New Dianna addon, AFE and ASE needed?
FSMCDesigns
Posts: 12,843
Ok, I like the look in the promos on the new Dianna character and none of the promos state they are using the Dmaster enhancment addons. The description states you don't need AFE and ASE and that she will be fine without them, but what does that mean. I need to know that what I see in the promos is what i am going to get when I purchase. can anyone confirm this?
I have no interest in the Auto Face Enhancer (AFE) and Auto Shape Enhancer (ASE) products, so don't want to have to return Dianna if she doesn't look as advertised in the promos.
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She won't look like she does in the add-on, she'll look like she does in the promos for the character.
The HD addon appears to come with the standard "HD" character that we are used to and at the same time has a "smoothed" mesh or w/e that is supported by the AFE, so the AFE works on this character, only if you buy the HD addon.
To be honest, I think the way they advertised the HD addon is a bit confusing, but i think they just wanted to showcase how good the character will look with the AFE, and maybe this is how they will continue to provide smoothed meshes for the AFE in future (it will come with HD addons?)
But even if the AFE product is considered to be a requirement, it's hard to see how the ASE could be considered a required product?
Thanks for the replies. i am still a bit confused though. Looking at all the promos, no where does it state that they are done with or need ASE and AFE. I am tempted not to purchase to make a stand against additional HD addons coming out now for non core DAZ characters, I feel that is the last thing we need are additional HD morphs being sold for non DAZ characters,
Yes, it's confusing because she seems to have both HD and AFE mesh, so difficult to know whether the Dianna "HD shape" is being showcased in the promos or whether its the Dianna "AFE skin details". And difficult to know whether you can use the HD without having AFE. I assume you can apply the HD but just cant use the AFE skin details.
I wouldn't touch anything AFE-related with a 10-foot pole.
I think the products had some teething problems, but seem to have been resolved now. (I dont own the products, but judging by the commercial products thread that seems to be the case).
What's interesting is that the PA is releasing an AFE add on for Dasan 8, which already has a separate HD addon. So now there are three different types of products:
It seems to be a break with convention to not have the HD add-on either separate for Daz Original products or included with PA products. Doing an HD+AFE add-on together for a PA figure seems like a way to inflate the perceived value of the AFE add-on, since you would usually get the HD with the PA figure.
This really interested me when I noticed it as well! I don't think there's anything wrong in the slightest with a PA promoting one of their products with another product... but I certainly hope for my bank accounts sake it doesn't start a trend of artists releasing base characters and then seperate HD add-ons lol!
If you look at this final comparitive HD/Non-HD promo given in the HD Add On product page, it makes me think that the product images for base Dianna do indeed have the HD Add On in place...
But I guess we won't know until someone buys and confirms or the PA confirms :)
I only have AFE for G8 male and haven't had incredible success with it... I tend to think my characters look a bit TOO narly with it applied and/or the skin details a tad plastic... but that's probably got more to do with my understanding and skill with the product than it's actual quality, as I have seen others produce beautiful images with it.
We already have outfits, especially ones that are part of bundles where you get one kind of "meh" texture with the main product, and then there are other, usually more interesting textures sold separately, often by the same PAs. Although in those cases, you can make the argument that people also buy shaders and can make their own materials, and they have the option of buying the garment base at a lower price, i.e. without paying for addtional textures they have no need for and then creating variations on their own. In practice however, the separate textures usually offer details you won't get by slapping a couple of shaders on the base product.
But in this case, having the HD add-on costing more than the character it's designed for is kind of rich.
I also thought at first look that this kind of HD Add-on sepparated from the normal character for a PA item (similar to the HD Add-on for base characters in price) is weird.
But I think in this case, the add-on might be worth it. It adds a lot of details similar to what pores would looks like. I don't even want to think about what kind of work goes into something like that.
I didn't buy it yet as my store credit is low already following the Dasan 8 Pro bundle and March Madness but it is definately in my wishlist.
Even without the character, the Add-on looks like it would give a lot of realism to any other character. With the added benefit that you can still use the normal maps for that skin textures for different kind of details.
To be honest, this is kind of what I would have expected from https://www.daz3d.com/hd-head-morphs-for-genesis-8-female and https://www.daz3d.com/hd-body-shapes-for-genesis-8-female instead of the minimal details that those 2 do contain.
If anyone has bought this HD Add-on, I would love to see it on other characters, to see how it lends itself there. (I feel, if it can be transferred there it would also be good for male characters)
You've all raised really good points. You're totally right.
Alex, have you had a look at the D.Master AFE products in the store? Because they sound like what you're looking for :) This is the pack for males and for females
Hi all,
I can answer any of the questions here.
https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/317856/auto-face-enhancer-commercial#latest
https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/389081/auto-muscle-enhancer-hd-commercial#latest
1-you, don't need ASE to work with Dianna. However, her custom body morphs require Morphs enhancement that will make her look more realistic when posing.
Please follow this link to see what ASE can do.
https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/315396/auto-shape-enhancer-commercial#latest
You can try out the product. give it some time to get to know it better. It is a bit of an advanced understanding. I have designed it for the novice to professional to help with a lesser workload when they port the product onto the game or to render high rez images.
I have tried to make it as simple as I can.
2-HD details are very expensive. It needs a lot of time. Thus why HD on Daz's main characters is sold sepperately.
3-D. Master HD character will always comes with his/her own HD along with AFE HD. These are custom HD details morphs that sometimes take weeks to put together, so you may see the detail on the characters' faces.
4-I hope and will try to help answer all questions.
HD- will have HD on the G8F figure. SubD4
HD-Will also has Skin Detail setting on AFE - this is for close up skin detail. Please get to know the product. It is a game-changer when you understand what it does.
In order for us to do promo images = rendering images. We need the Model the HD model to start. The better the detail the easier the render.
You cannot get the skin details from the G8 figure unless a SubD6 builds.
You can get better skin details on AFE. (Details are only in the eyes of the beholder)
AFE is for close up render. if it is far away you turn AFE off. Pro use AFE to generate normal maps. With normal maps, you then can just use G8F in SubD1-2.
Thank you!
AFE adds the Skin details. G8 figure does not have the ability to add that Skin detail level.
AFE HD add-on Skin detail level. This additive. Needs works. Needs someone to build it. Time spent to create visual simplicity can only be reward with some form of compensation. If you don't need that detail then you don't need AFE. If you like to make the details then please understand what AFE is all about.
What are the Benefits to AFE?
1-AFE is for you to see HD without turning the G8 figure to SubD-3 or 4.
2-AFE add skin details, age the character, add veins, skin pores, skin bump, skin lines or age lines, and facial definition.
3-AFE add more detail expression
4-AFE future will expand into detail animate-able skin scars, mold placement, and hand facial distortions.
I will buy both versions of AME along with the two products of AME that are prerequisites. Also I will add both the skin details to the 4 AFE products I have already.
AFE females and AFE Male are not the same in Daz3d. However, they are the same Geometry. You can import the morphs from one to the next.
(note: you must know what you are doing before bringing in the morphs)
Daz3d structure Male and Female separately. Thus why we have Male/Female Characters. It is how business works. As a PA I do more work than the money dictates. Some months are good most months nothing at all. It is more works than a regular job. It is the only work I can work on for now.
Each character that comes out has a dif geometry. This geometry must be modified to achieve the smoothness = face normal. Like all characters, each one will have custom HD. If you add the HD on to another character the geometry or the details will not be accurate. To some, this will be good enough. To others, it is not. Yes, you can save money by using other HD, if you just playing with Daz3d. Time and effort will always represent in the images. If you can understand using Daz3d for work and paying $20 for a skin detail that would have cost you to hire a pro to do a skin for $1600.
The male version will be like Dason 8. When AFE come out for him. If you need the skin details then you need AFE.
Will the HD details look on my custom character face as good as on the face of the character it was originally sculpted for? No way it will. Will my custom characters look better if I made custom textures and using my own sub div4 sculpt and export the details as displacement maps? Oh absolutely.
But then, I have no interest using fully out of the box characters from other artists. It has nothing to do with the quality of said products. I want to render what follows my artistic vision and I see characters made by other people as merely tools to achieve what I had in my mind. Therefore I have to accept that the tools I purchase don't work as well as their original intention.
I believe this is one aspect that has made Daz Studio and its ecosystem so successful, because it allows people with limited time and budget and options to play with assets created by others, and the costs of creating of these assets are shared among as many customers as this particular PA could attract, while at the same time retaining the option to customize the final result to some extent. Both customers and PAs have to deal with the constraints of this business model. But at the end it's not so much different than eating in a a la carte restaurant or hire a chef to tailor and prepare a meal completely by your custom wishes.
Very Well Said, and I agree.