Digital Art Zone

What’s the differences between them, and how different is the controls and so on?

I’m awaiting a custom made, super mega beefy computer, soon, and want to know what to use, especially since I do have a comic series that I want to start this up coming year.

By the way, is there any landscape kit or something with a variety of environments?  I’d like to find something good and not have to download and instal dozens of stuff from shareCG and end up having most of them either give me error messages or be stuck with pieces of white glossy plastic-like landscape.

DAZ Studio 3 is the old version, DS 4.0 is newer, DS 4.5 is newest. You cannot use Genesis and Genesis related clothing in DS3. If you are a new user, I am curious how you got DS3 because it is no longer sold in DAZ store. I don´t use DS3 myself, so hopefully someone more knowledgeable will soon pop in and give you a proper advice.

One of the big advantages I found to DS4 is that you can add you own mat zones to things without having to go outside to another program. Plus, of course, Genesis runs native in it. Ergo, a lot of the newer content in the store won’t always run in anything earlier. And autofit is helpful—still not perfect, but a whole lot better than the first version.

You can still run most your older content in DS4.5, although some plugins need upgrading. And DS4.5 renders a lot faster on the whole.

What *kind* of landscaping are you looking for? Open nature? Urban scenes? SciFi?

landscape kit or something with a variety of environments?

Bryce is just what you want and it now free !

JOdel - 05 November 2012 02:13 AM

One of the big advantages I found to DS4 is that you can add you own mat zones to things without having to go outside to another program. Plus, of course, Genesis runs native in it. Ergo, a lot of the newer content in the store won’t always run in anything earlier. And autofit is helpful—still not perfect, but a whole lot better than the first version.

You can still run most your older content in DS4.5, although some plugins need upgrading. And DS4.5 renders a lot faster on the whole.

What *kind* of landscaping are you looking for? Open nature? Urban scenes? SciFi?

i’m not gonna use Genesis, I’ll stick to Aiko4, Victoria4, Michael4, and Hiro4. 

As for landscapes, a mix of all of ‘em.

landscape kit or something with a variety of environments?

Bryce is just what you want and it now free !

  I have absolutely no experience with Bryce, so I have no idea what to do there…..and I am still trying to figure out how Daz works. o.O   I want something with a variety of environments…..forests, deserts, tundra, seas, caves, a few futuristic cities, some ancient ruins, etc.  And not have to clog up my computer with so many environments like I see on ShareCG, most of them barely work for me, just either being glossy plastic or just giving me some sort of error message, and not being able to use it.

DAZ Studio 3 is the old version, DS 4.0 is newer, DS 4.5 is newest. You cannot use Genesis and Genesis related clothing in DS3. If you are a new user, I am curious how you got DS3 because it is no longer sold in DAZ store. I don´t use DS3 myself, so hopefully someone more knowledgeable will soon pop in and give you a proper advice.

I won’t worry much about Genesis, I’m gonna stick to the generation4 folks.  I started Daz3 in April of 2011, my compy got messed up in February of this year and only started again this September.  I got Daz3 on my new, 1 or 2 terabyte external hard drive.

I just want to use something that will allow me to make the 3D comics that I’ve had in mind to make.

Also, what’s the difference between these 2 items?
http://www.daz3d.com/shop/software/daz-studio-4/daz-studio-4-5-sdk 
http://www.daz3d.com/shop/software/daz-studio-4/daz-studio-4-pro

the first one is if you want to program
the other is if you want the newest version of DS

link to help you with Bryce
http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/artzone/pub/software/bryce/start

You will run into problems with old DS3 if you buy some new items or shaders in DAZ store, because most creators now release only products compatible with DS 4.5, which won´t work in DS 4.0 or DS 3. Of course if you already have enough content and won´t need more, or if you´ll buy only older pre-DS4.5 items, then all is fine.

the majority of vendors are still releasing more V4/M4 related products over Genesis due to the complexities of Genesis especially on sites outside of Daz3D, a there is a litany of packages and 3rd party development is still exclusively DS3.

Go with what you like, but if you plan to use Generation 4 figures DS4 does not appear to offer a noticeable improvement over DS3 IMHO.
Your mileage may vary but I suggest you try both and see. Personally DS4 did not work out for me, and I continually go back to DS3. I’m not anti-DS4, I’d love to add it to my arsenal but it wasn’t offing me anything to keep me working around the issues I was experiencing.

TheCastellan - 05 November 2012 01:59 AM

What’s the differences between them, and how different is the controls and so on?

I’m awaiting a custom made, super mega beefy computer, soon, and want to know what to use, especially since I do have a comic series that I want to start this up coming year.

By the way, is there any landscape kit or something with a variety of environments?  I’d like to find something good and not have to download and instal dozens of stuff from shareCG and end up having most of them either give me error messages or be stuck with pieces of white glossy plastic-like landscape.

Check out dreamlounge.com.  He has some free environments and some very minimal costing backgrounds.

TheCastellan - 05 November 2012 02:24 AM

i’m not gonna use Genesis, I’ll stick to Aiko4, Victoria4, Michael4, and Hiro4. 

Also, what’s the difference between these 2 items?
http://www.daz3d.com/shop/software/daz-studio-4/daz-studio-4-5-sdk 
http://www.daz3d.com/shop/software/daz-studio-4/daz-studio-4-pro

I still use Aiko3.  Even though that model does not have all the features that Genesis does, features such as the Collision can be applied to any item in your scene.

In this scene here - http://mattymanx.deviantart.com/art/The-Driver-2-331682685 - the shirt and bra both have collision in use.  The shirt normally sits farther from model so I reduced the scale of it and let the collision do the rest to give it that tighter look.  I could have buiilt the whole scene in DS3 but I would have lacked some of the features I used in DS45.

The SDK stands for Software Developement Kit.  If you are not making plugins for DS45 then you do not need it and just the DS45 Pro instead.

Also, good thing is that you can have both DS3 and DS4 installed on your computer at the same time. You cannot have both DS 4.0 and DS 4.5 at the same time but you can have DS3 and either of them.

Proxima Shining - 05 November 2012 11:37 AM

Also, good thing is that you can have both DS3 and DS4 installed on your computer at the same time. You cannot have both DS 4.0 and DS 4.5 at the same time but you can have DS3 and either of them.

You can have DS4 and DS45 on the computer at the same time but I dont think its a good idea to run them at the same time as they share certain files.

Here is how to have them both.

1. Go to your DS4 folder and use a program like Winrar to compress everything into a single file.

2. Move that new compressed file out of that DS4 folder and uninstall DS4

3. Install DS45

4. Take the compressed DS4 file and decompress it to a location of your choice.

5. Go in to that new folder and you should be abel to run DS4 from that new location.

Then you can easily compare the two versions to see which one you prefer.

Mattymanx - 05 November 2012 11:43 AM

You can have DS4 and DS45 on the computer at the same time but I dont think its a good idea to run them at the same time as they share certain files.

Here is how to have them both.

1. Go to your DS4 folder and use a program like Winrar to compress everything into a single file.

2. Move that new compressed file out of that DS4 folder and uninstall DS4

3. Install DS45

4. Take the compressed DS4 file and decompress it to a location of your choice.

5. Go in to that new folder and you should be abel to run DS4 from that new location.

Then you can easily compare the two versions to see which one you prefer.

That´s very interesting. I have heard it would be impossible to have them both - something with the registries. I presumed DS4.5 would overwrite some of the files or registries that DS4.0 needs and thus DS4.0 would not work anymore after DS4.5 has been installed. Is that not so?

Proxima Shining - 05 November 2012 12:11 PM

Mattymanx - 05 November 2012 11:43 AM

You can have DS4 and DS45 on the computer at the same time but I dont think its a good idea to run them at the same time as they share certain files.

Here is how to have them both.

1. Go to your DS4 folder and use a program like Winrar to compress everything into a single file.

2. Move that new compressed file out of that DS4 folder and uninstall DS4

3. Install DS45

4. Take the compressed DS4 file and decompress it to a location of your choice.

5. Go in to that new folder and you should be abel to run DS4 from that new location.

Then you can easily compare the two versions to see which one you prefer.

That´s very interesting. I have heard it would be impossible to have them both - something with the registries. I presumed DS4.5 would overwrite some of the files or registries that DS4.0 needs and thus DS4.0 would not work anymore after DS4.5 has been installed. Is that not so?

It does…well, it actually will uninstall 4.0, that’s why you need to make it a compressed file before you install 4.5.

Well, Daz4.0 I won’t use, since I heard form friend of the headaches with crashes it gave them, so if I use a newer once when the new computer is completed, I’ll probably go for the 4.5 or something.

The reports on who has problems and who doesn’t are all over the map. Some people have never had any trouble at all (once they figure out where what they are looking for has been moved to), some have nothing but trouble. And from most accounts the underlying setups on the computers are pretty much the same. It’s a bit of a lottery.