Daz Studio 4.9 Beta Now Available..
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If you know the IT security business, then you do know that 100% security does not exist, to the contrary. Especially as everything is in the user's control. Believing that these measures are safe is just futile.
Edit:
My working experience is impacted by this, thank you very much.
No such thing as unhackable or unbreakable
Old Proverb A secret can be kept by two people as long as one of them is dead
Not always true, there. Years ago, a friend offered to let me try a high end program, with an illegal key to "unlock" it. I said, "no, better not." Would I have loved to try the program? You betcha. But I knew better. I am no good at being a criminal, and I doubt many others here are either. It was just not worth the risk of getting caught, embarassed, possibly fined, etc. Do I love a bargain? Hells, yeah. But I will pay what I have to for an item, if I want it bad enough. I'd be willing to bet a good percentage of folks here feel much the same way. If not, I'm a terrible judge of human nature. :-) (I did end up buying the program.)
Nothing is 100% safe, but some measure of protection does change the outcome. That's like saying surfing the web without an anti-virus is just as safe as one with an anti-virus installed. In this regard, I believe the DRM will reduce the amount of piracy, just like an anti-virus reduces the amount of viruses you could get.
I am going to ask this, because I genuinely need to know. How? Please be specific in how this has an effect on your workflow.
I am going to ask this, because I genuinely need to know. How? Please be specific in how this has an effect on your workflow.
By the need to have a encryption key on all my devices and home sever to use the Daz conent product that I paid for to set up the way I want in my file system.. now you want it the way you want. . . if I have a Sytem crash or a major update or over haul..I will need to start all over. when I could have just run a shadow copy off my back up that is a very big inconvenience and interuption that do you guys not get. after I installed daz connect it changed my Primary files and located them in my Operating system and not my home server drive like I have them now which would require me to keep to bloated content files.. Very big inconvenient, and interruption to my work flow because now I will have to have a copy of ever single Very big inconvenient, and interuption to my work flow file for ever device. and lastly I paid for it to use as I see fit on my own rendering and work I don't trust daz to not be watching through the connect program.. no way no how
We've trimmed this thread to remove some comments addressing posters rather than the issues. Feeling are clearly running high, please avoid commenting on each other rather than on the software.
If you have a crash or an update, it is, at most, a quick log in and sync. If you have that crash this will be the least of your issues and the thing that will be resolved the quickest.
Zev0, I can't find any study that supports that. Yes, people like paying lower prices, we all wait for discounts, but we don't steal. There is a vast difference between waiting for a sale and shoplifting. By definition, if you get something from a pirate site (or out of the trunk of someone's car), that merchandise is stolen. The question is, if you take away the stolen route, does that translate into higher sales for any digital product which are mostly for entertainment purposes. It hasn't tranlated into higher sales for Music, Movies, or Books, in fact there are some studies out there that point out the opposite effect - DRM reduces sales. I can point you to some links, but they can be easily Googled.
With digital content, the way you increase your sales is to improve the rapor with your customers. DRM reduces it. I understand the frustration with piracy, it frustrates me as well. But the issue really isn't reducing piracy, the issue is increasing sales. DRM has never proven capable of doing it. If you could get the pirates to start paying it would lower prices for all of us, I'd love to see it happen.
As I have said in other posts, I have no problem with DAZ trying DRM as long as it does not effect my use of content I have purchased, and we are repeatedly being told they are being careful to make sure that doesn't happen. I'm good with that. I don't think DRM is going to increase your sales to people that were formerly stealing your work though. If they cared they wouldn't be stealing from you.
I do not go on a per person bases or experience, but the trend as a whole. Yes there are lot's of honest users, and we are grateful for that, but there are quite a bit that are not. This market is no different to any other market. You will always get honest users, and ones who aren't.
If you have a crash or an update, it is, at most, a quick log in and sync. If you have that crash this will be the least of your issues and the thing that will be resolved the quickest.
I disagree I make backs up every wekk a shadow copy is much fast than redownloading any day
Beside using the content in anything but DS unless you export it from DS first, you mean? ;)
Here's a basic question: can you still edit the encrypted files, or is it like some encrypted scripts I have where you can't even open it in the DS editors to see what it does and try to fix it when it doesn't work? (yes, I can understand why a content creator wouldn't want their script easily readable and thus copyable. It's still limiting in some cases)
Can you still easily edit a duf file to fix a broken path (even if you have to do use the editor in DS for that)? Or do you have to wait for DAZ to issue an update?
Can you still copy a material file and batch replace all references to a texture file to create a MAT for a modified texture without having to go to the surface tab to apply the textures by hand and then save a preset?
And you can still make backups.
Similar to Syndaryl, I do heavy scripting/programing that directly modifies duf/dsf files and where the DAZ Studio internal tools are just inadequate. And no, there is no way that scripts or API driven plugin running inside Studio can be as efficient, even if e.g. the API would be properly documented, which it isn't. So basically you throw a block into my path and say "deal with it, do it our way" and I will likely say "thanks, but no thanks".
That is on top of the other aggrevating issues I have with this update and its implied paths, like force feeding Meta Data in the future once this connect is the sole way of getting content. If I cannot see myself working with this in the future I might as well head out. I am getting really miffed over all this. Should I just stop buying anything here right now to show you how much?
What do you intend to use it in? In all but two cases (Carrara and DSON for Poser) you have to export from DS before you can use it in something else. The current answer for both of those cases is keep using DIM at this time. So except for those cases your workflow is unaffected.
No you can not edit encrypted files.
We can push fixes faster.
You can save a new preset.
That's being talked about more or less in the last couple of pages of the main thread...and the simple answer is No.
what if the other has turrets and a bull horn?
Will DAZ Connect content be reduced in price from non-drm controlled and protected content?
Very good point, would love to hear on that, too.
Its on the Dark Web too? I thought it was just availble through torrents?
"And I think THAT is what is casuing all the angst." - I've highlighted it above to show which part it's from.
Yeh, this bit is what worries me. What happens when all this doesn't do what is expected.
I'm kind of hoping I like the new system; as much as I like how my content is organised, it could be better. I don't like the smart content as it is now, and don't have much time to figure the new system out, but I'll try; I want to know if I'm on board before I spend more cash.
Sadly, at least one person must purchase the product for it to by piratted; alternatively it is a Daz employee, neither of which is a pleasant thing to contemplate.
So while there are studdies that show DRM impacts negatively on sales, trying to stop theft is a legimate part of any person's or organisations purpose, and one has to accept folks will try various methods.
Personally I feel this could have been rolled out in a different way. The wording could have be done differently, but that's a water and bridge issue.
I disagree I make backs up every wekk a shadow copy is much fast than redownloading any day
"I disagree I make backs up every wekk a shadow copy is much fast than redownloading any day" is part of the above quote, but wont show it is for some reason.
I too don't want to have to log on to server after recovering from a backup; this is one aspect that Daz seems to have trouble understanding.
Yes I know it's easy to do; except when it isn't (for whatever reason).
Okay, one specific scenario where I have created modified versions of files that will be encrypted is boots. I wanted to add translucency to a pair of G3F's boots - specifically dx30's 'High Boots 5' - only to discover that they had been created as geografts, so there were no legs to show through the translucency. So what I did was modify copies of the assets to remove the geograft. Yes, I could have exported as an object file, reimported and rerigged them, but I guess I'm old school too in that I like hacking text scripts ...
The API exists and has been extended, you do not have to access the text to do things.
I did not say that the API did not exist, pretty sure it does. I am saying it is not fit for the job with the same efficiency, which is natural if you have the overhead DAZ Studio by itself causes. Again, you are affecting my usability of the content and you are trying to force customers the way you think is best - I do not like it.
I guess I'll be the one to ask it...has the documentation been extended as well?
That's actually one of the main reasons I went the route of hacking the files directly, because the documentation on how to do it in other ways was, for want of a better description, crap. It was MUCH easier to do it directly.
And there are probably more of us around that DO go the direct text editing route than you know about. Because we do know how to do it this way we don't run to CS and log complaints...we just do it and go on.
Some, more on the way. Ask about things in the Dev forum is how you can get answers before the docs more complete.
You have tried it?
Carrara and Poser were exactly the cases I was thinking of.
You can probably push fixes faster with this than with DIM, indeed, since you can do partial updates. But instead of being able to fix my broken file in a few minutes with a text editor I will have to wait till the problem is reported to DAZ, they notice the bug report and fix the files, the new version goes through QA, and the fix is made available so I can redownload it,
Which can take days, during which I won't be able to use the product I bought, when I could have within a few minutes before.
I can save a new preset after using the surface tab, yes, but once again it will take way more time. And I'd have to do it one texture at a time.
I do not have to try it to see that DAZ Studio requires resources on its own and of course every call would be routed through DAZ Studio (which is overhead compared to my current doings). Plus I would have to rebuild every tool I wrote and it would restrict the choice of developer resources I can use for that. Also, don't get me started on the slowness of DAZ script. There is a reason why some people prefer to use e.g. perl scripts that are destined to do just the thing you need. And, yeah, documentation is almost non-existant on top and, please, don't say "ask in dev forum".
You are desperately trying to convince customers, I get it. The way how things are handled in this update is just not bearable for me. You may do things exactly how you designed DAZ Studio to be now, but that doesn't necessairly overlap with how I do things.
To sum up, if you ask some of your customers to change a large part of their workflows completely, then it is just easier for them to walk away and let it go. There is only so much you can ask for.
So you are just assuming. OK. When you have tried it get back to me.
It is common sense. The marketing term "Try it!" doesn't cut it here.