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I don't want to turn this into a debate on shader technology, or an attempt to make you switch applications if you have a workflow that works for you, but I do need to point out that both Shader Mixer and Shader Builder are node-based.
Both 3Delight and Iray have adjustable samples, meaning different things in each and perhaps different from the Blender setting you mention but they are there.
Don't recall any polls either. Maybe they only poll those who don't buy a lot of stuff, to figure out why.
Thank you, I was a little confused by Sura's comment and wondered if I was really ignorant about what 'node based' means.
Good to know. Thanks for classifying. The sad truth is, though, I wasn't even aware that shader mixer existed and I've been using Daz for few years.
I don't mind buying what I like even tho I'm perfectly capable of modeling AND texturing most of it...if I modeled everything I used in a scene, I'd never have time to make the scene...or do anything else I like doing like creating freebies and running silly "I wonder what this does?" experiments ;).
Laurie
I definitely get a poll from Daz3d every once in a while....
What about my cat, Everyone? There's no pleasing that thing.
My two cents? It depends on what you want to do. For me, Studio and purchased content are tools that I use, not to create art in images, but to tell a story using images. While I do some kitbashing, I don't have time to learn to create my own content from scratch, nor do I need to. There are some great providers here who create content that I can easily use to tell my story. Different strokes for different folks and all.
As for negativity, I have no problem with coming onto the forums and praising someone who has offered an exceptional product *cough*kindredarts*cough*.
Why should I not feel free to come on and complain when a product is lacking? I've only known one person who was always upbeat, and she was really, really creepy.
As for cats, mine is named Misty, but she thinks her name is
"Dammitcat" because that's all she ever hears:
"Dammitcat, get off the table!"
"Dammitcat, I'm trying to sleep!"
"Dammitcat, that's MY food!"
Post-2014 arrivals to DS have a far more pleasant entry experience. In the last few months, Daz3D Youtube videos and Josh Darling videos alone revealed the creative possibilities we didn't know exist...hence my return to using DS as my primary render/anim tool, and rejoining Platinum member etc.
I joined DS early 2012, eventually figured out DS is a less a "3D creation tool", more a digital photography studio, and a shopping mall selling 3D humans stages props fashion. But unlike most hobbyists who're "walk -n customers", I had creative objectives all along (making highly specific scripted character animation with high asset needs). I went on to learning ZBrush etc.
The bigger picture is, how will prosumer CG tools like DS evolve next? Will it become a user-friendly LightWave or another fast-fading Poser?
DS's under-developed modeling aspect - in the realm of CG, prosumer photographers are below typical interior designers or architects in terms of skills or interest in 3D basics like modeling/mapping etc.
But thank goodness, DS's features and functionality are still being kept up by the skilled PAs who're avid pro tool users. Still, over-reliance on external power tools + under-education of beginner prosumers may lead to decline of competitiveness of DS as a CG tool. See the half-alive Poser scene, and the sad state of their timeline and hair room. Even iClone suffers from post-sugar-high sluggishness typical of prosumer tools...
Things are changing fast...modeling morphing meshing can now be done inside UE4 and Lumberyard/Cryengines. Soon it will be faster to make physics hair inside most games, in realtime. And then what?
As a former The Sims content creator, I can safely say: the post-gaming generation of future Daz Studio users will gladly play UVs, IK/FK, polymeshing, fluid sim, shading whatnots. They also have slightly different need for products. DS needs to calibrate for their lower tolerance for lesiure pace fiddly hobbyist workflow.
Another thing is shopping mall upgrade. Filters and sorting mechanism aside, quality control needs to get some Amazon or Steam store treatment.
Given that all shopping mall visitors pay the same for products, and all products have same packaging and storage cost... which is lower maintanence - the usual improvement-requests from intermediate-skill (with broaded CG tech perspective and thus reasonable expectation) customers, or the mostly fantastical expectations of total CG beginners? Are short shelf life random candies or objectives-specific film/game products more cost effective to produce and stock?
The smarter hobbyist users become, the more they appreciate the products, and keep up the quality of products, it seems. Everyone wins in this picture, Daz3D especially.
It pays to smarten up your customers.
Smart customers actually shop a lot more. And more coherently too. Game devs, digital art directors and video makers are huge asset buyers. And because they have clearer objective and speak basic basic CG language, it's easier to cater to these customers in the long run.
Reasons that make speed modelers and intermediate CG users like myself buy high quality props from Daz3D store:
Reasons that keep most users like me from not shopping as much as we like to:
And the less users need to travel outside to edit products, the more they'll stay and shop within the local eco system. This means Daz Studio getting some basic basic basic feature. Need to make a dodecahedron or quickly displace or weld a few vertice...without traveling outside, still not possible in 2016. Not fun?
A look at the galleries suggest that Daz and content isn't any problem. There's only so much can be done with anything with a plug-and-play mindset. Maybe forget skills and content, and focus on developing original artistic thought process rather than churning out endless nugatory portraits. Granted, a much harder thing to do.
Yes. Daz3D makes it too easy for totally CG beginners to create 2D pictures consisting of 3D objects.
No. Daz Studio does not make 3D modelling easier. There's no 3D modelling to speak of.
In that sense I agree with OP, more basic CG education is needed. Once the average Daz users speak the same CG language as the rest of the 99% CG universe, then there will be more productive conversation and fewer unreasonable complaints on the forum, which is also an OP concern...
Case in point, when DS users know the basic distinction between a digital photographer and a 3D creator, and the very different creative process of rendering a photo vs creating everything in the photo from scratch, artistically or technically. Once beginners know how labor intensive it is to create "easy" things in 3D, they will understand the cost and value of 3D things in Daz3D store, and there will be more and better products?
It doesn't have to be this way. The tool can grow with its users. And there're signs of that happening...
IMO the next challenge for a prosumer tool like DS is to train the beginners to do CG basics natively: modeling, mapping, physics etc.
Gaming revenues were $104 BILLION at the end of 2015
Eclipsing movies& music sales combined.
What does one see in games??
Articulated 3D Characters Moving,Speaking
and following a Game narrative or story.
The parent company that owns Daz inc. is franticly trying to enter into the Unity based game content market because, as of now ,they have little presence there.
The hobbiest still render market here is not truly going to be the central focus of the corporation that owns Daz going forward.
Spend some time over at the Morph3D Site and look for some of their presentation videos on youtube to see what I mean.
Making their content& licensing fees competitive in the game content market is their biggest challenge going forward.
For us non gamers looking to use Daz content in other non game platforms
DAZ, IMHO peaked with Genesis 2 and FBX,MDD .obj export
Genesis 3 offers nothing new to us and is even a step backward for us animators.
(Note that the "MCS female" Unity content package over at Morph3D is Genesis 2
....very telling
)
At this point in time Daz Studio is only actually "Competitive " compared
to poser.
Smith Micro made their attempt to enter the game content market
with the poorly received "poser pro game dev" version.
The plopped a $300+ USD white elephant in the Unity store where the upper end of the price scale for content packages was $40 USD tops
They did not seem to understand that game developers are NOT looking for a Bloated "figure posing application" with a 1990's kai Kraus interface and Flash based library system.
Result= EPIC FAIL
After some initial missteps with the bridge to the horribly engineered "indigo" render engine,Reallusion has made some wise decisions not only with the advent of their ever improving Character creator application but with their reasonable Game content export fees.
To say Nothing of their world class realtime Charcter motion creation tools
that are second only to the Mighty Autodesk MotionBuilder at this point.