PartyCAD 6 is the successor to PartyCAD ME. As you can see from the  picture at the left, Version 6 incorporates major changes to the Virtual Reality module, and introduces more lifelike people. But that’s only the beginning.   Below is a summary what’s new in the 2003 edition of the package, features that make PartyCAD 6 the best PartyCAD ever.

Labels in Furnish

   In previous versions the only place that you could add text was in the    Layout Page module as you prepared your output pages to hand to clients. Sometimes it makes better sense to incorporate labels right into the party design as you create it in the Furnish module, and in PartyCAD 6 you can.

Mirror & Flip in Furnish

   Another nice new feature in Furnish is the ability to mirror or flip a group of pieces. This is a real timesaver when doing symmetric designs.

Flexible Group Selection

   If you do large seating arrangements, improvements to grouping in Furnish will allow you to quickly select any odd collection of pieces you want to work with and speed you on your way to a finished design.

Email Any Screen

   Picture Show is still the best means of preparing PartyCAD slide shows, and has been improved to include MIDI music and light/dark backgrounds. There are times though when speed is what is needed. Now you can email any screen in the program by simply clicking File/ Email. PartyCAD will set up an email with a picture attachment,  allow you to type a message, and then send the message via your normal email program. This is great for handling that person who need to see it right now.

 
Better People & Trees

   The people and trees that are used to spruce up designs have been improved. Now you can actually walk around people and they will not turn to face the camera. If you know how to create digital art you can even incorporate yourself or your client right into the scene.

Improved Virtual Reality

   The Virtual Reality module has been completely rewritten for this year. Now based on DirectX 8 technology, renderings are much more impressive, movement is much smoother, and it is now possible to select the time of day with the  click of a button. Pick from Sunny Day, Cloudy Day, Sunset and Night, or create your own. In addition, as illustrated in the picture above, lights light and candles flicker when it is Sunset or Night in the VR world.

Scanned Backgrounds

   If you have a floor plan supplied by a client, you can scan this and use it as a background in the Make Plan or Furnish modules. This speeds the creation of 3D floor plans, and also allows you to quickly create designs right on top of a plan supplied by a customer.

   You can even see these backgrounds in the Virtual Reality module, if you wish!

Better 3D Floor Plans

   The Make Plan module has been significantly improved. In addition to the already mentioned ability to use scanned backgrounds, the 3D floor plan models produced by the module are now much more realistic. Baseboards, window casings and doors are now modeled in 3D, and bitmap images can be applied to any part of the room, so carpets and wallpaper can be applied to better recreate a given venue.

New Furniture for 2003

   In addition to the new people and trees already mentioned, PartyCAD 6 includes a variety of new table combinations, over 20 lights that work, a couple of new Tentnology tents, parts to put together nice looking truss systems, and a pair of hot air balloons.    In addition, any furniture that you create for yourself is now shown on a Custom Pieces page in the Furniture Album.

New Videos

   Video instruction was introduced in PartyCAD a couple of years ago and is popular with many users of the package. This year all of the videos were completely redone to include nearly all of the features of the entire package. The videos are now organized in two ways. The Contents listing is organized by level of instruction and includes a 16 minute Quick Start section. The Index listing is an alphabetical list of topics covered by all of the videos—click on the index and that topic begins to play.

And That’s Not All

   In addition to all of the new stuff  already mentioned, PartyCAD 6 also includes:

   -A "fat leg" option in the Tent Wizard that makes it easy to see tent poles when you are designing very large tents.

   -The capacity to send multi-page faxes from within the Layout Page module.

   -A Samples project that contains many of the designs demonstrated in the Help Videos,

   -A year's worth of small fixes that make the package more stable than ever before.