ACA 2012 - worth the upgrade

[Oilymo]

Simple question: Is ACA 2012 worth the upgrade from 2009? We are currently running 2009 in our office and have decided against the constant upgrade of software followed by hardware etc.. for a stable platform. We are considering upgrading to Window 7 x64 and will move onto ACA 2012 but not just for features alone. Couple more questions; Is the software stable or have Adesk introduced a new feature at the expense of an existing one? Are the new features really worth it? I've seen the renovation mode in 2011 and the corner window in 2012 and they both fall short of working properly (IMHO). Thanks Ben

[jmcintyre]

IMHO no.

I should have done the same and stepped off the subscription round-about at 2009 as well. There are a few base acad features, but nothing really in ACA. Some improvements in wall cleanups, but it's all just fiddling around the edge. You can always download the 2012 version for the trial period and have a closer look at the 'upgrades' and decide for yourself. The ribbon menu is a pain, so I consider it a step backward.

[pendean]

From ACA2009, yes, especially if you want to leap into Win7 and 64bit. Format changes alone are leaving you behind, the core imprevements over the three versions since ACA2009 (in AutoCAD and in ACA) will keep you happy for another three versions when you are ready to upgrade again.

As noted above, test with the tiral but avoid editing project files: once a DWG file is saved in higher than ACA2009 it never goes back (hence the note about getting stuck behind if you work with other firms and are not an island).

[mtrevelino · Accepted solution]

Unless you are on subscription, I would wait until 2013 comes out.  2013 will provide a different file format, as AutoDesk does this every three years.  If you go with 2012 now, next year you will be behind in the latest file format.

Mike T.

[Oilymo]

Thanks for the responses. Is it me or are less and less people using this forum?  I expected greater feedback.

I've actually made a bold move and pulled us off of subscription for the time being. I love using ACA but the writing is on the wall so I'll sit tight for a bit and see what's available in a few years time.

Thanks again

Ben

[pendean]

Just an FYI on the reply you tagged "as a solution": if you are in ACA2009 now, there is NO WAY you are going to get ACA2013 at a discount price without subscription.

ACA2009 will only upgrade to ACA2012 (at half the full retail cost, since you dropped subscription), and that deadline expires 2+ weeks before you can buy ACA2013 (and since you only have ACA2009, that will be at full price, no discount).

Wish you asked further first: good luck.

[Oilymo]

Dean,

Sorry about that I meant to tag jmcintyre's post but I'm switching between IE9 and Safari in order to post on this forum and I clicked wrongly.  Is this changeable? 

I'm aware of the situation regarding the subscription and the upgrade costs and I have trial copy of ACA 2012 in my office.  I have thought long and hard about this before making any decision however it is blatantly obvious that ADesk wants us on Revit!  I have reviewed the 2012 features and I'd love to think a year was spent bug fixing etc. but we all know this is not true.

I may choose to put ACA 2011 on our machines however for the first time since 2003 we have a platform that is stable where crashes and fatal errors are almost never. After suffering horrendously with ADT 2007 we do not want to experience that again.  We sit with customers and design "live" with their input so you can imagine the "bad press" we were getting every time ACA fell over and that was at least three times a day.

I am and will always remain pro ADT/ACA as it has helped shape our business but maybe it's time to move on.....

Ben

[pendean]

I just wanted to make sure you were up to speed with the pricing scenarios Autodesk runs.

[ntellery]

Personally I wouldn't go to 11, it was awful to my experience tho each has a different experience.  12 seems faster and more efficient by far tho I'm not yet using it in production.  After 11 I'm a little gun shy!

You know I am using 09 and it's quite stable to me.  I would use corner windows alot so I'm attracted to 12 but yes shy of the new bugs introduced that I'll have to work around.