Revit 2017 is a... thing?

Every year Autodesk shits out another version of Revit - and Revitards everywhere lap it up.  As I've said, with the compilation of all disciplines into one 'Uber Revit', specific disciplines like Electrical get pushed further and further into the background.  Reading the list of 'enhanced features' for 2017 is one of the saddest fucking things ever.

From some cocksucking dildo posting on: https://revit.news/2016/04/whats-new-in-revit-2017/
an almost cut & paste of the advertisement from Autodesks website, with a few pathetic attempts at shoring up another fucktastic release (that everyone now has to switch to, or they won't be able to open anyone else's files.

Plenty of buzzwords with little to no substance:

'enhancements will help drive more efficient processes within an extended, multi-discipline building information modeling workflow'

Jesus Fucking Christ dude - just go balls deep on the Autodesk cock why don't you?

'Fasten your seatbelt - Revit 2017 is the fastest and best performing release yet'.

More like fasten your face to the Revit cock.


"More operations running with multi-threaded capabilities improve overall software performance by as much as 20%."

Holy fuck - 20%?!?!?! That's a... number.

"With multiple improvements and user-requested updates that simply help make features easier to use, Revit 2017 further contributes to user productivity."

I'm not even sure if the person who wrote those words has ever used Revit.

"Revit expert, author and trainer Paul Aubin experienced this running Revit 2017 for more than six days straight commented. “At the end of the week I realized, wow I never had to restart, and I fully suspect it would have kept running”

Mr. Aubin is impressed with the fact that he never had to restart... that's... just fucking hilarious at this point.

"Get more into-and out of-a Revit model"

Just... wow.

"Revit 2017 gives users tools to create models that even more accurately and completely represent what will ultimately be built, connecting design and fabrication workflows"

Okay - they are really getting on my nerves by basically repeating the same goddamned thing over and over with slightly different wording.  And nobody is using your fucking model to fabricate shit, so get your head out of your ass.

"Embed design intent in a model by using Global Parameters to drive dimension and element instance parameters."

'Global Parameters' is one of the only actual 'new features' I've seen touted - but damned if I can tell what the fuck it's actually supposed to DO.  

Mr. Aubin elaborates "The potential for global parameters is huge,” adds Aubin. “You can start creating design relationships between objects that aren’t even next to one another. They could be in totally different areas of the building, but you’ve got a global point of control.”

Well, that cleared that up...

 "With Revit 2017 designers can include the higher level of detail needed for downstream fabrication and building, modelling projects of any size and complexity."

Again with the 'downstream fabrication'.  Nobody that has actually worked in this industry for more than five minutes harbors any delusions that someone is going to hang their hat on a model that a first year intern shat out in Revit.  Every single fabricator in existence develops their own drawings (typically in ACAD).

 "Mechanical detailers can automate the fabrication model layout and convert design level of detail model elements to fabrication level of detail elements."

Did you get that?  It's almost like word soup.

"Structural engineers can improve the definition of design intent, or the level of detail for reinforcement modelling and documentation, to better connect steel design to detailing workflows."

Fascinating.

From another Revit Dick-Socket's site: http://redstack.com.au/support/blog_posts/whats-new-in-autodesk-revit-2017

A feature called 'depth cueing' (because god knows there weren't enough settings for depth/visibility in Revit already).  One buzzword (or buzzphrase) they keep using is "making your visuals 'pop'", which is what I'd like to do to the head of the person who first came up with that.

"'Text improvements'  - a top ten wishlist item since version 1.0"

That's no shit - although I'm willing to bet that the 'improvements' still don't address most of the major issues with the shitty text editor.

"Improved railing hosts"

(Facepalm)

"Global parameters bring the power of parametric families into the project environment to better capture design intent."

 Oh, we're back to this kind of shit again are we?

"Use global parameters to drive the value of a dimension or a constraint, associate to an element instance property to drive its value, or report the value of a dimension, so the value can be used in the equations of other global parameters. For example, a standard corridor width requirement can be associated with any dimension we use between corridor walls."

Not just back to it, doubling down on it...

"Rendering"

This at least goes back to what the real reasoning behind modeling everything out is - giving your customer something they can look at.  Just like back when we used to... do renderings.  Walkthroughs are great too - you can 'ooh and ahh' your customer with a fully 3d representation of the building that they can't afford, won't have designed on time, and will end up having to radically alter to fit budgets/schedules.

"Reference Planes"

One of the most useful features in Revit - making it possible to put shit where you need to put it (the other guy that I used to work with used to damn near just coat any building he was designing with reference planes to prevent having to have anything be hosted on the building itself.

They acknowledge that anyone using Revit (not me thank god) might start to run into problems with the feature that allows reference planes to come into the model from families due to the inconsistent nature of various content developers (product manufacturers, etc.).

The list goes on and on - but fucked if any of it has any real meaning to the average Revit user who is just trying to get their project done.  I can't find it now, but one of the 2-3 electrical 'enhancements' (they aren't even bothering to claim they are adding new features anymore) had to do with being able to group electrical circuits the way they actually get grouped (i.e. 1,3,5 or 2,4,6) which should have been that way from day one.

It's just another sad release, crumbs tossed to the morons who love Revit, and more lies and empty promises to the ones who continue to struggle to do their fucking jobs while the Autodesk bootheel grinds down harder and harder on their necks.

Fuck Revit 2017.

Fuck Autodesk, Fuck Revitards, and if you don't like it - FUCK YOU.

Skullfuck Out.

(Next time - Branching Out)

Reviting Is The Soul Of Shit

Oh glorious day - not a Revit in sight.

Then I get this file for a government project - which, of course, requires everyone else to get their Revit on (but not me, because fuck Revit, that's why).  My firm had already designed and installed a fairly elaborate system on the second floor, and they wanted to do the same thing on the first floor.

Oh wait, I'm sorry - did I say the 'same thing'?  As usual, 'the same thing' was radically different, and the guy heading up the project has since sent me four different iterations (let's put all the equipment on this wall in one place, no wait, let's put all the equipment on the far wall, and distribute it, let's divide it up like this, let's divide it up like that).

No problem of course, because I can flip it, smack it, and send it on it's way - plus we are trying to get in on the front end so that our equipment takes precedence and everyone else has to work around it - and instead of plopping it into a Revit file where someone will promptly ignore it, the client actually has a (highly qualified) guy responsible for coordinating the different disciplines.

I was able to infer quite a bit of how the structure of the building worked from the old second floor project, but I went ahead and requested a structural plan - and found one column line was different (which was a mistake on the part of whoever did it the first time, as they had mistaken a grid line on the sheet for a column line).

That was a minor issue that nobody caught the first time, and nobody likely would have caught this time - I might've not caught it either, but then I received someone's sketch of proposed air handling unit locations - and while inserting them into my drawing noticed the discrepancy (along with noticing that some of the second floor columns in their model were offset - derp).

The beams going across were my biggest concern - as some are deeper than others.  Fortunately (for now) I will only have to go underneath one of them (instead of all of them - which is what would have happened if the HVAC reviteer had been allowed to lay out their equipment first).  Between sprinkler/water/air piping, ductwork, lights, and structure - even a high ceiling starts to fill up quickly.

Looking at .pdfs of their model (which is, thank god, the only way I have to be exposed to their model) they already have some return duct that is starting to threaten to impinge on my space, but I'm already forcing them to move some air handlers, so I may be willing to work around it.  It appears to be up against the deeper beams, but it also gets bigger and bigger as it makes its way back.

There was also a sad smattering of lights - some of which appeared to have attached themselves to one of the (doubtlessly massively bloated family) data racks and rotated to the angle of whatever the hell it attached to.  Whoever put it in was probably cussing as they attempted to insert it repeatedly, only to have nothing appear to happen (since the racks were most likely below their view range).

I can picture the conversation when someone finally notices it:

Revit Junkie: 'Why do you have lights attached to the data racks?  Did you mean to do that?' 

Electrical Designer: 'FUCK YOUR GODDAMNED FUCKING BULLSHIT MOTHERFUCKER'

Revit Junkie: 'Hehe - yeah, Revit can be a pain sometimes - you just have to learn how to do things its way!'

Electrical Designer: 'FUCK DOING THINGS REVIT'S WAY - AND FUCK YOU FOR WILLINGLY BENDING THE FUCK OVER AND ACCEPTING IT!!!'

And the same goes for everyone out there still willingly bending over and accepting it - Fuck you, fuck Autodesk, and FUCK REVIT.

-S.F.

Next time: a (necessarily) brief review of the electrical 'improvements' in Revit 2017.