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In what respect? Daz is dropping 3Delight because they cannot include a version that would render the legacy 3Delight content successfully in DS 2026+; with Iray daz is staying up-to-date. If Iray dropped MDL support I suppose we might find ourselves in the same position at some point when a DS update could no longer use MDL-compatible Iray, but with 3Delight there was ample warning and already an alternative engine; I am sure a similar situation with Iray would have enough lead time for Daz to find an alternative.
I did. I asked if there was a plan B or C or D. But . . .
@Richard Haseltine no offense to anyone but how much lead time did DAZ have for 3Delight? Years and years. I think 2026 is the start of the lead time for an Iray alternative but DAZ probably disagrees. Not savvy enough know how this impacts anything or nothing but Adobe is shifting from authoring MDL in Substance Painter and it will no longer function as a MDL authoring tool.
Yes, Daz was aware that 3delight was leaving RSL behind - that was why they stuck with the last version that suported it, which is why the SDK update for DS 2025 makes it impossible to include 3Delight. If Iray stops using MDL, and doesn't provide a way to translate shaders and materials, then they will be in the same position I suppose - but we may hope it will again be yars before there is a risk of a major SDK change that would block the use of legacy versions of Iray.
with some many who still use the 3d light is there a way to download the older version i could not get it backed up right when it updated to the new DS
Probably not. You could ask customer service but it is not very likely they will honor the request.
Alternately you could download DS 3 if you have it in your product library and are willing touse such an old version.
quick question
I'm sure this has been answered, but I don't feel like wading through 10 pages.
if I update DAZ, I understand that I won't be able to render in 3DL any longer; but the IRAY renderer will still behave around 3DL materials like it always has so far, right? which is to say, it will continue to (very imperfectly) auto-convert 3DL materials?
Yes, it is only a matter of that Daz no longer have the license to distribute 3DL renderer.
I am not a lawyer, but I don't believe they legally CAN.
The entire point of this was they no longer have license to distribute 3DL renderers, and that would absolutely include older versions.
Are they planning to update to work with iray
For free? That's like 0.0001% odds.
Daz is not allowed to distribute 3DL in DS because Daz's license period ended. Extending the license would not help because the version of 3DL in DS is very old and Daz 3DL shaders are incompatible with current versions of 3DL.
Daz 3DL is supported up to DS4.23 and many 3DL surfaces still work in DS 4.24 and up. Fancy shaders will not work past DS4.23 . Many 3DL shaders and materials can be converted to Iray and many also work in Filament and Iray with some tweaking. DS has limited means of converting shaders and materials between renderers.
Hope that was helpful and not too pedantic.
I'm pretty sure what I posted above has been said earlier in this thread, but people don't often read whole multi-page discussions.
Most products with 3DL materials already work fine in Iray because DS automatically converts those materials when rendering. That automatic conversion still works in the latest DS4.24 and DS6 despite them not including the 3DL render engine.
There are also tools like this which help you convert 3DL materials to Iray.
I did a render today where the backdrop was a 3DL set. I didn't realize that until I was committed to it. The linked tool did a fine job converting it to Iray and my render came out just great. I haven't uninstalled any of my older 3DL products, I am just planning to convert as I need them. And of course there are always Iray shaders available as well.