Customer Reviews

3D Home Architect Deluxe 5.0

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(61)

 

 

I found this alert on the manufacturers website:

Consumer Alert!
Attention 3D Home Architect 4.0 Users:
Buyer beware is the watchword when considering the purchase of 3D Home 5.0, the so-called "upgrade" to our (ART, Inc) award winning 3D Home 4.0 software. We are the developers of 3D Home Architect 4.0, but we did NOT produce 3D Home 5.0 and we are NOT responsible for its content or its missing features. 3D Home 5.0 IS NOT A TRUE UPGRADE TO 3D HOME ARCHITECT 4.0!

The Problems with 3D Home 5.0
3D Home 5.0 is now on the shelves BUT IT IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH 3D HOME 4.0! This means that any plans you worked on in 3D Home 4.0 become wasted effort. Not only that, but all the time you invested learning how to use 3D Home Architect 4.0 is lost. This "new" version of 3D Home 5.0, authored by another company has a totally different interface.

Chief Architect Home Edition 5.0: The True Upgrade!

DON'T PANIC! We feel your pain and have rushed to offer you a real solution to this problem. We are now offering Chief Architect Home Edition 5.0, which is based on our powerful, award winning professional grade Drafting & Design software. This is not only the best do-it-yourself home design software on the market today, BUT CHIEF ARCHITECT HOME EDITION 5.0 IS FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH 3D HOME 4.0! This means that you can use all of your 3D Home Architect 4.0 house plans in Chief Architect Home Edition 5.0! And, because you already know 3D Home Architect 4.0, you will feel right at home with the familiar interface of Chief Architect Home Edition 5.0.

I have been using 3D Home Architect 3.0 and the 3D Home Design Suite Deluxe SE 3.5 for over a year now. I bought (and returned) 3D Home Architect 5.0 thinking it was an upgrade. It is a totally new program with only the slightest similarity in layout. You cannot even open or import a home plan designed in a previous version.

You cannot lay out a room with even diminsions. I tried to space walls 8', 12' and 20' apart to no avail. The closest I could ever come to an exact foot was (x) feet and 11 7/64".

The default walls all have brick on one side which makes one annoying interior. You can switch to having an interior wall with moulding on either the left or right side of the wall but not both sides. You can no longer select a room, so you cannot decorate it and name it.

Forget about incorporating a pool into your design. There is no pool in the entire program. I searched the useless manual and help section. There is no pool. There is a fire hydrant.

One of the greatest things about 3D Home Architect was the great 3D shots. They should call this program 2D Home Architect 5.0 because the 3D views were too complicated to control that it was useless. If you hate pop-ups, don't try to use the 3D views. Everytime I tried to change a view angle another window opened.

I really cannot find one thing worth buying this.

When Broderbund, the distributor of the 3D home series moved to Version 5.0, they also switched authors of the software. This program is completely different than all previous versions AND incompatible. It is harder to use as well. Stick with 4.0, or better yet, upgrade to the home version of Chief Architect, which is the compatible upgrade to all previous 3D Home Architect products.

This version (done by a different developer) is counter intuitive, buggy and missing many of the most important features of the previous versions. STAY AWAY! I bought the "professional" version, spent many hours trying to learn how to use it and found it to be a complete waste of money. If you can find it in a store Version 4 is a great buy. Broderbund has made a huge mistake with this one.

Several years ago, my brother bought me 3D Home Architect version 1.x. It was a great little program and I used it to design all the floor plans of the house I'm living in now.

I bought 3D HAD 5.0 for a basement refininishing project, thinking it would be the same high quality program as it's predecesor. Boy was I wrong. First of all, 3D HAD 5.0 isn't even a new release of the older 3D HA releases. It's a completely new program written by some other outfit (not the one that wrote the original). In other words, it's a version 1.0 program, not a version 5 of the original 3D HA.

Within hours of using 3D HAD 5.0, the program started crashing on me. Initially I thought it was something I was doing wrong so I kept rebooting my computer and trying again. It eventually got to a point where it would crash no matter what I did.

This is the worst software I have ever come across. One thing is for sure...it never passed through QA because if it had, the product would never have made it out their door.

I returned the software to Bruderbund who refunded my purchase price in a timely manner. However, I never got back the tax I paid on it and I also lost out on the shipping.

I'm surprised that a company like Bruderbund would even put out a product like this one. But then again, this is the same company that installed a "spy" program on my computer without my knowledge several years ago when I bought and installed their Geneology program.

BTW, after uninstalling 3D HA 5.0, I installed the old 3D HA 1.x and it still works like a champ on my Windows 2000 Pro computer. It looks a little archaic (it was written for Windows 3.1 and 95) but it still runs great, never crashes and more importantly, I now have my basement floor plan for my project!

I purchaced 3D Home Architect De"junx" with visions of designing, remodeling, and adding on to my home and office. After a smooth installation (and lots of advertising) I decided to get aquainted with my new software. Since this was my first, and last, version of the software, I was not as dissapointed as those who had the previous versions. The real kicker was when I tried to view the 3D images, my computer would crash. My computer is an HP 523n with Windows XP and more than enough system requirements to meet the software specs. After many attempts to use the Broderbund support site, I decided to call Broderbund to fix my problem. Three uninstalls, a lengthy download of a Windows Update, two hours of searching for drivers, and a phone bill I could have bought a good program with later, the support advisor assured me that I should call HP support to resolve the issue. After being on hold long enough to build a deck for the home I can't design, The HP tech informed me that this software is not compatible with my machine and that I should inform the software company of this. FORGET IT! I am finished with Broderbund.

I brought this product hoping this will be better than the IMSI I downloaded and what a disapointment it turned out to be. I was never able to work coninously for 1/2 hr with out crashing the program.. Even simple options like reversing the swing of the doors would crash the program.. Never buy this program at all

If you have been a satisfied user of 3D Home Architect, versions 1.0, 2.1, 3.0, and/or 4.0, you will be very disappointed to find out that Broderbund has decided to switch to a new CAD software developer for the latest version (5.0). Version 5.0 is nothing like previous versions. It looks surprisingly like FloorPlan 3D, by IMSI rather than 3D Home Architect. In the change, this product lost its ease of use, the one thing that set it apart from other home design software packages. New users will find it difficult to learn and old 3DHA users will just be frustrated by the cumbersome interface. If there is one redeeming feature of this software, it is that it comes with a 90 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. I'm taking advantage of the return policy after the program crashed for the third time in the first 20 minutes of use. No commercially marketed software should be that bad! If you are looking for a good version of 3DHA, go ... and buy a 3.0 version .... Or if you want version 4.0, wait awhile and it may show up on ebay.

The fact that 3D Home Architect v.5.0 is not compatible with 3D Home Architect v.4.0 drawings is the single worst upgrade mistake you could make - and I paid the price (see Regarding: Broderbund Technical Note ID: 31665). Who's bright idea was that? Find them and tell them they should sell shoes - not technology products. You can give them my name and I'll be glad to them directly. Broderbund should know better. Even if the formats are different they should have created a migration tool. No excuses - they should have. The fact that I now must REDRAW all my work in order to take advantage of 5.0 features is insane. For their protection, other potential Broderbund customers should know about this total lack of customer support perpetrated by your company. Too bad. I really thought your company had it together.

Having used 3D Home Architect 4.0 I assumed 5.0 was an enhancement of the same product. WRONG WRONG WRONG. Apparently Broderbund broke its alliance with the makers of version 4.0 and decided to do it alone . WHAT A MISTAKE. This software is way to hard to use, Full of BUGS and constantly crashed my computer. DO NOT BUY IT. Use 4.0 if you can find it. To bad Chief Architect do not have a cheap upgrade to 4.0.