Which Daz characters for Poser 9 returnee
phil_23314
Posts: 0
Amazing! I've not been logged into DAZ since 2002 according to the web counter! Well, I thought it was about time I came back. Things have changed a lot too. Anyway, I've returned to the 3D market after a fair time away and I've purchased Poser 9 along with other software to get me going again. Thing is I'm not over impressed with the figures that come with it or, more particularly, the amount of clothing props available for them. Years ago I used to use Michael 3 and Victoria 3 so I thought that the latest versions of them would be the way to go. Trouble is I'm getting confused as to which will work with Poser 9. Some models only look like they will work with DAZ Studio (which I've downloaded but never really had the time to get to know.) Can anyone give me a push in the right direction? It will be most appreciated.
Thanks,
Phil.
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The Genesis, Victoria 5, Michael 5, and all Genesis related characters won't really work in Poser. Now before anyone jumps, there is a way to export their cr2s to Poser 9 or Poser Pro 2012 using the latest version of Daz Studio but I myself haven't tried it lately. I intend to but I haven't done it. :) Last time I tried it, the process was quite flawed but that's been quite some time ago. Hopefully they've improved the system.
What you want/need is Victoria 4, Michael 4, Kids 4, etc. Those work without any issues in Poser. I use Poser Pro 2012 myself (basically its just Poser 9 with some extra features) and the 4 series characters are my go to characters. No fiddling needed to use them and there are lots and lots of addons!
Those aren't your only options though. There are some original outside figures too. Antonia Polygon is a free female figure that's been updated to use Poser's latest features and I just found out tonight that RuntimeDNA released a new figure called Michelle that looks very, very promising. There's also a host of toon figures and lots more. Heck, I've been out of the world for two or three months and there's been so much change. I can't imagine what all has changed for you since 2002!
As pointed out M4, V4, K4 are probably the way to go, with SP4, A4 (both for V4) and H4 (for M4) available as add-ons that can use the same clothing (assuming it has the right morphs - sometimes the morphs for the extra fits come separately as 'Unimesh fits' here at DAZ). There's also Freak 4, an add-on for M4, but that has some issues with Poser scaling. You will almost certainly want the morphs++ packs for the basic figures to allow you full flexibility in morphing characters. A development since you were last involved is the availability of high quality character textures using alternative shaders, the Elite textures here at DAZ use the Studio Human Surface Shader (but have perfectly adequate Poser textures as well), and you'll see other characters offering things like SSS for Poser (sub-surface scattering - the translucency effect found in real skin).
A little more on Genesis - it's a single figure able to morph to male, female, or monster shapes, and Genesis clothing morphs with it. V5 and M5 are optimised male and female morphs for Genesis. Genesis can also wear any Generation 4 clothing through a Studio 4 feature called Autofit (though it does have a real problem with Gen 4 shoes), and, with the purchase of some add-on packs, Generation 3 clothing as well, however this is a Studio only feature. Some Poser users are successfully using Genesis in Poser, though the export process seems to discourage most. Genesis can also wear Generation 4 character textures, while a Studio add-on called Generation-X will allow (with the right add-on packs - same ones as Autofit) Generation 4 and/or 3 character morphs to be transferred to Genesis.
DAZ releases are now heavily biased towards Genesis, though of course there is an extensive Generation 4 back-catalogue that isn't going away, other stores such as Renderosity and RDNA have largely remained focussed on Generation 4, with limited support for Genesis.
You say you've downloaded Studio, but if you haven't done that recently (in the last 6 months) then you would be well advised to pick up the current version, which is actually the previously charged-for Studio Pro and includes Genesis with basic male, female and child characters.
There is a weight mapped version of V4 floating around (I believe you can get the kit from RDNA) which will convert DAZ V4 to a weight mapped version. It also has a rig tool to refit V4 clothes. A similar weight mapped M4 is in the works, so I here.
There are also a number of new figures, designed from the ground up for Poser 9/PP2012, such as Anastasia, Michelle and Bella as well as a couple new ones due in September, MIki4 and Tyler. They don't have the traction of the V4/M4 generation (so far, nothing has reached their level of available content) so you might want to look into clothing conversion solutions like Wardrobe Wizard or Crossdresser (XD).
Cheers!
-K
Not to touch off another Poser vs DAZStudio war, but if you've been out of this since 2002 you really want to try the latest DAZStudioPro. If you're still happy with Poser after that then fine, but DS has gone through a few major overhauls since 2002 and you might be quite pleased with what you find (especially Genesis).
DAZ|Studio was a few months away from its 1.0 release when I got into this in June of 2005, but I was under the impression that the 0.x versions went back a few years. How many years? The Wikipedia article isn't helping, anybody know?
But back on topic: for somebody whose last experience with studio-type 3D software was in 2002 and who wants to use the latest'n'greatest figure, DAZStudioPro4.5 (with Genesis!) is definitely worth a fresh look IMHO.
(clipped bit....) if you've been out of this since 2002 you really want to try the latest DAZStudioPro. (...) DS has gone through a few major overhauls since 2002 and you might be quite pleased with what you find (especially Genesis).
Yep! :)
And it's FREE:
http://www.daz3d.com/shop/free-3d-models-and-content/daz-studio-4-pro
Yep! :)
And it's FREE:
http://www.daz3d.com/shop/free-3d-models-and-content/daz-studio-4-pro
I'm assuming this is a public beta?
I'm tempted, but I got bitten so badly with one of the DS3 betas that I've sworn off beta software. Particularly since you have to keep updating it to the latest version and they don't settle on a final one until a few months after the official release.
But what are the latest issues with the current version. I've heard that the autofit is closer to being ready for prime time.
ETA: Oh duh. I see you're pointing to the current DS4Pro. Yeah, that one's a steal at the price...
No the full Pro version is free as a full release. Not a Beta!
You just download it and go to town.
Get it here: DAZ Studio 4 Pro
Not sure when the project started, probably somewhere in 2002.
We are very close to having the 4.5 ready for full release. We are simply fixing a couple of bugs before it goes live. There are a ton of bug fixes, speed ups in the viewport and a lot more. Keep watching for the release.
I feel your pain Phil, since daz has gone to genesis and smith-mirco has gone to alyson nothing is compatible anymore accept for the generation 4 models. and even in Daz studio4 you will need to learn how to use the auto-fit tool to make Gen 4 models work with genesis.
Have you tired looking at the renderosity web site ( http://www.renderosity.com/ ) they cater more to the poser user and have a very large market for poser 9 and 2012 pro with some very good quality models for aylson. I am a die hard poser user myself so i know where your coming from.
But please don't get me wrong i love to use Daz studio. But daz 4 pro has more than a few bugs if you are going to try to use it to create animations. the older vfx tools like particle -FX Nerds vfx products like wave tool and fog tool and some of the older daz plugins wont work in daz4. But they still do work in poser9 and 2012 versions, so that is something to consider if you are thinking of investing in effect environment models.
Even Daz.com own animation promos such as this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRGko9XXB6U&feature=plcp) use Still graphic in a slide show instead of actual animation. But other than that Daz4 works really good for still graphics. daz4 renders quality is terrific, the lighting and Super-smoothing maps I think are better in daz than poser. and Daz has made some great improvements in character development. I just wish that the animation part would be improved, But i think in time it will.
It is also my understanding its easier for the venders to create models for genesis then gen 4 models as well. So there is a lot of pluses.
But don't give up on your poser program just yet, as you said you been out of the game a while it will take a little while to get warmed back up :)
i'm starting to think of Luxrender as the equalizer. with the pos2lux for poser and reality2 for ds.
d/l Lux only last week.
still too new to it to know if genesis from ds and anastasia from poser can be combined into one render scene in Lux?
My impression is that it is even more confusing than merely Gen4 vs Genesis.
DAZ and Smith-Micro have both ado-pted weight-mapping. Only like their dueling dynamics, their versions of weight mapping are absolutely incompatable.
i.e., Genesis will only go into Poser as an exported .cr2-> .obj so far as I can tell (not dealing with that, so unclear on the details). While, in the other corner, somebody has brought out a weight-mapped V4 which works with Poser's new rigging.
And of course both programs have incompatable new rigging. Legacy rigging appears to work in both still, on older figures, but new items with the new rigging have to declare for one or the other.
It's a mess and likely to remain so until there is a clear winner. At the present people are hedging their bets and sticking with Gen 4, that still works in both.
I actually purchased Poser 9 as it's part of a family of software I've used before and like many people I have a family and by the time I've got them sorted it's usually past 9pm. At that time I'm not really up to learning new interfaces and such. I've downloaded DAZ Studio a couple of times in the past but never really been able to give it the time it deserves. The Poser interface, like it or loath it, is something I'm familiar with.
This has been superb advice from everybody and for now I'll stick with M4 & V4 as, like it has been pointed out, there's a lot of resources out there for them but I will give DAZ Studio another go as soon as I can.
There is a render thtead that was started for the Gen 4 characters. It has been a bit mislaid, but it here if you want to browse through what some people are doing with M4 and V4
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/1936/
BTW we do also have a dedicated Poser Forum, if you need to ask any questions or need some hints and tips.
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/categories/300/