Customer Reviews

Punch! Home Design Architectural Series 4000 v10

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

 

 

After using this software for a week, I'm generally pleased with the results. The learning curve is not too difficult to climb; though I have some prior experience with less sophisticated versions of this type of software.

The box comes with a thick printed manual, which is nice to have for reference. The index in the manual is good but not great. Unfortunately the manual is not comprehensive. It appears to cover the core functionality but does not have any depth to its discussion of "power tools". The manual appears to be a nearly verbatim copy of the online help.

The software comes with short online instructional videos -- basically animated screen captures with voice-over commentary. The two or three videos that I've watched have filled in the gaps that the manual left open.

My pc has a 2001-era 1Ghz Celeron and 1GB of memory. It renders the 3D drawings fast enough to not be frustrating, and I have limited patience for this sort of thing. However, I have not added great amounts of detail to the plan yet -- mostly just walls, roof, electrical, and some trim. The addition of detail may slow rendering down enough to be annoying. Other reviewers have complained about performance, but the documentation has hints for speeding up if you run into problems.

While the core parts of the software are pretty good, the power tools leave a little something to be desired. This may just be a lack of education on my part, but if so then I'm going to blame the skimpy documentation. These power tools almost appear to have been developed by either different groups or by third parties. Overall they lack the polish and usability that is part of the core software. Take the "room wizard", for example. This is a slick way to put together the interior floor plan of the house. The problem is that the room wizard launches almost as a separate application, and when you're done it asks to "update the current design". When you say yes, it appears to paste the picture drawn in the room wizard back into the main application. From there, it is difficult (impossible?) to get the interior layout to overlay your foundation design.

I had difficulty with other power tools: the topo designer is clunky, the site planner has an annoying lot size limitation (no line can be more than 1000'), the estimator won't let you add additional materials (you can put in the cost of concrete for your foundation, but you can't add fill or stone for drainage; if I have to manually put this stuff into a separate spreadsheet then having a built-in estimator is pointless). And so on. Again, maybe this is a learning thing, but the rest of the software is easy to figure out -- why are these so different?

Overall, I would give the software 3.5 stars: four stars for doing the stuff it absolutely must do very well, minus one star for advertising extras that don't work so good, plus a star for good documentation on the core functionality, minus half a star for failing to document the extras. (I figure that the extra thirty to fifty bucks of cost over competing brands is due to these extras, but I haven't tried the competition.)

I've been working with Punch AS/4000 since v10.0 was released (about 12 months ago). Although I agree in many respects with the positive reviews. For example, there are is a large feature list. However, there are issues with the software. For example:

- Hard coded limitations in the software design (e.g. four possible scale options for printing, does not support Grid Snap smaller than 3/8" or 10mm - which seriously complicates moving things around on a drawing with any degree of precision, very tiny dimension text on Windows, etc.)
- Inaccuracies: I printed a 1:100 scale drawing that came out at 1:94 approximately;
- I couldn't fit a scale house drawing on 8.5 X 11 paper, no print preview;
- There are limitations and inconsistencies with dimensions (i.e. placement, snap to geometry, etc.)
- The PowerTools seem to be a series of independently developed add on modules that don't necessarily conform with the application interface (e.g. precision, look and feel, functionality)
- The elevation editor is very limited. It basically provides a visual representation of the drawing with some editing and texture applications
- Can't differentiate exterior wall treatments independently from the wall surface (e.g. brick and siding on the same floor).
- Object library is very limited for plumbing fixtures, furniture, windows, etc. Common items aren't in the library nor are they easy to find. (You can create them yourself though).
- The 3D object editor is ok but not terribly intuitive.
- Multi-floor buildings get complicated to work with once you add floors or ceilings.
- Once you add objects, drawings get big and slow very quickly.
- Import/Export is limited

In short AS/4000 could use an overhaul, an updated object library, a major upgrade to scale and printing and an overall clean-up to create a more integrated and functional product. Also, incorporate user feedback into future releases.

I've used several "home architect" programs over the years and have seen a vast improvement in the field since they first started to appear. Unfortunately, in my opinion, they still have a long way to go. The package offered by Punch! by far has some of the greatest variety of tools available to the user compared to the other packages out there. Yet there are issues...

The tools all appear to be separate programs that are "tacked on" to the basic software. All run separately and the data entered must be saved to the main application's plan, sometimes as a separate file. I've also run into difficulty separating living space from spaces such as garages, resulting in an extra amount of square footage that results in inaccurate cost/sq.ft. ratios. Using the topography tools to create an uneven lot and then excavating the lot still results in terrain poking through your walls. Creating a split level house or 2-story and then cutting the floor for stairwells or "open to below" areas results in odd effects in the 3-d view (moving around in that view still appears you are flying through floor joists where there is no floor.) Foundations do not like to be odd shapes or edited, resulting in square footage outputs that equal the entire lot (255,000 sq. ft. house, anyone?) and no discernible way to find out where your foundation plan may be in error.

As far as the available tools for things such as roofing, textures, and appliances, I personally have found them to come up a little short as well. If you want a standard roof - no problem. If you want anything remotely non-standard such as a jerkin-head, round, or semi-circular, you are out of luck. The program does not do those, and you'll have to manually create each segment of triangular roof (pie slice) to fit a rounded roof. Vaulted ceilings are merely the underside of the roof, no control of that feature. The textures available are minimal. Appliances are very basic, and the cabinet types and wizard I've given completely up on, very difficult to place and always requiring editing for even minor deviations from standard sizes. The same goes for windows and doors. Though it does offer you the ability to create windows and doors, the options are limited as far as functionality that your creation will have. For example a door that has panes of glass in the casing results in the glass being part of the door that opens.

Perhaps part of the reason that this program doesn't work for me is that I have chosen to design a non-standard, non-"cookie-cutter" style home, and this program simply does not take into account or provide tools for users wanting to deviate from the popular norm currently being produced. Aside from the various interface issues that are irritations, I cannot recommend this program for anyone who wishes to design a home that deviates substantially from the norm. If you wish to design a home that fits within current suburban trends, this program will work just fine for you.

This product worked pretty well on Windows XP but I recently upgraded to a new laptop with Vista and even though Punch claims they work with Vista, several modules do not and those that do don't work with the Aero Glass feature turned on - their response:

"Thanks for contacting Punch! Software.

Laptops are all-in-one devices that combine a monitor, CPU, keyboard, video and audio cards. Because of this, some resources are `shared' or `integrated'. Also the CPU or processors have a different architecture than that of desktop PC's. Therefore the device performance is different and software stability cannot be guaranteed.

This does not neccessarily mean that they will not run. We would recommend that you update all device drivers associated with your laptop and try the software. If this still does not work, then I would like to re-iterate that unfortunately there is no further help or support we can provide you."

That's a pretty bogus answer. The laptop is top of the line, new, and completely up to date.

I don't recommend this software for Vista Users or for anyone who may need support. This is my second time using Puch on-line support and each time I basically had to sort the issues out myself.

At this point, I apparently have to go look at a competitive product - like the Chief Architect line.

This software arrived promptly, it is definitely an improvement on the previous PUNCH software. It is easier to square rooms and make walls etc exact distances. It does take patience and determination to fully learn how to use it, I am about 50% of the way there after a month. The video demonstrations are very good I would ask for the number of these to be increased to cover all the common tricky tasks. One or two 3D errors that I am working out how to correct and may be my lack of knowledge rather then the package. Will report back in a number of months.

I found this product did not meet my expectations. Most of the problem was in defining slab flooring and short cement foundation walls . I submitted many problems via email to the tech group however they were sluggish most of the time with a reply back. On the more difficult questions they just did not reply at all. Maybe there strength was in landscaping, but that was not why I bought the software. Having said that, it was fairly easy to learn and did about 90% of what I wanted it to do with a little work on my part. However, there is not much out there for the low cost of this software. Guess it's better than nothing. I also had troubles getting a printer like Staples or Kinko to handle the output print files so I could print to 1/4" scale to obtain a building permit. There were no allowances for trusses instead of stick building roof support in the materials list. Also several other little problems that they have work arounds for but added to the difficulty.

This product is great if you are only interested in 3-D modeling. It is NOT recommended by me for serious home design. There is no provision for setting exact dimensions in the planning mode and they resist being set with a mouse. Without a provision for entering precise measurments even the length of a wall cannot be set with any degree of accuracy. Without accuracy the software is just a large, memory grabbing, disk hogging, toy. All the fancy product and finish tie-ins in the world cannot overcome this deficiency. I am profifient with a CAD program and this software can't touch it for producing buildable plans.

This is a good package if you want to do an initial design before contracting with a professional but it is hard to use unless you have used earlier, less complicated PUNCH products before (which I have.) There are a lot of somewhat powerfull features but the documentation on how to use them is pretty poor. If you are clever, can figure things out on you own, and have the time to learn what isn't explained to you then this could be a good one to use. But if you don't fall into that catagory, forget it.

It is also cool that you can constuct a model of what you design as the software generates templates that you can cut out and glue to foamcore. But only the walls/floors/roofs are printed out and the texture for these items does not include the windows or trim. So unless you are happy with a model with holes where the windows should be, you will have to use a drawing program to add these items to the textures before printing them out and gluing them to the model. PUNCH should really include these in the output engine.

I have never worked with software like this before. I have zero experience drawing plans, building roofs, placing windows, etc. I am somewhat handy and can fix minor things around the house. I am probably above average in computer skills. With that in mind, I found the software very user friendly and fairly easy to use. They include some tutorials that help you get started, and the program has far more versatility and capability than I think I could use.

I also took advantage of their "Punch University", which helped me get a lot out of the program, especially the "Snap" tools.

This product has made numerous differences in the way we designed our house. My wife cannot go from 2D to 3D very well and this program helped us both as far as placement of appliances, windows, etc. I'd recommend this to a first time user, but I would expect to take about 2-5 hours learning how to use the product first. If that learning curve is too much, look elsewhere. But, I guarantee you'll find it time well spent.

After using this product for basic stuff [floor plans], I found that the 3D functionality to be far too complex and not really accurate. To create roof, ceiling and floors to create a realistic version of your floor plan, the process seemed too cumbersome and the elevations never quite seemed to be right. The pictures they show you are obviously done by the "professionals" on this software and mine never turn out quite realistic.

I also have found that the gallery of objext to be very limited and a little confusing. Why there are twenty different towel bars and candles I do not know. Plus, there aren't many 2D images to place in floor plans.

If you are a hobbyist, this program might suit your needs, but if you are using this for a function, don't bother.