Customer Reviews

3D Home Architect Home & Landscape Deluxe Suite Version 9 [Old Version]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I liked Home Architect Version 8, but then I tried Version 9 because I thought it would be better. After 10 minutes of this program, I wanted to toss it out the door. See, this program isn't owned by the original company anymore, they're owned by Punch! Software.

- Any means to customize objects such as Counters or Appliances have been removed. You can Scale them, but you cannot increase or decrease the width.

- If you have knowledge with 3DS Max, you could create a 3D Object, but otherwise you need to use the Objects that Punch! provides. Sacrifices will be made because many vital 3D Objects won't be available.

Want to rotate your Object? No problem! Each time you want to do it, just click on Edit, click on Rotate, type in the Number of Degrees to Rotate, click on the "Degrees" button, then click Okay. In the previous version, each Object would have a Square and a Triangle. You'd just click on the Triangle on the Object, then Rotate. That's been removed.

The Generate Project has been removed. Want to know what you have used? What the project will cost? Too bad.

They removed the Design Wizard completely. The reason I liked 3D Home Architect was because it was different than AutoCAD or DeltaCAD. Those who weren't too knowledgable with those two programs could try 3D Home Architect because the Easy-to-Use Software was more driven towards people who just wanted to make up a quick Floor Plan.

It took me over an Hour just to build the Kitchen. The counters just would not align themselves properly. Objects seemed incomplete, or improperly designed.

Remember the Grid Lock, Object Lock, or Alignment Lock? They've been removed.

Getting a specific Camera View on your House no longer exists. You're just given a 3D Model of your home that you can walk around with the Mouse. You could do that in the previous version too, but they stripped out all the other Features in 3D Mode.

Sure, you can purchase this product, you could download it at their website but there's no Trial Software, No Refunds, No Exchanges... It says there's Refunds or Exchanges on the website, but they don't tell you which ones. EVEN with the Proof of Purchase, tough luck.

If the developers happen to read this, 3D Home Architect WAS a GREAT program. This is just incomplete. It's like you've released it way too early.

I have an idea... Go back to Schhol for Programming & Design because Version 9 is just a headache. It's incomplete, and much more inaccessible, difficult, and frustrating than Version 8. A Trial Version really needs to be offered, otherwise you're just conning people out of $40.00+ per product sold.

To everyone else, I've said my piece. You're welcome to purchase it, but I guarantee that once you've seen just how bad this program is, you'll want your money back.

I have purchased this software based on the Review "Home Design Software Reviews 2007" and this software is rated as second. I have been using "3D Home Architect Home Design 6" before which I find it by far much better then this. For me buying this software was really a waste of time and money:

- 3D rendering takes a lot of my machine resource and time; untill you get fustrated;
- 2 door styles only are provided;
- 2 types of 3D rendering only are provided. No option to add additional camera;
- you cannot edit any object in 3D view.
- objects have no or limited properties to play with...

After wasting this money I am now only looking to upgrade my old software with landscaping which I have been unable to get any upgrate...

I got this program because on another site i was surveyed as the second best of all design programs of its size. This program pretty much sucks. I have version 6.0 and thought that was nice, although lacking in many aspects. In it you can view the frame work and print out a pseudo-blueprint. I have experience in framing and manually drawing framing plans so the frame generation on 6.0 was pretty close. Close enough to pass code. Also, 6.0 allows for FAST circular rooms. I build Southwest style homes and circular rooms are a must.

I got version 9.0 thinking it had value adding features. Realized after a few hours that they actually took away most of the features away. No circular rooms, no frame view, hell, no ceiling tool! I can't figure out how to put a ceiling in there!

On the bright side, it does allow to design some Santa Fe style houses...custom roof pitches, and vigas. nice....

This program is an overall dissapointment. Would have been nice if i could design some elements in 6.0 then import it into 9.0 for other elements then reimport it into 6.0 for the frame view...but it's basically a fresh, new program. Should be called 1.0. Seems like i'll have to pay $2500 for a home design program like Chief Architect or SoftPlan.

I was disappointed in how hard it was, working in 2D, to control the dimensions of rooms, and how little flexibility the program offered the user in changing the properties of individual walls without changing the characteristics of other walls. Perhaps there are ways of doing things buried in the software, but they were not apparent or intuitive if they are in fact there. This package appears to be a fairly limited version of more capable software by Punch, and I would not have bought it if there had been a free trial period.

This is one of the worst programs I've ever used. Period. I am a programmer, and I am really annoyed by bad, poorly thought-out software. My first indication was when I went to register, and they required a company name for HOME Architect. This is just plain sloppiness, and it gave me a bad feeling. Second, when I started the software, it dumped me to a blank screen, ready to go. No tour, no starting point. I went to the help, and the help file was useless. I went to the site, and they said there was a PDF manual. The manual is abysmal. By page 17, it tells you how to view in 2D and 3D. What good is that, when pages 1-17 say nothing about how to start a drawing?!

Sample/demo files? I can't find any, and I'm pretty sure there are none. I saw on the Punch! website that the homes on their box covers were purchased from stock photography, not made with the software. This is utterly dishonest!

More idiocy: The scrollbars let you leave the drawing area completely. In software design, this is considered malpractice. I accidentally got off the drawing area, and in trying to find my way back, I got lost, and the window started to flash wildly. Could the program get any more awful?

Really, this software crosses the line from bad into the fraud territory.

This program is horrible! Don't waste your money ... it would take to long to detail all the problems with it. This is one software that I wish was returnable ... The box and description are worth much more than the contents.

Very disappointing. My 1993 Broderbund 3D Home Architect was more capabile than this program! The only reason I changed was because I upgraded to Windows Vista and it was not compatible with my old program.

I purchased this program direct from the 3dhaonline.com website, because I had used it years before on my old PC...and it did a decent job of producing what I wanted. I was pleased to see that a Mac OS version was available (and this should have tipped me to investigate further before buying).

Well, after downloading it and stumbling through the non-intuitive activation process, I anticipated opening up my old 3DHA files. Well now, it doesn't seem to recognize the old file format, and the only Import option is for "Punch 3D" objects. Combing through the online help, I come to learn that version 9 is not compatible with anything prior! Didn't see that bullet in the features list (on later re-review, I saw that their promotional page does in fact declare incompatibility...but then what justifies revving the name?).

At that point I decided to check Amazon's reviews...and what do I see, but ten 1-star ratings out of 14 reviews with many comments reflecting exactly what I just experienced. And as further punishment, I see that the latest price is under $9.00!

I have personally confirmed each of the weaknesses mention in the other reviews, plus some:
- The editing of walls is cumbersome, as once two walls are connected, you cannot lengthen one without dragging the other along. The Wall Break tool is pointless, since the two halves are still connected.
- The dimensioning is lousy. Dragging to a desired length and then releasing the mouse button does not yield the choosen length, and requires many retries to acheive the desired measurement.
- It has no provisions for modeling porches.
- It doesn't do garage doors.
- It does not provide for pocket doors.
- There is too much emphasis on frivilous details, such as lighting.
- Roofs are not connected to walls...they are just separate objects that float above walls, with large visible gaps and no provision for adjusting their height.
- The zoom mechanism is imprecise.
- The 3D views are controlled only by the mouse, making for erratic movements and much wasted time in seeking the desired position.
- and so forth...

I am seeking a refund from the publisher. As mention by another, this is really a prime candidate for a class-action lawsuit. There is no connection between this program and the ones bearing the same name in pass iterations. If it were a decent program in its own right with backward compatability, I wouldn't mind some of the changes. But, as others pointed out, many many useful features of earlier versioned programs are no longer supported. Instant junk, and all those involved with it should be ashamed of themselves for its poor quality.

I have to agree with the other reviewers. I almost feel like my $40 was stolen from me. After really liking using previous versions this felt like some kind of trick. I expect version 10 to be an empty box.

Years ago, I had Broderbund's 3DHA, version 3. It worked fine. Then Broderbund had the audacity to completely revamp the software, and when version 5 came out (under the same name), it became almost useless. Now, Punch is marketing 3D Home Architect, version 9. This one is also useless. The libraries are small; e.g., only four door styles to choose from. There is no way to "cut a section" and view an elevation. The "Help" line is unresponsive; e.g., my current question has gone unanswered for 10 days. I could go on with a litany of reasons why this software is worthless, but the publisher hasn't earned my time.