Punch! Home Design Architectural Series 3000 [LB]

PROS:
Great 3-D walk-through. Fairly descent selection of colors, materials, indoor, and outdoor furniture and landscape design elements. Fun to use if you don't need any custom items that are not in their library. I liked the ability to design more then just the floor plan, such as lighting, deck, plumbing, etc.

CONS:
3D tools seemed to be difficult for the average user. My expectations were not set high, as this is supposed to be a consumer-based product, thus it should be fairly easy to use with direction from the manual. However it lost me! It was several days getting the hang of using it and I still couldn't get basic items designed properly. For example, I needed to create an L-shaped island with sink for the kitchen. It just was not an easy thing to do. Because they did not have such things in their library, I was forced to use the 3D tools (designing from scratch). When creating the object dimensions, it is not easy placing the shape in it's proper location, and it was difficult to get the elevations correct as well. Try putting one of their sinks in your own 3D designed countertop, it just doesn't work well at all! It was truly more work then it should have taken for such a common task. Same thing when applying materials such as wood choices to furniture (albeit furniture was not real important for me) it took much more work then what should be considered a basic task (too many pieces to color within one furniture element). The roof never got quite finished either. I could not get the walls to fit within the dimensions of the roof (or visa-versa) on a 2nd story. I tried so hard, but not being an architect or engineer, I would say that this task requires you to really know what you are doing. It was not discussed well in the manual either. So, was it me, or was it the software with the limitations, I really couldn't tell you.

Needless to say, I got a bit frustrated, and hopefully without sounding like a know-it-all, frustration just doesn't happen to me very often when it comes to design programs. Don't get me wrong, I had those days back when I was learning to use design software, but using a consumer-based program such as this should have been simple for someone with my design background. I don't believe though, that it had to do with being easy or difficult, as much as it had to do with the limitations of the program in my circumstance. But for the newbie, I believe it would be considered a difficult program to use.

MY ADVICE:
If you really need something that covers a lot of ground, but doesn't require a complex design, or complex elements, then this should be fine. However if you don't have the patience or time, and you want to add more custom features to your project, I believe this program is overpriced for your needs, as it will prove to be more work then you bargained for. In fact, although I'm sure they put a lot of money into developing this program, I think it is overpriced for the average consumer trying to design their new home or remodel.