After playing with Civil3D a bit and attending a presentation by Autodesk
showing the new software, a couple of things are evident about the new
release. The software will be incredibly powerful on the front end -
conceptual planning can be done with a high degree of efficiency, and makes
it easy to give layouts to our clients. Threre has been a big discussion
about the lifecycle of data from Autodesk, and I can't agree more, that the
longer the data can be maintained and used without reconstructing or
recaluculating it, the more valuable it is. The unfortunate problem with
Civil3d as it seems to be developing is that the UI (user interface) is very
high level - it tries to make it simple enough for a drafter with little
experience able to do a lot of design by not digging into the details, which
would require a lot more parametric design, such as CAICE and the sort.
However, when projects near construction, there are always numerous details
that exist regardless, and it means that the entire model must be exploded
and torn apart so that the details can be added since the software doesn't
provide the flexibility.
I understand there is a tradeoff of UI flexibility and how easy it appears
the program is to use, but Autodesk needs to consider the change in the
office environment as Engineers in the next generation are moving to doing
design on paper to design on computer. Most of my peers are drafting 80
percent of their work. If a lower level UI means carrying a model to
construction (or production) without losing the data and passing the full
model to the contractor as part of the bid package, then it's well worth
doubling the price of the current software package.
Maybe Civil3d should consider breaking up into modules for different aspects
of design, such as road design, utility design, site design, and the sort
that could be purchased separately to recoup more costs and provide more
comprehensive UI's for different projects. It just seems most of my peers,
the engineers about to hit the thirties that have grown with CAD are looking
for this project. We're there, but there's nobody in the market to supply
the need.