3D or not 3D, that is the question. Well, what's the answer, then? At times it feels like you can't move for drawing programs on the Beeb - everyone and their aged aunt has produced one and a new addition to the family is going to have to be pretty good to carve any sort of space for itself in an overcrowded market.

Enter Design Dynamics and Interactive 3D, an appealingly simple and robust designing aid in both orthographic and perspective modes. On loading, you are presented with a simple house drawing (side elevation, end elevation, plan and perspective view) and the clear booklet suggests that this is used to try out the functions of the program - good advice as there are nearly 40 different possible commands and a total of over 420 points and 630 lines available. Confusion can swiftly set in.

Most of the commands are easy to operate and allow you, for instance, to change perspective and model size, create new points and lines and save any resulting model. Reading the booklet can seem confusing until you start work on a model at which point the sequence of CTRL-function key or SHIFT-function key is logical. The program is flexible and allows you to get away with quite a bit; nothing being uncorrectable!

As to its uses: well, the accuracy does distort under certain circumstances and the relative inflexibility of cursor positioning (especially in three dimensions) does exclude, I think, any very serious work such as industrial design. It's lively, easy to use and I would imagine its main audience would be found in schools where an introduction to three dimensions and the inter-relationships between different views (not to mention the chance to draw/design some bizarre objects) would be welcome.

Not a world-beater, certainly, but a well-constructed and enjoyable piece of software. Even if you have no immediate use for a piece of software like this, I think you could have a lot of fun.

Dave Reeder