Rarestone gone?
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Not really what we mean by requesting - and as far as I know no one has yet found where they went, the earlier suggestion turned out to be someone else I believe.
Understood. If anyone finds them, please add me to the DM list. Thanks!
RiverSoft has a script to install third-party content with Smart Content. It's very easy to use. I use it to install everything I buy over at Rendo.
But on the grand scheme of things, Smart Content kinda sucks anyways...it's probably a good idea to get used to using the Content Manager and dig into the file structure...or customize your own.
Question, how in the world do you remember all your content so that you can use content manager? I use it here and there, but smart content helps me figure out what I have to begin with.
Smart Content doesn't pull in everything. Like poses for example. I have so many poses, that it won't pull in even half of the pose packs I actually own...so the only way to use them is by using the Content Manager. Seriously, like half of what you own probably doesn't even come up for you and you don't even know it...or it just drops in the Lost and Found which is useless anyways. What I am currently doing, is setting up a "Melissa's Stuff" directory, going through my Content Directory one by one and copying the items into "Melissa's Stuff" in a customized and sorted fashion. That way, I don't break any Smart Content because I'm not changing the original file structure. So I have stuff like this for Environments -
3D Photo Scenes
Contemporary and Art Deco
Gothic and Medieval and Fantasy
Holiday
Middle Eastern and Indian and Egyptian
Other
Outdoor and Nature
Ruins and Caves and Dungeons
Sci-Fi and CyberPunk and Post-Apocalyptic
Victorian and SteamPunk and Pirate
Then I would do something simillar for Props and Animals and everything else. It's not really double-installing things, because I'm not copying the actual geometry and textures (which is the bulk of the file size)...I'm only copying the folders that have the .duf files, so it doesn't require that much extra space (I have 4TB available for Daz stuff anyways). The real time sink is going through everything because I have so much stuff. I really wish I'd done it all along.
Thanks for the explanation @melissastjames Your organization plan sounds great. I would run out of steam too quickly, but I do think that is a great option. Perhaps some day!
I use the Content Library, and find myself using the website to browse what I own by going to https://www.daz3d.com/structures and checking "Only show owned", for example. I believe the owned filter is part of the Daz-Deals extension. This gives me fast access to all the promos as I'm browsing the content that I own.
Of course, Rarestone's products (or any of the other PAs that have left recently) no longer are available in this way, which is a major bummer. Maybe this could be changed with the current round of website changes?
- Greg
ETA: I, too, will miss Rarestone if they are in fact gone for good as they were extremely talented and I've purchased the majority of their catalog.
@MimicMolly Did you try deleting cache and cookies for the site?
My favorite Smart Content feature was how it could be periodically forgetting DAZ-bought content and claiming that it wasn't installed even when duf files were accessible from the Content Library (or even could be loaded via the Windows explorer with DAZ Studio open).
If the not-always-Smart Content was working correctly then having it or not would be an important consideration. As it is, periodically fixing it can be taking more time than just loading things from the Content Library.
That is this product: https://www.daz3d.com/content-wizard
I think I need a tut to figure out how to do that LOL. I use the directory also - as much as I really love the idea of smart content with the visual images and the metadata way, it is far too consistantly broken and there is no easy way to "fix" the errors that are caused on the daz end with broken metadata - I need some way to simplify my copious amount of content. It's far too much scrollscrollscrolling in my environments and props especially to find something. I know how to create my own metadata for products purchased outside daz, but I haven't a grasp on 'setting up my own directory' as you mentioned.
Unfortunately, there is no rhyme or reason as to how products are structured, even with the same PA. So like there are Environments, but then stuff all over the place...some stuff in an Architecture folder, some stuff in Landscapes, some stuff in Landscape...some stuff filed under the product name, some stuff filed under the PA name. Some stuff that should be considered an environment set is in Props (like Stonemason's stuff...like wtf is that even in Props that makes no sense). It's infuriating and I can never find anything. So what I did was create a new sub-folder (you just have to add that sub-folder as an additional base directory) and then have it broken up into a structure that makes sense to me. To expand upon my example above, I have Animals. And then under animals I have -
Canines
Felines
Horses
Dragons
Birds
Monsters
Other
Then I go through the Content Libray and find anything that is an animal. So like Daz Horse 2 and HiveWire Horse. I copy those folders and drop them into my "Horses" folder. So now I have Daz Horse 2 and HiveWire Horse, along with all their corresponding poses and textures, in one folder that is easily accessed by me. I haven't changed the original file structure, because I just copied the folders over (those are the folders that have the .duf files to load the figures or materials, so I'm not copying the actual geometry or texture files). I have to go through my Content Library product by product to sort it in a way that makes sense to me because like I said, it's a friggen mess if left alone. It's going to take me forever to do, so the earlier you do that, the better.
Ah! I get it now! Thank you!
Yeah the inconstistancy on product naming and where it goes is mind boggling infuriating. I have no problem moving things around and renaming product folders as I do that quite often after installation. I just wasn't sure about when you said you "copy things over in a new folder". But I get what you are saying now.
I enjoy organising. LOL. I've often spend a few hours sitting here organising my runtime folders. The disconnect between environments and props folders is ridiculous - I have no problem moving something from props into environments, and I never leave anything in the "architecture" or "plant" etc folders in environment. I move weapon "props" from the props folder into the character it was designed for instead also. But it's becoming quite unwieldy. And there are still items in my Props folder that should be in the environments folder (i can never decide where to put dreamlight's 'render in a box' etc items!) You can see from the screenshots why I need to come up with a better idea for me to find things, so I think I may have to do your idea. (457 items in environments and 300 in props....sheesh) (screenshots also show how i rename product folders etc)
Yeah, I just created a new separate folder for my custom organization rather than re-arranging the original file structure. Once you move the original file structure in any way, the Smart Content breaks (I don't use it for the most part, but it still annoys me when it breaks). I know it takes up more space that way, but I have 4TB to play with so I have the space.
Yes and it's still the same. I even tried to look for any section where it says I'm following the creators, to double-check, but couldn't find one either.
I will try contact their support tomorrow like @Taoz suggested.
That makes absolutely no sense. What PA does this? Its not like they're going to get away if they've been breaking the law, and they're certainly not covering any tracks by selling the exact same content under a different name...
If the Daz store is taking 50% of the cut, its no wonder some of the well-established PAs are moving on. That's a pretty big cut given how much of the work PAs do. I'm not versed in how exactly Daz's business model works, but they need to change it up so that these PAs are encouraged to stick around; otherwise its going to lead to lost revenue. I've seen more than one business shoot itself in the foot by not taking action to avoid the "revolving door" syndrome with personnel and the negative effects it has on the company's product quality & productivity.
It's no secret that Daz takes half - that's been the cut here for lo these many years - ever since I was a PA, back in the dark ages (Vicky3 days). LOL
I guess I can't blame PA's for moving, especially now when things are so expensive all over and money is something you're never sure you're gonna get enough of. It's a gamble no matter what you do. Rotten times.
The 50% cut has been the rule for years, so nothing's changed in that respect.
Also, it's VERY VERY much worth it, as a PA. Daz handles all the billing stuff, sales, marketing, provides a storefront where people can come to shop (and, thus, see our products), gives valuable QA and feedback, helps us in a bunch of ways, deals with customer service, and so on.
I am happy to get half of each sale because I know I'm going to sell WAY more here than elsewhere, with fewer headaches.
This is exactly why I have to question a vendor's move to a storefront such as Gumroad. They'd have to get a fraction of the traffic to their products because it's a storefront that provides no viable means of finding them, short of knowing who they are already. I've even seen some vendors move to their own personal site...how can that be a solid business move? Sure, their fans know where to find them, but how would a new customer find them, such as someone new to Daz Studio? Unless they're trying to leave Daz Studio behind entirely as a means of income, it just doesn't seem like a sound business move to me, though I'm not a PA so I'm just using what sounds like common in my brain-pan. *shrugs*
POWERAGE is now all of a sudden named Christoph3D on that other store. He's created a ton of content and I've been buying his content for years. Now all his content at the other store is by Christoph3D, but he's still named POWERAGE in the DAZ Store. I have no belief that he's breaking any law. People, and vendors, have the right to change their name. Then there's that team Alpha Seed or Aeon Soul or whatever they're calling themselves now. You have an established brand and a big following, so what do you do - you change your name to confuse everyone and make your products virtually unfindable. Each of them may have a different reason for mucking around wih their identity. But it doesn't build trust amonst buyers. Then there's Zeddicus - isn't she also Ironman 13? Fabiana used to have a different name, which I've forgotten. Movie credits have all the names of the people who worked on the film. Musicians and vocalists have personal names, regardless of what bands they move around into, or what record label they're on. Is there sone reason we 3D content creators don't have real names? Every other kind of creative artist in the world has a real name known the the public - even if they change it, it's no big secret - Marilyn Monroe was Norma Jean Baker Lady Gaga makes no secret of the fact that her real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta or David Bowie's real name was David Jones. Listen, I don't care - I'm just curious why 3D content creators insist on keeping their real names secret.
They may not want their 3D business linked to their real life identity. It's relatively hard for a performer or similar public figure to keep their real name and identity a secret. although some have managed to. But if the majority of your business is based on creating products that have nothing to do with you beyond branding and selling them to a more or less anonymous online audience, that's not the kind of information everyone feels that audience needs. And if it's something they're doing on the side, I imagine there are a number of people who wouldn't necessarily want their 3D products coming up under searches for their real life names. "Hi, Grandma, I'm fine. How are you? No, those definitely are my sexy 3D doll outfits and yes I did do the pictures of the fake ladies with silly putty spines making bedroom eyes at the camera. Hey, it pays for groceries."
I imagine it's a personal decision in a lot of cases, though. I remember being surprised by learning that some well-known PAs had purged their back catalogues and changed their names once or more over the years, but when someone does something like that they've likely weighed the impact on their userbase and found that it was worth it to them.
There are other places to go now besides DS and Poser. There are a few vendors I know of who have gone to another software that I won't mention that utilizes 3D characters. Xurge3D and SWAM comes to mind. And that software generates much larger price points because it's used by more professional artists. Whether or not those artists can GET that extra moola I don't know ;).
Zedicus is a couple and not Ironman13
You can find where RareStone's store landed by googling "RareStone's Catalog".
No, they're different people.
Fabiana used "FKDesigns" as vendor name at 3DCommune long ago. She's only ever used "Fabiana" at Rendo and Daz though.
That led to posercontent.com which led right back here to Oops pages.
Same here...
Another point is something that has been alluded to: many of the merchants aren't individuals but everchanging consortia of artists so that Ironman 13, Zeddicus, Powerage, Aeon Soul, PowerAge are technically studios rather than a single entity with a single name. It is important to understand that 3D rendering is still a field that is developing so that pretty much most of the creators are doing this partly because it is fun for them. The name of their studio is tied to their creative identity and the bulk of them have day jobs. There was a musical group that began as the Primettes, became the Supremes, morphed into Diana Ross and the Supremes, and returned to the Supremes.
some get death threats, one who uses his real name has said so on Facebook and I believe it, I have witnessed it on many platforms, people have been doxxed, stalked its scary out there.
I won't use my real surname on Facebook in spite of their rules but I obviously don't try to use something that sticks out either, fortunately Carrara passes as a plausible surname.