Home Builder 3D

Computer design applications have come a long way and it’s now possible to build a 3D representation for nearly everything you can imagine. If you’re already into 3D modelling, then Home Builder 3D is an application you can use to construct various landscapes and environments through placement of 3D objects.

On the bright side of things, the application is packed in a lightweight environment which doesn’t even require setup to function. This means that you can carry it, your projects, and collection of objects around on a thumb drive in case you work on different computers. The health status of the target PC remains intact since registry entries are not modified to ensure functionality.

Launching the application at first can leave you a little disappointed. This is because you’re put up against an empty space with no visible controls whatsoever. Sure enough you can navigate with the mouse and arrow keys, and even bring up a menu through a right-click operation, but strangely enough, the application is mostly a viewer rather than a builder, or at least the visual side of the program is.

Management of objects becomes a little tedious, especially because of direct options to handle or even view objects. These are organized in group folders inside the source directory, and you need to first inspect the collection and decide which elements to use.

It uses OBJ files for its objects, with JPG previews and textures. You can include custom OBJ files in the library. The actual build operation is done outside the application. In other words, you need to populate multiple TXT files with object number, rotation, and position on the canvas.

Once this is done, you can run the application to view the result. You can switch between multiple layers, change floors, and toggle the visibility of additional elements like road, fence, and sky. It’s possible to navigate through the world with the mouse and arrow keys, but there’s no actual option to build a solid, stand-alone home plan you can edit or view with other applications.

Bottom line is that CAD and design applications take some time to master, but generate accurate and practical results. Unfortunately, Home Builder 3D is only at the beginning of a long road, still feeling like in early stages of development. It’s mostly missing a menu to easily insert objects.