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Novica, Serene Night, & Invited Guest Contributors Tips & Product Reviews Pt 3

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  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,558
    edited February 2014

    Todays’ review is:

    3ds Real Woman Stephanie 6 bodies
    (DAZ 3D 3DSublimeProductions)
    Other content used:
    Boudoir Photo Studio & Lights (Predatron, Diane)
    Stephanie 6
    Toulouse Hair (Rt)
    Fancy Hair (Center) (DAZ 3d)
    Fashion Hair (Left) (DAZ 3d)
    Swimwear V6 (MindVision G.D.S)

    http://www.daz3d.com/new-releases/3ds-real-woman-stephanie-6-bodies
    http://www.daz3d.com/boudoir-photo-studio-and-lights
    http://www.daz3d.com/hair/fancy-hair
    http://www.daz3d.com/fashion-hair
    http://www.daz3d.com/swimwear-v6

    This is a set of six different morphs to give your Stephanie 6 figure some variety. Ranging from zaftig to slender, each shape is different and realistic. This is a great set to add some diversity to Stephanie 6. The only adjustment I made from default morph, was to turn off the nipples. I'm glad I picked this one up.

    Image 1. Figures 1-3
    Image 2 Figures 3-6

    figures-2.jpg
    933 x 699 - 299K
    figures-1.jpg
    933 x 699 - 313K
    Post edited by Serene Night on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    BTW, be sure and test the cart because if you have purchased Stephanie 6 already, you currently are getting the additional discount in the cart without having S6 IN the cart (which it says is required.) And that's the way it should be- or else I personally would cancel my order from yesterday and just rebuy it. Hopefully marketing was on the ball with that and this isn't a mistake- but they shouldn't state that as being required (to have it in the cart) if it ISNT right.

    In case they change it, you might want to get those items now that say it's required (when currently it isn't, as of 2:10AM Central time.)

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    Or is it PC members are getting a discount? (But normally that shows up in the pricing, aka, it will say 30% on the gallery page, but when you click it says 51%. This does NOT do that, the price changes in the CART. See if you are getting these prices if you bought S6 yesterday:

    For example:
    PHC (etc) for Estal Hair 7.67 is 5.48 in cart
    Casual poses 6.97 is 5.97

    Compared to:
    3DS Real Women is 3.90 and that one DOES show the 51% as does Flirty Poses (4.88 at 51%)

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    WOA FOLKS-
    I am getting discounts on top of discounts- the Peplum Dress Textures at 51% at 5.37 got knocked down to 3.83!!!!

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    SereneNight- what did you pay for the Real Women? It's 3.90 right now.
    Although I like Stephanie (and great observation about looking like a smaller Gia) I do not like the skin being SO dark. It makes lighting characters in the scene with her very difficult unless you space them out quite a bit. For example, some of yours look as dark as African American products sold here- and you do really good lighting! Imagine artists who aren't that good with lighting trying to get multiple characters in a scene..

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/36666/P60/#548991

    If you haven't seen the figures rendered for comparison, lee_lhs did a nice job.

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,558
    edited December 1969

    One of the things I like about Stephanie 6 is that her skin is darker. She is the darkest default character they've made. But she is basically MINI-Gia and that is a disappointment. One Gia is enough. Gia has the firm jaw, and so does Steph. I do like her smaller breasts, but a lot of the morphs seem to have just decided to go the big route, which is el-boreo. Why make a small petite character, then just turn her into Olympia. LOL.

    I like the way the boudoir lights light her up. That was a pleasant surprise. But it is easier to make her lighter by exposing her to more spots, if you want her fairer..

    In general, the black characters sold at daz (At least the female ones), are usually light-skinned.

    I think I paid 3-something for that set. When I pull up my receipt it doesn't show the discounted price, just the 7+ I paid for it. I know when I added it to the cart it was less.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    A suggestion- with the stupid display AFTER you check out (which doesn't show individual prices, just the lump sum off at the end) and if you ever want to return something and make sure it's done right- I always do screenshots of the cart before I hit continue and it's processed. I save them as corel draw cdr's and label them "orderFev19.2014" for example, that way if I return something I will know whqt is going on. I also make notes (which is included in the cdr) about why the discounts are the way they are. (aka 50.00 gets 6.00 off) etc. With the multiple sales, I think it's helpful to Britney to be able to explain what happened with any given order, and I also want to know why I paid what I did.

    HATE the page that you get after you checkout. One lump "minus" at the end. YUCK.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    Be sure and check all the banner messages that are across the top of the page- there is more than one. The best thing is going into your account and look at Messages>Exclusive Offers. I have two.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    DIM is offline due to the site being down- Jaderail was nice enough to answer my question in the commons. You'll get the sit and spin, then message about checking your password/account. Just wait it out. (it's 3:40am central time and still not working. Site went down two hours ago for about an hour and DIM has gone poof ever since. They are working on it.)

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,558
    edited December 1969

    Todays’ review is:
    Coalition Katana (mighty_mestophales, Sequestrian tealiDragon)
    Aftermath (The Digivault)
    War Torn Stalker (the Antfarm)

    http://www.daz3d.com/aftermath
    http://www.daz3d.com/coalition-katana
    http://www.daz3d.com/war-torn-stalker

    Coalition Katana is another beautiful body armor suit for gen 4 males. Like the previous Coalition products, it consists of a bodysuit, and a preload armor set. It also includes individual pieces.

    The armor looks quite striking and edgy on your M4. If you prefer you can load the armor on its own and use it to pose the set, which will save your memory and why bother putting a character inside the suit if you don’t have to?

    The armor has some glow effects which by default are white. (Image 1) If you want to change the color of the glow, you will need to add a diffuse under the surface tab to the glow channel. There doesn’t appear to be a quick way to do this to all pieces at once- you must apply the glow effect to each piece of armor individually that has the glow option.

    The bodysuit loads by default with distracting white gloves. (Image 1) You can add a black diffuse, or use the bodysuit texture from War Torn Stalker if you don’t like it. (Image 2) I am not sure if this is a flaw or by design, the product page’s gloves look dark to me. I’m also wondering if there may be a missing texture, since the product page seems to have a golden colored suit, and the default loading color of this one is dark blue. The product page indicates there are two texture options. I’ve noticed that the armor loads with a matte texture if you apply the pieces individually and metallic if you use the default mat. I’m not sure if that counts as two or not, but there is no other option than a matte blue or a shiny blue that I can see.

    The set has several mat zones per piece of body armor so you can easily recolor the pieces with shaders to make your own armor look.
    The spaulders are adjustable, so if you move your character into an extreme pose you can avoid clipping with the helmet, which is a useful feature.

    There is no included weapon, although the promo art has a nice sword. If you know what it is, please tell me. Would love to pick it up. =-)

    CAUTION:

    The set has a bad pixel on the boots which results in thread which connect the two boots together. (Image 3) This is quite distracting, impossible to hide. You can see it in my renders if you look closely when the heel is above the ground. I submitted a work request for this a couple of weeks ago- so I hope they fix it up before my 30 day purchase period expires. Since it is just the boots, I suppose you could leave them off, but I think it would look sort of incongruous.
    Wartorn Stalker

    I’m quite impressed with this easy to use and apply texture expansion for Coalition Katana. It even includes a nice chunky weapon for your character to use. As usual with the Antfarm’s content you get quality with your purchase, and this expansion looks great and gives your Katana battle armor a more mercenary feel. I had to be careful with fitting the weapon’s pommel into the character’s hand to get the grip right. Even though if I recall correctly there is an auto-placement feature.

    Images:
    1. Default texture-white gloves, no glow diffuse
    2. Recolored with metallic shader, aqua diffuse (Just to show you it can be done).
    3. War Torn Stalker

    pict-3.jpg
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    2.jpg
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    1.jpg
    781 x 994 - 532K
  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,558
    edited December 1969

    Novica said:
    Be sure and check all the banner messages that are across the top of the page- there is more than one. The best thing is going into your account and look at Messages>Exclusive Offers. I have two.

    Interesting. I had a banner that said I had 3 dollars off select items, but there wasn't anything I wanted.

    I checked my special offers and it is empty!

    I will never understand how daz markets and handles special offers. But oh well.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    When the site went down, apparently it messed things up as someone else on my commons thread noted the date (21) was today, and yet the special was supposed to run through the weekend. So I think they've got their hands full trying to tweak back the message promos and the DIM.

    I really liked your shattered glass too- was that your handiwork or did the window come like that? I'm not sure which color scheme I like, The silver is energetic and in your face, the first one is radiating power, etc. So I like them all.

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,127
    edited December 1969

    SereneNight said:
    Novica said:
    Be sure and check all the banner messages that are across the top of the page- there is more than one. The best thing is going into your account and look at Messages>Exclusive Offers. I have two.

    Interesting. I had a banner that said I had 3 dollars off select items, but there wasn't anything I wanted.

    I checked my special offers and it is empty!

    I will never understand how daz markets and handles special offer s. But oh well.
    I got the fishtail braids free ($2.99 - $3.00). I was surprised the coupon worked on $2.99 items.

  • TJohnTJohn Posts: 11,006
    edited December 1969

    Hi! (waves)
    Stopped getting ebots for this thread, now I'm caught up.
    Apparently I'm relapsing on my cold/bronchitis. I've got a checkup with my Dr. on Monday so if I'm still sick...
    I've done a few renders, but nothing for a review/demo. Maybe soon. :)

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,558
    edited December 1969

    Novica said:
    I really liked your shattered glass too- was that your handiwork or did the window come like that? I'm not sure which color scheme I like, The silver is energetic and in your face, the first one is radiating power, etc. So I like them all.


    No, can't take credit. Aftermath comes complete with shattered glass and ruined building. It is a very nice affordable backdrop for post apocalyptic renders. I would love a pristine un ruined set though. IT looks like an interesting place.

    I intend to play with metal shaders with the suit. There are a number of mat zones so you can easily deck this outfit out in style.

    barbult said:
    I will never understand how daz markets and handles special offer s. But oh well.

    That is a surprise! Too bad there is only 1 3 dollar item, but I'm going to double-check the list. I have those braids, and strangely have not ever used them.

    Hi! (waves)
    Stopped getting ebots for this thread, now I'm caught up.
    Apparently I'm relapsing on my cold/bronchitis. I've got a checkup with my Dr. on Monday so if I'm still sick...
    I've done a few renders, but nothing for a review/demo. Maybe soon. :)

    I hope you feel better. I have been on the asthma inhaler for a week, and feel finally that I have improved enough to get back into y regular exercise routine. I've been sick for over a month. Take care of yourself. =-)

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    tjohn, speedy recovery! Putz in when you have time.

    Well, I sure am saving money- so much sexy/clingy stuff. I hope March Madness has a good variety and some MEN garments.

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,558
    edited December 1969

    Hah! you are begining to sound like me, Novica. =-)

    I am somewhat interested in Eliminator, and I like the fact that it has poses, but I have a number of similar bodysuits, so I'm passing for now.

    Would love another male item too.

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,558
    edited February 2014

    Well, I answered my own question. Just love it when I can do that. =-)

    Post edited by Serene Night on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited February 2014

    The marketing department is really reaching. "Let's feature the desert and put Enchanted Forest as a related item." I don't think a typical person pictures desert oasis as jungles, which are expansive. (oasis= "a fertile spot in a desert where water is found." and "a waterhole.") This is ridiculous.

    http://www.daz3d.com/easy-environments-oasis is stunning as usual, wishlisting it.

    Keshi looks nice! Still not buying anything, have more than enough products unless they are deeply discounted. I'm cataloging the thousands of products I already have alphabetically instead of by item number. Also learning about ebooks, there's threads scattered around and it's interesting. (Would love to see SereneNight do a sci fi book, it would be AWESOME! :)

    Post edited by Novica on
  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,558
    edited December 1969

    I like Keshi, and this pa does a good job of mid-tone skins. I'm probably going to buy her since, I only have 1 Stephanie 6- default Stephanie 6 skin. I tend to like to use skins with different characters, and this is a very nice skin to use.

    I find I tend not to use tattoos, mehandi, makeup, warpaint, goth makeup options in my renders. But there is variety for those who like that.

    I think the Oasis has a nice pool which tempts me. I'm always looking for good water planes but don't have an immediate need.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    I was very happy to see it was a Stephanie 6 character :)
    Do you have Eternal Sands that goes so well with Oasis? March Madness coming up really quickly, waiting to see what stores/products/deals are featured from that too. If you get/do a Keshi, would love to see her.

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,558
    edited December 1969

    She's in the cart. I'm waiting to see what sales arise in the next day or so. She is at 30% right now, so I know better now than to leap on purchases.

    I did pick up MS Lycan yesterday. I think I passed this one by purely because I thought it was "Missus" Not midnight stories. I didn't need a female werewolf.

    I like him, and he has some interesting veins and hair. he needs a loincloth or something though. =-)

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited December 1969

    Amaterasu
    Caribbean Queen Hair

    http://www.daz3d.com/amaterasu
    http://www.daz3d.com/caribbean-queen-hair

    Closeup of the eye for Amaterasu shows the eyelashes do not go to the outside corner, and definitely are lacking to the corner of the eye. I found that disappointing. Your eyelashes do not stop that far away from the corner. If you are doing closeups, you will have to watch your angle.

    The skin will take on different tones with the light, I used a combination of Chablis lights with about eight of my own for the render with the hair (next post.) The hair is out of the box and applies easily, I love the scarf options. Shown are various shades of makeup for Amaterasu, and the eye colors and detail are quite nice. The background is Fabricator.

    First: closeup of eyelashes
    Second: default makeup
    Third: Crimson eyeshadow with high gloss lips
    Fourth: Eggplant eyeshadow
    Fifth: Sea eyeshadow. She will wear this in the next render /post.

    amaterasuSea.jpg
    900 x 1094 - 403K
    amaterasuEggplant.jpg
    900 x 1094 - 404K
    amaterasuCrimsonHiGloss.jpg
    900 x 1094 - 403K
    amaterasuDefault.jpg
    900 x 1094 - 405K
    amaterasuEye.jpg
    800 x 973 - 553K
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited February 2014

    Amaterasu is taking on a greenish hue when posted, and yes, my computer is calibrated yada yada. So not posting her right now.

    Post edited by Novica on
  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,558
    edited December 1969

    I can see that. And those lashes sure are an issue. Thats an odd flaw.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited February 2014

    I used my graphics program and made her more ruddy on my end so she'd appear okay on yours. That's what I call a PIB. (Pain in the booty)
    So here's Amaterasu using three different cultures- Asian character, tropical hair, and African background material. :)

    amaterasu1SIG.png
    900 x 1020 - 2M
    Post edited by Novica on
  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,558
    edited December 1969

    I like your mixed image, Novica! The leopard towel is a nice backdrop. =-)

  • starionwolfstarionwolf Posts: 3,666
    edited December 1969

    I like the soft shadows on her cheeks and under her chin. The lighting you used looks natural unlike the lighting that I use. lol

  • luci45luci45 Posts: 2,654
    edited December 1969

    Hi. Sorry I haven't been around in a while, am engrossed in RRRR. But I'll be back. :)

    I haven't bought much lately, all ladies with bad (by my standards) clothes. I haven't even bought new Stephanie 6 or Olympia. Ameterasu and Keshi are attractive, great skin, but the lower lips are kind of large, like a bee sting. I guess swolen lips are supposed to look erotic. The greenish skin to me does look more Mediterrranean, as in Italian and much of middle east. They don't have a pinky tone to their skin. But maybe it's too green - DAZ likes to exagerate sometimes. I am glad Stephanie is a bit darker, but don't like the strong jaw so much. S5 had it too, but not S4. So much for "iconic."

    Where are the men? Not that I like Freak so much. We could use a couple more Genesis 2 Male guys, especially since M6 is kind of a dud. %-P

    Thanks for the reviews, SereneNight, Novica et al. (I especially like seeing the SciFi stuff, SereneNight!) :cheese:

This discussion has been closed.