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 One of the more stunning software suites landed on my desk the other day.
It's the Punch! Home Design Architectural Series 4000 and it certainly carried a punch!
Weighing in at 1450 grams (yes, nearly 3 pounds!) with three disks, a heavy manual and an amazing box that pictures the main features of Home Design, you can't do justice to it in a normal review. Be prepared to read also the next instalment...
At just a fraction under $300 Australian (I’ve seen it much cheaper and in the US street pricing is under USD100) this software suite represents great value for those people needing to design a new home, plan on renovating their old one or who want to landscape their gardens.
It so happens that I am planning to do all three!
So here are my first impressions of Home Design Architectural Series 4000.
As I mentioned before: the box is a stunner! Before you buy the software you can get a pretty good impression of the capabilities of Home Design by looking through several hardcover pages attached to the box. It is an array of features and design wizards the likes of which I have seldom seen in a suite of software. It seems daunting to even start learning to navigate your way around were it not for the fact that page after page you get assurances that complicated things can be done in mere seconds. We'll see about that.
Installation
Installing the three disks is straightforward but a bit more time consuming than if it were all on just one DVD. One can safely assume that people installing this kind of software with its fairly high demand on equipment levels would also have access to a DVD drive on their computer. I installed it first on my XP laptop with no problems whatsoever. I also want to install it on my Vista desktop but even though the software is clearly Vista compatible, I had trouble getting the Setup program to work.
Fortunately, I have an XP machine on my network and I could install it on Vista via the network.
I'm not quite sure what the problem here was but I've got it running and was anxious to muck around for a while before doing some serious work. On my 24 inch Dell with quite a bit of screen estate there are symbols and buttons on all four sides of the screen with tabs and shortcuts to all parts of the programme. Where to begin?
A hallmark of a good program is the ability to get to work quickly without needing to refer to the manual or tutorials. Years ago the Home Architect program from Broderbund was one of the first design programs on my computer. So I had a bit of an inkling of what to do. Well, the result of just 1 hour literally trying this and trying that is indeed amazing. However, half of the time was spent in trying to undo certain actions. For instance, I put on a certain type of roof and needed to change that so that it would attach to the main roof. The initial results are encouraging, particularly if we can see what is happening on the 3D view.
Retracing My steps
I mentioned the Broderbund package before. That’s ancient history but I did spent countless hours measuring up my current home so is there a way so easily incorporate that plan into AS4000?
Yes, there is! Scan it in and trace the dimensions. Fairly easy. Have a look at the picture below.
To do justice to a complicated program such as this requires working with it for many days if not weeks. We intend to do this and here are only first impressions. Our opinion may vary as we get more familiar with the program.
One of the main requirements in any complicated program is the ability to undo your actions quickly, easily and on many different levels. I found it difficult to undo step by step the results of my experimenting and mucking around.
There were also no clear instructions on deleting items.
Another, minor point, is the somewhat dated representation of symbols and icons. The program may be Vista compatible but the interface shows its age. Jazzing it up with a bit more eye candy would be nice.
There are some good tutorials and videos to help you to do certain tasks, including a fireplace wizard but on the complicated subject of roofing there was no clear video tutorial.
One of my main gripes would have to be that this is an excellent American program. So why would this be a negative? Because it does not fully cater for the Australian situations: our building materials are different, interior fittings, door panels and generally, the look and feel of our houses are totally different. For instance, I had a hard time just finding a plain door. There are plenty of fancy panelled doors in the database... The same thing with Colorbond corrugated iron for roofs or exterior walls.
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Initial Conclusion
It is no wonder that Punch! Software has garnered a slew of mainly American design awards in recent years. It is one of the most comprehensive packages available on the market today, perhaps not necessarily aimed at professionals in the home design field but mainly at people just like you and me who want to quickly be able to design and give form to their ideas.
If there was some serious input from Australian designers and architects I would give it top marks for the Aussie market as well. The AUD300 price tag is good value for money already!
We hope to bring you some progress on our plans in a future instalment.
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