Punch 5 In 1 Home Design Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is software that you have to spend some time with to understand. But if you spend the time, the software delivers and leaves the competitors behind. Most of the negative reviews I have read point out shortcomings that really don't exist if you understand how the software works.
I initially thought that the program lacked certain features or had some of the same shortcomings mentioned in other reviews. A few minutes on the phone with their Tech Support people to supplement the manual and the help feature and I was pointed in the right direction. In most cases the software could do what I was trying to accomplish, the problem was that I was not far enough up the experience curve. One thing I did do was upgrade to the Professional Home Design for another $20 dollars. It is worth it. My overall experience with home design software is that you have to be patient as it is not simple or intuitive as gaming software.
Two shortcomings - No strong undo feature so you need to save before you try something new. Also, there is a limit to 3 floors, so if you have a finished basement, a finished attic and two floors, you can only show 3 of the 4 floors; although you can complete the remaining floor in another file.

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General Information - Manufacturer: Punch Software- Manufacturer Part Number: 20100- Manufacturer Website Address: www.punchsoftware.com- Marketing Information: Power tools for serious home design PLUS Ultimate Deck for the perfect outdoor addition to your living space.5 Powerful Programs in One That launch from the same easy-to-use interface, including our unique RealModel software that lets you build a 3D scale model of your home design! Product Information - Software Sub Type: Architectural- Software Name: Home Design- Complete Product- Features & Benefits: 3D Interior & Exterior Home Design: There"s no other software like it! ALL program components work from the same simple interface, so all design tools and 3D capabilities are always at your fingertips. The LiveViewtm window continually previews your work, in real-time 3D, as you draw.Ultimate Deck: This feature includes powerful tools to give you complete control to design the perfect deck for your home plan. Multi-level or multi-story decks with 3D photo-realistic textures, stairs, railings, object placement, and color capabilities give you the ability to design exactly the deck you want. Deck Wizards walk you through railing, baluster options, and more. Choose a basic shape or create one and watch the program create a beautiful 3D rendering of your deck design.Ultimate Deck automatically calculates square footage so you can easily develop your materials list. And, since Ultimate Deck works seamlessly with all other parts of the program so can walk and fly-through your entire property. Your deck and landscaping come to life with photo-realistic 3D, complete with shadows, giving you an accurate representation of your design.3D RealModel: Only Punch! software lets you build a professional-looking 3D scale model of your homeplan. Our RealModel technology takes your home design and creates the components needed to produce a model...directly from your design file. All of your chosen

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HGTV Home & Landscape Platinum Suite Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased this product last March. There were some conflicting reviews, but I'm pretty computer savvy and have been using a coumputer since I was 5 (that's 27 years) and worked my way through college doing IT work. Thought I could figure it out. The software is gibberish. You may not need to know much about computers to use the design wizard, but you do need to know about technical details and construction terms. Despite trying to follow along with the manual I could never get it. It said it came with "thousands of sample home plans." It doesn't. You get 6. 6 Ugly ones. None of them are the pretty house on the cover which made me choose this software over the Better Homes version. You can go to the HGTV web site and VIEW thousands of plans but you can't download them into the program or at all. You can purchase hard copies of them for hundreds of dollars, but you didn't need to buy the software to do that.
Another reason I chose the HGTV version over BH&G is that it came with a 90 day money back promise. Before my 90 days was up I contacted the makers, NOVA Development to start the money back process. They emailed me back telling me to fill out a form, but didn't send it. I finally got the form and it was a destruction agreement. As per the directions I filled out the form, deleted the program, destroyed the CD's, signed that I destroyed everything, gave the box to my dog to play with and emailed the form back to them. A week later I get an email telling me i filled out the wrong form and they sent me a new one that said to return the CDs, packaging, and manual - "all incomplete returns will be destroyed and not processed" or something to that effect. My trash was empty. No more CD's. All I had left was the box which my dog wasn't so intrested in destroying, which I mailed to them with a letter explaining what had happened and copies of all the correspondence. It's now been over 4 months and I haven't seen my money back.

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Take a fresh approach to the way you live with HGTV Home & Landscape Platinum Suite, from the #1 home improvement television network.It's perfect for creating a new living space, adding a fireplace, making your home energy efficient with new appliances, replacing countertops, cabinetry and fixtures, enhancing any room to your house with a brand new look, adding decks, fountains, patios and gardens.

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Complete LandDesigner 3D Design Collection 7.0 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First, I'd like to say that I think this software is a great value for the price. There are however, some requirements you should be aware of before you buy. These programs require TIME and PATIENCE. If you are doing a complete landscape, expect to invest many hours. I'm not talking months or anything, but until you get the hang of it, progress will be slow. If you are using the 3D program, you will have to take LOTS of measurements if you want realistic results. BUT, once you get a nice replica of your home and garden, it's fun to experiment with adding/removing features. More important than the time investment, be aware that due to the details in graphics, these programs may not be compatible with your computer. Please be sure your computer meets the "recommended" (different from 'minimum') system requirements. I will also include some info from the program's "README" page. ..."Matrox Millenium G400, ATI Rage chipsets & Voodoo3 3000 are known to have problems with 3d acceleration". And..."STB Velocity 128 video card does not work properly...at all" Please note that some of these problems may have been fixed with recent drivers. Also, the video acceleration feature can be disabled and this is a likely remedy for video problems. At any rate, I wanted to mention this just in case. If you have the requirements, I highly recommend you try this software. Some of my favorite features are the price trackers. These are great if you are on a budget. I am landscaping my backyard and found that some materials which are nearly equal in quality had significant price differences. I'm sure this will vary upon location, but it still gives a good ballpark figure. Also, you are not limited to outdoors. This program also enables you to redecorate indoors as well. I have completed my backyard and have started my guest bedroom! I think this is generally easy to use software that will give you lots of good ideas. Just follow the manuals and tutorials and you shouldn't have any problems. I am sure there will be negative reviews from people who will think the programs are too time consuming or not detailed enough. Please keep in mind, these are not CAD programs. They certainly could be used by professionals for basic landscape outlines. (the cost minus rebate) you will get your money's worth. And another bonus, if you try it and hate it, you can send it to the company and get your money back.

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Complete LandDesigner 3D is a suite of eight products to help you design the landscape, garden, and deck of your dreams. It includes LandDesigner 3D, 3D Deck, Photo Garden Designer, Ortho Problem Solver, Personal Garden Planner, Garden Encyclopedia, Designer Garden Library, and Landscape DesignGuide.
LandDesigner 3D offers a library of 4,600 plants and more than 2,200 objects and materials to use in your designs. Design wizards help you create virtual garden beds, sprinkler systems, and more. You can walk or fly through your designs and view them from every angle, and see how your landscape will grow and change in appearance through the seasons. 3D Deck shows you how to create a single- or multi-level deck safely. Learn from videos and get advice from professionals. And watch as your deck renders in realistic step-by-step 3-D. Photo Garden Designer allows you to import a photo of your own home and design around it, experimenting with over 1,000 plants, trees, and shrubs. Ortho Problem Solver is a resource for keeping your plants healthy and free from weeds, funguses, bugs, and pests. It has information on more than 700 common problems.
Personal Garden Planner is a scheduling tool that reminds you when it'stime to prune, plant bulbs, spread fertilizer, and more. The GardenEncyclopedia is a reference guide with full-color photos and entries onover 3,000 plants, and features a multimedia guide on selecting and caring for your plants. Designer Garden Library lets you use predesigned gardensfor inspiration, including feng shui, rose, herb, Japanese, and othergardens. Landscape Design Guide gives you expert advice and tips on all thedetails of keeping a great garden, from choosing appropriate plants to whatcontainers are best for specific plants.

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Sierra Home Architect 4.0 and Custom Land Designer Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)"The Procedure entry point - resestkoflow could not be located in the dynamic link library msvcrt.dcc"
this is the error I'm getting when I try to install and open the Sierra Home Architect program. I'm unable to contact the support staff - No one has returned any calls or emails...
Cathy

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Sierra Home Architect 4.0 is your ticket to creating a home you can be proud of!Custom Land Designer is everything you need to easily create a beautiful landscape and garden! Includes LandDesigner, Photo Garden Designer, Garden Encyclopedia, Designer Garden Library, and Landscape Design Guide!

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Punch Super Home Suite 3.0 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First off...this is a design program like Sierra, Floorplan, etc. and works well with the average person who wishes to create an "idealized home design" both inside and out. It is NOT a full CAD program to do every space and angle. None of the under $ programs will produce a "plan" to give to a contractor to take-off and build a home, no matter what they promise. That is left to the $++ professional architectural programs! That said, this is a super "design" program that has a simple, accurate instruction manual, and lots of Web downloadable features like "dormers" and tons of "objects" like dishwashers,chairs,etc etc. The mini-CAD feature called "3Dfurniture workshop" lets you create custom arched walls, tables, rugs all with neat textures.The great feature of this product is the ability to create a "cut out" MODEL of your finished home {to various scales! } that you print and assemble complete with colors and textures(like bricks and slate roofing). All the design programs I have tried{Sierra, Floorplan, Punch) are far from perfect and often require a TRICK to get it to do something that you feel should happen with a single menu icon; but Punch is a little better then the rest with fewer work-arounds than usual. BUT they are still present, and almost all programs have a tough time with todays complex roof and ceiling designs! No "design" program is as simple and complete as the sales hype promises, but the Punch program was the least so far to get me angry.

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Super Home Suite combines seven programs for interior and exterior home and landscape design in one package. Super Home Suite includes 3D Home Design, 3D Landscaping, Estimating, AutoFraming, FloorPlan Trace, 3D Furniture Design, and RealModel.
Use 3D Home Exterior & Interior Design to view your home in thousands of subtle paint color choices, or design walk-out basements and split-level designs with the slope tool. When you're ready to landscape your home design, just add your plantings to your existing file. The software lets you landscape without redrawing your house plan. Your results are rendered in high-resolution 3-D, complete with shadows just like a photograph.
Design the perfect deck for your home plan with Ultimate Deck. Multilevel or multistory decks with 3-D photorealistic textures, stairs, railings, object placement, and color capabilities give you the ability to design exactly the deck you want. Deck Wizards walk you through railings, baluster options, and more. And create objects from scratch or modify furniture from the included library. Change colors, fabrics, patterns, textures, and more, then use your creations to furnish your home plan. And get an idea of what your finished home will look like with the AutoFraming and RealModel software.

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