A sensible, balanced evaluation from TechCrunch.
I can see the move as perfectly logical...a GIS company buying a software company that can build geopositioned 3D content. After all, FormFonts models pretty much exclusively in SU, for SU users, yet who did we do a deal with a couple of months back? ESRI...a GIS company, probably better known for its software than Trimble which at the moment seems to deal mainly in hardware...which has to run on software, when all is said and done.

You also have to ask yourself what were the alternatives? Dassault? They'd probably have killed it off or come up with some weird SU-3DVia love-child. Most of the other big boys are owned by Autodesk...no thanks. Then again, it could have remained with Google.
Who can put their hand on their heart and say that development under Google has been everything they'd wished for? Change is always scary...but it can offer some great opportunities and makes for an interesting ride.

[tomasz]

I wanted to share a comment that was left on our Facebook wall, because it has really resonated with our team today

I will feel more comfortable if we will have a better contact with the whole SU team. It looks Google haven't allowed you to talk to us as openly as you wanted to. Will it change under Trimble wings?

[Bob James]

Base camp and October fest need to overlap.

From what I saw at Boulder you did pretty well at overlapping it anyway

[thomthom]

Base camp and October fest need to overlap.

From what I saw at Boulder you did pretty well at overlapping it anyway

[thomthom]

I wanted to share a comment that was left on our Facebook wall, because it has really resonated with our team today

I will feel more comfortable if we will have a better contact with the whole SU team. It looks Google haven't allow you to talk to us as openly as you wanted to. Will it change under Trimble wings?

I really hope so - from what I understand, thing where more open in the days of @Last.

[MrMikeEsq]

I was glad as soon as I read this. So long as all current functionality remains, if more advanced stuff gets added what's the problem? I've never used trimble gear, although know a land surveyor who does

[Panga]

Euh...Trimble ?? SketchUp for linux ??...ok I left...

[thomthom]

Are people really going to walk away from SketchUp before they even see the direction it's going?

[Marian]

Are people really going to walk away from SketchUp before they even see the direction it's going?

Neah...it's just fear talking.

[chedda]

Some people are on the edge of moving this could be the push they need. I am however hopefull my only issues with sketch up are performance related and high poly support. This is surely a given now they are entering the pro market. I do fear for the free users however who may eventually be dropped. Googles do no evil was a good thing. Has Mr Bacus mentioned version 9 anywhere, it has to be in development right ? I'm guessing it will be launched under the trimble banner and then they will start producing their add ons.

[Hieru]

A smart move would be to tidy up what work has already been done on SU9 and release it ASAP in order to dispell the fears of the user-base and show that Trimble has a progressive attitude to the development of SU.

They can then take their time and leave any major changes and Trimble integration until SU10.

[thomthom]

Some people are on the edge of moving this could be the push they need.

Push for what? There is no clear indication to what this involves. Why abandon ship before it's sinking?
I understand cautious - I am. But saying goodbye already now is just rash.

I do fear for the free users however who may eventually be dropped.

From the announcement it seem clear that there will remain free SketchUp version.

Googles do no evil was a good thing

Well, do no evil doesn't mean they do just good.
How much enhancement did SketchUp get during the Google era vs the @Last era? Thing did for sure slow down - at least for those that didn't have that much for the integration with Google's mapping services. In terms of modelling tools, Solid tools for Pro was about what SketchUp got while Google managed it. Google is a might large company - but that doesn't mean all their projects are on unlimited budget. Also observe the amount of information that came from the SketchUp developers during @Last vs Google.
Just say, while I am a Google fan, they aren't automatically the best thing.

Has Mr Bacus mentioned version 9 anywhere, it has to be in development right ?

I wouldn't expect such announcements during an acquisition. They will need to re-group and re-plan. The game just changed. Observe what happened to V-Ray for SketchUp and V-Ray for Rhino when ChaosGroup acquired ASGVis - their planned roadmap had to be revised.

I'm guessing it will be launched under the trimble banner and then they will start producing their add ons.

There is what I hope it will be - as addons - as plugins. So SketchUp remains lean and simple. A core platform we can build our own software on.

[Rich O Brien]

Without deviation from the norm progress is not possible. - Frank Zappa

[brewsky]

Indeed a bit scary this change.
But on the other hand, I worried about SketchUp's future within Google.
With the focus on "core-business" these days, the investments in SketchUp would have at least diminished to a bare minimum.

I don't really know Trimble, but I believe their "vision" for BIM is O.K. from what I have read about Tekla.
I am also really glad it's not Autodesk!!!

Good luck to the SketchUp team, and I agree "keep the focus on user-prowdness"!
Untill now I always tell anyone that SketchUp is the most fun piece of software I've ever used
I hope to be able to say that a year from now!

Jan

[Alan Fraser]

Regarding V9; from what I understand it is on indefinite postponement. This isn't as dire as it sounds...with acquisition in the wind and almost certainly new enhancements that would at least in part be aimed at further Google Earth integration (and therefore maybe not relevant to Trimble), it would make absolute sense to hit the brakes and take stock of new directions and new possibilities, whilst at the same time perfoming some sort of feature-ectomy on stuff that might be no longer relevant.

I'm sure most people would welcome some kind of mid-version release (sooner rather than later)...if only to give us some idea as to what they have been working on, as concrete evidence of continued commitment and maybe a glimpse of which direction we may be heading in the future.

[ArCAD-UK]

It wouldn't surprise me if SU9 is used as the licence transfer sweetner in the same way Google moved the @last users...

If Trimble can turn SU into a pro product e.g. arcs are true arcs and LO becomes a lot more professional with hatching etc then things will be moving forward. If it is absorbed as a core engine into specialist products then its appeal as a do anything modeller may be diminished. I dropped ArchiCAD because SU is flexible to my design needs, I don't need another "expert" system telling me how to design and what I can include in my projects.

Fingers crossed Trimble have seen the SU & LO wishlists and they will form the basis for their road map!

[jason_maranto]

In the old Dassualt thread ( viewtopic.php?f=15&t=43693 ) I said pretty much everything I thought (and still think) about Googles poor stewardship of SketchUp.

The best thing Google ever did for SketchUp was attach their name to it -- therefore I was more enthused about Dassault only because it is a company already known for 3D software and they have some clout in the marketplace. This would be my only concern with Trimble... but I have no doubt that SketchUp can be made into a very profitable and much more productive tool now that there is new ownership.

Best,
Jason.

[emerald15]

"People work so hard on new plugins because they believe in your software, they even offer to help and inspire newcomers. This is pride, and I recommend your team lets that become your navigation as SketchUp develops further. Good luck!" -- Christopher Vela

Hear, hear! SU's USP I would say.

[Roland Joseph]

Hello Google Earth....goodbye subdividing, smoothing and the nurb nation.....Blender anyone?

[cotty]

Untill now I always tell anyone that SketchUp is the most fun piece of software I've ever used
I hope to be able to say that a year from now!

+1

[Alan Fraser]

Hello Google Earth....goodbye subdividing, smoothing and the nurb nation.....Blender anyone?

That should be Goodbye Google Earth, surely? Sounds more like pessimism for its own sake. SU development was far more dynamic under @Last stewardship than it ever was under Google (Anyone remember that wonderful off-the-wall 3D materials that dynamically added depth to single-skin walls?) Even Google's Forum was totally sucky...which is why we are all here (and I speak from my experience both as a beta tester and as a Moderator on the original @Last forum). Here's hoping we get a little more of that old style in future.

[kwistenbiebel]

Good luck, Sketchup Team .
Please tell your new boss that it is very important that Sketchup runs faster for bigger projects (64 bit/higher polygon capabilities , faster with sun-shadows on/ faster outliner etc...
For architecture , especially bigger projects that incorporate photorealistic rendering with external plugins, it has been a dream since the @Last era to have a smoother running Sketchup for that goal.
In architecture, Sketchup is still the 3D product where everybody has a laugh with.
Whenever I tell people I use Sketchup mainly as my architecture modeling software , response usually is "are you serious?", expecting the 3DStudio, Maya, Revit, Archicad as the answer.

[Roland Joseph]

That should be Goodbye Google Earth,

No it is going to become the focus of their activity...they are in the positioning business.
Good news for the arch-vis community.

[thomthom]

very important that Sketchup runs faster for bigger projects (64 bit/higher polygon capabilities , faster with sun-shadows on/ faster outliner etc...

You are aware that 64bit doesn't mean faster speeds, right? Just more memory.
http://blogs.sas.com/content/sasdummy/2 ... n-windows/

[EscapeArtist]

.[/size]


imo, all sketchup free development could cease at this moment and the free users would still be left with a great product..

years ago, i spent $500 on an app that was far inferior to what sketchup free is today.. and i was hyped when i bought it!

but they're saying that a free version will remain available and i honestly don't see them down scaling the free version to something unusable.. in fact, i really don't imagine they will downscale it all..

I believe a free version will remain, but I still have a concern regarding what will be available on that version. Also, plugins are a concern. As SU advances under Trimble, will compatibility exist for the current plugin set or will it be phased out in favor of paid plugins?

[kwistenbiebel]

very important that Sketchup runs faster for bigger projects (64 bit/higher polygon capabilities , faster with sun-shadows on/ faster outliner etc...

You are aware that 64bit doesn't mean faster speeds, right? Just more memory.
http://blogs.sas.com/content/sasdummy/2 ... n-windows/

Scratch 64 bit, just 'faster' and more responsive in which ever way that would translate technically .
I suspect it has more to do with how Sketchup was coded than any other reason.
A very simple example: exploding a large model is not possible in an elegant way, if you're lucky it actually worked after SU being unresponsive for 4 hours.
Those kind of immensely annoying things

[chedda]

very important that Sketchup runs faster for bigger projects (64 bit/higher polygon capabilities , faster with sun-shadows on/ faster outliner etc...

You are aware that 64bit doesn't mean faster speeds, right? Just more memory.
http://blogs.sas.com/content/sasdummy/2 ... n-windows/

Does this apply to mac osx as well as windows ? How is it modo blender and numerous other applications are moving in this direction ? Surely larger memory usage will help performance and support larger poly models ? I am well aware that sketch up would need to be re-written to use multiple cpu's but at sometime we all see beach balls and egg timers right ? (like Kwisten mentioned exploding objects etc is a killer)

[jbacus]

Does this apply to mac osx as well as windows ? How is it modo blender and numerous other applications are moving in this direction ? Surely larger memory usage will help performance and support larger poly models ? I am well aware that sketch up would need to be re-written to use multiple cpu's but at sometime we all see beach balls and egg timers right ? (like Kwisten mentioned exploding objects etc is a killer)

These are old arguments, frequently discussed by me and others. CAD software is notoriously resistent to multithreading and 64-bit doesn't make models run faster. What you really want, what all users want, is software that runs whatever model you are working on today faster. Historically, we've delivered 'faster' with every release.


john
.

[Roland Joseph]

This is what I hear with ear to the ground. Don't quote me. My hearing is bad
At the top of their list is a plan to capture ruby revenue. A panel will choose a select group of rubies and start to negotiate with the owners. This ruby set will be provided with a permanent front end in SU. You can bet they will be in the positioning application vertical.

Since they are trying to capture a ruby revenue stream they will create a STK that must be used to develop and install/register. You will have to use their kit.

Then look for a complete name change in the new year. Trimble will attempt to raise the profile from blue jeans to shirt and tie. The “sketchy” reputation is something they will quickly position themselves to resolve. As for the name change. No serious Sketchup user will drop the tool because of a name change but new customers will turn their heads. The word Sketchup will disappear forever.

Set your browser to http://www.forums.trimble-u-cation.com….....lol

[thomthom]

A very simple example: exploding a large model is not possible in an elegant way, if you're lucky it actually worked after SU being unresponsive for 4 hours.

+1 Exploding is very slow - it's not exploding itself - but adding geometry to SketchUp. The more geometry in the context you add geometry to - the slower it takes. When you explode you quickly see the effect of this because it can often mean a huge amount of geometry. I can only speculate, but I suspect that part of that might be SketchUp's auto-split feature - where geometry automatically merges - something very few other modelling tools has.

How is it modo blender and numerous other applications are moving in this direction ?

They often include render engines - render engines do have advantage of more memory. It also in a great deal the render engines that makes up for the "multi-core" features for these applications. The modelling tools are still using single core - because mostly they cannot be split into multiple cores-

Surely larger memory usage will help performance and support larger poly models ?

No - more memory just means more memory. There is nothing inherit in that it will be faster and perform any other magic action. Remember that 64bit means that the datatypes also consumes twice as much as 32bit - that's double the data!

(like Kwisten mentioned exploding objects etc is a killer)

Yes - many features would be very nice with improved performance - though that race will never end. They up the performance and we will still demand more. But being generic about the requests is much better - explaining your ultimate goal "better performance" - instead of demanding a technical implementation (64bit, multicore) assuming it's the holy grail of solutions. They make the software - they know their trade - they know what to do in order to gain performance. Often a new algorithm can bring a massive performance gain. So don't be disillusioned over 64bit, multicore or other buzz-words - emphasize on your abstract goal and communicate that.

Another thing to consider when comparing applications - SketchUp do live-render it's sketchy style in the viewport - where many other of the heavy weight applications will degrade the viewport experience. They are relying on the model to be rendered with a render engine - SketchUp has a built in render engine generating presentation graphics on the fly. This takes it toll on performance. In addition it has a smart inference engine rarely featured in other applications - which also consumes it's share of the performance. Then it's the automatic merge and split of faces - it's doing a lot of work constantly which other doesn't.