Risa2d or Risa3d 3

[JStructsteel]

What would be your preference for analysis programs, Risa2d or Risa3d?

 

[driftLimiter]

Risa3d. Risa2d they stopped really updating the UI and such. They still update code level changes but Risa3d has many more features to offer.

 

[JoshPlumSE]

I didn't even realize Nemetschek was still selling RISA-2D.

From what I understood, their management viewed it as a "cannibal" program. Meaning that it ate away at the sales / profits that RISA-3D would otherwise have made.

Back in the day (20 or 30 years ago), when RISA was run by it's founder (Bruce Bates), RISA-2D was a great "introductory" program for people who were new to structural programs. It was a great way to get people into using the RISA interface. And, the view was that they would eventually upgrade to RISA-3D. But, I don't think it's viewed that way anymore.

 

[JStructsteel]

Do you folks find its worth it to model multi story wood buildings, shear walls, etc?

 

[dold]

Do you folks find its worth it to model multi story wood buildings, shear walls, etc?

RISA Floor is best for this. Floor does gravity analysis then you can "send" (it links it automatically) that gravity model to RISA 3D where you can perform lateral analysis. Works great if you get it set up properly. But that means you'll have to buy both licenses. Otherwise you *could* model the whole building in R3D but it's much more time consuming.

 

[driftLimiter]

I've never had much luck with the full 3d model for vertical and analysis. Its been a while since I've given the RisaFloor/Risa3D workflow a shot though.

 

[JAE]

Hey JoshPlumSE!
Remember these types of screens?

 

[Eng16080]

Do you folks find its worth it to model multi story wood buildings, shear walls, etc?

In my experience, usually not. I usually avoid modeling the entire building and just model portions of it that are more complicated where I want a double check. As powerful as a lot of this software is, it's also very easy to make a mistake in the model. Especially for wood, it seems a lot easier to break the building down into individual components as opposed to modeling the whole thing.

I suspect this also comes down to the individual. There are probably people out there who can quickly create a correct model of a complicated building in RISA 3D (or whatever software) and then quickly extract that information into a format that can be directly used for plans. Despite being (I think) a fairly advanced software user, I'll admit that I haven't yet been able to make this type of workflow work efficiently for me.

 

[JoshPlumSE]

JAE -

That's from the DOS version RISA-2D, right?! I don't think I ever used it. I started out with RISA-3D version 2.1 or 2.0. Right before and right after they added plate elements. Something like spring of 1996.

 

[JAE]

Yes DOS!

 

[JoshPlumSE]

At one point, I had a list of all RISA releases going back to version 1.0 of RISA-2D. It had release dates and major features. Wish I still had it. The current website doesn't acknowledge anything before RISA-3D v 14.

 

[JStructsteel]

I remember in 90's RISA let students use it for free. Those graphics seem familiar.

 

[JAE]

I think RISA 2D in around 1988 maybe was $250 for a permanent license.

 

[JStructsteel]

I wish you could buy a license, instead of this subscription bullshit.

 

[Eng16080]

My hat's off for the developers who originally created that user interface in DOS! Very impressive.

 

[271828]

wish you could buy a license, instead of this subscription bullshit.

That is one of my favorites things about SAP2000.

 

[SE2607]

That is one of my favorites things about SAP2000.

I didn't realize that. That's pretty cool.

What about updates / code changes, etc?

 

[JStructsteel]

I went with RISA3d for this "subscription cycle"

 

[XR250]

I'm still using a 1990 2D program daily on my Mac. No subscription fees here!

 

[271828]

I didn't realize that. That's pretty cool.

What about updates / code changes, etc?

To get those, one must pay a maintenance fee. It's about $1000/year. That's a bit of a drag, but at least it's optional.

I've been using SAP2000 since 2005. Other than updated code checks, the program hasn't changed very much. Thus, one could go without the updates.

I've been paying the fee over the years. I'm considering ditching the fee until the next AISC Specification is programmed into SAP2000 probably around 2030 and then buying it again. I'm not completely sure how that works. Like I said, at least there are options!