Home Buliding and Interior Design

Again Accountability is my issue with this product. I read CR report on how nice the lower priced versions of this vendors product was. I bought this to do my folks deck and to reuse to remodel our house. Thinking this had all the lower product feature rolled into a Premium product which is what their Web site impies, But found is way too Complext, and does not include such objects. Who ever designed it must be an older OOPs developer. IE Other than simple building objects (walls roofs, ets) for creative components/objects you must make or buy each as add ons.(free with their low end products.) Better to buy their specific product for something, i.e. Desk design, Garden design, or a real product mentioned in the others reviews. This was a real waste of my money… Happy Computing JR
Rating: 1 / 5

The main difference between AS 5000 and its predecessor AS 4000 is the incorporation of 3D Custom Workshop Pro, which is a restricted/modified version of Punch’s basic ViaCAD 2D/3D application. Overall, this is a positive change as Custom Workshop Pro allows importing designs from other software into Punch’s 3D Object Library, including those that are widely available as Google Sketchup files. However, the implementation of Custom Workshop Pro is flawed. The program is unstable and crashes even with some of Punch’s own objects and does not render imported object textures properly.

Otherwise, AS 5000 offers little additional features and remains problematic and seriously flawed, especially when designing any even slightly non-traditional constructions. Despite the wide array of poorly documented features and peculiar behaviors, you will be forced into making design compromises, even if you critically comb through all available instruction materials such as printed manuals, the program’s electronic help and tutorial videos, and internet resources including the heavily advertised Punch University online video courses. I cannot recommend this software to any user. Entry level users are better served using any of the widely available cheap, low-end products to decide if house design/CAD is for them or not. Once you have made the decision to proceed with your own design and creation (and I would bet any money that this would only be the case for a small minority), Punch AS 5000 will quickly show its limitations to you, especially when any non-conventional designs are concerned. If you are planning a conventional design, then why purchase a high-end architectural CAD product in the first place?

Having used the features of Punch AS 5000 extensively for real projects, and now comparing it to the trial version of Chief Architect X1, I came to the conclusion that the higher priced Chief Architect X1 is well worth every penny that you would spend on it (not to mention the available support options), provided you are REALLY SERIOUS AND COMMITTED about using it. I am in no way affiliated with Chief Architect and I really wish their product was more affordable, and did not have a USB locking device, etc. However, even if your time would be worth minimum wage, Chief Architect would be worth its high price economically. Remember that no software will allow you to develop new ideas, or implement them with a few mouse clicks. In my case, I was able implement my plan using Chief Architect literally in a matter of hours, which was a task that had proven itself impossible while using Punch AS 5000 for several weeks.

Designing a house plan is a long and arduous process, requiring far more time, patience, and perseverance than you would expect, as well as innumerable visits to libraries and other sources for reference. As always, the Devil is in the details, and this is precisely where AS 5000 falls short. The user will be forced to compromise for example on floor plan/wall layout in order to create a desired roof. These compromises not only cost you time and force you to troubleshoot after minor adjustments, but they also make the difference between a spectacular versus mediocre-at-best end-result.

Unless you are a qualified professional, you will also need to have your plans reviewed, approved and signed off by a qualified professional. In this context, I have not come across any professionals who either use or recommend using Punch’s line of house design products for obvious reasons. They all use products of AutoCAD’s and Chief Architect’s caliber and reputation. And speaking of low-end products, why use Punch’s if they all culminate in AS 5000, when Chief Architect also provides low-end, affordable consumer products that would offer a more convenient transition to Chief Architect?

The bottom line is that Punch has put out the same interface and underlying design year-after-year. The limitations of the program’s current implementation undermine the user’s creativity and impair the overall work flow. The incorporation of additional features and wizards do not save the flawed overall program design, even if any of the included wizards/components/features would shine individually. Punch should finally start listening to its more knowledgeable consumers and should also try to offer its services to professionals whose feedback could in turn improve its overall product line. I would have considered a higher rating as appropriate if the program was being sold as something for entertainment rather than for such a serious undertaking as designing a house. Support options are inadequate. For example, you cannot expect any support if you happen to use even a high-end laptop PC. The questions on their user forums are of the variety of “how do I register my program” or “how do I return my software” and there is an inadequate number of entries that offer any complicated help or advice.

Rating: 1 / 5