Am I the only person who has issues with Legacy UVs for Genesis 8: Michael 4?
lryhall_17d185bd0d
Posts: 127
I am certainly not a member of Mensa, but I'm perfectly capable of reading instructions over and over ad nauseum. But I am incapable following the instructions on how to turn a Poser Mat file into a 'duf.' Without that ability, this is basically a waste of money.
"The Material files must be in .duf format to work correctly with Genesis 8. You can either prepare these yourself by loading the MATs onto Michael 4 and then saving them within DAZ Studio as Material Presets, or you can utilise a program such as DraagonStorm's "Michael 4 Skins Batch Converter" which will convert them automatically. The Batch converter does not currently, however, convert textures for the Genitalia, so you will have to convert those separately."
The promo doesn't mention this bit of frustrating information. You have to go deep into the Adobe Acrobat file for that.
As can be seen below, it sends me to where I have properly saved the file after adding duf. and it does not show up as an item that can be saved.
Closer still to my Daz induced psychosis, but hoping someone can help a poor ol' broke down slomo down on his luck.
Thanks for taking the time to read.
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Comments
There are sometimes 2 places that have presets, look under Studio, Content, then presets. If you know the name of the file you saved, do a windows search in the DAZ folder as it might have been saved somewhere else. I save material presets almost daily, so it does work.
Load M4. Apply the Poser Mat you want to use to him. If it looks right, apply Daz Uber Base shader preset to all surfaces, go to "save as" and select materials preset, save it under Content/People/Michael 4/Materials (or whatever you like but this seems most logical). It will be in duf format. If it doesn't look right, apply one of several shader preset products designed to make skin look good in Iray, or tweak by hand. (Daz's base leather preset might be a workable starter for skin, once you change the diffuse color back to white). If you do not own M4, try loading Genesis 1 (free, comes with a UV setting for M4), applying the poser material and swapping the UV map to M4, then saving out as above. I haven't tested that, but it's the only option I can think of for someone who picked up an M4 skin free or cheap but doesn't have the base figure for whatever reason.
Once you have created the duf file, load G8M, apply the legacy skin geografts found under Genesis 8 Male/Anatomy, and apply the duf file.
There is no batch conversion from *.pz2 (the Poser material format that actually works in Daz, as distinct from *.mtl, which does not) to .duf, so far as I know.
Sorry, misread your initial question.
Thanks Odaa, it's certainly not as in the "instructions" but I'll try anything. The figure I'm dealing with here is The Gen 8 Male.
Thanks for your graciousness! I'll try tomorrow. I'm too frazzled tonight. Thanks
Maybe you are overthinking it. (I have the G3 version, and I'm sure the process is the same). Load M4 with the material you want to transfer to G8. Save as a material preset (it will save as .duf, no choice about that). Save that in your library somewhere, maybe in a special folder for conversions. It must be in a mapped library folder for Studio to see it. (I keep all my own saved files in a separate library so as to not mix them in with the official stuff).
Note where it is, and use that file to load the materials onto the prepared G8, like any other material preset. That should be about it.
That note in the readme about the batch autoconvert (it's in the G3 version, too) is misleading. That particular product only does M4 to G2Male and there is no other version.
It looks like the default folder for the Material Presets is in the Windows Users folder on the C-drive which does not appear to show up in the Content Library tab. You should probably decide where you want the DUF file to show, and then navigate specifically to it rather than rely on the default location.
NorthOf45, the point about Draagonstorm's autoconvert products is that they convert the texture files to DUF format which is a requirement for generations after Genesis 2 to be able to read them.
Edit: I should add that DUF files cannot be viewed in the Poser Formats locations either. They have to be in the DAZ Studio Formats folders.
I don't have the M4 one for G8M but I have the V4 one for G8F and I have quite a few of his other Legacy UV products as well. They're pretty cool and I enjoy using them. :) I'll try to write a quick "walk through" of how I usually do it and maybe you'll find it helpful:
Load Michael 4 and apply the materials/skin that you want to be able to use with Genesis 8 Male. Make any adjustments that you want to it (skin shaders, Iray conversions, whatever tweaks you want to make it look good). Once you have the skin looking the way you want it, save it as a Materials Preset (File >> Save As >> Materials Preset) and save it to a place you'll remember it. I usually save to Presets >> Materials.
Make sure to save it with a name that is easy to find. The naming convention I usually use for Materials Presets is to start with the figure it's for, then the character the mats are from, then any adjustments I've made. So for this example I'm using the textures from Forest Daphni. So once I've tweaked it with a shader I've saved it as a Materials Preset and named it "V4 - Forest Daphni Mats with Altern8".
Now load Genesis 8 Male, navigate to the Legacy UV product (it should be under People >> Genesis 8 Male >> Anatomy) and load the "Legacy UVs !Prepare Genesis 8 Male" script and then load the "Legacy UVs - Apply Michael 4 UVs". Last, navigate to where you saved the M4 materials preset and apply that to G8M. You should now have the saved M4 materials on G8M.
Once you have the UVs and everything on G8M you can save it as Scene Subset to quickly load the figure in the future with the Legacy UV geografts and textures already applied. (File >> Save As >> Scene Subset)
Since I got out V4 for the quick walk through (I did the process again myself as I was explaining it, to make sure I was telling you the correct steps) - Here's the result. Forest Daphni V4 texture on G8F (V4 on the Left, G8F on the Right):
I have a lot of fun with Cayman Studio's UVs products and once you do it once or twice it's super easy. :)
Didn't mean to sound so harsh. I guess it is not clear that saving an M4 material setting directly from M4 as .duf does not produce the same file as the autoconvert. The former saves with original M4 surface names (1_SkinFace, 2_SkinHip, etc) and can still be used on M4 (and Genesis), while the latter has the new surface names (Face, Hip, etc) for use on G2M, and any other figure that can use it (i.e., with Legacy UV's). Your setup has to accept both sets of surface names, if M4 .duf materials prepared with either method are to be used.
So, the "Prepare" stage for G3/G8 adds the legacy UV's and surface names to the figure (is that for all corresponding Legacy UV products you have installed?) so that the materials can actually fit in the right place. Never really looked under the hood to see what's going on, it just worked, which is a good thing.
Thanks so much to everyone for being so helpful. I'm sure the product is good and workable, it just seems I need to find a workaround for my Windows 10 64-bit system. I'll try as I find time during the day. I'll let you all know how it turns out. Thanks again for all the help!
You didn't sound harsh.
The autoconvert program only needs the Legacy Surface names because Genesis 2 already includes those Legacy surfaces when it loads. Genesis 3 onwards doesn't include those surfaces, which is why the Prepare script needs to create them so the DUF MATs can be read.
I've tried all suggestions without result. The closest I came was Cayman's idea. I used the one saved Michael 4 in my content library, (no idea how he got there) and the Gen 8 male took on most of the texture, but there were still white strips that looked like band-aids on his thighs and lower arms and hands. Close, but no taco. I'm afraid this may be a little above my paygrade. It seems that more and more I keep wading into the more complicated waters, the more I should stick more to the less complicated products. A lot of the technilogical languauge whizzes by over my head. Half the files and locations they mention, I haven't the foggiest notion of their location, or what to do when I finally find it. Now I undertstand that may be the correct terminology, but it's kind of like trying to explain microbiology to a squirrel monkey.
Anybody got a spare banana?
Thanks for all the help, everyone!
Those white bands are geografts.... Select them in the the scene tab, select them in the surface tab and apply the default iray shader. Next, one by one apply the appropriate texture in the surface tab by copying the torso surface from the figure and past to the surface of the torso geograft, arm to arm geograft etc... continue until you are done.
You are so close to finishing...
When you prepare G8, you should get a grey clay figure with those bands showing; that means you are off to a good start. The main figure and the geografts should all be selected in the scene tab. If not select them all. In the Legacy UV's folder there should be an "Apply M4 UVs" script. Double click to apply. This will set the UV's on all parts to M4, which will map the textures into the right places. Now apply your M4 material preset and you should have a completely textured G8.
If you apply the M4 materials first, it might set the UV by itself, if not, all the bitmaps might be be misaligned, but you can just select the main figure and the geografts and then "Apply M4 UVs" after and everything should fall into place.
After all. I managed to place an M4 texture on a Gen 8 figure. I used the existing M4 figure listed under Michael in my content library. As I mentioned, I don't know how he got there originally. I have yet to figure out a place to put another texture I managed to turn into a duf. that I was hoping would be my original project. I put his duf. files into a separate folder on my desktop for easy reference. However, when I attempted to use them, Daz did not see 'recognize' the duf. mats I had placed there. After I figured out the plan in Daz, it was very easy applying the M4 mat. Much easier than the instructions as I read them. Now I just have to figure out how to make the M4 mat dufs accessible.
Thanks again to all for your help.
Just so we can advise you better... are you rendering in Iray or 3delight? The default Gen 8 male is iRay.... almost every M4 is 3delight. The reason I ask is you mention that you made a .duf but you didn't specify if you converted the M4 surfaces to iray or converted the Gen 8 male to 3delight since they both have to agree. May I have you clarify that?
Here's one way to do it.
Load M4 into the scene, apply the texture from the Poser Library or Daz Studio Library, wherever it is.
Go to File>Save As>Material Preset. Save it to your Desktop, name it "M4 Gen8" or something. I just named it "Sol" because that's who I had used.
Go to File>New.
Load Genesis 8 Male.
Click on the "Prepare Genesis 8 Male" thing, it'll load the Geografts.
Go to Surfaces tab, select all skin and geografts, make it all the same color. I use just plain ol' white.
Go to File>Merge and select your M4 Gen8 or "Sol" as I named it.
Then select the next option with the package, I forget what it says.
Should be good to go.
Nemesis? I don't know. I suspect I used IRAY on the M4 for no reason other than I almost never choose 3d delight. No special reason, other than it seems to be the most used. And I couldn't tell you the differences between the two. I did manage to get a M4 map successfully applied simply because I had one in my content library. Tomorrow, I'll try Ichibans method. It's slowly sinking into my brain, just a little more work than one of my expertise (read: lack of) is used to. Poser, Vue, Bryce, and Carrara have become so engrained in my thought process over the years, it's no wonder my head is spinning. Had I my 'Druthers, Carrara would still be my platform of choice. Unfortunately, it has been allowed to slither ungracefully into old age and decrepitude. Vue is still making a very nice product, but very pricey for most folks.
Thanks!
I suspect the problem is that you are trying to load an iRay figure (the geografts) with a 3delight shader. That pretty much never works. I figure you are rendering in Iray (check by going to the Rendering Tab>advanced and see what rendering engine are you using. Next, you can convert either the geograft to match the format to the g8 body....
Nemesis10: A figure is not inherently Iray or 3Delight. The surfaces take on whatever the material preset says they are. It might start out with one or the other (or something else again, like SSS or HSS or custom shaders). A geograft is not restricted to any particular type of shader, it's just another surface. The render engine does not interfere with loading the materials, whichever they are intended for, even if it is a different one.
lryhall: Let's not worry about Iray or 3Delight yet. Ichiban's method will work the same as saving the preset in the Content Library and loading it back from there. The Merge function on the File menu looks in the Windows file system directly. If it is in the Library, you can see it without leaving DAZ Studio, but that is a matter of convenience. If you only use it once, or only have a few, it makes little difference.
The important part is to get the geografts in place, choose the M4 UV Map for all of them and the G8 figure, then load the M4 .duf material preset previously saved. (As I mentioned earlier, you can change the UV Map later if you miss any). If you originally loaded M4 with the materials he comes with, it will be 3Delight, and so will the .duf you saved. You can convert the materials to Iray at different stages, but for now, let's just get the thing loaded properly. The bitmaps for M4 and G8 have different shapes, which is what the UV map takes care of. It basically paints the bitmaps onto the proper location on the mesh. You don't have to know how it works, as long as you use the right one everywhere it is needed.
You can render 3DL materials in Iray, Studio does an okay conversion on the fly, but there are better ways to handle it, well beyond the scope of this discussion.
I agree but I have found that simply trying to paste an Iray shader to a 3delite surface or vica versa often doesn't work...using the default shader then pasting often solves those problems....
Yes, the copy/paste will only work on the same shader type, but we're loading a new material that will set the shader and everything needed for it. Let's see how this goes...
I had some success with Ichiban's method. Still a few bugs, but I'm learning slowly with all the help I've received.
Thanks for everyone's help!