The Mac FAQ
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In short, there really is no problem with running a public beta and no issues with files being confused with one very minor caveat: every once in a rare while, there are features that only work in the beta that were never fixed in the public release due to the feature using something advanced. The whole point of the beta is that it doesn't interfere and it is the best patched version.
In Sequoia 15.4, how do I test that I've made a bootable backup drive? Do I choose RESTART And then hold down the OPTION KEY As the computer starts up? Or what key or keys do I hold as the computer starts up?
Correct, the Option Key should provide a list of bootable drives when booting up.
For me, this forum is about asking MacOS related issues directly related to DAZ Studio and not a forum for inquiring about general Apple/Mac issues better addressed in other forums / channels. (e.g. Is X better than Y).
There's light enough traffic that I don't think it's an issue, and I'm not sure there's a more appropriate forum to discuss App/Mac issues of any sort than "Mac FAQ", at least not one where it woudn't be buried fairly quickly.
I have a feeling that you'll enjoy the Mac Studio for a very long time, @inquire!!
You have picked up a wonderful Mac with awesome specs. A sixfold rendering speed improvement over your 2013 Mac Pro is extremely impressive.
Most of my DS renders are portrait style, so I'm somewhat interested in Apple's Pro Display XDR. That monitor is showing some age and might get a refresh this year. For me, that would be perfect with a Mac Studio. I've been looking at different configurations in the online Mac Store and seem to be settling in on the 28 core M3 Ultra, 256 GB RAM, and 8 TB SSD.
So happy that you got the new Mac and hope that you are thrilled with it!! It's a powerhouse of a Mac. :)
Lee
The Mac studio will even run the Pro Display XDR. Tell me more about it.
It's a 32-inch, 6K monitor from Apple. I'm interested in it for the high quality display, larger size, and ability to rotate the screen 90 degrees (portrait format).
Here's the link: https://www.apple.com/pro-display-xdr/
The price is up there and it's using some dated technology (Thunderbolt 3, IPS LCD display, 60 Hz max refresh rate, etc.) Also, the price is clearly pro level: $5000 for the monitor + $1000 for the stand (height/tilt/rotate) + $1000 for the optional Nano texture glass.
I'd like to have this monitor, but not sure if I would enjoy it $6000+ worth. :)
The regular Apple Studio Display with height and tilt stand would likely make me just as happy for far less money.
Lee
Youhou, Filatoon for Mac
https://www.daz3d.com/blog/daz-studio-2025-alpha-release
Edit: I currently don't see it in DIM, and as far as I know, I did what was needed to make it appear so I suppose something need to fixed on Daz side for the alpha to be downloadable.
Will this new version run natively on the Mac silicon chips? I sure hope so. So no one has actually tried it yet at this point? I'm eager to see what other people think, before I dare try it. I'd want to be sure it won't mess up DAZ studio 4.X Or anything on my new computer.
I'm guessing it won't have too many bugs in it or they wouldn't be advertising it as they are.
Most people don't see it in DIM yet.
For now most of what we know is from the blog post: https://www.daz3d.com/blog/daz-studio-2025-alpha-release
It will install separately from DS4. On a Mac since there are no nvidia drivers involved there should be less "unwanted interactions" IMO.
They clearly advertise it as an ALPHA version, with bugs expected.
As Leana says, yes, there *will* be bugs, more than in a beta release.
The situation is analgous to what they almost did in 2021, where they were going to release a very, very early version to allow Mac users to run DAZ Studio on Big Sur machjines. This time, it's an earlier-version-than-they'd-like-release to allow nVidia users with the latest generation of GPUs to use them.
It's still using Rosetta, but Filatoon does work.
I had a crash the first time I launched it, when I wanted to load Willow 9, but I think it was because every item in the menu was duplicated (so I had two Tools menu, etc) which was not the case the second time I launched Daz Studio 2025.
So it does not work natively with the Apple Silicon chips?
It's labeled as an Intel application in the Activity Monitor (or whatever is name is in English: it's the program you use to watch how much ressources various applications launched on a Mac are using). So it's still built to target Intel CPU, otherwise its type would be Apple.
As @Elor experienced, I had a crash on first launch of Daz Studio 2025. It hasn't crashed from the 2nd app launch on (so far.)
DS 2025 is showing as a non-Apple Silicon native app as seen in the Activity Monitor and by doing Get Info on the app from the Finder (in your Applications folder).
Keep in mind that this is still an Alpha release and things don't work or work differently from the regular DS 4.23 versions.
For an Alpha, it's rather good at what is complete so far. Filament is there and seems to work (YAY!)
DS 2025 happily co-exists with DS 4 (regular and beta versions) so you can have 3 versions installed (as I do.)
There's lots to explore, but that will have to wait until I get home tonight (I spend 6 to 8 hours every day sitting with Mom in Hospice.)
Thank you to the Daz Studio software team for getting this Alpha release out to us! Very much looking forward to the improvements that will follow.
Lee
Yes, the application shows as "Intel".
That said, like every Mac user so far, mine crashed the first time and hasn't since. Works very smoothly so far, and I am so pumped about having Filament and Filatoon.
Quick Willow 9 Filatoon test, simple body rotation on TOS Filatoon bridge, nothing fancy. 24 frames, 1080p, render time: 34.27 seconds. I'm excited to be looking at animation again.
https://sterdan.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Quicktest-Willow-on-bridge-00.mpg
I had to adjust my Content Library sequence and noticed that getting there is different from previous Mac versions. Preferences is under DAZStudio now. Also don't get rid of your older 4.23 builds. I couldn't find Power Pose, USCXT, USC2, Mesh Grabber, Measure Metrics panes at all. Not sure what else hasn't been updated or will not be at all.
I am thrilled for Filament/Filatoon and will be downloading all my products for them today.
Power Pose is in Windows > Panes (Tabs) > Power Pose and I checked it on a G8F figure, it worked as it should:
USCXT, USC2, Mesh Grabber, Measure Metrics are all plugins and won't work without an update.
Kinda strange that Studio is still not HiDPI aware by default. It's literally just two lines in the .plist file...
Otherwise, can confirm what others said:
Thanks Elor, I didn't see it before. I tried to see it right clicking on the margin and getting the 'Add Pane To Group' but couldn't see it. Not sure if that is because of my cataracts or the print size and my skimming down the list too fast. I have it added now thanks to you.
I did have something weird happen when I did 'Update and Merge Windows', the default tool bar duplicated itself. I had been hoping the tools I had in the other version of the 4.23 Beta would come over. Guess I have to add them in manually, again. I did get rid of the dupe tool bar.
And what of Apple metal? I thought I read about that in the announcement this morning?
Any hint at all as to when there might be a native Apple Silicon version?
Apple Metal is used in the interface and previews. There's been no hints at all of a native Apple Silicon version, but this is an Alpha, not even a Beta. Hopefully it'll come out somewhere down the line.
That said, seeing Filatoon characters rendered pretty much realtime as I'm setting up a scene is – to me at least – glorious; I never got to see any pwToon effects until I rendered, this is such a treat, and rendering the Filatoon scene at a second-and-a-half per frame... I'm a happy camper. So, so much faster than pwToon ever was.
Please report issues (and successes) here https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/728111/daz-studio-2025-alpha-version-6-25-2025-11206#latest too
I managed a render but I am going to have to go back and review two tuts and the forum threads on filatoons to know what I am doing. But I am not unhappy with this one of Vicky 9. Not as great as others have done, but I didn't blow up the program.
And his metal able to render also?
Is there anything like a realistic render possible With Filatoon?
Filatoon is just using special shaders in Fliament. If you're careful with lighting setup, realism is indeed possible in Filament. The main issue is that lights don't behave the way they do in Iray so it's a bit of work adjusting your lighting and then tonemapping etc...
As Tesseractspace points out, Filatoon is a set of Filament shaders to make Toons, almost the exact opposite of "realistic".
Filament itself can make some more realistic renders, though; your best bet is to search for "Filament" in the store and look at images for some of the Filament lighting and effects products.
Regarding "Metal", as discussed before there is no selectable "Metal" fine rendering engine per se, Metal is being used to replace OpenGL for Macs. If you have "Texture Shaded" set in your viewport and render your image with "Viewport" set, you'll get the Metal equivelant of what you used to get with OpenGL. That said, I find it a little faster than OpenGL and I like the final renders with it a little brighter, but I'm only starting to test it. Overall, still very happy with DAZ Studio 2025.
// Convert to DAZ PBR Shader and apply Filament-optimized skin settings
var oSelected = Scene.getPrimarySelection();
if (!oSelected) {
MessageBox.information("No figure selected.");
return;
}
// Keywords to identify skin-related surfaces
var skinKeywords = ["skin", "face", "torso", "head", "neck", "arm", "leg"];
var surfaces = oSelected.getSurfaces();
var pbrShader = ShaderPreset.findShader("DzPBRShader"); // DAZ PBR Shader
if (!pbrShader) {
MessageBox.information("DAZ PBR Shader not found.");
return;
}
for (var i = 0; i < surfaces.length; i++) {
var surface = surfaces[i];
var name = surface.name.toLowerCase();
var isSkin = false;
for (var k = 0; k < skinKeywords.length; k++) {
if (name.indexOf(skinKeywords[k]) !== -1) {
isSkin = true;
break;
}
}
if (!isSkin) continue;
// Apply PBR shader if not already using it
if (surface.getMaterial().getShaderName() !== "DzPBRShader") {
surface.applyShader(pbrShader);
print("Converted to PBR: " + surface.name);
}
// Reapply parameters
var roughness = surface.getChannel("Glossy Roughness");
var metallic = surface.getChannel("Metallicity");
var translucency = surface.getChannel("Translucency Weight");
var transColor = surface.getChannel("Translucency Color");
var transmission = surface.getChannel("Transmission Weight");
var transmissionColor = surface.getChannel("Transmission Color");
if (roughness) roughness.setValue(0.6);
if (metallic) metallic.setValue(0.0);
if (translucency) translucency.setValue(0.4);
if (transColor) transColor.setColorValue(Color(1.0, 0.78, 0.78)); // light pink
if (transmission) transmission.setValue(0.15);
if (transmissionColor) transmissionColor.setColorValue(Color(1.0, 0.78, 0.78));
print("Updated surface: " + surface.name);
}
MessageBox.information("Filament shader and skin settings applied.");
I asked ChatGPT to write a script that would convert an Iray skin shader to a filament skin shader. The above is the result I was thinking of things like this for Apple metal. If anyone tries this script out, let us know how it works.
it needs to be saved, of course, in a plain text editor, and given a Daz extension. Then it could be saved where you save your scripts with a name, such as ray to filament skin shader.
I know this is an Alpha, so I'm not surprised that the Papagayo lip synch script doesn't work nor will it unless it's updated. What *did* surprise me is that I'm able to load my .wav file and hear it while I animate. Awesome. So, six of one, half a dozen of the other. Overall, the ability to hear the audio is more important, but I won't say "no" to an automatic lip sync tool.
Further, it *looks* like I'm able to output a .mov file, but the file seems too small and can't open or convert at all, so unless I'm missing something, I still need to output frames. Too bad, now that I can import audio and hear it while I animate, being able to output a single file with both audio and video again would be super sweet.