Rating: 
Summary: Bart is right... this software is pure crap
Review: I don't need to repeat all that has been said... just this... DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS SOFTWARE.Oh yeh... that one positive review? A shill for PUNCH...ignore it.
Rating:
Summary: DO NOT BUY!
Review: I just recently purchased this software and was completely NOT satisfied! This is a very basic program that simply is overpriced. The box looks nice...and it appears that you just purchased something professional...but please believe when I say this is FAR from the truth. They claim to have all these so called wizards, that basically let you change the size of an existing object and a material from a very small list of materials and that's it! For instance I wanted to see how my kitchen would look...well I jumped into the cabinet wizard to find I had only two door styles to choose from...and much worse I could not add molding, millwork, or handles. Sure, if I want to spend hours creating these things in their cumbersome and ackward 3D workshop, then I can add them. This is just ONE of many examples. I tried to email my concerns, but four days later I got a reply that they believed their product was high-end software. I wanted my money back but they refused and said I should have spent more time researching their product...how is that for customer service? They went on to say this product does not need a guarantee or even a demo version for you to try out...even though they offer a 90 day money back guarantee with all their other products. Save your money or spend a little more and purchase Better Homes and Gardens Home Designer Pro 6...it is far superior in every aspect. AS3000 may claim to have all these features...but let me tell you they all are very basic and limited. This is NOT a professional program...it is a professional scam and waste of your hard earned money! DO NOT BUY!
Rating:
Summary: Lies, Lies, Lies!
Review: If someone can figure out how to reproduce the screenshots they show on the box, they are better than me, and I am pretty competent with this kind of software. This thing is worth about $15 on a good day. I will definitely take my business elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Wish I'd Read The Reviews First!
Review: Like a fool I purchased this software based on the cool pictures on the box and the long list of features. Unfortunately, the pictures turn out to be not actual screenshots, and the features are, as Bart pointed out, little more than limited templates. A couple cases in point -- there is apparently NO WAY to create dormers, although they're featured prominently on the cover. The palette of textures is nowhere near as extensive or impressive as those shown on the cover. The lighting effects displayed on the box are not possible with the basic software. To me this is deceptive advertising! The MOST ANNOYING feature is the 3D fly-through. You have two choices: buzz around in dizzying circles like a drunken bee, unable to stop or slow down. Or zoom into the geographic center of your drawing, always ending up one inch off the floor. After hours and hours of tedious construction and experimentation, I never did figure out how to view the second floor interior.... In short what you get is about $15 worth of cartoonish rendering, and a really cool $100 box. My advice would be to AVOID all the Punch products (of which there are about six variants of the same product).
Rating:
Summary: Wish I'd Read The Reviews First!
Review: Like a fool I purchased this software based on the cool pictures on the box and the long list of features. Unfortunately, the pictures turn out to be not actual screenshots, and the features are, as Bart pointed out, little more than limited templates. A couple cases in point -- there is apparently NO WAY to create dormers, although they're featured prominently on the cover. The palette of textures is nowhere near as extensive or impressive as those shown on the cover. The lighting effects displayed on the box are not possible with the basic software. To me this is deceptive advertising! The MOST ANNOYING feature is the 3D fly-through. You have two choices: buzz around in dizzying circles like a drunken bee, unable to stop or slow down. Or zoom into the geographic center of your drawing, always ending up one inch off the floor. After hours and hours of tedious construction and experimentation, I never did figure out how to view the second floor interior.... In short what you get is about $15 worth of cartoonish rendering, and a really cool $100 box. My advice would be to AVOID all the Punch products (of which there are about six variants of the same product).
Rating: 
Summary: The perfect solution
Review: Moving into a new house, I had so many projects to make it my own. This product made it all happen. It was easy to start and I had walls drawn and showing in 3D in a few minutes.
First, I drew the existing structure. The ability to draw the plan easily and see it in 3D every step of the way made it quite easy. And, I've tried all the competitors. The only product that lets you show the 3D view (with shadows from lights and sun) without grueling waiting and finger tapping is Punch.. its blazing fast.
Changing the plan was just as easy! You drag a wall and dimensions display showing you were you are. Move a window or door and you instantly see the results in the 3D view. When I wanted to knock down a dividing wall between the great room and kitchen, it was a couple of mouse clicks and poof, gone. This was huge in determining how open the plan would be and if this part of the remodeling was worth it.
When it comes time to landscape, this was way cool. You can customize your yard and its a blast. With a few mouse clicks you can add hills/berms to your yard, I even used the excavation tool and dug a hole for a swimming pool(now if I could just really have it :) The picket fence I added even conformed to the changed landscape. And.. then I added plants. Tons of plants and I even used their tool to select only plants in my area. Then.. to top it off..with a click of the mouse I could grow the entire landscape to see how it would look when the trees grew.
As for learning.. you'll love it. You can be drawing in minutes.. but if you need some help there are videos that walk you through how to use each tool. Very cool.
Rating:
Summary: Totally Useless
Review: This product uses none of the thousands of user friendly improvements now available -- few right-click menus, few keyboard shortcuts. With a 2.4 ghz machine the 3D viewing is uncontrollable! The existence of the totally intuitive useability of the inexpensive 2D program DeltaCad or the expensive Photoshop demonstrates that programs can be much more user-friendly than this ridiculus contraption.
Rating:
Summary: Totally Useless
Review: This product uses none of the thousands of user friendly improvements now available -- few right-click menus, few keyboard shortcuts. With a 2.4 ghz machine the 3D viewing is uncontrollable! The existence of the totally intuitive useability of the inexpensive 2D program DeltaCad or the expensive Photoshop demonstrates that programs can be much more user-friendly than this ridiculus contraption.
Rating:
Summary: This program is worth about $20 Take your money elsewhere
Review: This program is a waste of money. If you are seriously thinking about building a house and want some nice software I would recommend paying a bit more and going with the Better Homes and Gardens Pro software. On the front pages of the Punch software it shows nice looking floor plans, to generate these it would take you a VERY long time. All the examples they give you on the CD are terrible, nothing like whats shown on the cover pages. Too bad they don't have a return policy, they would have a lot of returns if they did.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT SOFTWARE!!!
Review: This software is nice! I've worked with a lot of home design software, and this one is definitely the easiest and most powerful I've seen. It has tabs that represent plan layers such as the main floor plan, roofing plan, electrical, plumbing, foundation, landscaping, deck, and hvac plans. These plan layers have their own plan-specific tools, and it allows you to print and view each plan layer independently or in combination with the other plan layers (nice feature). As you draw walls, etc. in 2D, they are automatically built in 3D. It allowed me to specify my wall heights and styles for gable walls, etc. It allows you to apply colors, materials, plants, and lighting fixtures, and the 3D rendering quality (which includes shadows) is some of the best I've seen... period. Definitely photorealistic! It has fast 3D helicopter and walk through viewing tools that animate the 3D viewing, which really put you in and around the home - this is fun! The software has professional-level power, and because of this, it requires some additional time (and patience) to discover all of its capabilities. For example, its auto-framing and estimation capability is located in a powertool list, which is easy to access when you discover it's there. Overall, this is fun, and surprisingly powerful software.
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