What is Genesis 8.1?!
Ron Knights
Posts: 2,337
I never looked seriously at Genesis 8.1. I took a long break after buying Genesis 8 content, and only recently bought Genesis 9 content.
I've seen a lot of Genesis 8.1 content recently. A character says it's compatible with Genesis 8.1. But I can't find a character called simply "Genesis 8.1"
Is there anything desirable about a Genesis 8.1 character versus Genesis 8 or 9?1
The closest I've found is Michael 8.1 and Victoria 8.1.
Post edited by Ron Knights on
Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
7533 S Center View Ct #4664
West Jordan, UT 84084
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2026 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
Genesis 8.1 male and female characters are included in latest version of Genesis 8 starter essentials.
I will add in summation, 8.1 male and female are in the 8.1 male and female essentials, 8.1 introduced new mapping of the body so that important areas get higher resolution, a shift in the way FACS are used which moved them closer to Genesis 9. They retain alternate mapping so that 8.1 can use pretty much everything that 8.0 uses (with the exception of some expressions) but the inverse is not true and the bulk of figures use a more advanced ray skin shader.
The shader will work on anything, the issue is that the 8.1-specific UVs have separate maps for the ehad and the torso while in 8 they are the same, so maps using the 8.1 UVs cannot be applied to 8 (and the material presets won't work because they are looking for differently-named materials, going the other way DS has been coded to apply the maps from the unified head/body surface to the head and torso surfaces; scripts, however, cannot be updated live in that way so some products that use them for materials - e.g. some alternative anatomical elements - will need to be adjusted after application to 8.1).
Thanks, everyone, for the responses.
My curiosity mainly centered on my own previous purchases. I avoided Genesis 8.1 mainly because I saw it as a mere stepping stone to Genesis 9.
I never even bought much Genesis 9 until last week when I joined DAZ Premiere. I purchased lots of Genesis 9 content thanks to the sales and tokens, etc.
Then I noticed a bunch of Genesis 8.1 content. Then I decided I didn't need to buy Genesis 8.1 when there is lots of Genesis 9 content in my wish list.
Personally, I use 8.1 for almost all of my Genesis 8 content; there are very few downsides and i am very much pro upgrade. It is fascinating how much effort people exert to avoid change; technology is all about change. I have been around since pre Daz3d posette, and I look forward to the advancements of the technology big and small.
I also most use Genesis 8.1 over Genesis 8. Better expressions, and it can use content designed for 8 or 8.1, whereas Genesis 8 struggles with anything made for 8.1 (though there are tweaks to get round this problem).
About the only G8 content (or so I believe) not easily useable on 8.1 are heirarcheral poses and materials.
I primarily use Genesis 8.1 with Genesis 9 UVs for the superior Genesis 9 skin---unfortunately it's only for the G8 females. A few drawbacks for G8.1 are some G3 items won't work with them, some footwear loads underneath the foot instead of on it, and (as mentioned above) some G8 hierarchical materials and pose don't recognize them.
G8.1 Core Figure skins---though I like many of them---have really bad eczema/psoraisis that no amount of tweaking has been able to relieve, though it's pnly discernible in closeups.
G8.1 can use G8 (and G3) materials
Materials yes, without any issues. However hierarchical materials will sometimes give errors and not apply properly.
Also some G8 products that use Geoshells require some post apply tweaking to get the torso material copied over to body.
you're right. I misunderstood your comment.