To renew Pointools or not?

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ddustin
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To renew Pointools or not?

Post by ddustin »

I have owned PT for some time and still like it but....
Bentley is now wanting me to renew my annual license for $1,000 USD and I am struggling to justify it.

The software is still only 32 bit and there have been no developments in over a year (that I know of).
I was told there were plans for a 64 bit version, but news out of Bentley is sparse (the only emails i get are regarding licensing issues and renewal).

My existing 64 bit version works with the dongle just fine..

Just curious what others think??

Thanks,
David
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Re: To renew Pointools or not?

Post by Oatfedgoat »

Isn't clash detection of point clouds and the animation of parts of point clouds a new feature?
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Re: To renew Pointools or not?

Post by David Zip »

The v8i enhancements over Pointools original flavor that attract the $1000 maintenance are niche uses - worth the annual expense if they are needed for client deliverables. The enhancements that come to mind are Differencing and Compare to model/Clash detection.
David, you might be able to get useful point cloud Differencing deliverables from CloudCompare. The v8i feature of fitting CAD models into a point clouds/ clash detect is also possible in CloudCompare if the CAD is imported as a mesh - I know Max is excellent with export formats. Have you experimented CloudCompare?
Of course Pointools v8i has animation features that few programs can match.
As a scanning community, it's worth crowd funding Daniel's continuing work on CloudCompare - it had quite a few enhancements through 2013.
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Re: To renew Pointools or not?

Post by ddustin »

Oatfedgoat wrote:Isn't clash detection of point clouds and the animation of parts of point clouds a new feature?
It was in the original V8i right?
I don't do clash detection.
My main uses are cleaning the cloud and recoloring (which still has bugs).
What advances has Bentley made to PT in the last year?
Surely not 64 bit as I was assured they were working on.

It is my opinion that withholding funds and renewals is the best motivation users can give to software companies.

Understand, I am not trying berate the fine folks who created and maintained Pointools...
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Re: To renew Pointools or not?

Post by blazaj »

Most things I used PT for I can do inside Scene 5 now. It is still lgreat pointcloud engine but since we dont work in Microstation I dont see much advantage in upgrading.

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Re: To renew Pointools or not?

Post by Ben fredericque »

Hi,
Let me step in with my Bentley colleague hat.

Pointools updates ?
I can understand your concern considering the fact we have not released a 64 bit version nor updated Bentley Pointools 32 yet. The reason is pretty simple: we have been focusing at improving the point cloud support in our MicroStation based products considering that Pointools already had a great maturity. If you are not familiar with MicroStation, AECOSim Building Designer, OpenPlant, InRoad or Bentley Descartes , I invite you to have a look at what we did , particularly with the 2 latest releases of Bentley Descartes… (SELECT Series 4 introduced several new tools like Clip and Section Manager and SELECT Series 5 new piping tools and clash detection with point clouds).. We have been working a lot also on MicroStation 64bit version..this includes point cloud handling.
To be clear there is clear vision and commitment from Bentley in leveraging point clouds and developing related capabilities.

The value of SELECT ?
Bentley SELECT value goes beyond accessing product updates, it includes also access to our tech support. And here by Tech support, I mean on-line help but also availability of priority builds in case of issue BLOCKING user production. Indeed, we do our best to avoid production blockers and when it happens we do perform surgical fixes on specific version provided to the concerned user until a refresh is made available. As an example, we addressed several issues this year related to interoperability. If those have not impacted in an update of Bentley POintools yet, PODCreator has already been updated and made available on our Servers.

Beside this, SELECT also gives you access to demo version of any Bentley product… Say you want to give a try at using Bentley Descartes inside AECOSim Building designer, or InRoad... as well as any tech preview..

I personally see lots of value in SELECT contract and hope these 2 cents helped.

Regards
Ben
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Re: To renew Pointools or not?

Post by ddustin »

Ben,
Thank you for the detailed explanation of Bentley's offerings..

Unfortunately, you did not address my concerns related to a lack of development in Pointools specifically.
Frankly speaking, all the other offerings from Bentley are not my concern as I don't use or own any others.. I own Pointools. Therefore it is of little consolation to hear Bentley is concentrating their efforts elsewhere.

Faraz Ravi and Dan Cutler are in my mind, examples of genius and dedication. It is disconcerting to me to hear their efforts appear to be dying a slow death (which confirms what the "rumor mill" is spewing).

Perhaps there is some internal document or reassurance you (or someone else from Bentley) can give the users to alleviate this belief?

Respectfully yours,
David
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Re: To renew Pointools or not?

Post by Andy H »

New features are only of benefit if the individual or company will use them. It's always worth looking out for new companies that have the flexibility and will to respond to the end users demanding and sometimes specific requirements.
There will always be the hassle of some training required but at least it will be on a toolset you are likely to use.
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Re: To renew Pointools or not?

Post by Phil Marsh »

I know both Faraz and Dan are avid readers of this forum so it would be great to hear their side of the issue.
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Re: To renew Pointools or not?

Post by ddustin »

Phil Marsh wrote:I know both Faraz and Dan are avid readers of this forum so it would be great to hear their side of the issue.
Agreed...
There are other software companies that are offering to pick up where Bentley has stalled.
David
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