A few Questions again

Hello, I'd be interested to know why there aren't any Genesis 10 Figures yet. Compared to the previous Figures, Genesis 9 has been available for quite some time. The Figure is already 4 years old.

Genesis (2011) Genesis 2 (2013) Genesis 3 (2015) Genesis 8 (2017) Genesis 8.1 (2021) Genesis 9 (2022)

Isn't it a bit monotonous for Sellers to not have a new Figure to create Products with for an extended period of time? What's it like for Sellers to have to start all over again every few years and create completely new Products for new Figures? Is Genesis 9 better for Sellers than previous Figures where there was a Male and a Female Figure? Does every Seller switch to the latest Figure with the Release?

Are Products for older Figures offered as adapted Versions for newer Figures, or is that not done at all? Is it even possible for a Seller to make a living from this?

Wouldn't it be about time for Daz to release a new Figure to boost Sales?

Will no new Products be created for existing Figures with each new Figures? Will the next Figures also only be Unimesh Figures? Are Unimesh Figures better than separate Male and Female Figures?


 

Comments

  • nemesis10nemesis10 Posts: 4,045

    Think of figures as part of an ecology or mechanism. We are now reaching the point where Daz Studio can be optimized for the figures and there are still things to be worked out such as products that improve bending, new skin shaders, and enough infrastructure and products are owned by users. Generally, the figures change when there are technological innovations to warrant it.  The question of unimesh vs non unimesh is complicated with vendors preferring unimesh and kitbashers preferring separate characters often.

  • LeanaLeana Posts: 13,633
    edited October 15

    blue_

    Is Genesis 9 better for Sellers than previous Figures where there was a Male and a Female Figure? 

    Yes and no. It has advantages and drawbacks.
    Some vendors like having an unified figure (for example because it makes creating content for both genders easier), but some prefer having dedicated figures rather than starting from a neutral base.
    Some said that the G9 topology makes it easier to sculpt, but others say it makes it harder for them to create characters. 
    G9 has a lot of developer tools which help with creating content, but it also has its quirks and limitations.

    Does every Seller switch to the latest Figure with the Release?

    Not necessarily, but after some time when the majority of customers has adopted the new figure it makes more sense for vendors to move too as that's where the money is.

    Are Products for older Figures offered as adapted Versions for newer Figures, or is that not done at all?

    Some vendors do release conversions of some of their sets, but nowadays there are many ways to convert content so a lot of people don't buy such conversions and rely on autofit or character conversions. There are some products where having a new version does make sense (for example morph packs, clothing with specific elements that don't convert well, or anything which would benefit from features specific to the new figure), but beside that the market for conversions is more limited, so spending that time on original content for the new figure is often more cost effective for the vendor.

    Is it even possible for a Seller to make a living from this?

    Do you mean selling content in general? Yes, some vendors do make a living from this. But that requires a lot of investment and time before you reach that point, and don't expect to get rich.

    Wouldn't it be about time for Daz to release a new Figure to boost Sales?

    Releasing a new figure would be a good idea only if it brings enough innovation to make people adopt it. Otherwise it might be counterproductive.

    Will no new Products be created for existing Figures with each new Figures?

    Usually there's a period where content for both new and previous figures is released. But as I already mentioned, after a while the majority of customers has moved on so creating content for older figures is not interesting anymore from a business perspective.

    Will the next Figures also only be Unimesh Figures?

    No one knows except Daz (and maybe a few vendors working on the new figure if there's one, but they would be under NDA), and they usually don't give any info beforehand.

    Are Unimesh Figures better than separate Male and Female Figures?  

    Each has advantages and drawbacks. 

    Post edited by Leana on
  • jmucchiellojmucchiello Posts: 2,556
    edited October 15

    A new figure doesn't automatically mean more sales. Existing customers with dozens of scripts and plugins designed for GenX and GenX-1 have no desire to need to rebuy those assets for GenX+1. If you look in the Art Studio forum, you will see a lot of content with GenX-4 (to keep up with my nomenclature) figures and older. GenX+1 would have to a quantum leap forward to attract people.

    And a GenX+1 usually has more complicated and denser meshes and higher density textures resulting in a need for better and better GPUs to keep up. In the current environment, who wants to tell their customers "Just upgrade your GPU and buy more VRAM."

     

    Post edited by jmucchiello on
  • richardandtracyrichardandtracy Posts: 8,235
    edited October 18

    There does really need to be a technological improvement to warrant a new generation.

    I largely started with Victoria 3 (called 'Unimesh' because male & female were morphs of the same mesh -strange how far back some ideas go). V4 was a huge improvement in terms of rigging. Then G1 came out with a unisex mesh, autofit and TriAx weight mapping. This was a huge leap forward. G2 broke the unisex mesh into two again. There were rigging changes, but the changes were not a big leap.

    G3 changed the rigging again and added general weight mapping and Iray. This is a big change. Then G8 added further rigging changes, especially to the head while keeping G3 texture and clothing compatibility. This was a major advance.

    G9 reverted to unisex mesh and apart from re-naming bones and improving the facial rigging a bit, didn't make much of a technical change. So, where next with the 'improvements' to warrant a new generation? To be honest, beyond soft-solid body simulation it's hard to imagine the technical leap that could be big enough to warrant a new generation for a while, even now.

    G9 wasn't a huge step from G8 for the users (facial rigging is improved, no question but body rigging seems little improved, the PBR skin shader is not restricted to G9 so is a DS feature not a base figure feature. The use of so many sliders actually makes things like mirroring poses more difficult and the use of separate mouth and eye models increases the places where things can go wrong). G9, broke the easy backwards compatibility that had been a feature of G8/G3 for clothes and materials. I think the next easily implemented steps are probably too small to be more than a G9.1. Then consider the effort going into DS4->6 update. It's taken several years of effort, which has probably put G10 on hold as a project. I'd like to be proven wrong, but I'm not sure I will be.

    Regards,

    Richard.

    Post edited by richardandtracy on
  • blue_blue_ Posts: 39

    Hello richardandtracy, aren't you the Person from Renderosity? (https://www.renderosity.com/users/richardandtracy) I believe I messaged her regarding that Tutorial (https://www.renderosity.com/freestuff/items/96369/tutorial-triax-figures-from-old-parametric-figures) on how to convert a Victoria 4 Figure into a DAZ Figure. Are you also active on other Platforms?

  • richardandtracyrichardandtracy Posts: 8,235
    edited October 19

    Yup. For simplicity I keep the same name over different websites. These are the only two relating to 3D figure modelling & 2D art from the models that I contribute to. I should have recognised your avatar, but I confess I didn't.blush

    I am moderately active on another platform regarding cross stitch & used to be very active on a fountain pen forum and contributed a couple of times on a model engineering forum.

    Regards,

    Richard

    Post edited by richardandtracy on
  • blue_blue_ Posts: 39

    Hello richardandtracy,that’s not a big deal. I’m using a different Username here than I do on Renderosity. I also used the Image from here on my Renderosity Account, but since I don’t intend to keep that Account and will be deleting it soon, I removed my Original Profile Picture there.

    I should also mention that your Instructions were very helpful, I now have a Victoria 4 Figure that works in Daz Studio.

    Best Regards

  • blue_blue_ Posts: 39

    Hello richardandtracy, another Question just occurred to me. You mentioned that you work with a Character named "Glamorous Vicki 3.0." What is it that you like about this Character? Is this Character based solely on the Victoria 3 Base Figure, or are there newer Versions of this specific Character as well? Are there also variant Character Products based on the initial ones, Victoria, Aiko, etc., or is this the only one of its kind?

    
     
  • richardandtracyrichardandtracy Posts: 8,235
    edited October 20

    I am pleased you got V4 to work using my tutorial. Good to hear.

    To answer some of your other questions: Jim Burton's Glamorous Vicki uses a modified version of the V3 mesh with different joint control morphs to improve some of the joints compared to V3. The result is a version of V3 that looks remarkably like my wife (face excepted) when we met 36 years ago. I am still more than a little dotty about her so it's fantastic to have her treated as a celebrity with her own 3D clone.

    There have been no versions since - though Jim Burton did do a number of somewhat different 'Glamorous' Poser characters like

    • Posette 2003,
    • Supermodel Vickie (V2?),
    • High Fashion Vickie (V2?)
    • Ingenue Vickie (V3),
    • Supermodel Vickie (V4) and
    • Glamorous Jessie (varient of Poser P6 Jessie).

    None of the figures were really the same, and GV3 only appeared with her own .cr2 file modified from the V3 base figure. GV3, like Blackhearted's GND2, was a relatively limited character in relation to clothing, shoes and hair as she was a non-standard shape at the time and not much V3 clothing fitted. I think Poser clothing of the time had to have the correct figure morph built into the clothing to have it automatically dialled in by crosstalk and then it would conform to the character, so no built-in morph = no fit for the clothes. Only Jim Burton sold clothing for GV3, though GND2 had a slightly wider range of PA's creating clothes for her.

    Anyway, the similarities of GV3 to my celebrity/boss makes me unusually determined to keep this V3 variant vaguely current.

    Regards,

    Richard.

    Post edited by richardandtracy on
  • blue_blue_ Posts: 39

    Hello richardandtracy, I am truly surprised by what led you to this Figure. First of all, I wish you all the best for your long-standing Partnership with your Wife. I've never compared 3D Figures to real People before. I've found Characters I like, but there's no Real Person I use as a Model. I have to say, they really invest a lot of Time and Energy into these Figures. They are a truly dedicated 3D Enthusiast.

    Best Regards

  • richardandtracyrichardandtracy Posts: 8,235
    edited October 20
    I think the likeness entirely by chance in this case, but there are definite deliberate likenesses. Mousso's G8F model 'Rain' is a startling likeness of actress Keira Knightly, and her G9 'Kim' is similarly Mila Jovovitch. Regards, Richard.
    Post edited by richardandtracy on
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