The madness doesn't STOP

Well another... Version is on the way...

http://autodesk.blogs.com/between_the_lines/2009/02/autocad-2010-other-enhancements-aka-the-frosting.html

Gee...
I recall back in 2005.... when the sales people of REVIT said Autodesk would eliminate 3D from AutoCAD.
And ACAD2006 was the last version to have 3D....

I laughed and said ...
The biggest software and money maker for AutoDesk... is going to be stripped down to sell more REVIT software....
STOP!

The guy looked at me as if I didnt know any better.....

Gee...
Here we are... and yet another version enhancing its 3D capabilities...
And now --- a blurb about how AutoDesk is cleaning up its "BUGS"... LOL

Architech,
I remember working for this firm and we had an Autodesk rep. come in and pitch us this new Revit software. Its was supposed to be the new Cadillac of all drafting software and was going to knock Acad off the map. Years later of new releases for Acad, makes me think that Revit turned out to be a bust! I've never used it and probably never will, but what i've hard from people who have, they've pretty much said that its difficult to use and not very customizable. Anyways Autodesk hit it big with Acad, why change gears and jump ship with Revit?

I hear you....

And let's not forget that AutoDesk bought this software and didnt invent it..

They bought in 2002

http://www.caddigest.com/subjects/autocad/select/adesk_revit/adesk_revit.htm



And like so many other buy outs ... this one too will fade away...

LDD is another example gone by the waist side... although they say it will be replaced by Civil 3D... ??? i think...

Anyway ....
I cant wait for REVIT to go away.. LOL

They bought LDT ( (aka DCS) aka Softdesk ) and have officially pulled the plug this year after ignoring it except for making it work (sort of) with each new core release for at least 7 years. They even bought the core program for the new heir Civil 3D (just about the time they stopped working on LDT) from catia. Civil 3D is struggling because it is still incomplete and infested with bugs that have been around through multiple releases. It is not compatible with itself either forward or backward and with multi phase projects that run several years, those compatibility issues are becomming a deal breaker. They actually beta test the service packs and still have to pull some of them from distribution after only a few days when they break more things than they fix. The Autodesk emperor is being shown to be unclothed and many users from the field of civil are growing weary of the view.
I have spent 9 months now without firing up AutoCAD ANYthing except to occasionally import an image of our output into a drawing with 2004LT . . . a miserable program THAT be . . . and I don't miss any thing about it.

For What it's Worth in my Humble Opinion, I just wish
AutoDesk would just back that train up to ACAD 10 with some vector 3d, quit trying to make AutoCadd 3DStudio and simplify it. The Good things like Quick Shading in 3d are UN-Usable and a lot of the complicated Crap "Features" are also just overhead to slow the app down. I mean seriously how many of you use more than the basics on Regular Basis? I loaded ACAD 10 a while back on my Vista Machine just to see if it would still run, and in a dos window ACAD10 runs like a Scalded Ape on Speed!for me I'd like to see AutoCadd be a total separate product from 3dStudio again! Like R12 was. I drew all my models in 12 then imported them in to 3dStudio to do all my detail and rendering. I still work that way, and I always feel like I don't need all the Rendering and other overhead when I'm drawing models. When I'm working on drawings for CNC I DO NOT NEED OR WANT all the CRAP Overhead in LT, even though I own 2007 Legally and yet I still use 2000 and 2002 %99.9999 of the time because 2K just runs so much faster with out all the EYECANDY. Seriously I'd like to see a more striped down 2d/3d Drafting program out of AutoDesk.some of you younger kids might not remember the "Glory Days" of drafting on a board, but I remember these old guys who only had a few Leroy rails and a few templates that turned out the most beautiful Drawing, while the Mediocre guys had every GEE WIZZ BANG gadget in the K&E catalog, I remember once being told you can judge the skill of draftsman by the amount of crap covering his board. it's like keys the less keys you have the more important you are. Look at a janitor he has the huge key ring while the CEO may have 3 keys in his pocket!

If you want to see something amazing, try firing r13 on a modern machine and watch THAT pig fly.
You are correct about Autodesk needing to simplify AutoCAD. They try to put something together that will do anything they think any user would ever need. They pretty much do that but much of the stuff it doesn't do very well or quits working because of some new "enhancemnt" in the latest yearly release. In all my years firing up AutoCAD, I used exactly ONE 3D feature but I needed it almost every day. I needed the funcitionality of producing a 3d face for the project surface. For that need I had to have every line of 3d code and overhead. The vertical apps I used also depended heavily on lisp and arx so LT was completely out of the question
They went the wrong direction entierly with LT and have never gotten on course. LT should have been a basic core program that could accept any extra packages the buyer specified. once assembled with Autodesk components it could be recompiled and locked down if they insisted. Turn the regular AutoCAD int a "Pro" version or something and let the individual verticals grab only what they needed cafeteria style. I never understood why they decided to cripple it with no customization ability.

Old Sparky wrote:.....Turn the regular AutoCAD int a "Pro" version or something and let the individual verticals grab only what they needed cafeteria style.....

OMG Get out of my Head A "Cafeteria" style Drawing Program would be the very best thing that could happen to a guy like me! Seriously I know Most of you guys have Regular Jobs with offices, Paychecks, and such, but Bums like me that do strictly Free Lance Drafting and Illustration Only have about %5 of their Client meetings in their studios, with the rest being held at the Generic "Starbucks type" place or over drinks @ the local Lounge. It would be nice to have a Striped down version of AutoCad, I could use on an older "DISPOSABLE" Laptop to sketch out projects, kinda like an electronic Sketch Pad. and in the Studio, A Cheaper Version of Acad, that i can add just what I need would be Cool. WHY THE HELL should I pay for code and features I don't need or want? Like the rendering in AutoCad is PURE CRAP, so I had to spend the $6500 to buy 3dStudio. So why am paying for a crap Rendering engine in Acad? also there would be a huge 3rd party add on that would make Acad more functional! The Thing that amazes me is how I've had the same set of pens since the 70's and some how the industry feels the need to upgrade Software every year. I mean does Drafting change every year? am I the only guy drawing the same way since 1986? If a Customer of mine from the late 80's or 90's ever comes to me and says he needs a plot of a drawing I did back then I'd be screwed because I'd have to load 12 versions of AutoCadd to upconvert to 2000 so I could begin to plot it. Seriously why do they have to change file format every release? I can see a newer version not loading in an older version, but 2010 should Read or Wright R3 or R10 Files no problem!

I've been thinking alot about Intellicad lately ... even recommended to my new employers they replace LT2004 with it. We do very little with LT except to copy our screen to the clipboard and import the image into an ACAD file. and occasionally export to dxf and import that into some titleblocks I developed for them if the client wants it. I have a copy of Bricscad V9 that I just started playing with and it seems to be pretty decent. Some guys over at TheSwamp are even starting to develop some customizations for it. Did you hear that Torsten Moses of LT Extender fame has just joined forces with Bricscad since they lost the lawsuit? I believe some very interesting things may be happening with the next new intellicad with that development.