Show HN: I've spent nearly 5y on a web app that creates 3D apartments

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

A solo developer has launched Roometron, a web app that converts 2D floor plans into interactive 3D apartment visualizations aimed at real estate agencies, builders, and property marketers. Commenters praise the visual quality, smooth performance, and potential VR support, while repeatedly flagging UX friction, unclear onboarding, limited format support (e.g., PDFs), pricing confusion, and payment bugs as major barriers to adoption. Many see strong potential if the creator improves the signup and checkout flow, clarifies capabilities and examples, and better exposes core features like the 3D and walk-through modes.

Overall Reception

  • Many commenters are impressed that a largely solo side project reached this level of polish, especially the smooth 3D demo, disappearing walls, reflections, and mobile performance.
  • Several say it looks better than most existing 3D floor plan tools and praise the landing page design and pricing concept.
  • A few say it’s not something they personally need, but still enjoyed the demo.

Product Concept & Use Cases

  • Tool converts 2D floor plans into interactive 3D apartment walkthroughs, with options for 3D images, video tours, and planned AI interior design.
  • Intended primary customers: real estate agencies, builders, “online floor plan aggregators,” and similar B2B users; individual renters/owners are seen as secondary.
  • Some see strong potential for real-estate listings, rentals (e.g., NYC), Airbnbs, and pre-construction marketing.
  • Others suggest broader uses: Home Assistant / digital twins, indoor-maps backdrops for workplace apps, or technical layers (electrical, network, studs).

Onboarding, UX & UI Feedback

  • Many users struggled to find and activate the demo (“Try it out” button and logo-as-button are too subtle, especially on mobile).
  • Strong calls for:
    • An obvious sample project for new accounts.
    • A short onboarding/video tutorial.
    • Clearer guidance on acceptable floorplans, required image quality, and why floor area is needed.
  • Navigation feedback: desire for full screen, WASD/arrow key movement, clearer “walk” controls, better rotation pivot behavior, and less extreme perspective at viewport edges.

Pricing, Payments & Business Model

  • Pay-per-project pricing (~$17 for small areas, higher for larger) is generally seen as reasonable vs. hiring 3D pros.
  • Multiple reports of checkout issues:
    • Being quoted ~$17, then charged $33 or $50, sometimes multiple times.
    • Losing projects when canceling or leaving payment flow.
    • Support widget errors.
  • Author states pricing is area-based, denies hidden charges, and temporarily disables payments while refunding affected users.
  • Some suggest focusing on higher-priced B2B/architect subscriptions instead of many small consumer transactions.

Technical & Feature Discussions

  • Built with Three.js; infrastructure details are requested but mostly not provided yet.
  • VR/WebXR is described as “ready” at a tech level, but actual WebXR support is not yet implemented; several VR users are disappointed when trying on headsets.
  • Feature requests include:
    • Room-based pivoting in top view.
    • Measurement tools (distances, ceiling heights) for renters.
    • Multi-room/floor support and PDF uploads.
    • Better devicePixelRatio handling; some deliberate resolution caps for performance.
    • AI interior design that responds to prompts and possibly product catalogs; this is “coming soon.”

Comparisons & Positioning

  • Compared to tools like Matterport, Polycam, Metaroom, Floorplanner, Planner5D, Homestyler, Hover, ArchiCAD, HomeByMe, and others.
  • Differentiators highlighted:
    • Works from floor plans instead of requiring expensive 3D camera rigs or LiDAR scanning.
    • Focus on automated conversion + high-quality real-time 3D, not manual drawing or only static renders.
  • Some note that competitors already provide rich editors, photorealistic textures, or scanning-based 3D; they question what unique advantage this product offers beyond aesthetics and simplicity.

Bugs, Browser Issues & Reliability

  • Reported issues:
    • Firefox-specific problems: missing furniture textures, disappearing geometry on clicks, “walk” mode not working.
    • Chrome-based white-canvas flashes, suspected due to recent browser changes.
    • Account settings and company profile bugs, particularly with OAuth logins.
    • Broken images, confusing status (“Submit for AI” queue), and inability to save without a company profile.
  • Author acknowledges many of these and claims to have fixed several during the thread.

Concerns & Critiques

  • Some critique the marketing emphasis on “5 years” of development instead of leading with value.
  • Copywriting and English phrasing on the landing page are called out as slightly unpolished; suggestions are made and partially adopted.
  • One commenter notes that part of the name sounds like “turd” in French.
  • A few worry that glossy 3D “remodel” visuals can mislead buyers compared to bare, measured floor plans, especially for older properties.