Google Sketchup Updates/Questions/Tips - Page 13

Krases · #**241** Posted **May 27, 2009, 9:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by treras93

So every time i open Bourville like 2 seconds after the file opens, SU crashes. If you know why this is or how to solve it please tell me, because i desperately don't want to have to quit another city. Especially one i actually like.

I have a similar problem. I think when models reach a certain complexity they can't be opened anymore without major problems.

Although my model was a giant steampunk airship dock. Can't work on it anymore though because it crashes five seconds into working on it. Its really annoying.

fordgtman1992 · #**242** Posted **May 28, 2009, 12:49 AM**

I am having trouble with SU2KT...

I pasted it in the Plugins folder, but it isnt showing on Sketchup

treras93 · #**243** Posted **May 28, 2009, 1:32 AM**

Do you have a mac or PC?

fordgtman1992 · #**244** Posted **May 28, 2009, 2:09 AM**

Vista

sad face · #**245** Posted **Jun 10, 2009, 5:48 PM**

i need help getting a glass that reflects. How and where do I get it?

Austin55 · #**246** Posted **Jun 11, 2009, 10:32 PM**

Step One-Ill do this later. basiclly research and dont do soething to hard.
For this tutorial I will be using WilliamT's 7373 Westjet. And I will be recreating Southwest Airlines's New Mexico One.

First Explode the body of the plane. The erase all pre-existing logos and colors. The easiest way to do this is from the materials menu, there are only three colors you should need to delete from the original westjet. I recomend then purging the model and saving it as a blank template.

The next thing I do is draw a square down the middle of the plane and use the intersect tool to split it in half. his will make it easier to work with some things, but you have to remember that text will be fli-floped, like looking in a mirror, so this step may not be neccecisary. If you can find the exact middle of the plane there should be a intersection at the tip of the tail you can use.

I will edit this post as I go

Dac150 · #**247** Posted **Jun 25, 2009, 4:16 PM**

Well I was working on the first floor of an office building when all of a sudden it happened (as I knew it would), everything became slow beyond belief. I don't know if I need a new laptop or what, but I'm tired of wanting to make something and then after a little detail the lagging kicks in.

So with that do you guys have any advice? I've seen some very deteailed projects here and cannot fathom that lagging hasn't been an issue. Does everyone get it or is it just me? And if not, what do you do to prevent it?

toyota74 · #**248** Posted **Jun 25, 2009, 5:42 PM**

i have the same problem with my laptop...im just
gonna get a pc...so im lookin for a hp 8 to 12gb ,1gb graphics card
and a intel dual quad processer....these specs were recommended to me
costing 1400euros(2000ish dollars)

a real good laptop here would cost bout 3000 euros

you should think pc a lot of people here seem to have laptops
that aint good for 3d modelling

anyone more info on needed specs please comment

Dac150 · #**249** Posted **Jun 25, 2009, 5:50 PM**

A PC isn't really realistic for me right now, as I am a college student and am always on the move. With that the laptop I currently have is a Dell Inspiron 9300, which went for about $2500 a few years ago. So maybe I'm due for a new one (?) I don't know.

Either way if anyone has anymore advice on how to fight lagging, I'm all ears.

treras93 · #**250** Posted **Jun 25, 2009, 5:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dac150

Well I was working on the first floor of an office building when all of a sudden it happened (as I knew it would), everything became slow beyond belief. I don't know if I need a new laptop or what, but I'm tired of wanting to make something and then after a little detail the lagging kicks in.

So with that do you guys have any advice? I've seen some very deteailed projects here and cannot fathom that lagging hasn't been an issue. Does everyone get it or is it just me? And if not, what do you do to prevent it?

Okay, well no matter what, you'll be dealing with lag at some point. But to put this off you should:

1: Put everything in layers i.e. all furniture in one layer, all windows in another, all floor plates in a third, Etc. Then hide them when they're not being used. This will also make it easier to navigate through your model too.

2: Make absolutely everything a component. Then if the model still lags after layers you can just hide and unhide everything.

3: delete everything thats not visible from outside of the model if you make intersections, go between the planes and delete everything not visible.

4: lastly, if you're only going to display the model here don't model everything to such a high level of detail.

thats what i do and my stuff still runs pretty smooth.

Dac150 · #**251** Posted **Jun 25, 2009, 6:01 PM**

Thanks treras, I'll look into that. I do plan on showing the building here eventually, but with those tips I should be able to fight off some of the lag.

Aleks · #**252** Posted **Jun 27, 2009, 6:14 AM**

Hmm.. about the components, don't overdo them. If you make a building with repetitive windows and you make 1, 2 or 3 windows a single component then copy them like a million times your computer will LAAGGGG! I designed a building that basically used the same window over and over and over again. When I copied them and made one floor it was fine. But when I copied that floor like 14 times my computer went the slowest I've ever seen it. Even slower than my Port Pacific Model, which is an entire city!

Components are good yes, just don't overdo them either. Or else your computer will still lag.

treras93 · #**253** Posted **Jun 27, 2009, 6:21 AM**

Actually what i do that works, at least for me, is i make every group of components in to one whole component. That works for me.

Jasonhouse · #**254** Posted **Jul 2, 2009, 3:50 AM**

So what add-ons should I get if I'm wanting to present designs for the SSP comps, but am not overly concerned with it being 'awesome'. I get lots of ideas for those comps and occasionally want to participate, but I'm out of the s/u loop these days, and don't really want to spend too much time getting into it. My PC isn't going to render awesome stuff anyways. (just dual core2.2, 2GB ram, 512mb graphics card)

Aleks · #**255** Posted **Jul 2, 2009, 5:28 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasonhouse

So what add-ons should I get if I'm wanting to present designs for the SSP comps, but am not overly concerned with it being 'awesome'. I get lots of ideas for those comps and occasionally want to participate, but I'm out of the s/u loop these days, and don't really want to spend too much time getting into it. My PC isn't going to render awesome stuff anyways. (just dual core2.2, 2GB ram, 512mb graphics card)

Umm.. well, I only have 1 plug-in. The kerkythea exporter one to render. You don't need many cool things for sketchup. They already come included, you just need to practice. And as long a your models show the basic concept they're good. Sometimes it's not about how well you model something, but how well you think about it.

Which is why I love architecture!

Duffstuff129 · #**256** Posted **Jul 7, 2009, 4:24 PM**

This is more of a Kerkythea question, but how would I go about putting lights (mostly ceiling lights) into my buildings so that from the outside it appears that there are lights on and people could be working in there such as in this photo?

http://image09.webshots.com/9/1/72/6...6dlBQZF_fs.jpg

Do I change the lights, the glass texture? I've tryed many differnt things but nothing seems to work...

Thanks in advance, everyone.

Vellu · #**257** Posted **Jul 7, 2009, 6:45 PM**

I can't see the picture you're referring to, but I guess the easiest way is to paint (in Sketchup) the areas where the lights are with a color you're not using for any other surface and then in Kerkythea to apply the Diffuse Light material from KT's Basic Pack to that specific color. If the light is too dim for your purpose, you can skip the "apply the Diffuse Light material" part and just set the material self luminant in KT's material editor (assign a color and adjust the Power or the Efficiency in the Self Luminance frame).

Duffstuff129 · #**258** Posted **Jul 8, 2009, 5:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vellu

I can't see the picture you're referring to, but I guess the easiest way is to paint (in Sketchup) the areas where the lights are with a color you're not using for any other surface and then in Kerkythea to apply the Diffuse Light material from KT's Basic Pack to that specific color. If the light is too dim for your purpose, you can skip the "apply the Diffuse Light material" part and just set the material self luminant in KT's material editor (assign a color and adjust the Power or the Efficiency in the Self Luminance frame).

Thanks, I tried it, it worked like you said it would, but I did not get the desired results.

However, through experimentation, I found that by placing very powerful pointlights on sticks, I got the desired effect, and it seemed much more natural, like there could actually be people turning lights on in there naturally, rather than having specific panels light up.

Thanks very much though!

sketchup_fan · #**259** Posted **Jul 15, 2009, 1:43 PM**

Yeah

Dac150 · #**260** Posted **Jul 21, 2009, 8:27 PM**

So I just started on a new office tower that I’ve been meaning to work on over the summer and whenever I get some free time. Right now I have the footprint all mapped out as well as the skeleton for the lobby and the inner lobby columns completed. My next step is creating a core for the ‘office tower’ portion of the building. Just a couple of questions:

1. What is the standard area (ft x ft) for an office tower elevator?
2. What is the standard area (ft x ft) for an office tower stairwell?
3. How many elevators does a modern day office tower typically have?

I know some of these answers can really range across the board, but if you guys have any generic estimates I’d appreciate it.

Usually what happens is I make too many elevators that are bigger in area than they need to be, which results in large core (which means less office space).