Build 53 Announcement via email

Morning all,

So I'm assuming everybody received the email from Articad announcing the release of Build 53. As much as a good few of us in the 'know' knew about this ages ago I dare say there are a high number of people who weren't aware of this. I've met a couple of people recently who were still on Build 38 and had no idea that there were new Builds out! My view is that at least Articad are listening, still not quite releasing 'Read Me' notes but they are communicating elements of the Build to their users which is a big step forward.

The question is, does it go far enough? Should there be two levels of information, one basic overview and one in-depth for the geeks amongst us?

Please share your thoughts below and I will forward these to the Marketing Team for feedback.

Cheers
Minch

Yes definitely. Surely it's a requirement of any software company to itemise the release information to give users fair knowledge to base their decision on whether to update or not especially as it looks like the email is going out to non subscribers too. It would be good to have a separate email to subscribers vs non subscribers so it feels more like a subscription information email and less like a sales newsletter.

I actually completely regret going for support this year. I have gained more information and fixes from this forum than the support process which is totally wrong. Also being assured that the V21 release is 'weeks' away on several occasions. Just not good enough.
Its also a shame that some of the errors reported haven't been ironed out as yet. Some are becoming a real hinderance to our design process and although reported there has been no communication back regarding these.
Sorry needed a rant this morning!

There was the link to the YouTube video, which didn't do much detail. I would have expected a few minutes run through on a video with more info, or some written release notes, as you mention.

But at least it communication. In the previous showrooms I worked in it would be pot luck one of us checked for an update, or, if I saw on a forum, and then told the rest of the team.

Lukeh1101 wrote:Yes definitely. Surely it's a requirement of any software company to itemise the release information to give users fair knowledge to base their decision on whether to update or not especially as it looks like the email is going out to non subscribers too. It would be good to have a separate email to subscribers vs non subscribers so it feels more like a subscription information email and less like a sales newsletter.

I actually completely regret going for support this year. I have gained more information and fixes from this forum than the support process which is totally wrong. Also being assured that the V21 release is 'weeks' away on several occasions. Just not good enough.
Its also a shame that some of the errors reported haven't been ironed out as yet. Some are becoming a real hinderance to our design process and although reported there has been no communication back regarding these.
Sorry needed a rant this morning!

Hi Luke,

I personally feel that the 'Support' title is misleading in any case. As you say as much as the telephone support is part of the deal the main reason most of us on here subscribe is to get the updates. Perhaps it should be called a 'Maintenance' subscription? It's important to remain on the subscription to ensure the latest bug fixes, catalogue updates and new versions. I understand the release of V21 has been protracted and frustrations have been mounting but its a major development for Articad to get in to the 'Complete' market with the pricing elements too. As much as I can't see me using the vast majority of these functions they do need it to try and persuade customers from other KBB CAD software to move across to them, or even maintain the users they already have who may be moving towards a 'Complete' furniture supply.

My view is that versions shouldn't really be spoken about. The Build's are far more important with regard to continual improvement, however there will be users who will demand a new version for the price of the 'Support'. I feel that if the release notes were more thorough and that the users felt that any gripes or bugs were being listened to and acted upon then it would be better value for money. Then people would be less demanding about needing a new version once a year or so.

Thanks for starting this thread Nathan

I am disappointed with there reaction to this forum and probably for this very reason of them not wanting to read and have problems published on here and any public discussion forum/social media etc. I understand they said they are making strides to setup there own forum but how long does it take to do?

As you may be aware I am heavily involved with another CAD program and they have had a forum for many years and guess what the "Problems" discussion section has the most topics.  I do not see this as a negative more a positive thing as the saying goes "A problem shared is a problem halved". A problem is not always with the program as it can be caused by other factors like user error or hardware.

I have been told "Our team members are not able to scour an external forum to see if any issues have been reported or spend time posting responses and resolutions on an external forum. Direct reporting allows us to apply processes and resources to triage and progress each enquiry. Indirect reporting prevents or at best delays the delivery of a satisfactory resolution."

What would be good I think is on their website a log list with the version and build numbers and what is included/fixed... Like this one - http://www.xlcompiler.com/changelog.asp

Morning Daz,

Yes that Compiler list link is a very easy way of listing out the fixes. Personally I would like to see the Autodesk approach they have with Fusion 360. It's very candid and relaxed but explains things so well in a not too geeky way.

https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/december-5-2017-update-whats-new/

Minch wrote:Morning Daz,

Yes that Compiler list link is a very easy way of listing out the fixes.  Personally I would like to see the Autodesk approach they have with Fusion 360.  It's very candid and relaxed but explains things so well in a not too geeky way.

https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/december-5-2017-update-whats-new/

Yes, a very detailed and informative way of informing a user of updates, features and fixes... maybe one day eh...

I understand its a job in itself. A technical authors role almost. However it would serve as good value to the user. I personally think its an element that should be top priority, especially with the move into complete pricing. There will no doubt be a huge learning curve when they release V21 and that needs to be communicated.

I wonder how many repeat calls they have regarding issues since these latest releases. Im 100% sure they read this forum as we know they did with KFF too just a shame they arent willing to respond or assist or even give us an update on fixes.
Everything done on here points to assisting users with the programme and thats what it should boil down too. Maybe they see this as a threat for users buying support. I dont know about others but i would rather subscribe for the purpose of quality updates, tutorials, improvements etc than paying incase something went wrong.

Lukeh1101 wrote:I wonder how many repeat calls they have regarding issues since these latest releases. Im 100% sure they read this forum as we know they did with KFF too just a shame they arent willing to respond or assist or even give us an update on fixes.
Everything done on here points to assisting users with the programme and that's what it should boil down too. Maybe they see this as a threat for users buying support. I dont know about others but i would rather subscribe for the purpose of quality updates, tutorials, improvements etc than paying incase something went wrong.

Exactly Luke... If someone was talking about a program I built I would want to be involved and respond to my customers on any forum/social media source etc whether I liked it or not.

You would think, that finding out want the customer wanted/had a problem with, would be on the first page of customer care 101

We are only a handful of Articad users out of the hundreds (thousands?) that don't use this forum. In an ideal world they would have someone on here interacting, answering questions and passing on feedback.

But we are the early adopters, the ones pushing the system, our renders and asking for more - When most users (in my experience) don't really care that much, the CAD software is a small part of the business and just a selling tool. Articad must focus on keeping the mass happy?

or is it better business to keep the loyal few ambassadors on board, happy and showing and telling the world what can be done? That might be the better route? We are the Articad equivalent of those people who ques up outside Apple stores at midnight for new phones  

(im just being more of a  devils advocate here really)

Maybe once the forum gets bigger, with a larger user base and has more influence things could change?

I think I read somewhere ArtiCAD have around 4500 customers...
yes, I agree with you on that probably the majority are happy with just the basic output... I know of one company that they will not do colour visuals as they had a customer take them to task on the kitchen not matching the colour visuals they produce for them! It was a while ago (5ish Yrs). Many only care about volume of orders and do not get interested in offering quality visuals etc. I know I could not work this way as I rely more on my presentations than a sales technique.

Minch wrote:
Hi Luke,

I personally feel that the 'Support' title is misleading in any case.  As you say as much as the telephone support is part of the deal the main reason most of us on here subscribe is to get the updates.  Perhaps it should be called a 'Maintenance' subscription?  It's important to remain on the subscription to ensure the latest bug fixes, catalogue updates and new versions.  I understand the release of V21 has been protracted and frustrations have been mounting but its a major development for Articad to get in to the 'Complete' market with the pricing elements too.  As much as I can't see me using the vast majority of these functions they do need it to try and persuade customers from other KBB CAD software to move across to them, or even maintain the users they already have who may be moving towards a 'Complete' furniture supply.

My view is that versions shouldn't really be spoken about.  The Build's are far more important with regard to continual improvement, however there will be users who will demand a new version for the price of the 'Support'.  I feel that if the release notes were more thorough and that the users felt that any gripes or bugs were being listened to and acted upon then it would be better value for money.  Then people would be less demanding about needing a new version once a year or so.

I agree, with regards the builds being more important, it is just frustrating for those who don't often use the support feature and end up being sold the maintenance on the premise of a new versions with all these revolutionary features. If I look back at what i can now achieve compared to a year ago having paid support there is nothing I think has justified my payment and I would be no better off than holding out for the next version to be confirmed.
I've found the builds to be more unstable that beneficial over the past few months and theres no communication to fixes of the current problems people are having.
Theres also the fact that other CAD systems are quickly catching ArtiCAD up in terms of visual presentations. it means the hard work we put into drawings is becoming less efficient as competitors who use other software are not far behind but able to produce quality drawings quickly and with less errors. Good visuals sell kitchens, however so do quick turnarounds, being able to easily amend drawings and turning into a sale on first or second visit without having ask them to come back in a few days once you've had chance to re-render or got over a error.

The versatility of ArtiCAD is good, but it requires users to be confident on other programs such as sketchup or photoshop to give a finish in keeping with the quality products most on here are offering. I can no longer let other members of staff present my drawings on my computer when I'm away or on holiday as they are becoming so overly complicated with lighting in different camera modes, materials, custom worktops etc. that it is not easy to amend or show a different angle.

I suspect a hope for most people is the simplification of processes to achieve similar results. After all is said and done, the problem is not the results, its how long it takes to get there.

I have been using Articad since v12 doing designs and tenders for the new build sector. Around v18 i moved to retail and like Daz it helped me sell kitchens as i struggled a bit dealing with the general public to begin with. v19 came out and to be fair articad did a few videos which helped but there seems to have been a shift with v20. 2 videos of any note and countless builds that seemed to only fix previous builds and on it has gone to build 53. Don't get me started on Cornice overhangs that are just plain wrong or worktops that overhang past a tall end panel!!!!

Only finding the kff forum helped get rid of the blotching in renders that a few were getting and i'm still not sure if articad ever got a fix on that as i never use their default settings. I certainly can't get my renders looking as good as theirs using the default ones out of the box. This is where the problem is as a few have stated, articad have thousands of users who probably don't care about photorealistic renders. They just want something that renders quickly which is probably one of the reasons the default textures are low quality to help with render speeds.

As we wait for v21 articad might have a bigger problem than just a few geeks on a forum, the competition IS catching up! We also have software like sketchup with vray rendering and other high end ones like Rhino, Turbocad and even Blender which is free. I will certainly be having a good look at KBB to see what everyone is doing.

I agree Articad needs to open up a bit and embrace the forums. No software is perfect but it's how you deal and sort the issues that makes the difference. Oh and they need to stop saying it's weeks away. Be open with your users who are paying a lot for the cough, cough....support!