Avoid Chocofur at all costs -- RIPOFF
Like another reviewer, I paid almost $200 for an archvis course available for FREE on YouTube on Chocofur's YouTube channel. I contacted support regarding a number of issues, including asset issues, and was given a very rude brushoff.
Chocofur had repeatedly sent me emails asking for feedback, and when I responded with detailed information, they just said, "We won't be able to respond to the entire length of it, unfortunately. Just to address one of your concerns, as a PRO subs." No idea what that means, other than dismissing my entire email with the feedback they had asked for.
The course on YouTube has some good info, but there are many others (iMeshh, CGBoost, etc.) with better info and don't trick you into paying several hundred dollars to get it. Worse, some parts of the course were impossible to replicate what the instructor was doing (especially camera matching), and despite many viewer comments/complaints, nothing was done to address these issues or clarify.
Okay, so the course I paid to get "exclusive access" to was a ripoff -- but at least I have the assets, right? Well...sort of. The assets are a HUGE mess and hardly usable. None of the objects are named (cube0100, cube1047, cube2397, etc.) and most are extremely low poly (hasn't Chocofur heard of a subdivision surface modifier??) and simply will not work in a photorealistic archvis scene. Many look like they belong in a SIMS video game.
Even the asset folder setup is a joke: it's so badly "organized" it cannot be used with any other asset browser including Blender 3.0's. I have spent the last week reorganizing, renaming, and straightening up the assets I want to keep, just to make them usable. And I'm far from done. (At this point I'm even wondering if it's worth the time and effort to save them.)
The Chocofur websites (they have many) are also a disaster. It's difficult to find your way back to where you were, or where you saw something, and it's impossible to know whether you've downloaded that particular asset or not. Just visit the site(s) and you'll see what I mean.
Originally I was so excited to have found someone with "ten years of experience in the [archvis] industry," and to be able to leave behind the "hobbyists and Blender enthusiasts" for a real professional. Instead I learned that Chocofur is the LEAST professional of all the countless Blender YouTube videos and courses, both free and paid, that I've ever taken part in.
What makes it so much worse is their awful "customer service," which amounts to being kicked to the curb. Their emails are all full of sugary fluff, like:
"[name], you're one of the Chocofur users that trusted me with your money. I would like to know what do you think about the Chocofur PRO Subscription? Do you enjoy using it? Did it help you in becoming better at Blender?
Your feedback will truly help me in making the Chocofur products better!"
From their clipped response, clearly they have ZERO interest in actually getting feedback from any of their customers or in "making the Chocofur products better." It's all smoke and mirrors.
I never heard back from them after that dismissive email, and in fact got an email stating:
" Message blocked
Your message to [xxx]@chocofur.com has been blocked. See technical details below for more information. "
I am so done with Chocofur. I hope this review helps others avoid being ripped off like I was.