Daz Studio 4.9 Beta Now Available..
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Yes, but not quite the same thing....lol There are subscriptions and then there are subscriptions.
And I will say that the PC membership is one of the best deals I've ever had. Really impressed with it and am very happy that I did right after I joined.
That's very nice, thank you.
Regarding DAZ COnnect, I like the ability to use DAZ Studio while downloading newly purchased contetnt. Maybe for people with really high bandwidth it's not a big deal, but I would really prefer to download the files separatrly and then install them. So I would love to see a paired down version of DIM that still goes out there to download the files. I'm really baffled at why DAZ is taking this route. There seems to be an assumption of infinite bandwidth. I'm a huge customer but only have a DSL connection, so DAZ Connect is going to be a hige step backward. Maybe that's a good thing since I spend way too much here.
The companies being used to compare against Daz aren't even in the same business though.
Daz brokers content made by hundreds of artists from around the world.
Those other companies author 3D content creation tools such as modelers, painters, sculptors, animators, and a few others.
Those companies rely on one time software sales to generate revenue.
Daz sells content to generate revenue.
No-one is going to keep buying $500 copies of a sculpting tool every month, or even every year for what is basically the same program.
They all started to switch to the subscription model because of this , and also because supporting versions that could be 5 years old or more gets expensive.
over in the Carrara forum I made a post some time ago with some of the math worked out,,,but it pretty much works out to one time software sales are in no way competitive with weekly content sales.
more people will be willing to give you $10/week for new cool stuff for Studio, than are going to give you $500 (or more) per month or year just to have the same program.
So when fears arise of Daz going to a subscription business model for the use of Studio, I really doubt it.
It would make much more sense to have a subscription model for the content store (that generates most of your revenue) that gives deep discounts and incentives for membership.This makes the stores goods much more attractive.
If you offer a free way for people to enjoy that content they just bought , that too helps to make store sales.
Studio is whole reason I have my new hobby :)
I also love being in the PC+ , it makes my hobby a lot more affordable.
Execept DIM never crashes and Studio does. And I lkike to use Studio while downloading content, especially since it will be added to the database and I can start using it when complete. I would really, really like to see a separate downloader.
It may bee moot though -- I am very, very leery of the encyption. I spend way too much on this to risk my investment and the headaches this DRM (authorization file == DRM) may bring.
There will be, though there isn't yet, an option to download a package that can then be isntalled and used on a registered machine - and if you are using it, as I would, to avoid bandwidth that still has the benefit that updates can be downloaded via Connect and will fetch only changed files. Of course it will take me at least several years to get moved to Connect unless I up my data allowance.
I'm asking for a DAZ Download Manager (DIM without the installer portion). It sounds like it what was described is a manual download. Not sure if it matters as the encryption is a huge turn off.
I don't know how it will work - it is, I think, aimed mainly at people who have to download remotely so it may be like the Product Library rather than DIM; however, we don't yet have any details (so it may not be too late to lobby).
We have that now, in the DIM. On the Ready to Download tab, at the bottom, is the option to "Install After Download." It's enabled by default. Just uncheck it. Then you can move your files as you choose.
ETA: And none of the files downloaded by the DIM are encrypted.
DAZ will be moving to DAZ Connect, so DIM will only stick around for non-DS-content. I'm just hoping the ability to use DIM to download the DAZ Connect files will still use DIM (or something like it).
And from what I gather new content will eventually ship with encypted files even when using DIM. You really need to separate how things are right now and how things are going to be, such as DAZ Connect only content, which we know is coming. Think about that future and what you may want to change about it and maybe you can alter how things play out.
No, DIM will use unencrypted files. There may be products in the future which are only available through Daz Connect, but products which are available through DIM or Product Library will be unencrypted.
Excellent idea!
That isn't what I keep reading in these official threads from the people who know. What I have heard is DIM will continue to be available until such time as the amount of use no longer justifies the cost of the servers to maintain it. The exact word used is "infinitesimal." And we are also told DIM won't go away until such time as the other DAZ programs—Bryce, Carrara, etc.—no longer require DIM to download and install content.
From the FAQ pages of the other official thread, (empahsis mine):
Will Daz Install Manager and Daz Connect work side by side? Can I choose one or the other?
Yes, both Daz Install Manager and Daz Connect can work side by side. Planned updates to Daz Studio and Daz Install Manager will help coordinate installation methods.
Are all products Daz Connect ready?
New products, as well as a huge selection of older products, will be offered through Daz Connect right away, with more of the older products having Daz Connect support added in the future. Our plans are for existing products that have been offered through non-Daz Connect methods to continue to be offered in those ways as well as through Daz Connect. New products will begin to migrate toward a Daz Connect-only delivery.
There has been a lot of knee-jerk reaction to DAZ Connect, and especially to the encryption of DAZ Studio specific files. Some of those posts include misinformation, which only perpetuates more knee-jerk reactions. That's not to say there aren't some valid concerns being voiced in those posts. But it is counterproductive to jump to conclusions and then get worked up about something that just isn't there.
For example, with the DIM, you have the option to not download, or install a product you own. The database knows about it, and you can download/install it whenever it fits your workflow. There is also an option to delete the zip file after the product is installed. But should you ever need to uninstall it, you can still download it and reinstall. Those files are stored on DAZ's servers, and you have access to them "forever," through DIM, as well as through your Product Library on the DAZ website.
With DAZ Connect, you also have the option to not download or install a product you own. The database knows what you own, what you have installed and what you don't have installed. (So far, exactly the same as DIM.) Now with DAZ Connect, if you uninstall, you don't keep a copy on your computer, (assuming you didn't back up that directory,) and will have to redownload the product to reinstall it. And now, instead of the files being stored on DAZ's servers, they are stored on a cloud server, which doesn't need to limit your connections, or cap the data transfer rate to prevent downloads from one customer having a negative impact on the downloads of another customer.
DAZ Connect is a delivery system, just as DIM is a delivery system. They both put the files on your computer, where you can continue to use them whether or not you are online. You do not have to "phone home" whenever you use the program in order to use the content on your computer.
There are differences in how the two delivery systems work, not the least of which is the encrypted files people are complaining about. But they both do the essentially the same thing: deliver the products to your computer and install them so the DAZ Studio can use them.
It is not true that your products are stored "in the cloud" and downloaded each time and only when you use them.
As for the statement, "New products will begin to migrate toward a Daz Connect-only delivery" at the end of the second quote, that is a debate for another post.
How does this work? When I tested I didn't see any options for download but not install or any options at all really for Daz Connect. I do like the ability to install and uninstall parts easily right now, but I only want to do the download part once.
Second question because I've been testing and haven't been able to figure out a definitive answer: Does having more content installed in Daz make Daz run more slowly?
Unfortunately, this just means that you've been fed the same line of bullshit as the rest of us. And it is bullshit - I can prove it:
As I understand it, the 'cloud' that DAZ Connect downloads from - is the same cluster of servers that handle DIM and stand-alone downloads. I've always ( as a former storage admin type) been fascinated by the usage of the term "cloud" - because what it really means to anyone using the "cloud" is that the storage area is on someone else's computer. In this case the 'cloud' that we download from with DAZ Connect is just another term for the DAZ download servers.
I would have prefered
"Lord Kalidor of Tarnac-Slayer of the ten headed serpent Entalix-Grand Master Swordsman"
but that's a bit unweildy to keep having to type in server configuration files.
I suppose "Cloud" will suffice for a file server name,,,for now.
I played with the beta on my laptop at my favorite wi-fi hotspot today, and I have to say that 'Connect' is insidious and a bit of fun. I started with a base install of the beta and the starter essentials and fired up Studio. Then I loaded the basic Genesis Male, went to smart content and looked up figures -> people -> male -> real world and now had most of the '5' guys - Michael, Hiro, Andre - so I selected them all and right-clicked for to download and install. Then I did wardrobe for outfits and followed that with hair.
Neat, clean, fast.
Would I use this in a real-world situation? Not as a hobbiest; no point. DIM works just fine, especially as I need to drag things home and copy them to the stand-alone box.
But I can see this as a possible plus for a commercial artist working to deadline - because the 'store' tab showed related items I have not purchased that can be bought without leaving Studio. Kinda neat. But not my cuppa, currentl.
I'm not going to sift through 60 some pages to find it, between the two threads, but I do recall a comment by a DAZ_ somebody mentioning DAZ Connect uses "CDN" servers, and that DIM uses DAZ servers.
It might be a bit off target to see the "cloud" thing as merely a different way of obtaining content. The cloud also verfies who you are every time you downloand and install content from Daz, and "knows" what you have downloded, installed and what product you are using at any particular time.
Otherwise how would content updates be automatically installed along with live advertising for related products that you have just place into your scene?
I'd say many would be uncomfortabe with the idea opening a live cloud gateway overseeing what products you are using and essentially what you're rendering in DS.
Then again, a study last year has found that revenue for online publishers can double when targeted (behavioral) targeting is used. So I can see where they're coming from.
I must say that I'm bewildered by all this but my impression is that DAZ is about to shoot itself in the foot, judging by the responses I'm seeing here and elsewhere. Firstly, I see absolutely no incentive to "upgrade" to 4.9 just so that DAZ can exercise conrol on what computer I use for my hobby and what content I choose. Secondly, the people at Rendo and other shops must be popping the champagne corks. I've just subscribed to PC+ for a year but I doubt that I'll be up for buying DRM controlled content. I wouldn't be surprised to see some PA's jump ship too.
I have two runtimes - one for DIM and one in Poser format for non-DAZ products. I also do a mirror backup to a USB drive every week. As I see it, my options to continue like this are about to be limited because I am being considered a potential pirate. I have no pirated content nor would I ever be tempted to go that route but I'm being treated as someone who might anyway.
Is this guessinformation or actually known? I understand that Daz Connect will keep track of what you have installed via Daz Connect (although it really sucks that it only lets you put it in one place, considering we can have as many libraries as we want now) but will it also be tracking everything else you have installed, what you load when you load it and what other items with, what you render, etc. in order to better target products you might want? I get that a lot of companies do things like that and I get the value for them, but personally that's a bit too creepy for me to use a program.
I'd really like to see some clarification on what Daz Connect will actually be tracking etc. I'm hoping this is just more worried speculation, because programs that do things like that tend to get abandoned really quickly.
Daz Connect - "... see suggestions for related products to supplement what you are currently working on."
That won't work unless it is known by the cloud what you currently have in your scene.
This has been stated multiple times already and we are trying to be as clear and transparent as possible in exactly how it works. It tracks in the local database everything you install through Daz Connect so it knows where to find it. It doesn't send information up to the servers as we want to respect your privacy. The only thing it sends up to the store is your username / password when authenticating, the SKU of a specific product when you want to install it (to get the information on all the files and how to install it), and if you use the store search the search term you are looking for.
Daz Connect actually does less tracking and the web service it calls collects less data than what DIM does. Since files are downloaded from a CDN, we don't ever know if you actually downloaded and installed a product with how it currently works, where as with DIM, since we transfer the files from our servers directly, we know exactly which ones finish so exactly which ones are downloaded
.
DIM also verifies who you are every time you download. The store's Product Library also verifies every time you download. The only thing the servers for Daz Connect do is verify when you download something. The "cloud" doesn't know anything about what you have installed or are using. Studio knows, but then again, it has always known, and it has never and still doesn't send that data anywhere.
How do content updates automatically get installed? They don't. You have to select to install them. What does happen is Studio asks the servers "What is the latest state of all my products" and the servers sends that information down. Studio compares that with what it has locally and then determines if something has an update or not. If you have the store pane open, and only if you have it open, it loads little bits of data about all products in the store so, locally, on your machine, the calculations are done to determine what other products might match what you're doing.
The fear of "spying" seems to come mostly from the term cloud, which isn't at all what is going on and not based upon how it actually works. It has the same, or in some cases less, ability to "spy" on you than browsing our store in a browser or using DIM or using Studio currently.
Thank you for clarifying that. I didn't think it would actually be bad, but Daz being really open and transparent about everything they're doing helps a ton and makes us like you more (well me at least.)
p.s. I asked earlier but didn't see a response: does the amount of content installed in Daz actually effect the speed of it running? I have a feeling the issues I was experiencing were due to me moving the temp folder, but I want to be sure that leaving everything I'm not using installed all the time isn't affecting anything.
Since we can still lobby, I will restate that my main concern (other than overflowing my data download allowance) is actually being able to connect. I've been trying for days to use the DIM, with no success, and tech support worked tirelessly all day yesterday, suggesting different fixes. I'm beginning to wonder if it isn't a Win 10 thing because the error message isn't coming from any AV program. Anyway, if I can't even connect to the DIM, which others use effortlessly, how can I hope to connect to an upgraded system? Respectfully submitted, and here's hoping all the possibilities will be considered before everything is finalized.
I agree that to put this much effort, cost, not to mention the stress to some customers, is pointless if they don't intend to use it; it is kind of insulting of them to expect us to believe they are going to all this trouble, and then not to at least try and benefit from the system.
I don't like DRM.
That isn't my issue, as there are systems out there that deliver protected products that don't affect the use: Netflix is a good example as I use it.
So it's likely that it would be more accurate to say, I dislike it when it impacts my experience; I won't be buying encrypted only products until I know how I will be affected.
I would expect most of those concerned to be of similar opinion.
I will continue to watch, and to read what is posted. And to watch that what is done matches said posts.
Sorry but I did not read the whole thread but what happened to the 8.9 beta? I could not find it last night.
I thought she was 4.9.