Boiling it down: you get one wish!

[cliff collins]

Site Tools:

We do a heavy volume of Site Planning, with some very large sites.

A recent example:
36 acre site
20 plus buildings
1500 plus parking spaces
large creek running through entire site
40' or more vertical fall across site

Specific areas where we need major improvements:

1.Placing parking stalls/striping/components on toposurfaces/subregions
This is a very tedious/laborious process, and slows down our fastest workstations
to the point of frustration (P4 3Ghz 2G ram). Serious loss of speed even on FLAT toposurfaces/subregions; when site is graded this becomes almost impossible.

2. Placing concrete curbs and sidewalks which conform to slope--very difficult
w/ current tools--need special / specific tools for this.

3. Rendering color site plans: two methods

a. shaded view w/ "shadows on" in Advanced model graphics. Slows computer down so much that you can not keep shadows on and continue to work.
b. "Rendered view" (accurender) from camera placed straight above model--extremely long render time, even at 150-200 dpi setting--as long as 10 hours! also produces the "1 point perspective" distorted view--needs to be a flat representation of site.

We can not emphasize any more seriously how much we need better site tools to address these issues, as we are working with site plans daily, and have the need for sophisticated presentations for our clients. These site plans are also used to develop 3D perspectives/color renderings and animations, so the modeling has to be done correctly
on the site plan! (no "workarounds" allowed).

This is why there are a large number of requests for better site tools. The other responses
have not been very specific. Until you actually start USING the site tools on a daily basis
for production of work for important projects, the issues may not seem so urgent!

hope this helps point out specific areas which need vast improvement.

[DaveP]

That's my point, the wishes thus far are as different as the people submitting them and there is no direction to be taken from this as it stands...except do everything NOW!

Isn't that kind of what got this thread started? Someone commented on the AutoCAD WishList voting and wondered why we don't have a Revit WishList poll. 'Twould be nice to vote.

I know, let's make it really complicated & use Instant-Runoff voting!

[Andre Baros]

Site Tools:

We do a heavy volume of Site Planning, with some very large sites.

A recent example:
36 acre site
20 plus buildings
1500 plus parking spaces
large creek running through entire site
40' or more vertical fall across site

Specific areas where we need major improvements:

1.Placing parking stalls/striping/components on toposurfaces/subregions
This is a very tedious/laborious process, and slows down our fastest workstations
to the point of frustration (P4 3Ghz 2G ram). Serious loss of speed even on FLAT toposurfaces/subregions; when site is graded this becomes almost impossible.

2. Placing concrete curbs and sidewalks which conform to slope--very difficult
w/ current tools--need special / specific tools for this.

3. Rendering color site plans: two methods

a. shaded view w/ "shadows on" in Advanced model graphics. Slows computer down so much that you can not keep shadows on and continue to work.
b. "Rendered view" (accurender) from camera placed straight above model--extremely long render time, even at 150-200 dpi setting--as long as 10 hours! also produces the "1 point perspective" distorted view--needs to be a flat representation of site.

We can not emphasize any more seriously how much we need better site tools to address these issues, as we are working with site plans daily, and have the need for sophisticated presentations for our clients. These site plans are also used to develop 3D perspectives/color renderings and animations, so the modeling has to be done correctly
on the site plan! (no "workarounds" allowed).

This is why there are a large number of requests for better site tools. The other responses
have not been very specific. Until you actually start USING the site tools on a daily basis
for production of work for important projects, the issues may not seem so urgent!

hope this helps point out specific areas which need vast improvement.

Out of curiousity what are your civil engineers and/or landscape architects using?

[Danny Polkinhorn]

Isn't that kind of what got this thread started? Someone commented on the AutoCAD WishList voting and wondered why we don't have a Revit WishList poll. 'Twould be nice to vote.

Yes, this thread has merely proven my point (in my opinion).

I can count without fingers the number of times I've used Accurender. It's just not important to the work I do. About as important as site tools are to PapaGrouch.

However, to me, improved site tools are very important. It ranks right up there with improved units/groups. There's two, I can't choose between them.