Rating: 
Summary: great program but won't run on XP
Review: I love the 3D Home Architect 4.0 . I have purchased 2 Punch programs also, they are impossible to use. the 3D Home Architect 4.0 is simple and beautiful. the only problem I have run into is: I just purchaed a new computer with WindowsXP and the 3D Home Architect 4.0 will not install. I have heard that the upgrade to 3D Home Architect 4.0 is not good. any suggestions?
Rating: 
Summary: Best that I have used
Review: I purchased this program several months ago and have designed my new home. I found it very easy to use and make changes. It is limited in objects and textures but it does good with what it has. My house is one level. But I played around with a second level which is a bit harder. I did not master that part. The program shows all measurements, calculates sq ft, has great 3d views, and basicly prints a usable floor plan. I recently purchased the new Deluxe 5 Professional. It is like they started back at sq 1. stay away from it.
Rating: 
Summary: Very versatile and easy to modify
Review: I started using this product with v1 and quickly realized I wanted the full v3 which was also available. I then upgraded to v4 when it came out. I'm not sure what systems people have that claim it's full of bugs. I run a very old (win 95) and slow (150 MHz) system with only 48 MB of RAM. The only thing I find cumbersome is the 3D rendering, it's slow but it's never locked up. Since I find most of my planning involves the floorplan itself, this doesn't bother me.The feature that really sets v4 apart from v3 for me is the ability to customize kitchen cabinets - they can be open, shelves, drawers, doors and any combination. They don't really tell you how this feature works but I finally figured it out. Since I really focus on kitchen features, this ability to move beyond pre-fabs really impressed me. I also like the ability to design split stairs (stairs with 2 flights to the same landing and a third flight going on up to the next floor. Again, not well documented but you can do it. The only thing I dislike is the inability to totally control the shape of the landing - you really have to watch which flights you create first. Designing my dream home is a real hobby of mine. This program allows me to experiment with features I find in commercial plan books. I can put elements together like I want. It's then possible to copy a plan and change a couple of elements to see the effect. I give it a four because of the stair landing shape limitations and I've learned to add the basement after you're sure the exteriour walls are fixed.
Rating:
Summary: Best that I have used
Review: I would like to strongly recommend 3D Home Architect Deluxe 4.0, particularly over the newer version 3D Home Architect Deluxe 5.0 (Professional Version). 4.0 was easy and friendly to learn. However, 5.0, isn't going to be as easy for folks unfamiliar with CAD type programs. While 5.0 over 4.0 offers extensive advantages, the biggest failure is it's inability to open previous work. Projects created with versions 4.0 cannot be opened or retrieved into 5.0. Meaning, all work will be lost. If you are looking to upgrade and work on your existing projects, stick with version 4.0. If you are starting new projects, and are familiar with CAD or have the penchant for adapting to CAD type environments 5.0 is a great choice. For me, I very well may return the product in the next few days/week maximum. Add'l objects and libraries will be available later per tech support (for a fee ? ($)). As such, going to Punch's software where you can design your own objects may be a better choice.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Product, Easy To Use Compared to Version 5.0
Review: I would like to strongly recommend 3D Home Architect Deluxe 4.0, particularly over the newer version 3D Home Architect Deluxe 5.0 (Professional Version). 4.0 was easy and friendly to learn. However, 5.0, isn't going to be as easy for folks unfamiliar with CAD type programs. While 5.0 over 4.0 offers extensive advantages, the biggest failure is it's inability to open previous work. Projects created with versions 4.0 cannot be opened or retrieved into 5.0. Meaning, all work will be lost. If you are looking to upgrade and work on your existing projects, stick with version 4.0. If you are starting new projects, and are familiar with CAD or have the penchant for adapting to CAD type environments 5.0 is a great choice. For me, I very well may return the product in the next few days/week maximum. Add'l objects and libraries will be available later per tech support (for a fee ? ($)). As such, going to Punch's software where you can design your own objects may be a better choice.
Rating:
Summary: Very helpful for my application
Review: Reading over the other reviews was surprising for me because there are so many bad ones. I've installed the program on NT4, Win2KPro, and Win98. I've probably spent at least 50 hours actively using it and it never once crashed in either Win2KPro or Win98. The 3D engine crashes my NT4 box every time, but if you stay away from the 3D it works fine. It will depend upon your video driver more than anything else. The other problems people experienced seemed to have more to do with their expectations than the product itself. I sat down with a friend who has an architecture degree (but isn't yet a licensed architect) and lots of AutoCAD experience. We tried to develop a design in AutoCAD and, of course, made lots of progress, but I couldn't have done it myself. Even with him at the helm, the going was very slow. I bought this product to try to speed the process up and put it in my own control and it performed admirably. I think it would be very hard to design a highly detailed home with it, and there's no way it will replace an architect if you actually need the level of design an architect can provide. However, if you're designing a relatively simple home and you mostly want to work on floorplans, windows, and furniture placement, it's just the ticket. Very easy to use, maybe a little clunky here and there, but certainly functional. The 3D views are useful but nowhere near video game speed and quality. It's not going to be very useful if you're doing something more sophisticated. It's not very useful for interior design in terms of colors and textures. The roof capabilities are very limited. But none of this was very important to me. It does the other things very well.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to Use but Can't Customize Roofs
Review: This application is easy to use and you can make floor plans. However, since you are constrained to just a few, automatically generated roofs (based on your floor layout) it is not possible to design most real world houses (except the floor plans). It has a full featured 3D generator so you can do walk throughs, render a 3-D picture of your design from any side (or the inside), render elevations etc. It looks really cool. But again - the roof constraints make this less than useful for most real world designs - especially additions where you are usually making some sort of roof transition from the existing to new that requires features this program lacks. This program is a subset of Chief Architect, (which costs close to[$$] at this writing) which is IMO the best full-featured architectural drawing package out there. I would give this a 5 if it allowed you to specify independent roof planes. But it doesn't.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to Use but Can't Customize Roofs
Review: This application is easy to use and you can make floor plans. However, since you are constrained to just a few, automatically generated roofs (based on your floor layout) it is not possible to design most real world houses (except the floor plans). It has a full featured 3D generator so you can do walk throughs, render a 3-D picture of your design from any side (or the inside), render elevations etc. It looks really cool. But again - the roof constraints make this less than useful for most real world designs - especially additions where you are usually making some sort of roof transition from the existing to new that requires features this program lacks. This program is a subset of Chief Architect, (which costs close to[$$] at this writing) which is IMO the best full-featured architectural drawing package out there. I would give this a 5 if it allowed you to specify independent roof planes. But it doesn't.
Rating:
Summary: Great! Totally worth it!
Review: This is wonderful software! Its really worth it! My favorite part is that its SO easy to draw a floor plan. You can draw a model yourself, have the program make one for you, the way YOU like it, or choose an already existing floor model. There 1500 to choose from. The 3D imaging is really great! And it isnt that slow!! It might be a little slower on the older computers, but it works great on mine! I made a demo home in about 1 hour from getting it! Furniture, landscape, everything! I cant wait to wake up in the morning and start on my own house! I have found NO bugs so far, and if there are ANY, its very minor! Its really easy, fun, quick, AND proffesional to top it off! If this is your first time buying a program like this...BUY THIS ONE! Trust me! I am practically addicted! Have fun!
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