DAZ Studio Pro BETA (4.5.2.40) Update!

Comments

• Renpatsu Posts: 828

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  Quite impressive list of new features, just tested the OpenSubDiv a bit and love it already. UV switch on geometry shells ... that should come in handy as well. Also can't wait to see if the CMS is more stable on Mac.

  Thank you for making this beta publicly available :)
• SnowSultan Posts: 3,507

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  Spot render to a new window? Whoa, got to try that out. :O Thank you for this update.
• wancow Posts: 2,708

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  DAZ_BHowell said:

  
  4) Added support for OpenSubdiv subdivision algorithms; Catmark, Bilinear, Loop; adds support for edge and/or vertex weights/creasing.

  <<<<<<<-----****FAINTS****....</p>
• Mattymanx Posts: 6,879

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  Ptex... I remember reading about that when "Tangled" came out. cant wait to see how that will be used in DS.

  And OpenSubdiv... (swear word) YEAH!!! :D
• Geminii23 Posts: 1,327

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  Wow! I can't wait to try this, especially to see if things are improved on the MAC side.

  Does anyone at DAZ know if the Lipsynching feature will ever make into the 64bit? I was told that that feature only seems to work in the 32bit. I would prefer to not have both versions installed if possible but I do want to start experimenting with AniMate and the lip synching would be a must for me.

  Thanks.
• DAZ_Spooky Posts: 3,100

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  Renpatsu said:

  Quite impressive list of new features, just tested the OpenSubDiv a bit and love it already. UV switch on geometry shells ... that should come in handy as well. Also can't wait to see if the CMS is more stable on Mac.

  Thank you for making this beta publicly available :)

  CMS is significantly on the 12 plus Macs we have been testing it on. If it isn't more stable on all Macs, we need to know about sooner instead of later. :)
• bigh Posts: 8,147

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  how you all like the new beta ?
• Geminii23 Posts: 1,327

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  DAZ_Spooky said:

  Renpatsu said:

  Quite impressive list of new features, just tested the OpenSubDiv a bit and love it already. UV switch on geometry shells ... that should come in handy as well. Also can't wait to see if the CMS is more stable on Mac.

  Thank you for making this beta publicly available :)

  CMS is significantly on the 12 plus Macs we have been testing it on. If it isn't more stable on all Macs, we need to know about sooner instead of later. :)

  I am running OSx 10.6.8 and I would definitely be willing to Beta test. Do I simply need to add to cart and will the update install through DIM or do I need to do a new clean install?

  Thanks.
• SnowSultan Posts: 3,507

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  how you all like the new beta ?

  Working fine for me so far, but I have no idea how to save a Spot Render in a new window, nor do I really know why any of those new Subdivision features are a big deal when very few products even use SubD in Studio. If you can explain either, please do. :)
• wancow Posts: 2,708

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  SnowSultan, that's because DAZ Studio is still an afterthought. It should be the opposite. See the video on OpenSubDiv I posted in the other thread.
• cwichura Posts: 1,042

  April 2013 edited April 2013

  Won't have a chance to play with this for a bit, especially since it can't co-exist on the same machine as the current prod release. So...

  What exactly are Surface Selection Sets? Also curious how exactly a hierarchical pose preset differs from a regular pose preset.

  And I'm very curious to hear about people's results testing the new OpenSubDiv meshes exported via Reality (or Luxus) to LuxRender. And did they finally fix the issue with subdiv levels reverting to max limit of two when a scene is re-opened?

  Ptex is cool, but also "so what", since there are so few tools to create them. I doubt we'll see much use of them from content providers.

  Post edited by cwichura on April 2013
• cwichura Posts: 1,042

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  SnowSultan said:

  nor do I really know why any of those new Subdivision features are a big deal when very few products even use SubD in Studio. If you can explain either, please do. :)

  
  I use SubD all the time to smooth out the low-poly models that so much Poser/Studio content comes with. Seems many content creators are still stuck in the mindset that all customers have a 10+ year old derelict of a machine, and if they don't underrez their products, they won't sell. You don't specifically need products designed for SubD; Studio allows you to apply it to any object you load.

  And don't forget that Genesis is built around the use of SubD...
• SnowSultan Posts: 3,507

  April 2013 edited April 2013

  OK, but like I said, those features are really only going to be useful if we take advantage of them. Studio has had normal map support and a very powerful node-based shader system for quite a while and both are going to waste because almost no one is using them. Hopefully since, as Cwichura said, Genesis already uses Sub-D, we will in fact get more models besides it and the Sub-D dragon that can take full advantage of them.

  (edit: I do know that you can use SubD on any object, but it's usually unnecessary).

  Now, does anyone know how to save a spot render in a new window? That's the feature I updated for! ;)

  Post edited by SnowSultan on April 2013
• cwichura Posts: 1,042

  April 2013 edited April 2013

  SnowSultan said:

  (edit: I do know that you can use SubD on any object, but it's usually unnecessary).

  
  I beg to differ. I have been working on a render today that uses Powerage's PowerWhip, and it's looks like utter crud with noticeable kinks for each bone when you dial in any kind of bend to it. Edit->Convert to SubD and instantly it looks like a curved surface instead of a stairstep. Bumped it to two levels of SubD and all evidence of stairsteping was completely gone. I find I end up SubD'ing stuff in almost every render I do, because the content creator was too stingy with their geometry. Maybe it's just that grazing angle shadow artifacts are much more apparent using LuxRender (which I do all my renders with) than with 3Delight or Firefly... (But the PowerWhip was dreadfully stairstepped even in Studio's viewport, never mind exporting it for rendering. And to think Powerage only officially supports Poser, which doesn't have the ability to SubD an item to rescue it like Studio does...)

  Post edited by cwichura on April 2013
• RAMWolff Posts: 10,146

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  wancow said:

  DAZ_BHowell said:

  
  4) Added support for OpenSubdiv subdivision algorithms; Catmark, Bilinear, Loop; adds support for edge and/or vertex weights/creasing.

  <<<<<<<-----****FAINTS****....</div>

  NICE NICE NICE and updated CCT's too! YAY!
• Storypilot Posts: 1,660

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  Very excited to try this, especially if it is more stable on Macs.
• ketthrove Posts: 63

  April 2013 edited April 2013

  SnowSultan said:

  Now, does anyone know how to save a spot render in a new window? That's the feature I updated for! ;)

  Spot Render is a "Tool" and so its option(s) are in the Tool Settings Pane.

  Post edited by ketthrove on April 2013
• RAMWolff Posts: 10,146

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  ketthrove said:

  SnowSultan said:

  OK, but like I said, those features are really only going to be useful if we take advantage of them. Studio has had normal map support and a very powerful node-based shader system for quite a while and both are going to waste because almost no one is using them. Hopefully since, as Cwichura said, Genesis already uses Sub-D, we will in fact get more models besides it and the Sub-D dragon that can take full advantage of them.

  (edit: I do know that you can use SubD on any object, but it's usually unnecessary).

  Now, does anyone know how to save a spot render in a new window? That's the feature I updated for! ;)

  Spot Render is a "Tool" and so its option(s) are in the Tool Settings Pane.

  Would be nice if DAZ added a right click option when the spot render is used to save image to desktop.
• rbtwhiz Posts: 2,179

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  Pose Preset = Apply a single pose to a figure/prop, per preset.

  Hierarchical Pose Preset = Apply multiple poses to multiple figures/props [within a common hierarchy], per preset.

  For instance... Figure A leaps forward to punch Figure B in the jaw. Figure B reacts to being punched in the jaw by Figure A. In the past, this has always taken at least two Pose Presets; one to apply to Figure A after selecting Figure A, and one to apply to Figure B after selecting Figure B. With a Hierarchical Pose Preset, both poses are in the same preset and so long as both figures have a common ancestor (i.e. a group) the poses are applied to the respective figure, simultaneously.

  Now expand that example to include several figures... and several props... all interacting with one another... all applied using a single preset.
• cwichura Posts: 1,042

  April 2013 edited April 2013

  Thanks for the explanation, rbtwhiz. That is actually pretty darned powerful.

  Post edited by cwichura on April 2013
• cwichura Posts: 1,042

  April 2013 edited April 2013

  Ptex requires every base (pre-SubD) face to have a facetid so it can look up the per-face texels. How is this going to be imported & stored in Studio? And will we be seeing an update to Genesis Starter Essentials with a new geometry file for Genesis with DAZ-mapped facetids so there is a standard for folks to use in creating Ptex skins for Genesis?

  Edit to add: Reading Disney's Ptex paper, explicit facetids don't seem to be a requirement. They imply the facetids are auto-generated by vertex order of the geometry itself.

  Also, anyone know if the texture filtering that Ptex allows for it to deal more gracefully than traditional UV maps with texture stretching issues? That would be a good reason for DAZ to release a Ptex-based 'Elite' character skin. (Although I'd not personally be able to use it, since I do all my renders in LuxRender, which doesn't support Ptex.)

  Post edited by cwichura on April 2013
• rbtwhiz Posts: 2,179

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  When the Spot Render tool is active, the options for that tool are displayed in the Tool Settings pane; this is true of all Viewport Tools, the Spot Render tool just never had any options before now. The option that has been added to the Spot Render tool is one in which you can now choose where the image will render to. The Viewport option, the default [and only option prior to this release], causes the render to occur in the same place it always has... directly within the viewport, sized according to the size of the rectangle you drag within the viewport. Choosing the New Window option now causes the area of the viewport within the rectangle you drag with the tool to be rendered to a new window (just like a full render), with a relative size and position that corresponds with your current Render Settings. This is useful, for instance, because you can now re-render just a portion of an image and layer it above a previous render to "patch" that image without having to re-render the entire thing... and the re-rendered portion is already appropriately sized and positioned, waiting for you to do just that.
• DAZ_cjones Posts: 637

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  cwichura said:

  Ptex requires every base (pre-SubD) face to have a facetid so it can look up the per-face texels. How is this going to be imported & stored in Studio? And will we be seeing an update to Genesis Starter Essentials with a new geometry file for Genesis with DAZ-mapped facetids so there is a standard for folks to use in creating Ptex skins for Genesis?

  Edit to add: Reading Disney's Ptex paper, explicit facetids don't seem to be a requirement. They imply the facetids are auto-generated by vertex order of the geometry itself.

  Also, anyone know if the texture filtering that Ptex allows for it to deal more gracefully than traditional UV maps with texture stretching issues? That would be a good reason for DAZ to release a Ptex-based 'Elite' character skin. (Although I'd not personally be able to use it, since I do all my renders in LuxRender, which doesn't support Ptex.)

  The order of the faces in the cage determines the facetids, no extra data needed. Ptex allows texture resolution per face so it can help in some issue with stretching if done right.
• Slosh Posts: 2,391

  April 2013 edited April 2013

  Okay, just a little time to play around and already I like some of the new features very much. My favorite so far is Surface Selection Sets. Easy to set up, wonderful to use. You just got to the Surfaces Tab context menu, Edit Selection Sets, create names for your sets, such as Body, Eyes, then assign the materials to the set. Iris, Pupil, Sclera go to the Eyes, and I would do a separate one for the cornea and tear, maybe call it "Clear". Then, you just choose that set out of the regular list on the left side of the surfaces tab and it automatically selects all the mats in that group.

  The gamma correction option is pretty cool, too. Takes that ultra-shine off of items in the scene. Spot render to new window is great, for the reasons listed above (re-render only portion of scene to composite later).

  The only drawback, so far, is that I don't seem to be able to convert a material to LuxMaterials. The option doesn't even show up in the context menu. It is there for lights, but not materials. BUT, if I load a scene from before I installed the beta, in which I used LuxMaterials, the material settings appear in the left side list.. Just can't create new conversions.

  Post edited by Slosh on April 2013
• wancow Posts: 2,708

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  SnowSultan said:

  OK, but like I said, those features are really only going to be useful if we take advantage of them. Studio has had normal map support and a very powerful node-based shader system for quite a while and both are going to waste because almost no one is using them.

  I may be a rare case, but I do use Normal maps, and just about everything I build for D|S uses subdiv, and I know I'm not the only one.

  But I just wanted to tell you why I think this move by DAZ to support OpenSubDiv and, now that I understand a bit more about PTex, that too, is huge. It proves beyond doubt that DAZ not only wants to expand the market with this software, it wants this software to be taken very seriously by the industry at large. That those of us working with it aren't simply spinning our wheels in the hobby market, that there's a real future for those using it who want to go there.

  I couldn't wait to get my butt over to CGTalk and post a link to this thread... It's still surprising to me that there are those there who still haven't got the first clue what OpenSubDiv is... every time I see that video I drool over it. That DAZ has put in ANY of those features at all is just flipping huge...

  Forgive me, I'm gushing... but I remember at SIGGRAPH in 1999 when I heard about SubDiv for the first time and face to face got to ask Steve Cooper if it would ever happen in Poser... he avoided the question, and here we are fourteen years down the line and Poser still hasn't got it...

  It proves to me that DAZ want's DAZ Studio to be the best it can be and the D|S user to have top notch tools to work with. Hell... maybe it'll attract more plugin authors to bring in things like editable cloth, dynamics and particle emitters... there are a bunch of each of those out there...
• DAZ_cjones Posts: 637

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  Slosh said:

  Okay, just a little time to play around and already I like some of the new features very much. My favorite so far is Surface Selection Sets. Easy to set up, wonderful to use. You just got to the Surfaces Tab context menu, Edit Selection Sets, create names for your sets, such as Body, Eyes, then assign the materials to the set. Iris, Pupil, Sclera go to the Eyes, and I would do a separate one for the cornea and tear, maybe call it "Clear". Then, you just choose that set out of the regular list on the left side of the surfaces tab and it automatically selects all the mats in that group.

  The gamma correction option is pretty cool, too. Takes that ultra-shine off of items in the scene. Spot render to new window is great, for the reasons listed above (re-render only portion of scene to composite later).

  The only drawback, so far, is that I don't seem to be able to convert a material to LuxMaterials. The option doesn't even show up in the context menu. It is there for lights, but not materials. BUT, if I load a scene from before I installed the beta, in which I used LuxMaterials, the material settings appear in the left side list.. Just can't create new conversions.

  This is probably just an issue with menu updating. You can put it back by going to Window > Workspace > Select Layout... and re-apply your chosen layout, your you can re-add it with the Customize Dialog (Window > Workspace > Customize...)
• rbtwhiz Posts: 2,179

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  Surface Selection Sets are basically a means of referring to multiple surfaces using a single point of reference. For example... take a look at all of the Skin surfaces on Genesis (or better yet, the Genesis Supersuit). Say you want to be able to select one "thing" and, by way of selecting that "thing", be able set the Diffuse Color on all the various Skin surfaces at once... without having to remember each of the individual surfaces that participate in your definition of what it means to "change the skin color". And so we know what selecting that "thing" means in the future, we want to give that "thing" a name of "Skin Color". And then say we want to be able to select one "thing" and, by way of selecting that "thing", be able to set the texture map for all of the surfaces that participate in the "Torso" UV template... without having to constantly remember "which surfaces use the torso template again?"... but we want to be able to refer to some of the same surfaces as the ones that participate in "Skin Color" while allowing them to stay associated with "Skin Color" too. That "thing" that now allows this to happen, is a Surface Selection Set. And better still... Surface Selection Sets can be hierarchical. And better still... Surface Selection Sets share a namespace with the actual surfaces... so they can be referenced from within [hierarchical or standard] Material(s) Presets to apply settings to a superset of the surfaces.
• wancow Posts: 2,708

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  rbtwhiz said:

  Surface Selection Sets are basically a means of referring to multiple surfaces using a single point of reference. For example... take a look at all of the Skin surfaces on Genesis (or better yet, the Genesis Supersuit)

  All by itself this will be insanely helpful! Just out of curiosity, can you layer it? By that I mean, can you put say, the torso, face and limbs in their own groups, then also have an over-group to have all those together? That would be useful for applying shaders when you're not changing textures, or changing colours on the fly... For instance, I have all the skin and the lacrimal in the same subsurface group... it would be nice to have all of those in a group, but also have the Lacrimal grouped with the eye material zones to be able to grab those when I need to change texture sets...
• cwichura Posts: 1,042

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  How will export plugins like Reality or Luxus see the surface selection sets? I'm guessing they will only see the base surfaces and none of the selection sets.

  Although it would be handy if one could collapse the base materials away and have Reality/etc see only the surface selection sets. It would make applying material settings in Reality to the SuperSuit with its hundreds of mat zones MUCH easier if one could group them in Studio and then tell Studio to only make the custom selection sets show as if they were the base materials to the export plugins.
• SnowSultan Posts: 3,507

  April 2013 edited December 1969

  Thanks for explaining the Spot Render options and more about SubD features. Any new features are always welcomed, I just hope we put them to good use. :)