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    Thank you all for your feedback!

    Quote from Pieter

    Also, another follow up question: if I make a modification to the asset in Revit (for example I placed the asset in Revit -> Edit Family -> Change category), and now I place the asset again in the same project but this time from within the Render window, will it use my edited asset Family, or create a fresh asset family without my previous changes?

    As we are not yet completely done with the implementation, we are also not 100% sure how the behavior will be. We are highly depending on the data structure that is provided by the CAD. But we suspect that the already existing families are used as long as you did not rename them. As the fitting IDs will be checked, the described process should work.


    Quote from Paul Russam

    Here's an idea .... why don't you go after the users who've stolen/got pirated copies of Enscape instead of trying to cripple those of us who's paid you money.

    You'll get a round of applause from us instead of comments like the above.

    A 10-second search found sources for 2.8, 2.91, 3.0, 3.0.2 and 3.1.51316 all on the 1st page of results with more to be had.

    We are already and always going after the people that are distributing cracked Enscape versions. But as these people are usually not living in a country where it is easy to find out who they are to sue them, this is a very tricky process. Still, we are working on it.



    Quote from Tearch

    Why is this additional feature necessary? It is a redundancy that is not needed at all and just adds complexity to the program that we do not want or have ever requested. If Enscape was bringing cross compatibility between 3d modeling software I could maybe understand the decision but that is not the case.

    I really understand your point of view here.

    The users in the forum are not the only Enscape users that we are talking to. Counting the total users here, they are representing less than 10% of our monthly unique users of the software. And not all of them are very active.

    We are listening to and evaluating every single feature request that we receive from you guys. And rest assured that we highly appreciate them. That is why a lot of my colleagues are also active in this forum (Demian, Hana, Adrian, Clemens, Alex, etc.) and why we constantly provide features that you were asking for (Batch Panorama, Panorama Gallery, Material Library, updating uploads, Views for ArchiCAD, etc.). But the same is true for all the other users that we are talking to.

    You can be sure that we are not planning to implement features that nobody is asking for.

    Can you please give us an idea of how you are going to implement the rotation and scaling of the enscape assets, will it only be available inside the enscape render window or will it be available within the host CAD software.


    I am using Archicad and it's very simple to add in code to the archicad placeholder object to achieve the desired result, problem is that enscape doesn't read this information and therefore its impossible to have items such as cars rotated to suit sloping ground for example.


    The much more important development needed for enscape objects is the ability to add categories for custom objects, i have hundreds of objects and its getting very cumbersome scroll thru them all to find what i am looking for. please make this a priority ASAP

    MatthiasL Its not my company so I don't get to as you put it "reevaluate your priorities". That's a pretty terrible thing to tell someone when you have zero idea what their financial situation is, especially with what the world has been going through lately. I am given one floating license to work with one other person at my firm. The purpose of a floating license is meant to allow users to go in and out of the software as they please and only use the license when they need to hit the render button. Enscape for no reason is restricting the ability for any other user to set up their renderings unless a license is available. That has now deemed a floating license useless but yet more expensive. That makes zero sense as to why they would implement this.


    Joachim Hirsch Thanks again for addressing our concerns but the scenario I proposed above still hasn't been answered. Until that is addressed I am going to be very skeptical about the future development of Enscape.

    Quote from Demian Gutberlet

    The functionality of our Asset Library in the CAD solution itself will be retained,

    This bears emphasizing as this is a "hard stop" for me (and from what I am reading likely others as well)


    The single biggest reason I never jumped on the Lumion bandwagon was that all my skill/speed/proficiency I have developed over many years in using my chosen CAD package (Sketchup in my case) is tossed out the window when I have to relearn how to: navigate my viewport (ughhhh!!!) place, scale, rotate, randomize, etc, etc, etc. assets for a rendering.


    To me a couple of the greatest things about Enscape has been, and hopefully remain, are:


    1) runs seamlessly within my chosen cad package.


    2) expands upon existing workflows rather than replaces them.


    It appears the goal may now be to internalize all functionality.


    As long as new functionality remains "optional" this would theoretically be acceptable.


    If the goal is actually to replace the paradigm of "expanding upon existing CAD workflows" with "internalize all functionality" I simply wish this goal would be clearly stated so I can move on sooner than later.

    I think the Enscape video editor is instructive in this regard when discussing functionality. It's one thing to add a tool where none exists (SketchUp is, shall we say, rudimentary in its video generating ability) but in terms of modeling, I would only look to add functionality where none exists (natively.) However, there is a long way to go to make it comparable to more robust video editing, and so we're depending on Enscape to add the proper tools to expand what we can do. (like GUI keyframes that can be edited visually, hint hint.)


    For example, random scattering is not native to SketchUp, but placing and rotating most certainly is. The placement of Enscape lights is a good illustration of what happens when Enscape tries to replace native functionality. placing an area light is incredibly fiddly and frustrating. I do not want something like that for placing assets. Even just adding a "glue to surface" option for things like cars would be a great way to build on existing functionality, not try to replace it. Please, developers, think carefully before adding some new workflow and how it relates to existing functionality. I don't feel like that care has always been exercised in pursuit of shiny new tools.

    Quote from andybot

    I think the Enscape video editor is instructive in this regard when discussing functionality. It's one thing to add a tool where none exists (SketchUp is, shall we say, rudimentary in its video generating ability) but in terms of modeling, I would only look to add functionality where none exists (natively.) However, there is a long way to go to make it comparable to more robust video editing, and so we're depending on Enscape to add the proper tools to expand what we can do. (like GUI keyframes that can be edited visually, hint hint.)


    For example, random scattering is not native to SketchUp, but placing and rotating most certainly is. The placement of Enscape lights is a good illustration of what happens when Enscape tries to replace native functionality. placing an area light is incredibly fiddly and frustrating. I do not want something like that for placing assets. Even just adding a "glue to surface" option for things like cars would be a great way to build on existing functionality, not try to replace it. Please, developers, think carefully before adding some new workflow and how it relates to existing functionality. I don't feel like that care has always been exercised in pursuit of shiny new tools.

    +1

    Quote from Tearch

    Its not my company so I don't get to as you put it "reevaluate your priorities". That's a pretty terrible thing to tell someone when you have zero idea what their financial situation is, especially with what the world has been going through lately. I am given one floating license to work with one other person at my firm. The purpose of a floating license is meant to allow users to go in and out of the software as they please and only use the license when they need to hit the render button. Enscape for no reason is restricting the ability for any other user to set up their renderings unless a license is available. That has now deemed a floating license useless but yet more expensive. That makes zero sense as to why they would implement this.

    Tearch - just curious: where did you get the Idea about the "only use the license when they need to hit the render button"? With every software I have used to date a license slot is needed when accessing the software in the first place. You're not just paying to render, you're paying to use the software in the first place, use assets and incorporate all this (or even fractions of it) into your workflow. Even if Escape at one point didn't enforce that rule doesn't mean they aren't in their full right to change that at a moment's notice.


    Tell your boss to stop being a cheapskate. ;)

    MatthiasL You might be able to pull that comment off in Germany, but here in America you get fired for saying things like that.


    If you own a floating license of V-ray and Maxwell (last time I used Maxwell was a few years ago so that might have changed) even if the license is taken you could still open the settings window to change the material and overall settings . The only one I'm aware of that does not follow this trend is Lumion because everything is done within the Lumion window. The only reason I give Lumion a pass for pulling this move is because I can import models from multiple file types into it to make one comprehensive rendering model. For some reason Enscape is trying to copy Lumion by slowly moving everything from the 3d modeling window into their own rendering window without giving us the ability to directly import other models into a stand alone program. As long as Enscape is a plugin and not its own program the direction things are moving is not good. The way they had it pre-3.2 worked just fine. I have my own opinions as to why this is happening. I'm not going to say them, but I will say I don't think this is the right move.

    Quote from Joachim Hirsch

    The users in the forum are not the only Enscape users that we are talking to. Counting the total users here, they are representing less than 10% of our monthly unique users of the software. And not all of them are very active.

    We are listening to and evaluating every single feature request that we receive from you guys. And rest assured that we highly appreciate them. That is why a lot of my colleagues are also active in this forum (Demian, Hana, Adrian, Clemens, Alex, etc.) and why we constantly provide features that you were asking for (Batch Panorama, Panorama Gallery, Material Library, updating uploads, Views for ArchiCAD, etc.). But the same is true for all the other users that we are talking to.

    You can be sure that we are not planning to implement features that nobody is asking for.

    Hi Joachim,
    Great feedback and response. Just curious as to how your team collects information from the other 90+% of users? I've been using Enscape now daily for the past couple of years. Even switched from using best in the industry VRay. I don't see many surveys or questionnaires come through my inbox. I've had a conversation with an Enscape team member many months ago but just curious so that I can be sure to help provide solid feedback that is most relevant to the success of this product.
    Cheers!

    I wanted to tag onto that: although it's logical to also gather feedback in other ways, I don't think that that comparing the number of forum users VS the total number of users is very useful. Some users are representing all the users in their office. For example: we have around 60 designers, but I'm the one who gathers the feedback and communicate our position on it. There are others here who are representing offices with hundreds of users.


    Edit: this does definitely not mean I think you guys are ignoring the feedback on the forum. In fact I think you're fairly responsive. Just that I think this forum might be more representative for the 'average user' than it might appear when just looking at user numbers.

    Quote from jtubb

    Hi Joachim,
    Great feedback and response. Just curious as to how your team collects information from the other 90+% of users? I've been using Enscape now daily for the past couple of years. Even switched from using best in the industry VRay. I don't see many surveys or questionnaires come through my inbox. I've had a conversation with an Enscape team member many months ago but just curious so that I can be sure to help provide solid feedback that is most relevant to the success of this product.
    Cheers!

    Totally agree, this sounds a lot like many software companies i deal with "we are listening to our customers, this forum is not the only method of gathering feedback" then total silence when asked "how" are you gathering this feedback !!!!!!


    I remember when Enscape had a trello board and it was great to be able to view upcoming developments,make suggestions etc. I have been saying for the last few years now that they should reinstate it or something similar, the current up-vote system is flawed in so many ways.

    Quote from Tearch

    You might be able to pull that comment off in Germany, but here in America you get fired for saying things like that.

    What comment? Don't get hung up on the "cheapskate" bit, the essence is still the same - an obviously insuffiencient amount of licenses is stalling your productive output. Any boss worth their salt would (have to) react to that. I totally get why you're sorta upset about the changes in the licensing policy on a personal level, unfortunately there's not really much you can do about that though..

    Hi again!


    Awesome discussion, thank you for that.

    Usually, I don't tend to share insights from internal processes. But I remember that you have been interested in our ways to collect feedback the last time we talked about it. So let me roughly show you how we gather our impressions (in no specific order). Beware! The wall of text:


    Trello Board (discontinued)

    The Trello Board was a very good tool as long as the company and the number of requests was small. With our current internal tool we are managing more than 500 individual feature requests. That would be quite the complicated in Trello to be honest.

    Still, the old Trello Board exists and we are constantly delivering the requests that are listed on it. Just to show you some:

    Of course there are still items left (like animations, SLI graphic cards, 360° Videos, measurement tools, etc.). But we tracked all of them in our internal tool as well and we keep evaluating them.


    Exhibitions

    When starting at Enscape I immediately got the benefit from talking to users while working with the software. You see how they are working and understand the 'why' behind it even better compared to a textual description what you would like to see. Thanks to Corona we did not attend at a lot of exhibitions the last years. And it is also quite the difference if you are talking online or offline. But I am optimistic that we will soon come back to normal in this regard.


    Forum

    As already discussed, you are a very important source of information. And we definitely know that everyone of you is representing their company.

    You are also the most responsive group of users, which makes it easier for us to find out the reasoning behind your requests rather than 'just' always doing what is requested.

    When the need arises, we also get in touch with some of you directly. Either some of our developers (for the more technical discussions) or someone from product management or ux.


    Customer Service

    I don't even know the exact numbers but there are hundreds of tickets coming into our Customer Service constantly. And many of them are not bug reports but feature requests or descriptions of specific workflows. These information are always forwarded to Product Management. And in case we want to learn more, we also get in touch with those users.


    Big Customers & Resellers

    As we are already in contact with some of our big customers and resellers in other positions within the company, having conversations with them about the biggest pain points is just a small step.


    Potential Customers

    One side of the medal is supporting the users that we already have and providing improvements for them. But the other side is understanding why other potential customers are not switching to Enscape. That is why we are also talking to CAD users that are not using Enscape (or not even one of our competitors to be more precise).


    CAD Vendors

    To understand better how the CADs are used, a more holistic overview of the usage can provide quite the insights, that single users are not able to see. Our contacts at the offices of the CAD vendors have access to usage statistics and their own customer service. This is just another perspective that we can add for our overview.


    Social Media

    Similar to the requests coming into our customer service, some colleagues are maintaining and monitoring everything that is going on in the different social media platforms. This includes YouTube as well as Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIN, etc.

    Of course are we generating content here. But we are also discussing feedback that we receive. Most of the time we don't even know whether this is coming from a user or not. But if there is a need for clarification, we try to get in touch with them.


    Market Trends

    We are not just looking at the current state and how to improve them. We are also observing and discussing market trends in the architecture world with internals as well as with externals to think a step ahead and maybe even being able to act a step ahead. Right now we know that we are late/behind with some topics where we should be further at the moment. We are trying to catch up here but we also want to prevent that this will happen in future as well.


    Strategical

    With a growing company it is a common thing that you need to set a strategical direction at some point. And some features that we are planning to implement are serving that direction. But they are always requested.


    I hope that clarifies a bit what we are doing all day long and how we evaluate the priority of the requests from a demand perspective (complexity for development is another story).


    Outlook

    There are two things we are currently working on that I would like to share with you.


    We are working on a concept to work very closely together with a very small amount of users (not companies). The participants would be able to influence (not dictate) the roadmap and the UX of planned features. We would get a better understanding of the needs and reasoning.

    The plan is to start end September / early October with the selection process and then get the whole thing rolling at the end of the year.

    As soon as we start, we will have a separate thread here in the forum.


    Additionally, we are reevaluating a replacement for the Trello Board.

    As mentioned above, the old concept required more and more maintenance and provided less and less value for us. That is why we decided to stop it, take a break and have another look at it after a while.

    With the more objective view that we have, now, we collected pros and cons. The next weeks we will have some discussions about that topic and how we could address it so that every side can benefit from it.

    Dear Forum community,


    Here are the Release Notes for Enscape version 3.1 - Service Pack Update 2


    There are several options to upgrade:

    • Click here to go to our release download page directly
    • Click the update link in the in-program notification
    • Open the "About" window and click the Download Area link
    • Trial users will receive an email containing a link to the download page


    For detailed questions and issues, feel free to write us at support@enscape3d.com or use this thread to provide your valued feedback.


    What’s included:


    New:

    • Vectorworks 2022 RC1
      Support for the most recent Vectorworks release has been added.
    • Vectorworks 2022 - Removed Workaround Preventing Asset Placement in Edit Mode
      Removed Workaround for Vectorworks 2022 which prevented the placement of Enscape Assets while in Edit Mode.
      This previously led to crashes. 2021 still contains the workaround.

    Bugfixes:

    • Vectorworks - Heliodons Stay in Sync After Multiple Changes
      Previously, Heliodons would differ between Vectorworks and Enscape after multiple changes to the time of day in Vectorworks.

    Joachim Hirsch If anything the Trello board allowed the forum users to easily see which feature requests have already been requested on here. There are some feature requests with four or five forum posts, because lets be honest people don't search for the feature request before starting a new forum thread. I know Demian Gutberlet tries his best to converge them when possible, but I also know from a forum users standpoints its impossible to keep track of which feature requests have the most weight behind them and which one has the most in-depth conversation (because the most recent isn't always the best forum thread justifying a feature). Thank you though for the explanation. I still hope the Trello board, in some capacity, is added back in.


    MatthiasL I'm not hung up on any kind of comment and I also don't necessarily disagree with said comment. At the same time, it is not always appropriate to make those kinds of demands, especially when I am not the one overseeing firm funds. In essence, that comment is very easy to say on a forum, much harder to implement in real life.