Artifice, Inc.

Why Upgrade Your DesignWorkshop?

If you are working with DesignWorkshop now, it probably makes sense to be using the most up-to-date version that you can afford. DesignWorkshop is one power design tool that really pays for itself.

Artifice maintains very affordable upgrade pricing policies so you can almost always afford to be using the latest and greatest.

Depending what version of DesignWorkshop you have now, there are a variety of specific reasons to consider an upgrade today. Here are some them:

DesignWorkshop Family Feature Comparison - which version is right for you?

If you are currently using DesignWorkshop Lite older than version 1.8.1 :

What reason could you really need to upgrade?

Your upgrade to DesignWorkshop Lite 1.8.1 is free over the Internet!

But if you do need a reason to upgrade your DesignWorkshop Lite, keep in mind that DesignWorkshop 1.7 and 1.8 are much, much faster than the 1.5 or 1.6 versions.

If you are using DesignWorkshop Lite on CD-ROM, keep in mind that in addition to the new application software version, the 1.8.1 Lite CD includes updated documentation, sample models, textures and example images, all adding up to the best DW Lite experience ever.

If you are now using DesignWorkshop Lite version 1.8.1:

Congratulations -- you are fully up-to-date with your Lite version. But . . . does the Lite version fully meet your spatial modeling and rendering needs?

Consider some of the additional benefits you will get when you upgrade to DesignWorkshop Classic or Professional:

Expanded model size, so you can do big projects and the finest details
Extensive 3D object libraries with literally hundreds of useful pre-built objects
With DW Pro, LightWorks rendering plug-ins are included for one-click presentation-quality rendering of Lights & Textures with anti-aliasing, transparency, shadows, and more
With DW Pro, High-resolution texture library for architecture, interiors, landscaping, etc.
Third party helper applications included, for expanded graphics translation and more polished presentations

If you like DesignWorkshop, you can probably see the value of each of these advantages in itself. Putting them altogether, we think you will agree that DesignWorkshop is one tool that will literally pay for itself -- usually on the first project!

When you decide you're ready for the big stuff, just call us at 800-203-TECH, or use our fast online order form anytime. Most upgrades orders are shipped the day they are received.

If you are using DesignWorkshop Professional older than version 1.5 :

Boy do we have a treat for you! DesignWorkshop has come a long, long way since our first version for Power Macintosh.

In its day, DesignWorkshop 1.2 was literally one of the first 20 commercial applications world-wide to ship for the brand-new Power Macintosh platform. And with a rocketing 6X-10X speed increase over the previous DesignWorkshop, DW 1.2 was the version that saw our dream of live 3D immersion modeling really start coming into its own.

But we didn't stop there, and over time the improvements in software compliers, in the Mac OS itself, and in the engineering processes at Artifice, plus several person-years of good-old hard work at the keyboards, gradually added up to a new generation of DesignWorkshop.

The very dramatic outward manifestation of the new generation of DesignWorkshop was the addition in 1.5 of built-in automatic scaled texture-mapping, and the real-time Lights & Textures rendering capability to bring your designs strikingly to life, all in one straightforward, comprehensible application.

The addition of Lights & Textures rendering marked the change from DesignWorkshop as "just" a modeling application, to DesignWorkshop Professional as a complete one-stop environment for spatial modeling, live walkthrough, and presentation-quality rendering.

But equally important to the new generation of DesignWorkshop is the new foundation that was built up behind the scenes. DesignWorkshop 1.5 was built with a heavy-duty internal framework (called "exception handling" among the propeller-heads) so that when things get tough for the software, it can respond gradually and gracefully, and with multiple layers of protection to safe-guard your data. These sophisticated internal mechanisms for professional reliability that were introduced with DesignWorkshop 1.5 are built into all subsequent versions.

If you are using DesignWorkshop version 1.5:

There's no reason at all to stop at DesignWorkshop 1.5, because, dear DW 1.5 owners, we have a treat for you, too! Everyone, repeat, everyone, who is a legitimately registered owner of DesignWorkshop 1.5 is automatically qualified for a free CD-ROM upgrade to DesignWorkshop Professional 1.8. All you have to do is ask for it, and cover the modest shipping and handling fee ($7.00 standard U.S.).

But if you do need a reason to upgrade your DesignWorkshop, check out what you will get with DesignWorkshop Professional:

Fully dual-platform for Power Macintosh and Windows 95/NT.
Simply the fastest Macintosh real-time 3D rendering available, so you can make the best presentation with the least effort (2-3 times or more faster than DesignWorkshop 1.5!)
LightWorks rendering plug-ins included, for one-click presentation-quality rendering of Lights & Textures with anti-aliasing, transparency, shadows, and more
A great new Walk tool, for easy and realistic live 3D architectural walkthroughs
Updated and stress-tested 2D and 3D translation modules to connect your work with anyone -- for Object PICT, Pixel PICT, PowerCADD, DXF Drawings, DXF Models, 3DMF native Save, Open and Merge.
A new 350MB CD-ROM, with zippy jewel-case graphics, packed with useful DesignWorkshop software and accessories, including updated object and texture libraries, fully up-to-date online documentation, expanded online tutorials.
Extensively localized versions: Metric native for users in Canada, Europe, and much of the rest of the world, and Japanese/Metric for kanji system users.
Together with all the fundamental technical improvements inherent in the new generation of DesignWorkshop with QuickDraw 3D.

And consider the next section, too...

If you are currently using DesignWorkshop Professional 1.8:

Most excellent! You are fully up-to-date with the fastest, easiest spatial modeling and rendering tool available. Your future upgrades are free from here up through the much-anticipated DesignWorkshop 2.0.

Ain't life grand? But we have a bit more in store for you, even now.

If you are a registered owner of DesignWorkshop Professional, please contact Artifice Technical Support for the special access codes to enter the Confidential Owners Area of the Artifice web site.

Then take a little trip inside the special owners area, where you'll find the latest updates and accessories, some of which are too hot to even announce to the general public.

Do you think we're all wet? Are we missing the big picture? Or maybe the little one? Please let us know what you think, by sending us e-mail at artifice@artifice.com.

http://www.artifice.com/why_upgrade.html