I have been tracking the progress of ORD and it looks promising, but I have a few questions.
We still use SS2 for the majority of our production work since it is very stable and we already know how to use it. This includes using Corridor Modeler and Roadway Designer (no longer using criteria files). We do, however, use SS4 for Survey and Terrain work. I just find that it is cumbersome to have to export everything back to the legacy products to finish producing plans. I have managed to use SS4 for roadway modeling on a test basis to recreate a design that I was doing concurrently in SS2. It seems like I still needed to revert back to SS2-era tools for final plan production.
I'm wondering if, when we upgrade, we should just bypass SS3/SS4 and jump right into ORD. My thought was to let the other ORD users find out what its limitations are before we jump into full plan production work with it. I also understand that Survey hasn't been incorporated into ORD yet, so I don't understand how we would begin a new project in ORD. I also would like to see a clear path for upgrading all of our current standards so they are usable in ORD at least to some extent. I'm not sure if I want to start from scratch.
What are the pros/cons of using SS2 vs. SS3/4 vs. ORD? I'm hoping someone who has been through an upgrade can shed some light on this.
Long story short... Where do we go from here? Keep using SS2 for now? Spend time upgrading to SS4? Or wait until ORD is a complete package, from Survey to Design to Plan Production to Construction?
Thank you,Josh Mauritz
My short version ... Stay on SS2 ... skip SS3/4 ... start testing ORD and move to it when it's complete.
I began this thread three years ago and am still at the same crossroads: Still using PowerGEOPAK SS2 with a little SS4/10. I realize that ORD is further along now, and it may finally make sense to upgrade. I'm jjust a little intimidated by the behind-the-scenes workspace/workflow changes and the time will take to make that happen.
We are still using PowerGEOPAK ss2 for roadway/utility plan modeling, drainage, and plan production, while using PowerGEOPAK ss4/10 for Survey and Terrain Modeling, which get imported back to SS2.
With SELECT licensing ending for SS2 I am considering either upgrading completely to PowerGEOPAK SS4/10 or ORD. Or I may just convert our licenses to machine-locked to avoid any "down time".
I really just don't know where to start. I have looked through some of the LEARN material, but would like some advice on whether or not it pays to take the intermediate step to a full-SS4/10 workflow or dive right in to ORD. I know with SS4/10 there still needs to be some backwards exporting in order to use some of the other downstream features related to plan production, Drainage, etc.
What I like about SS2 is that is is extremely stable, and our workflows are very well-developed. With survey/design work happening year-round I have been reluctant to upgrade due to the time commitment necessary to migrate workspaces, etc. and train staff. We are a small office, and I end up being the "CAD Administrator" but with little time to do that part of it.
Are there any detailed migration steps or a list of what things need to me moved/copied/rewritten completely, etc.?
Any help is appreciated.
Thank you,Josh M
Your company WILL have to bite the bullet and upgrade software at some point. As will mine...
My preference would be to just jump to ORD. We will have to maintain SS4/10 to keep working our older projects out of the pipeline, but I don't want to bother with the SS4 end of things at all. With Geopak, It has been relatively simple to use in SS2 "mode", bypassing the "OpenRoads" technology for the most part so that we can continue to get the work done. The OR tech in SS4, in my opinion, is an half-baked hybrid and in many ways more trouble than what I've seen in ORD or SS2. Fortunately, the SS2 tools are all still there and essentially functional.
We will be updating to SS10 to keep that older technology around, but our goal is to move to ORD when we make the jump. Better to make a clean jump to a stable platform, no matter how foreign, instead of trying to spend much time in the unstable middle, where people could get frustrated and disillusioned with the parts that don't work well.
Yes, there IS a lot of work "backstage" but more and more DOTs have developed and disseminated their own ORD standards. That can save time developing from the ground up, and may provide a framework you can adjust instead of construct from nothing.
MaryB
Power GeoPak 08.11.09.918Power InRoads 08.11.09.918OpenRoads Designer 2021 R2
Mary:
Indeed, the pain is real, especially if one has to translate- as we did- a very comprehensive 37MB xin file (we moved directly from SS2 to ORD), but it is all worth it all. The annotation groups will certainly take the greatest amount of time, especially when one gets to Subsurface Utilities annotations. However, we do like the results we are seeing. The ability for changes to take place once within a corridor and then to have related objects automatically update throughout the design is quite interesting to see. Not only is ORD becoming a solid design platform, but the promise of true CIM (construction information modeling) is at hand. Given a couple more years, I can readily perceive true value not only for us but additionally for our clients.
Yeah, bite the bullet...
Mark