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Unity creates new open source tool for architects

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Re: Unity creates new open source tool for architects

#61

Post by pfisch »

Mirioron wrote: post #57
simonsarris wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually that seemed to be a big problem of computer models to me too. When I was a kid I modeled the houses I was living in using Counterstrike Source's Hammer editor, and they always felt SO SMALL to walk around "inside" when they were correct to scale, even though one of them was a fairly big 1800's house. So either way you simulate things you have funny perceptions. And during construction you are kind of thrown…

> and they always felt SO SMALL to walk around "inside" when they were correct to scale, even though one of them was a fairly big 1800's house. Is that due to the Field of View being lower in games compared to real life? When you increase the FoV in games then things further away look smaller.

You also move incredibly, absurdly fast. Play half-life 2 in VR and you will get very motion sick, but you will also realize how insanely fast you are moving.

Re: Unity creates new open source tool for architects

#62

Post by mistrial9 »

eps wrote: post #2

We made a foray into designing and building a brand new house and let me tell you, my fellow HNers, the state of affairs with the design part is ABYSMAL, even in a reasonably modern architect firm. Basically you first design, for look and feel, then you calculate technical details, then you build. Or rather the architect does all three, but you would normally want to "chip in" during the design phase - change the lay…

for thirty years (or more) here in California (home of exciting computing technology) professional Architects have been piling up as dead bodies on beaches and on the side of the road -- ok, not really, but almost. Every brilliant artistic and scholarly 16 year old wants to be an architect, then school admissions, then graduate programs, then debt and no work (for those that make it that far). Major Architecture programs at a certain top-10 school have a "Suicide Prevention" poster in the main hall. Money in the United States is aimed at fast and profitable, not design and long-lasting. Hundreds of large houses in Los Angeles, perfectly good, torn down to be replaced by larger interior-square-footage boxes, as fast as possible. McMansions in the extent Bay Area are made of sheetrock and Home Depot materials. Am I exaggerating? sadly, no.. How can innovative software be designed and profitable in that environment ?

Re: Unity creates new open source tool for architects

#63

Post by IshKebab »

galfarragem wrote: post #34
eps wrote: post #2

We made a foray into designing and building a brand new house and let me tell you, my fellow HNers, the state of affairs with the design part is ABYSMAL, even in a reasonably modern architect firm. Basically you first design, for look and feel, then you calculate technical details, then you build. Or rather the architect does all three, but you would normally want to "chip in" during the design phase - change the lay…

Architect here. I use computer hardware everyday. Does this allow me to give relevant opinions on what are the best processes to build it? Some folks are thinking about it for decades. Architectural rendering is overrated, it only exists as a way to sell the project to clumsy end users, investors and city planners. The same house but with a different sky, flying ducks, evergreen trees, people dancing and ferraris wil…

> Architectural rendering is overrated, it only exists as a way to sell the project to clumsy end users, investors and city planners.

Right but isn't it overrated because it only exists as a way to sell the project? Surely the software could be improved to the point that you can use it to make decisions?

Re: Unity creates new open source tool for architects

#64

Post by seba_dos1 »

gamblor956 wrote: post #55
mslong wrote: post #43

Unity is in a continual state of building out "shiny new toys"; libraries and modules and sibling software that work as intended for 1 or 2 release cycles before breaking and being discarded. I've seen this time and again with Unity and I think it will hurt their stock going forward as they try to convince more industries to use their tools. Just in the past two years I've seen them develop, hype, and then quietly dr…

And it's basically impossible for other companies to manage Unity SDKs with a ground that moves that much. Many successful video game companies use Unity to make their games. It's basically impossible to use except compared to the alternatives, which are just as impossible or more so.

Only because they keep it on the version of the engine they started on. Just ask any game developer using Unity about whether they tried to update the engine mid-project and how that went if they did ;p

Re: Unity creates new open source tool for architects

#65

Post by cachvico »

sayangel wrote: post #53

Where did the author get the info that this is open source? I haven't seen Unity state anywhere that this tool we be open source. I could see them giving source code to people who pay for some enterprise license, but I doubt it will be open source. At least not the part that extracts data from BIM software.

That is correct, the article should not be using that term.

Re: Unity creates new open source tool for architects

#66

Post by Reedx »

gamblor956 wrote: post #55
mslong wrote: post #43

Unity is in a continual state of building out "shiny new toys"; libraries and modules and sibling software that work as intended for 1 or 2 release cycles before breaking and being discarded. I've seen this time and again with Unity and I think it will hurt their stock going forward as they try to convince more industries to use their tools. Just in the past two years I've seen them develop, hype, and then quietly dr…

And it's basically impossible for other companies to manage Unity SDKs with a ground that moves that much. Many successful video game companies use Unity to make their games. It's basically impossible to use except compared to the alternatives, which are just as impossible or more so.

Well, there's also the option of making your own engine. Which many game companies do, especially in the AAA space.

Re: Unity creates new open source tool for architects

#67

Post by paulryanrogers »

mushufasa wrote: post #51
mslong wrote: post #43

Unity is in a continual state of building out "shiny new toys"; libraries and modules and sibling software that work as intended for 1 or 2 release cycles before breaking and being discarded. I've seen this time and again with Unity and I think it will hurt their stock going forward as they try to convince more industries to use their tools. Just in the past two years I've seen them develop, hype, and then quietly dr…

In my perspective that is a good sign -- they are constantly trying new ways to grow, and dynamically reallocating their resources to markets where the product features gain traction. IMHO it's unrealistic to expect long-term commitment for maintenance / compatibility from ${ANY} new software, unless there's a 5-year enterprise contract with a SLA. Maintenance is difficult work, and only rewarding if the software pro…

Bought Unity on sale with plans to use it later. Returned to a prototype two years later and both the product and licensed changed. No way to use the original license or version since their old registration flow broke. So it's upgrade... or crack it?

Re: Unity creates new open source tool for architects

#68

Post by ryuukk_ »

mslong wrote: post #43

Unity is in a continual state of building out "shiny new toys"; libraries and modules and sibling software that work as intended for 1 or 2 release cycles before breaking and being discarded. I've seen this time and again with Unity and I think it will hurt their stock going forward as they try to convince more industries to use their tools. Just in the past two years I've seen them develop, hype, and then quietly dr…

This is why your product is shit, and theirs is used by a whole industry

If you fail to innovate you are left behind

Just like Google, they try different things, new things, they experiment a lot, research a lot, hire a lot, and this is why they are both successful

Re: Unity creates new open source tool for architects

#69

Post by LegitShady »

eps wrote: post #27
vertex-four wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Changing most things is hard work, not something that can be done in seconds. Have you ever done 3D modelling?

I did. Changes being "hard work" is a matter of a tool not being well adapted to the job, which is a problem with the tool, not the process. If I am playing with a floor plan, then certain changes, like moving walls and openings should be as easy to do as possible. If they aren't, it's the wrong tool for the job ... which is exactly what I mentioned in the first post - that the architects routinely use heavy-lifting…

I think you're trying to describe bim software but you don't know what it is. This already exists. The most common software for it at the moment is Revit.

Re: Unity creates new open source tool for architects

#70

Post by galfarragem »

PeterisP wrote: post #45
galfarragem wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Architect here. I use computer hardware everyday. Does this allow me to give relevant opinions on what are the best processes to build it? Some folks are thinking about it for decades. Architectural rendering is overrated, it only exists as a way to sell the project to clumsy end users, investors and city planners. The same house but with a different sky, flying ducks, evergreen trees, people dancing and ferraris wil…

For a trivial example, the exact same house plan rotated by 90 degrees will have substantially different important qualities because of how the sun affects both light and temperature. There needs to be some way not only to communicate this to end users, but also take it into account during the planning and design process. Perhaps rendering is not the right tool for that and is overrated, but what methods do you sugge…

Those factors are always considered on a macro level when an architect makes a project. Only when they are critical, they are analysed on a micro level with specialized software. In most cases you can get very far with some rules of thumb:

North: indirect light, the coldest orientation (northern hemisphere of course)

East: morning light, good for bedrooms

South: lots of direct light, the warmer orientation

West: afternoon light, good for living rooms or even kitchens

North-West: dominant winds (in my country)

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