why wouldn't i use chief for neighborhood design?

[sutcac]

As long as you don't plan on using the houses you put in the file for CD's then simplifying a lot of the items, like having single layer walls, and very simple windows, doors, no roof gutters, etc., etc. (keeping the face count down wherever you can) then convert to symbol, can help keep the file size manageable

Even after 15 years of using Chief I feel like I am just now starting to get comfortable with the terrain modeling and editing. For a long time I found some of the terrain behaviors baffling, but it was more my lack of knowledge with the tools.

Keep an eye on how detailed your terrain is by lowering triangle count and get familiar with terrain breaks and how they work. That one thing has helped me a lot.

[johnnyprc]

Good suggestions Bryce.

What I will do is create some "concept" homes like you said and have a library of those I can place in the plat design file for presentations on the neighborhood design.

So far I am really impressed with what can be done in this regard - and how easy it is to adjust roads and sidewalks. Yet another suggestion for Chief would be to develop this area of the software to appeal to civil guys - since CA is almost there now. For my concept work its great.

If I bring the homes in like you said, could I then get foundation concepts for each site??

Also, is there a way to lock a terrain (existing), and then modify what I want the topo to be, and somehow get a cut/fill estimate?...or at least show those existing/proposed conditions in a clear way?

[sutcac]

Don't see why you couldn't build the foundation of your concept home before converting to a symbol. But, if you are on a significant slope, I suppose that would be changing as you designed the neighborhood. So, you might want to have just the concept home, then replace with one later that represents a foundation conducive to the terrain. I don't know, haven't done neighborhood planning much.

No way to lock the terrain that I know of. What I would do is generate your terrain as existing, display just the contours, then View to CAD and block/lock that on its own layer. You could even make it part of the reference layer. That way you can keep comparing existing to new as you modify the terrain and then display them for the condocs (existing straight lines, new contours dashed, etc.)

Cut/fill estimates would have to be done the old fashioned way I think, but it sure does seem like an area where the computer ought to be doing that work for you. Just not there yet.

[marty]

To show existing/proposed terrains I have modelled the site, saved as a new plan and applied the changes then created a 3D object and made it a glass/ semi-transparent material. This object can then be placed into the original model. You can make the existing glass/ transparent or the new depending on what works best.

[johnnyprc]

Good idea... I was already thinking of some glass for materials to show the sewer and storm systems deep in the soil. That would look good for existing and proposed grades. I am completing my first neighborhood concept now.

[johnnyprc]

I am missing something??? Does Chief not support driveway aprons for parallel side-walked streets? Just about every subdivision I work on contains that condition at some point. Also, there are standards now with ADA etc on sidewalk/intersections which Chief doesn't look like they support. Odd. Chief needs to update this condition to what is currently being used as standard.

[dshall]

I am missing something??? Does Chief not support driveway aprons for parallel side-walked streets? Just about every subdivision I work on contains that condition at some point. Also, there are standards now with ADA etc on sidewalk/intersections which Chief doesn't look like they support. Odd. Chief needs to update this condition to what is currently being used as standard.

I did a video on this somewhere. I am also sure CA did a video on it.

[johnnyprc]

I searched the videos on CA, and didn't find anything particular to what I needed. I found a nifty video you did (3) part, but it was mostly to do with sidewalks and differences between roads and driveways. What I am really looking for is the apron aspect of the driveways and sidewalks. Perhaps you did do a video I didn't find in my search.

[dshall]

I searched the videos on CA, and didn't find anything particular to what I needed. I found a nifty video you did (3) part, but it was mostly to do with sidewalks and differences between roads and driveways. What I am really looking for is the apron aspect of the driveways and sidewalks. Perhaps you did do a video I didn't find in my search.

Aprons are very limited, a radius, no flare, define your own radius, I have never figured out how to do the flare.... I am assuming that is what you are asking about.

If I did not answer the question very clearly, then it is because I did not understand the question.

[dshall]

I can't believe I can't do a flare. I wonder if I used the radius, and then selected the radius, locked the chord and change the radius to a very large number, I wonder if it would give the the STRAIGHT FLARE.

[johnnyprc]

I can't believe I can't do a flare. I wonder if I used the radius, and then selected the radius, locked the chord and change the radius to a very large number, I wonder if it would give the the STRAIGHT FLARE.

Interesting - right? 90% of the aprons we have here have the flare.

[dshall]

Interesting - right? 90% of the aprons we have here have the flare.

I think it is 100% out here. Yea, interesting.

[johnnyprc]

Only in rural areas here is the flare not required, but most those streets don't have curbs anyways.

Chief should fix this ASAP - this is not correct. Some plans I do require a new apron, and the City won't approve any other design.

[lbuttery]

Chief should fix this ASAP

Johnny:

you should report this to CA's support so they can add it to the request database

CA doesn't do ASAP

since X6 is probably closed for requests it would have to be a bug that is easily corrected
to appear in X6

it might make it into X7 or X8 - then again maybe not
there are lots of things in Chief that have been needing fixing for a long time

it's all a matter of priorities - set by CA

Lew

[johnnyprc]

How do you "report to CA's support"? I've never done that.