kevinolsen

I align then manually unfortunately, but it's not that big of a deal. AO pass is super fast so do it high enough resolution to make aligning it easier. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Vector export + ambient occlusion pass merged in Ps. This works for me. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Qnap is good but I don't have any experience with it. Check out the Small Network Builder forum, great advice over there Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Hello Stefano, Have you purchased this yet? Maybe you should check out the synology and there SHR (synology hybrid raid). It seems like a good fit for many and might be a good option for you.

Alex has a great site that you may like. His style is more Photoshop oriented than accurate rendering. https://visualizingarchitecture.com/tutorials/ Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

You're correct, all of that stuff is very different looking but the operations are similar. I think major interface and performance strides were made by Ali since 2.8 and it's light years ahead now. His tutorials are much better now and there are a few things out there. I'd say if you have some time go for it, otherwise, maybe the ghosttown plugin or iToo Railclone would be better if you're doing simple parametric stuff in 3dsmax. Otherwise your only other option is to pursue it via Adaptive Components in Revit, or generate your geometry in Rhino using Grasshopper since there's infinite resources on Grasshopper out in the world.

Yeah I've used it a bit but back in version 2.8/3.0. I think he's on 4.0 or so now so it's a bit more advanced. I found it very helpful and I would recommend it. Only caveat is there's not a lot of resources to learn from. The para 3d community is small so having resources to learn from is the only problem with it. Take a look at Kory Bieg from OTA+, his videos are helpful. Also Digitales Entwerfen on youtube is good but a lot of videos are german only. Good luck! https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kory+bieg+3ds+max&page=2 https://www.youtube.com/user/DigitalesEntwerfen

Hansel, I would also be interested in trying out this maxscript in my Revit to Max workflow! Thank You!

Don't let it be a barrier to getting started but the sooner you learn, the better. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Either sketchup+autoCAD LT or Rhino+VisualARQ. VisualARQ will help get you some Revit type functionality (auto generated drawings being the most valuable) and Rhino will offer the most freedom to 3D model professional quality surfaces for a variety of outputs and workflows. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

The E3 and E5 platform Intel Xeons support single socket configuration on LGA 1155, LGA 2011 and LGA 1150 platforms. It's not necessarily worth the cost for rendering but the option is out there.

Search coworking space, that's the hot term in the states right now.

I picked up a Dell u2412 for around $280 on Amazon in July, coming from a fwp2005 and a 2007, the 2412 was a nice upgrade. The u2413 would be my top choice if I could do it again but I do really recommend the u2412 overall for architecture related work.

Good point and I agree, but I'm becoming a fan of Para3D for 3DSMax, making Rhino less useful. The new release of Para3D is super slick and easier to pickup than grasshopper IMHO, has a long way to go overall, but it is moving along. Sent from my HTC using Tapatalk 2

If you plan on connecting it to a external monitor all the time then why get a laptop if you have a fast desktop? I keep my desktop in studio at my school, keeps work and my life as separate as I can. Anyways, the Razer is nice but much more expensive than the refurb rMBP. The cooling is an issue and the screen is borderline pathetic for the class its intended for. Can't get around the cooling needed for a high wattage GPU, that's probably why the rMBP has a 650m and not a higher grade GPU.