Punch! Master Landscape & Home Design - Old Version

First off, I would comment that if your computer is not current you may be more frustrated than anything else. I am running an AMD Athlon 1600+, 512MB of 266DDR RAM, and just bought a new 3D video card (MSI GeForce 440MX 128MB DDR) specifically for this application. I am amazed at how fast the 3D rendering is processed and how easily I can build a basic house. The one point I am having some trouble with is in using the landscape elevation tool. (I haven't looked at the manual yet other than for the initial installation.) I have tried other 3D CAD programs on an older system with a basic video card and the experience was dreadful! I believe that with a little more practice and even looking to the manual I will be able to do most anything within the products limits...

I have read the other reviews on this product and have been wondering why this product received such bad ratings. The only constant is that none of the reviewers seem to be happy with any home design programs. That's probably because these programs require lots of hard work and tedious hours to get the results you are looking for. I too have used many other home design programs. And if you are looking for one that is simple, you will certainly not get the results you are looking for.With that said, let me state that this program is the ONLY home design program that allowed me to build my existing house to almost perfect specification. The rendering is excellent and the features are undeniably some of the best on the market. It comes with many pre-defined objects, but those that are not included can be custom-built using the included 3D workshop tool. Again, this is not easy to use, but it is very powerful. It took me many hours to recreate my home, some of them frustrating. But, in the end, I was able to recreate my house perfectly, and landscape around it with ease. No other program (Broderbund, Sierra, etc.) has yet allowed me to do that.For those of you who do decide to buy this package, you may find the following tips useful:-This package does not do interior design. Check out the Punch! website for information on exactly what this and their other packages include.-To my surprise, chainlink fences are not included. This is a drawback.-Snap features are not great if you are drawing your house on an angle. It is best to draw your home vertically or horizontally and rotate the entire design once it is complete.-Download the latest update from the Punch! website. It adds a plant finder by name, a wall break tool, and a few other nifty add-ons.-Plants are difficult to find. Keep a nature guide handy so you can better identify your landscape objects.-Be sure your monitor is set to 24-bit color or higher. Rendering problems will occur at lower color depths (this probably explains some of the negative reviews).-Objects are difficult to select if they are stacked on top of one another. Try moving objects (temporarily) to other plans (roofing, landscape, etc.) and then moving them back once you have selected the item below it.-Designing the exterior of your home is the hardest part of the process. Be patient and take your time with this step. Once it is complete, the landscaping is a breeze.-Above all, HAVE FUN!

I was a bit worried about purchasing this product based on many of the other customers reviews but because I wanted a relatively powerful program, and there were few others available, I went ahead and purchased it. I definitely was not disappointed. It's a great program for laying out what you want to do. I have a brand new house and no yard--this program allows you to visualize, both in drawing and 3D, everything from water features to patios to your actual house. I love the floorplan trace feature which allowed me to reproduce my house's exact floorplan and using textures, windows, and doors, I was able to reproduce my house pretty closely and to scale.The other customers' complaints regarding the planting feature are very valid. There is no way to preview what you are planting and you must place it in your drawing and then go through a menu to figure out what plant it is. This is definitely very annoying and this program isn't good for those who just want to strictly plant.Aside from the planting drawback, I generally recommend the program. The program's ability to print in both design and 3D mode is also a great feature. The program is pretty easy to learn for those familiar with windows based software and/or other design programs. I wish it had come with a tutorial but the manual is pretty useful. Just from occasionally referring to the manual and playing with it, I was able to learn it in one day.

I do not recommend this program for garden design. It has a vast number of plants to choose from and although they are broken down into catagories you will not be able to search for a specific plant and the pictures are small and hard to recognize. I spent 3 hours looking through the perenials hoping to find that I wanted for my bed only to have the program lock-up on me. Oh well...I do like the home design and floorplan trace.

Don't waste your money....I should have paid attention to the other reviews! I have 18 years experience building and marketing business and GIS software. I am also an accomplished landscape hobbyist. This company has put all their money into marketing a product and not into building a user friendly product. A few of the problems:1. 3D rendering has many "flyaway" lines....that is stray lines projecting outwards from the house making the image unusable.2. 3D Photoview is difficult to use. I was also unable to integrate my 2D layout with the photo.3. The 3D flyover and walkthrough features are impossible to control and therefore not usable.4. The plant library is useless. All it gives you is a list of pictures with NO descriptions or titles. Therefore, you have NO idea of what plant you are placing into your landscape. You only know what plant you have chosen AFTER it is placed by right clicking on the image and checking properties. Useless and SLOW!!!5. The manual is poorly written (I read it!) and does not explain the process (from start to finish) of how to put together a typical plan. For example, it tells you how to import a photo but NOT how to use it in your plan...