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Confused About Skins

Fae3DFae3D Posts: 2,847
in The Commons

I just purchased "Legacy UVs for Genesis 3: Michael 4" so that I could use M4 skins on my G3 boys.  However, upon reading the user guide, it looks like there's still more to do.

Apparently I need to change the M4 skins to .dufs.  I have read a tutorial on this, and it went waaaay over my head sad.  The user guide mentioned a "Michael 4 Skins Batch Converter".  Cool, awesome, something else to buy (heavy sarcasm implied).  The problem is, when I look that up, I only see "M4 Skins Batch Converter to Genesis 2 Male(s)".  Well, my G2 skins don't work on G3, so how will that help me?

Could someone please help me figure out if I'm missing a step, or a product, or if I'm just going about this all the wrong way?  I'm feeling rather silly right now with my G3 all geografted up with nothing to put on! blush

Comments

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,974

    What I do for older skins is just load the character that has the skin textures you want to use and then save it as a Material Preset (File >> Save As >> Material Preset). That should change the mats to a daz file that you can then load onto your G3 boys with the use of the Legacy UVs script. :)

  • Cayman StudiosCayman Studios Posts: 1,138
    edited July 2017

    The issue really started with Genesis 2 which needed the Material files to be in .duf format.  Genesis 1 could load the old skins with no problem.  After MallenLane and Slosh brought out their V4 and M4 UVs for Genesis 2, DraagonStorm introduced her converters to take the grind out of making the .duf files.  But that is just what they do, make .duf files - the Genesis 2 reference is just an allusion to the fact that, at that time, they would be used on Genesis 2.

    But, as divamakeup has said, you can make new .duf files yourself by loading the skins onto M4, and then saving them as new Material presets.

    Post edited by Cayman Studios on
  • Fae3DFae3D Posts: 2,847
    divamakeup said:

    What I do for older skins is just load the character that has the skin textures you want to use and then save it as a Material Preset (File >> Save As >> Material Preset). That should change the mats to a daz file that you can then load onto your G3 boys with the use of the Legacy UVs script. :)

    Wow, if that's all it takes, maybe I'll give it a try!  Does it matter where I save them, though?  I always get very confused with the file structures, so I tend to save stuff in folders on my desktop so I don't misplace them.  Will that be ok, or do they have to go somewhere specific?

    Also, is there a way to use G2 skins on G3?  I tried doing a search for products, but couldn't find anything sad 

  • Fae3DFae3D Posts: 2,847
    Cayman Studios said:

    The issue really started with Genesis 2 which needed the Material files to be in .duf format.  Genesis 1 could load the old skins with no problem.  After MallenLane and Slosh brought out their V4 and M4 UVs for Genesis 2, DraagonStorm introduced her converters to take the grind out of making the .duf files.  But that is just what they do, make .duf files - the Genesis 2 reference is just an allusion to the fact that, at that time, they would be used on Genesis 2.

    But, as divamakeup has said, you can make new .duf files yourself by loading the skins onto M4, and then saving them as new Material presets.

    Ah, so it isn't specifically for G2, just converting to the new type.  That makes sense, thanks!

  • L'AdairL'Adair Posts: 9,479
    Faeofthe3rdDimension said:
    divamakeup said:

    What I do for older skins is just load the character that has the skin textures you want to use and then save it as a Material Preset (File >> Save As >> Material Preset). That should change the mats to a daz file that you can then load onto your G3 boys with the use of the Legacy UVs script. :)

    Wow, if that's all it takes, maybe I'll give it a try!  Does it matter where I save them, though?  I always get very confused with the file structures, so I tend to save stuff in folders on my desktop so I don't misplace them.  Will that be ok, or do they have to go somewhere specific?

    Also, is there a way to use G2 skins on G3?  I tried doing a search for products, but couldn't find anything sad 

    G3 came out with Uvs that are too different from the older UVs to convert skin from G2 to G3 with something as simple as including the older UVs for the new models. The G2 and older generations include both arms and legs on one map, where the G3 have arms on one and legs on another. There are other differences, but that one is the most obvious, I think.

    There are programs out there that can convert older skins to the G3/G8 UVs, but there again, you're looking at spending quite a bit of money. That brings you back to using another Legacy UVs product from Cayman: "Legacy UVs for Genesis 3: Genesis 2 Male and Michael 6".

    If you have more time than money, you could use the Map Transfer utility to convert your M4 skins to the Genesis 2 Male UVs, (not the same as converting to .duf files as mentioned above,) and use the Legacy UVs product for G2M to G3M. I have a tutorial, (link is in my signature below,) that covers this for G3F to G8F, but the principles are the same. Give it a try with one M4 skin on G2M, and if you're successful with that, return the Legacy UVs product you "just purchased" and get the one for Genesis 2 Males and Michael 6 instead. Daz has a 30 day, no questions asked, return policy.

    On the other hand, if you run into issues trying to follow the tutorial with M4/G2M, or you don't have the time to spare, just go ahead and get the Legacy UVs for Genesis 3: Genesis 2 Male and Michael 6. I have both, and it was money well spent for me.

  • Fae3DFae3D Posts: 2,847
    L'Adair said:
    Faeofthe3rdDimension said:
    divamakeup said:

    What I do for older skins is just load the character that has the skin textures you want to use and then save it as a Material Preset (File >> Save As >> Material Preset). That should change the mats to a daz file that you can then load onto your G3 boys with the use of the Legacy UVs script. :)

    Wow, if that's all it takes, maybe I'll give it a try!  Does it matter where I save them, though?  I always get very confused with the file structures, so I tend to save stuff in folders on my desktop so I don't misplace them.  Will that be ok, or do they have to go somewhere specific?

    Also, is there a way to use G2 skins on G3?  I tried doing a search for products, but couldn't find anything sad 

    G3 came out with Uvs that are too different from the older UVs to convert skin from G2 to G3 with something as simple as including the older UVs for the new models. The G2 and older generations include both arms and legs on one map, where the G3 have arms on one and legs on another. There are other differences, but that one is the most obvious, I think.

    There are programs out there that can convert older skins to the G3/G8 UVs, but there again, you're looking at spending quite a bit of money. That brings you back to using another Legacy UVs product from Cayman: "Legacy UVs for Genesis 3: Genesis 2 Male and Michael 6".

    If you have more time than money, you could use the Map Transfer utility to convert your M4 skins to the Genesis 2 Male UVs, (not the same as converting to .duf files as mentioned above,) and use the Legacy UVs product for G2M to G3M. I have a tutorial, (link is in my signature below,) that covers this for G3F to G8F, but the principles are the same. Give it a try with one M4 skin on G2M, and if you're successful with that, return the Legacy UVs product you "just purchased" and get the one for Genesis 2 Males and Michael 6 instead. Daz has a 30 day, no questions asked, return policy.

    On the other hand, if you run into issues trying to follow the tutorial with M4/G2M, or you don't have the time to spare, just go ahead and get the Legacy UVs for Genesis 3: Genesis 2 Male and Michael 6. I have both, and it was money well spent for me.

    Whoops, how did I miss that product?  Me and the search bar have never gotten along very well, I'm afraid.

    Thanks for the tips, I'll read your tutorial and see what I can do.  I have much more free time than money, so if it's something I can figure out, that'd be great!  

  • L'AdairL'Adair Posts: 9,479
    Faeofthe3rdDimension said:
    L'Adair said:
    Faeofthe3rdDimension said:
    divamakeup said:

    What I do for older skins is just load the character that has the skin textures you want to use and then save it as a Material Preset (File >> Save As >> Material Preset). That should change the mats to a daz file that you can then load onto your G3 boys with the use of the Legacy UVs script. :)

    Wow, if that's all it takes, maybe I'll give it a try!  Does it matter where I save them, though?  I always get very confused with the file structures, so I tend to save stuff in folders on my desktop so I don't misplace them.  Will that be ok, or do they have to go somewhere specific?

    Also, is there a way to use G2 skins on G3?  I tried doing a search for products, but couldn't find anything sad 

    G3 came out with Uvs that are too different from the older UVs to convert skin from G2 to G3 with something as simple as including the older UVs for the new models. The G2 and older generations include both arms and legs on one map, where the G3 have arms on one and legs on another. There are other differences, but that one is the most obvious, I think.

    There are programs out there that can convert older skins to the G3/G8 UVs, but there again, you're looking at spending quite a bit of money. That brings you back to using another Legacy UVs product from Cayman: "Legacy UVs for Genesis 3: Genesis 2 Male and Michael 6".

    If you have more time than money, you could use the Map Transfer utility to convert your M4 skins to the Genesis 2 Male UVs, (not the same as converting to .duf files as mentioned above,) and use the Legacy UVs product for G2M to G3M. I have a tutorial, (link is in my signature below,) that covers this for G3F to G8F, but the principles are the same. Give it a try with one M4 skin on G2M, and if you're successful with that, return the Legacy UVs product you "just purchased" and get the one for Genesis 2 Males and Michael 6 instead. Daz has a 30 day, no questions asked, return policy.

    On the other hand, if you run into issues trying to follow the tutorial with M4/G2M, or you don't have the time to spare, just go ahead and get the Legacy UVs for Genesis 3: Genesis 2 Male and Michael 6. I have both, and it was money well spent for me.

    Whoops, how did I miss that product?  Me and the search bar have never gotten along very well, I'm afraid.

    Thanks for the tips, I'll read your tutorial and see what I can do.  I have much more free time than money, so if it's something I can figure out, that'd be great!  

    Feel free to ask questions in the tutorial thread. Some things in the tutorial are specific to Victoria 7 and G8F and may not translate well for your needs. I'll do my best to help you get it figured out.

  • Fae3DFae3D Posts: 2,847

    Yay!!!  Thanks everyone, because of you, I now have Locke for M4 on my M7!

     

    I'd much rather take a while to transfer my M4 guys than have to buy more stuff, so this works out great for me.  Who knows, maybe I'll get brave and try the G2 stuff later as well ^_^

    Thanks again!

     

  • SpottedKittySpottedKitty Posts: 7,232
    edited July 2017
    Faeofthe3rdDimension said:
    Does it matter where I save them, though?  I always get very confused with the file structures, so I tend to save stuff in folders on my desktop so I don't misplace them.  Will that be ok, or do they have to go somewhere specific?

    If you're describing saving like that, it sounds like you're going to the File menu at the top of the screen and using the Save option. Doing it that way means you have to always know where your content files are installed. There's another way to save, where you never need to bother about this, DAZ|Studio does it for you.

    Look at the bottom of the Content Library tab (not Smart Content). There's a little "+" sign down there, it's for "adding" things to your content library.

    • Navigate to somewhere you'll always remember in the DAZ Studio Formats section, preferably in the People subfolder.
    • If you don't see a suitable folder, then create one.
    • Open it, click the "+" button, and select the Material Preset option.
    • Enter the name you want to use for the file, then click Save.
    • Don't change any of the options (until you learn more about this stuff, it can get complicated) just click Accept.

    And that's all there is to it.

    Post edited by SpottedKitty on
  • sapatsapat Posts: 1,735
    edited August 2017

    I own this utility but have never used it: https://www.daz3d.com/legacy-uvs-for-genesis-3-genesis-2-male-and-michael-6

    I want to buy a super nice male character with awesome skin at 'the other store', but I want to use the skin on G3M.  This is all I'd need, right?

    Also, now that I have your attention....is there any way to get the G2M morphs from this character converted so I can use those on G3M?

    Thanks for any help...

    Post edited by sapat on
  • scorpioscorpio Posts: 8,533

    Yes thats all you need to transfer the skins.

    GenX with the correct addons will transfer your morphs

    https://www.daz3d.com/genesis-generation-x2

  • sapatsapat Posts: 1,735
    scorpio said:

    Yes thats all you need to transfer the skins.

    GenX with the correct addons will transfer your morphs

    https://www.daz3d.com/genesis-generation-x2

    Thank you so much!!

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