Punch! has taken their bestselling, benchmark home design technology and developed it to the next level – for Macintosh users.
Punch! Home Design Studio is professional, yet easy to use, home design software with features including:
• Intuitive interface and simple tools for quick learning curve.
• Cutting-edge technology creates breathtaking 3D views with controllable sun angle and shadows.
• Unique PowerTools allow design and editing from within the program.
• Logically-presented toolsets keep your workspace clutter-free.
• Punch! files can be shared between Mac and PC platforms.
Punch! Home Design Studio costs US$149.95.
More info here.
FINALLY!!!
Is this press release dated? I saw this program in the Apple Store Sunday five days ago.
Dave
Got no need for this product but it looks really cool
I just hope they didn’t put together the product tour on a Mac.
I bought and attempted to use the Punch Home Design Studio software for Windows last year. I was trying to model some modifications to our home. I did manage to create a fairly credible version of our house in the software, but it was quite kludgey. The interfaces to the various modules need ALOT of work, especially for me coming from mostly working in the OS X environment and using the iLife interfaces.
The libraries of objects were really useful, especially for landscaping work. But the interface to create your own objects was very hard to use. Also, the tools to create floors and rooflines were incredibly difficult to get to do what one wanted them to do. Sometimes they did not act logically. And in a virtual 3D environment, the absolute requirement for learning a tool quickly is logical consistency. I’d say that that is the number one area where Punch needs to improve their products. I hope they absorbed some interface design ideas from the OS when they ported the program to OS X.
I checked for this at microcenter – the windows version was anywhere from $50.00 to $99.00 and looked like it would work under parallels.
Nice to see the Mac Tax still lingers on with some developers…
Looks cool but at $150.00 I think I can do without and muck about with google sketchup for free.
I own this software – bought it on their website earlier this week. It is great. Make no mistake, this is no different than their Architectural Series 4000 product for the Mac, which retails for $249. This is a great price for a great app. It’s a universal binary too.
I agree with Kevin. I understand they want to jack up the price for the Mac version to cover the development costs. But charging 3 times that of the Windows version is insane. Look at other cross-platform software titles. Blizzard games ship both versions in the same box. Adobe doesn’t charge Mac versions more. If Punch lowers the price to $99, I will consider buying it. At $149, they just made pirates out of many of us. It’s too bad that it’s a lose-lose situation. High price = fewer purchases & more pirates. Low sales = stop development. It’s a vicious cycle that can be prevented simply by the developer being less greedy.
MightDave,
I don’t know what you’re refering to but there’s no Mac version of their Architectural series. AFAIK, this is their first Mac product.
Never heard of it. What is it like CAD but in a more 3D way?
Again, this is not priced higher than the PC version, it’s priced LOWER. This has the same features of their $249 program. I know, I’ve owned both. End of story. Stop the whining.
This is their first Mac product. In fact, it’s the first 3d home software on the Mac. What I was saying is, their AS4000 product, which is their current top of the line PC product, has identical features of the Mac version. Yet, the mac version is $149.
Now if they would get their Master Landscaper Pro app ported to the Mac I might try it. Does anyone know of a good landscape design app for OS X?
This has landscaping built in. You can do it all – I’ve been using it now for five days, it’s a great app.
Can’t blame me for whining. Their site did not have a comparison chart to show feature parity between the products. Since the Mac version doesn’t have “Pro” or “Architecture” in the name, it’s natural to equate it with the “home” version. If they simply show a features table, there’d be less confusion and far less “whining” from us.
This software is difficult to use.
After purchasing, the download took two days with a download manager. Tech support is responsive, but no help. There is no step by step guide to help build the plan. There are no tips on what to do before you start (tips on making your own indoor and outdoor measurements, using local gvt resources, etc). Items placed by default sink below the floor. You can’t enter your lat-lon and date and have the program figure sun angle and season for you. Narrowing your list of items (plants, furniture, colors, etc) is frustrating, importing and scaling trace images is tedious. Roof, walls, foundations, doors, windows, furniture do not automatically align with each other. Changing properties of objects is frustrating.
Given enough time and determination, you might find it useful.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Microspot’s Interiors application – I’ve used it for what I think are somewhat the same things. http://www.microspot.co.uk/products/interiors/index.htm I wonder how these two compare. I’ve been able to do basic work with it, but have been somewhat frustrated. And the libraries for things like doors, windows, etc. are a little weak.
Anyone have any experience with both?