Vectorworks Inc. has announced Vectorworks 2020 SP3, the third service pack update for the latest version of their flagship software line. SP3 delivers exciting new features in addition to quality and performance updates.
Vectorworks 2020 SP3
This latest service pack introduces new third-party software integrations including most importantly, Enscape in addition to NBS Chorus.
Enscape comes to Vectorworks 2020 in SP3.
“Our release of the Vectorworks 2020 Service Pack 3 is the perfect example of our focus and drive to improve software quality and performance and to further enable Vectorworks to be a design hub for many workflows,” said Steve Johnson, vice president of product development at Vectorworks. “By continuing to develop connections to the latest technologies and partner solutions, we’re delivering a design ecosystem that is helping designers around the world to ideate, discover and realize their design visions.”
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“We’ve heard our Vectorworks Spotlight customers loud and clear—they want improved performance speeds and quality fixes above all else,” said Darick DeHart, vice president of product management for Vectorworks. “We’ve addressed several priority areas in Spotlight and are happy to share these improvements in Service Pack 3. In testing of Service Pack 3, we’re confident in sharing that Vectorworks Spotlight users will notice file opening and Schematic view creation/manipulation are up to two times faster and that duplicating lighting devices for large projects can be five to 10 times faster.”
Improvements to Spotlight and Vision
Vectorworks 2020 SP3 improves GDTF workflows by enabling GDTF files to be directly imported into Vectorworks Spotlight. They can also be applied to any Vectorworks lighting device and managed from the Resource Manager. These lighting devices can then be sent to any previz or console that supports GDTF, including Vision which will now recognize GDTF files when using the MVR Import.
Other benefits to Vision around GDTF include the integration of the new standard for GDTF fixture builder and more.
New Enscape Support
In keeping with Vectorworks’ dedication to integrating new technology that brings direct benefit to customers, they have teamed up with Enscape, providers of real-time rendering and Virtual Reality (VR) solutions.
Enscape goes beyond other real-time rendering applications by developing plugins that work directly inside Vectorworks, so users can accurately gauge the impact of their design decisions as they are being made. Enscape is providing a free beta plugin to all Windows users in the Vectorworks 2020 Service Pack 3.
The plugin provides a suite of Enscape rendering tools inside Vectorworks which can control the visualization in Enscape. As geometry, lighting, textures or views are changed or added in Vectorworks, users will see these real-time changes in Enscape. For easy virtual reality, the Enable/Disable VR Headset tool connects Vectorworks models directly to a VR headset like Oculus Rift S or HTC Vive with little to no setup.
“Traditionally, high-quality rendering can be difficult and time-consuming, reserved for specialists and relegated to design reviews and presentations,” said Mortiz Luck, CEO, and co-founder of Enscape. “With Enscape, models can be rendered with one click and design changes are immediately reflected — there’s no uploading to the cloud, importing files or syncing models. Enscape is the perfect companion to the designer’s workflow. Users can have Vectorworks open on one monitor and Enscape open on a second to see the impact of their design changes as they happen.”
Watch this video to see the Enscape feature in action.
New NBS Chorus Support
Data and information are what make a BIM model useful throughout the project lifecycle. The NBS Chorus integration enables users to access and dynamically link their models to the NBS online specification database, keeping the model as the central source of project information. Users will be able to open a web palette in Vectorworks, letting them work concurrently with their model and NBS Chorus. Any data modified in NBS Chorus via the web palette will update in the data record of the model, ensuring accurate and up-to-date specification information is accessible at all times from the model.
The NBS Chorus integration is another step in creating a holistic BIM environment within Vectorworks.
NBS Chorus integration will be available to users of Vectorworks Design Series products with an active Vectorworks Service Select membership.
New BCF Support
The BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) is widely used for quality checking, clash detection, coordination and issue tracking in BIM workflows. Vectorworks Architect, Landmark and Spotlight 2020, through Service Pack 3, will support BCF 2.1, the latest and most optimized version of the format. BCF 2.1 gives Vectorworks users extended capabilities in issue tracking and adds new information for spaces and openings. The BCF Manager tool has also been updated to reflect the changes needed to support BCF 2.1, making a more streamlined BCF workflow.
Machine Learning Features
Creating compelling renderings for presentations can be time-consuming and may not be possible due to deadlines or other constraints (like unfamiliarity with Renderworks settings). The Vectorworks Cloud Services web portal will now have the ability to transfer a “style” of one image to another through machine learning. This means that rendering styles can be derived from an image and applied to a simple Vectorworks rendering—all via the cloud—making artistic rendering presentations more accessible and customizable.
This Service Pack is available as a downloadable updater for all U.S. English-based versions of Vectorworks 2020, including Vectorworks Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Designer, Fundamentals, Braceworks, ConnectCAD and Vision. To install, click here or select “Check for Updates” from the Vectorworks menu (Mac) or Help menu (Windows). To find out more about this release, read the tech bulletin. Contact tech@vectorworks.net with any technical questions.
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