Revit working with Revit Structure/MEP

[SupremeTaco]

So a lot of people around here, even without having much knowledge of these programs, trash-talk Autodesk and say how even their own suite of programs can't work together. I've been using Revit Architecture for the past 5 months or so, but I've only been using it a couple days per week to try to learn it. Just yesterday I downloaded the trials of Revit Structure and Revit MEP to see how these programs would work together. Within about 10 minutes I created a multi-story building with structure columns and beams, floors, walls, ceilings and even ductwork. Any of the programs could open any of the files (all having the .rvt extension) so I just kept it all in one, and it didn't seem to have any problems at all. So my question is, what are these guys talking about?? Why would they say these programs can't talk to each other?? I'm starting to think it's just lack of knowledge, and rumors that have turned businessmen around here into what we'd call flamers due to their incessant biased Autodesk bashing.

[Scott Womack]

So a lot of people around here, even without having much knowledge of these programs, trash-talk Autodesk and say how even their own suite of programs can't work together. I've been using Revit Architecture for the past 5 months or so, but I've only been using it a couple days per week to try to learn it. ........So my question is, what are these guys talking about?? Why would they say these programs can't talk to each other??

They can "talk" to each other. It has to do more with the workflow associated with the different disciplines. On a small MEP you might be able to keep it in the same file. The intended workflow is for the MEP to link in the Architectural model, and then use face-based families. If MEP is used to its fullest, you are designing a series of systems. Each time you save to central, it has to recalculate each and every system from start to finish to see if the reloaded central file caused anything to change. IF this is in the model with everyone else (Arch and Struct) there are far more STC occurrences, and more recalculation, as well as while the MEP is recalculating, it has the central file "locked" so no one can check anything else out of the combined central file until the MEP is completely done with its "recalculation" of every system.