Upgrade from Daz Studio 4.9 Pro to the latest 4.X Version (Effect?)

zetsu6040_069bdd73da

so i'm planning on updating my OS soon, and then my Daz software, after i have finished working on my current project.
i'm currently using Daz 4.9.2.70 Pro.
and i'm utilizing Iray for all my renders.
plus, i'm mostly just utilizing Victoria 4.2, Genesis 2, and Genesis 3 models because of their considerably lower file sizes.

Goal:
- improved rendering speed
i have seen a post on DeviantArt before about how an artist rendered exactly the same scene, comparing the performance of an older version to that of 4.10 or 4.11, and it showed a great improvement in terms of rendering speed (previously more than 20 minutes down to about only 4 minutes)
Question #1: have other artists experienced such improvement on rendering speed? 

Concern:
Question #2: my primary concern is if there would be drastic change(s) on how Daz and/or Iray would be interpreting and assigning values to skin textures?
i have experienced this before when installing Daz in different computers, since the former (a laptop) cannot handle Daz's optimum potential.
i managed to install Daz 4.9, but with different versions i believe (4.9.x.x).
back then i noticed a drastic change on how the system interpreted the G2M's default skin setting for a certain saved scene file.
originally, the skin was interpreted to be of a light skin tone.
but when opening that exact file to the newly installed Daz 4.9, the skin is already interpreted by both Daz and Iray as a darker skin tone.
so i'm concerned if i should expect the same change(s) if i upgrade from 4.9 to whatever is the latest now, since that would mean that i have to adjust the texture settings for all my characters all over again.
i'm assuming that only the latest version will be offered in the download option.

Question #3: what other drastic changes, especially the bad ones, have you observed after doing the upgrade?

Question #4: how do i upgrade manually, by the way?
i have the 'Download' option on my Product Library online.
but how would it initiate an upgrade?
i prefer downloading the files first, then manually installing them, coz i have experienced trouble before in letting the Install Manager install larger files (300 MB and above) because of issues regarding my internet connection.

i hope to hear from you guys.

outrider42

Going back to 4.9, some of this hard to remember. I can recall 4.10 better. 4.10 is actually faster in most cases than 4.11 or 4.12. I know because I still use 4.10 and have tested it myself. 4.12 is faster than 4.11 was, I cannot say if it is faster than 4.9. However, the biggest draw to 4.12 is how much faster the interface itself is. Things load faster. The viewport is more responsive, and large scenes that slowed down Daz do not do so in 4.12. These quality of life changes are most welcome and will make using Daz more enjoyable.

Now when I talk about 4.12, I am talking about the 4.12 beta, which has an updated version of Iray from 4.12 Pro.

Renders might look a bit different for a combination of reasons. Some lights might behave different, with some aspects being stronger than before. Skin translucency might be handled differently.

Since you have such an old version, the newer ones have added other things. Dforce being one. The denoiser being another. You might love the denoiser...or you might hate it. You just have to try it for yourself and see, it all depends on your style. Does 4.9 have chromatic ss?

You always download Daz from DIM and use DIM to install. It takes care of everything.

There is an alternative I suggest trying first: You can download the beta and keep your current 4.9 in tact.

https://www.daz3d.com/daz-studio-beta

That link provides instructions to download the beta, as it not super straight forward. Anyway, you can totally use the beta and 4.9 separately, or even at the same time if so desired. This way you can test all the new stuff for yourself. Plus like I said the beta has a new Iray that the Pro version does not have yet.

With the beta you can keep using 4.9 and maintain the same look for your pics, but you can use 4.12 for other things that may not depend on looking exactly the same. Also, you might prefer the new look. I think lights are softer from 4.9, or maybe I am thinking of 4.8. Anyway, the beta is safe to try, so give it a shot.

zetsu6040_069bdd73da

outrider42 said:

Going back to 4.9, some of this hard to remember. I can recall 4.10 better. 4.10 is actually faster in most cases than 4.11 or 4.12. I know because I still use 4.10 and have tested it myself. 4.12 is faster than 4.11 was, I cannot say if it is faster than 4.9. However, the biggest draw to 4.12 is how much faster the interface itself is. Things load faster. The viewport is more responsive, and large scenes that slowed down Daz do not do so in 4.12. These quality of life changes are most welcome and will make using Daz more enjoyable.

Now when I talk about 4.12, I am talking about the 4.12 beta, which has an updated version of Iray from 4.12 Pro.

Renders might look a bit different for a combination of reasons. Some lights might behave different, with some aspects being stronger than before. Skin translucency might be handled differently.

Since you have such an old version, the newer ones have added other things. Dforce being one. The denoiser being another. You might love the denoiser...or you might hate it. You just have to try it for yourself and see, it all depends on your style. Does 4.9 have chromatic ss?

You always download Daz from DIM and use DIM to install. It takes care of everything.

There is an alternative I suggest trying first: You can download the beta and keep your current 4.9 in tact.

https://www.daz3d.com/daz-studio-beta

That link provides instructions to download the beta, as it not super straight forward. Anyway, you can totally use the beta and 4.9 separately, or even at the same time if so desired. This way you can test all the new stuff for yourself. Plus like I said the beta has a new Iray that the Pro version does not have yet.

With the beta you can keep using 4.9 and maintain the same look for your pics, but you can use 4.12 for other things that may not depend on looking exactly the same. Also, you might prefer the new look. I think lights are softer from 4.9, or maybe I am thinking of 4.8. Anyway, the beta is safe to try, so give it a shot.

thank you for your advice.
if the size of Beta is just as large as Pro, then that won't be a problem for me.
but here are my new concerns:

1) so you mean that Beta and Pro are independent from one another?
that they'll have their own system folders, and that Beta won't make any change to files found in the Pro folder?

2) will Beta be utilizing the same content library (My Library) as that already existing for my Pro?
or should i backup My Library before installing Beta?

3) will i be allowed to work offline when using Beta?
coz most of the time, i'm really just offline to conserve internet data.

Mattymanx

The main thing to rememver is that you need to update your plugins along with the software so that they dont clash.  Other then that, after you update, in DS you need to update and merge menus to make sure everthing shows up.  I believe that is under "Windows  > Workspace" but I dont recall atm and I dont have access to Ds atm either.

 

As for the Beta and the stable release running side-by-side, they don't effect one another.  Daz3D made sure of that.  They intended both to be able to be installed at the same time.  A file created and saved in one will work in the other and can be saved as well.  Just make sure your authorship info in DS is the same for both verisions.  If not, you will get the "Save as..." window everytime you want to save your file.

The beta will use the same content library.

It can work off line like any other version of DS.

zetsu6040_069bdd73da

Mattymanx said:

The main thing to rememver is that you need to update your plugins along with the software so that they dont clash.  Other then that, after you update, in DS you need to update and merge menus to make sure everthing shows up.  I believe that is under "Windows  > Workspace" but I dont recall atm and I dont have access to Ds atm either.

 

As for the Beta and the stable release running side-by-side, they don't effect one another.  Daz3D made sure of that.  They intended both to be able to be installed at the same time.  A file created and saved in one will work in the other and can be saved as well.  Just make sure your authorship info in DS is the same for both verisions.  If not, you will get the "Save as..." window everytime you want to save your file.

The beta will use the same content library.

It can work off line like any other version of DS.

okay, that's good to hear.
i'm gonna give it a try soon.
thank you guys for your answers.

fastbike1

If you have an Nvdia GPU, you will probably have to update the driver. Minimum required drvier info is in the Beta forum.