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From:Chief Architect
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See Product Page
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User Rating: Amazon Sales Rank:#4745 |
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8 of 8 customers found the following review helpful:
You get what you pay for!, 2006-06-14
The good news is if you are wanting to design basic ranch type homes or simple two stories with no interior balconies, then this program is for you. It's pretty easy to use if you are patient enough to listen to the tutorials. It gave me a good idea of what my ranch home is going to look like inside.
But it definitely has it's drawbacks. The color palette and furniture is very limited, so don't think you are going to be doing a lot of decorating. The "3-D" views are impossible to control and often give a distorted view of the home. Recording a 3-D walkthrough was a joke. It won't even go through doorways or turn corners without distorting the look of the home. Furthermore, there is not a lot of advice from the help section on this subject. You can't do vaulted ceilings or two story homes with the upstairs looking down over a balcony to the floor below.
The landscaping component of the program is severely limited. There are less than 500 plants to choose from, mostly from the East and mid-West. You cannot customize plant beds, but have to choose from their oval or kidney shaped templates. The fences have no gates and there is no way to create curved walkways.
The exterior of the home looks nothing like what I was trying to achieve. It won't do wainscoating brick or stone and it was hard to create covered porches or decks. The roof is auto generated and does not allow room for modifications.
But the program is only 40 bucks, so you can't really complain too much. If it was a really powerful program, I suspect it would cost a lot more. Bottom line: it's great for simple projects, a good value for the money and it's pretty easy to use. Just don't expect too much out of it.
4 of 4 customers found the following review helpful:
Better than the last Designer package, 2006-02-23
Colors are not very faithful when painted on walls and have a rather limited palette. I could never find bookcases or adequate fireplaces. The roof is automatically generated so you can't really replicate your own roof,if you are doing a remodel,(unless it's really simple). Viewing tools are ok, measurement tools lack versatility. You can get a floor layout and view the 3D construction rapidly, but it really wasn't adequate to model my rather simple house. It's a good package if you only need to run some simulations to get rough ideas of what things might look like after a remodel.
7 of 10 customers found the following review helpful:
 Nice for layout... sucky for Design, 2005-10-24
I had high hopes buying this product... but the more I use it, the more bugs I find and the less I can do. Take for instance today, I am building some built-in bookshelfs in my house and want to try different designs. I spent hours converting soffits into shelves (b/c I could not find a flexible enough component in the program that allows me to build this). Finally after mucking around, I get it... great. Now I want to try different colors on different elements... and it crashes... repeatitively. I now have to scrap all my work. I've also had major issues trying to get my roof created, painting cathedral ceiling & walls. I've used this program for 4 months now... so this is not a one off problem I'm voicing about.
It was a good program for laying out the dimensions of our house including the interior walls. But thats where the simplicity ends. I am a UI designer by trade, and I can definately recommend that this company higher a usabilty expert to review the program. I would also highly recommend much more flexibility in what can be imported (graphics, colors), and what can be created (i.e. non standard furnature).
4 of 22 customers found the following review helpful:
 Helpful only in designing boxes with roofs, 2005-07-16
This product was a horrible waste of my money.
There is no option for log houses, which I find surprising. This is afterall, far from an alternative building style.
It seems as though this product was made for those with little or no creaativity, seeking to create another ugly box like all those that already exist all over the nation.
Don't waste your money!
4 of 6 customers found the following review helpful:
Lots of work, little reward, 2005-07-14
I was very anxious to recieve this product. I reviewed various products and this seemed to be the one to buy for the price. At this point I'm not disappointed I bought it, just disappointed at some of the limitations. I was looking to do basic, accurate floor plans, i.e. kitchens. With this product you're forced to design a house and then focus on a specific room. I live in an area where there are alot of raised houses. A raised foundation/house on piers is not an option. I will say that it has a nice selection of finishes, though many of them look too similar to tell a difference. Overall, it's a decent product and not a bad buy.
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