DAZ Studio 4.5 Release Candidate 2
DAZ_bfurner
Posts: 62
DAZ Studio 4.5 RC2 is available for download!
This build is available to all customers and will run either without a serial number (you will be asked to enter one each time you launch the application until you do), or with your current DAZ Studio 4.x serial number. Installing DAZ Studio 4.5 RC2 will uninstall any previous installations of DAZ Studio 4.x, and we recommend running only one version of DAZ Studio 4.x on the same machine.
The purpose of this build is to provide users with early access to new features and bug fixes that are only available in DAZ Studio 4.5. This build is a Release Candidate, which means we are looking for prompt feedback about significant issues that may still exist in this build as we approach the General Release. To help our Quality Assurance and Software Development teams, please focus any reports you make on issues that are significant blocks, crashes or other "show-stopper" caliber issues, rather than requesting new features, user interface and/or workflow changes.
New in DAZ Studio 4.5:
1. Full implementation of the DSON file format specification - This enables saving scenes in a lightweight format that can be loaded and used by anyone who has installed the products used in the scene. If one or more of the assets used in the scene are not found while the scene is loading, a simple preview is inserted into the scene in its place and a dialog is displayed indicating which files are needed to load the scene in its entirety.
2. Selectively save parts of a scene - Save only those items in the scene that you choose, rather than having to remove items from the scene before saving. Then, easily drop that scene subset into another scene using lightweight DSON format files.
3. Viewport speed dramatically increased - For many interactions, viewport speed will be 2-5 times faster than DAZ Studio 4.0.
4. Load and use most Poser format files as if they were native DSON files - Scenes that are constructed using items loaded from Poser format files and then saved to the DSON format, are also sharable; they maintain references to the required Poser files, rather than the contents of those files.
5. Consolidated viewing/editing of Property Settings - The Property Settings dialog now consolidates more editable information about each property into a single interface; e.g. Presentation Editor, Controllers, Sub-Components, Keys, etc.
6. FBX Import - FBX files can now be round-tripped through DAZ Studio, including rigged and animated items in the scene.
7. "Darkside" style is now included - You no longer need to download and install this style separately, it is included as part of the standard installation.
8. Relaxed serial number requirements - No serial number is required to run either the 32-bit or 64-bit versions of DAZ Studio Standard Edition.
9. Shader Mixer improvements - Shader Mixer has significantly improved workflow and documentation.
10. New "Ready to Render" scenes - New scenes that are "Ready to Render" have been added as part of the content that installs with 4.5. Loading these is a great way to start tweaking and playing with some cool scenes.
11. Lesson Strip - We've added quick lessons about DAZ Studio basics. There are also instructions on how to create your own Lessons on the Documentation Center.
Along with many new things in DAZ Studio 4.5, you will also find new documentation on some of the deeper functionality in DAZ Studio on the Documentation Center in the Publishing and DAZ Studio sections.
If you find any serious issues please report them with as much detail as you can in the DAZ Issue Tracker.
What you need to know about this build:
1. Many, many issues and workflow improvements have been addressed since we released 4.0.3.47. Too many to list here. Please see the DAZ Studio 4.5 Change Log and the DAZ Issue Tracker for more detail.
2. Files saved from this version of DAZ Studio are NOT backward compatible with older versions, including version 4.0.x.
3. Plugins that run in version 4.0.x will not run in version 4.5.
4. When installing the plugins that come with DAZ Studio, you may see warning dialogs indicating there was a problem with installation. These warnings do not affect installation, but we are addressing the warnings in a later build.
5. Not all features of FBX are supported on import, so characters from other 3D applications imported in FBX format may or may not come through with all their components.
6. All presets are saved in lightweight DUF format and scripted presets (DSA files) have been deprecated. DSA presets will still save and load, but the new preset format should be used in their place.
7. While the deprecated .daz scene format can still be read, the option to save to the format has been removed; too many crashes were being caused by the use of an area of the application that has been deprecated and will not be developed further.
Thank you for helping us make DAZ Studio great!
You can get this version here:
DAZ Studio 4.5 RC2
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Comments
Fantastic!
Kendall
I haven't had any significant probs with RC1, so I'm looking forward to using this update. Speed increases are very welcome and make the whole scene set-up process much more enjoyable. :)
Just a quick clarification on this. You can run both 32 bit and 64 bit on the same machine and one will not uninstall the other. Given that, I will also note it is not recommended to have two different versions of DAZ Studio, for example 4.0.3.47 and 4.5.0.49 on the same machine, even if one is 32 bit and the other is 64 bit.
Cool! I just tried to get it, it's listed as "pending" and I can't reset the download, though.
Probably a minor glitch. As soon as it shows up, i'll give it a spin.
It's almost completed downloading here. I'll fire it up and let everyone know.
Kendall
DAZ_Spooky,
Since you're here can you give a quick answer on an interesting entry in the changelog?
From the Changelog:
"Added method to content manager to open a list of files; after each file is loaded a process events is called, allowing routines such as AutoFit to process on the recently loaded item and preventing a lockup condition from occurring"
Can these events be tied into by content themselves or via a plugin patch?
Kendall
The file has downloaded and the extra corruption is appended. So those of you with finicky zip programs will need my utility.
Now on to playing!!
Kendall
For Example, load a base figure, like Genesis. Multi-select a handful of clothing items in either the Smart Content Tab or the Content Library Tab, then drag and drop onto your base figure. All the clothing will apply to the Base figure. If appropriate, auto-fit will also work for one or more of the selected clothing items.
For Example, load a base figure, like Genesis. Multi-select a handful of clothing items in either the Smart Content Tab or the Content Library Tab, then drag and drop onto your base figure. All the clothing will apply to the Base figure. If appropriate, auto-fit will also work for one or more of the selected clothing items.
Right. I want to know if I can write code that adds functionality into this system. For instance, truly "smart" content. Content that can adapt to its environment.
Thanks
Kendall
Just so you know, this version of studio 4.5 is no more compatible with the abominable Windows 8 than the previous one, so the content uninstaller and the new content installer simply do not work. I'm still stuck with the old content, but it's not a huge problem, just an annoying one.
Edit: On the plus side, I was able to get a .duf scene file size down from 67 megs to 384 kbs, so that's definitely a good thing. Of course, I can't be entirely sure it's because of this version or not.
One thing I will say. Last night, using the first RC I tried to save a .duf file using the Selectively save option to only save the vest that I modeled and rigged and when I tried to load it up again it crashed DS 4.5 so hopefully this is fixed?? Thanks for the update!! :coolgrin:
If that is what you are looking for, no need to code as it is part of the plan. :)
I suspect Kendall may want to trigger a script on load, to (for example) change the morphs or textures if the male or female morph is set on Genesis. Actually, I thought there was already meant to be an event-triggered script option, though when it was last discussed (possibly back in DS3 days) it wasn't working and Rob needed to work on it.
Wish someone could write a script that could be run to fix all the meta data automatically if things were moved around a bit. I like my male and female stuff put into separate folders so that's really about all the moving around that I do but I do do that. Also some merchants don't use the "Materials" folder option and will put the MAT files elsewhere so I hunt those down and rename the folder Materials and put that in the appropriate clothing or hair folder!
That's on my list, if I ever get the time
This would be a start. What I *want* to do is significantly more complex :-) But, yes. I'd like to be able to execute code upon load, unload, movement, etc. Once I can patch into the event I can code the rest myself.
EDIT: A bit of a teaser: Picture a boat object. It has a certain draft assigned to it. Upon load it adjusts itself to the "surface" upon its normal and compensates for the draft, making the boat sit "correctly" upon the surface. Or, the CMS holds a series of attributes that can be recalled and applied to make content "react" to surroundings. A boat sinks into water, but not into a beach, etc.
Kendall
Man, if you can pull that off Richard you will make allot of folks very happy! :-)
This would be a start. What I *want* to do is significantly more complex :-) But, yes. I'd like to be able to execute code upon load, unload, movement, etc. Once I can patch into the event I can code the rest myself.
EDIT: A bit of a teaser: Picture a boat object. It has a certain draft assigned to it. Upon load it adjusts itself to the "surface" upon its normal and compensates for the draft, making the boat sit "correctly" upon the surface. Or, the CMS holds a series of attributes that can be recalled and applied to make content "react" to surroundings. A boat sinks into water, but not into a beach, etc.
Kendall
Are you using the SDK or the Script API? Other than integration into the CMS, having code execute an event happens like a scene load can be accomplished fairly easily in the SDK. Scripts can do many similar things using the DzCallBackMgr. If you combine SDK and script you can do even more.
Just as an example, in the Outline scripted render example in 4.5 you will notice that all materials in the scene have two additional properties in an "Outline" group. These properties are added with the use of a call back after a scene is loaded or a material is changed out in the scene. Similar concepts could be used to do your boat example.
Are you using the SDK or the Script API? Other than integration into the CMS, having code execute an event happens like a scene load can be accomplished fairly easily in the SDK. Scripts can do many similar things using the DzCallBackMgr. If you combine SDK and script you can do even more.
Just as an example, in the Outline scripted render example in 4.5 you will notice that all materials in the scene have two additional properties in an "Outline" group. These properties are added with the use of a call back after a scene is loaded or a material is changed out in the scene. Similar concepts could be used to do your boat example.
Maybe the boat example was a bit simplistic, it was just an example of the "type" of thing I want to do. If I were to outline what I am actually wanting to do, I'd likely start a war that I don't want on the forums right now. But since the areas I'd really like to ask these questions in aren't currently available I don't want to get too controversial in public. But I do need to access the CMS for what I'm doing.
Kendall
I think the CallBack was what I was maundering on about in my earlier post.
Is there actually any timeline as to when OpenMP support comes back on the Mac OS X platform? Apparently the latest DAZ Studio 4.5 RC2 got OpenMP still disabled. Some other 3D applications were able to enable it again for quite some time (via latest GNU compilers), so any chance for DS 4.5?
FYI,
I managed to get it all installed by selecting compatibility mode for the installer file and selecting Vista RC2
no probs. :coolhmm:
It says that previous plugin versions don't work. Is there a new version for plugins out yet, or are they still in the works?
still in the works !
Just a note to say I grabbed the file early last evening and apparently the appended junk was not on the file. I was able to open the zip with Win Explorer and run the exe from there.
I'm still on RC1 since RC2 timed out all times on me. I reinstalled RC1 and now I get this in the log:
Loaded file: Genesis.duf
Asset : People/Genesis/Props/Magus/Materials/04-Earring 1_DC.duf could not be located
Asset : People/Genesis/Props/Magus/Materials/04-Earring 2_DC.duf could not be located
Asset : Scripts/Utilities/Lost_n_Found.dse could not be located
I noticed that the Decimator and Mimic Live are included in the bundle. Does this mean that the Free Pro serials work with these too? :P