[Released] Now-Crowd Billboards - School Life and Asian School Life (2 Products) [Commercial]

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  • barbultbarbult Posts: 27,603
    edited August 25

    It is better. I still get some getImage() returned null messages, but then I get fallback succeeded. It seemed to be working reliably for a single billboard in the scene. So I tried 8 billboards in the scene. All are selected in the Scene pane, but sometimes, Change Billboard Angle only processes some of the billboard images and the others are not changed. Sometimes if I select a few billboards from the middle of the list, NOTHING gets changed in the viewport and the log file just has the FOUND messages for the 2025Common files and then says the script executed successfully. I have not been able to capture good logs of all this strangeness. This does not happen every time I process 8 billboards. I haven't figured out what values or sequences of operations cause it to happen. The problem has occurred multiple times, but not every time. 

    I don't have any problem loading these billboard, or any other Daz asset, into a scene. So loading them, saving a scene, opening a saved scene all find the billboard images OK When billboards are selected but not properly processed by Change Billboard Angle, I can move them around or rotate the billboard plane in the scene with normal transformation tools, so they truly are selected, but Change Billboard Angle acts like they aren't selected.

    Maybe more debug is needed to figure this out. I'll be gone most of the day tomorrow.

    Post edited by barbult on
  • RiverSoft ArtRiverSoft Art Posts: 6,975

    NorthOf45 said:

    Okay, this latest patch seems to work properly. I am unable to reproduce the problem in DS4.24 or DS6 (the billboard always moves to the input angles, with or without Live Preview, or clicking Preview or not). Let's see what barbult has to say...

    Oh yea! But, as you say, let's wait; I don't want to celebrate yet laugh

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 27,603

    I posted above. I'm having a strange intermittent problem with some selected billboards being (evidently) ignored by Change Billboard Angle. This does not happen every time and I don't know what sequence of events causes it, if it is even event related. 

     

  • NorthOf45NorthOf45 Posts: 5,912

    Tried playing with 9 billboards, various angles, various combinations of billboards, not just all at the same time.

    No errors in DS4.24, and no warnings in the log.

    No errors in DS6, but the log has many of these warnings:

    [DEBUG] :: WARNING: getImage() returned null, trying loadImage() for: L:/3D/LocalLibrary/Runtime/Textures/RiverSoft Art/Now-Crowd Billboards/School Life/Male Student Standing 02/Male Student Standing 02 -30 15.png
    [INFO] :: Loaded image: Male Student Standing 02 -30 15.png
    [DEBUG] :: WARNING: loadImage() fallback succeeded for: L:/3D/LocalLibrary/Runtime/Textures/RiverSoft Art/Now-Crowd Billboards/School Life/Male Student Standing 02/Male Student Standing 02 -30 15.png

     

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 27,603
    edited August 26

    Here is a repeatable  (for me anyway) scenario that demonstrates when not all selected billboards are processed by Change Billboard Angle. This is not the same scenario I ran yesterday when I discovered the problem, but is a simple demonstration of the problem. I don't know if this is the only cause of the problem.

    1. Start Daz Studio, don't continue from a previous session of Daz Studio. (I ran DS6 Public Build)
    2. Open a saved scene containing multiple billboards. (The scene was previously saved with the billboards rotated by Change Billboard Angle to H0 V 75. The camera angle is set between Front and Left and looking slightly down.)
    3. Add two more billboards to the scene (I added from Beach Life).
    4. Notice that no billboards are selected in the Scene pane at this time.
    5. Run Change Billboard Angle script.
    6. Open the Options tab and click the button to select billboards.
    7. Notice that all billboards are selected in the Scene pane and have their bounding boxes show that they are selected in the Viewport.
    8. Open the Angle tab.
    9. Notice the the angle is H0 and V0 by default.
    10. Don't change the H0 V0 angle, just press the Accept button.
    11. Notice in the Viewport that only the two added billboards are changed by the script. All the billboards  in the loaded scene are not changed to H0 V0.

    Screenshots, original scene, and log file are attached.
    Edit: I added a couple clarifying steps to the numbered list above.

    Screenshot 2026-08-26 062141 open saved scene.png
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    Screenshot 2026-08-26 062350 two beach life billboards added to scene.png
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    Screenshot 2026-08-26 062500 change Billboard Angle select all.png
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    Screenshot 2026-08-26 062551 Angle H0 V0.png
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    Screenshot 2026-08-26 062638 Only the two added billboards change angle.png
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    duf
    duf
    Some Billboards 3.duf
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    txt
    txt
    LOG scene loaded - 2 billboards added - all selected - only two processed.txt
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    Post edited by barbult on
  • RiverSoft ArtRiverSoft Art Posts: 6,975

    barbult said:

    Here is a repeatable  (for me anyway) scenario that demonstrates when not all selected billboards are processed by Change Billboard Angle. This is not the same scenario I ran yesterday when I discovered the problem, but is a simple demonstration of the problem. I don't know if this is the only cause of the problem.

    1. Start Daz Studio, don't continue from a previous session of Daz Studio. (I ran DS6 Public Build)
    2. Open a saved scene containing multiple billboards. (The scene was previously saved with the billboards rotated by Change Billboard Angle to H0 V 75. The camera angle is set between Front and Left and looking slightly down.)
    3. Add two more billboards to the scene (I added from Beach Life).
    4. Notice that no billboards are selected in the Scene pane at this time.
    5. Run Change Billboard Angle script.
    6. Open the Options tab and click the button to select billboards.
    7. Notice that all billboards are selected in the Scene pane and have their bounding boxes show that they are selected in the Viewport.
    8. Open the Angle tab.
    9. Notice the the angle is H0 and V0 by default.
    10. Don't change the H0 V0 angle, just press the Accept button.
    11. Notice in the Viewport that only the two added billboards are changed by the script. All the billboards  in the loaded scene are not changed to H0 V0.

    Screenshots, original scene, and log file are attached.
    Edit: I added a couple clarifying steps to the numbered list above.

    This behavior is a consequence of how I wanted the script to work. I wanted you to be able to select multiple BBs and only change the horizontal angle without changing the vertical angle (or vice versa). The script will not do anything to a billboard unless a slider is touched. For the two new billboards, they probably are not oriented to the camera or the mask is different, causing the script to change them. For those BBs, what is the behavior you would like to see?

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 27,603
    I expected that if all billboards were selected, all would be processed according to the displayed horizontal and vertical angle values. I did not know that displayed values would be ignored unless the sliders were moved. I'll try moving them and see what happens.
  • barbultbarbult Posts: 27,603

    So, I opened the scene file (I didin't add extra billboards this time). I ran Change Billboard Angle several times. I tried always changing an angle slider before I clicked Accept. It worked several times (in the log you can see it processing all 8 billboards). Then it quit processing all 8 and only processed 7. It still says the script completed successfully, but the result was not correct, because all 8 were selected and only 7 were changed. 

    Screenshot 2026-08-26 110043 1 billboard not changed by Change Billboard Angle.png
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    txt
    txt
    LOG changed 8 several times then only changed 7.txt
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  • NorthOf45NorthOf45 Posts: 5,912

    I didn't see that, but using scripts from the Utilities product (Move to Ground, Move to Surface, Move to Height), workd properly at first (yes, I realize they have not been updated), but dropped one or two after several operations. Re-selecting the billboards restored functionality.

    So, any more input needed?

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 27,603

    I see an update to Now-Crowd Billboards - Office Life in DIM. I'm afraid to install it, because I don't know if has the latest file versions or correct manifest, or whatever else could go wrong.

  • NorthOf45NorthOf45 Posts: 5,912
    edited September 1

    I see the previous version (as yet uninstalled) is from 2026-08-05, which predates this round of modifications. We have the patch from RiverSoft Arts with scripts and data from last week, so you can always put the "latest" back in if the new release (which has probably spent a bit of time in test with DAZ) is outdated. Need to go online to check for myself.

    ETA: Checked the latest Now-Crowd Billboards - Office Life, and the scripts and data are from before this little adventure started (the original updates from end of July, early August)

    Post edited by NorthOf45 on
  • RiverSoft ArtRiverSoft Art Posts: 6,975

    Yes, I have been waiting until we have this completely ironed out before submitting a new update.

  • NorthOf45NorthOf45 Posts: 5,912

    Understandable. Do you need more input from us users?

  • jjoynerjjoyner Posts: 859
    edited September 5

    I haven’t been closely following the details in this thread since posting earlier in August but two days ago I bought Now-Crowd Billboards - Alien Predators (https://www.daz3d.com/now-crowd-billboards--alien-predators).  I installed it yesterday in DS 4.24.0.3 and began exploring it today.  The billboard props load fine but both of the scripts (Change Billboard Angle and Orient Billboard) cause the popup window Error Opening File to appear.  Attached is a text file with the applicable lines from my Log file.

    I also have Now-Crowd Utilities and its Change Billboard Angle script and Orient Billboard script work as expected on a Now-Crowd Billboards - Alien Predators billboard.

    txt
    txt
    Log file excerpt.txt
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    Billboard scripts.jpg
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    Post edited by jjoyner on
  • RiverSoft Art said:

    barbult said:

    RiverSoft Art said:

    Well, that confirmed it is not an installation problem. (The two files were for Now-Crowd Utilities). I have added more debug statements to the files in the zip. Please re-download and try again, showing me the log. I really apologize for all the trouble.

    Were you intending to attach a new script? Did you update the old script in the previous post? I re-downloaded the previous one, but I don't see added debug statements.

    I updated the zip with the Now-Crowd scripts so they have more debug statements:

    Now-Crowd Scripts Update.zip

     

    Hello,

    Just want to say thanks, had a similiar issue after the updates on Daz 24 and the most recent manula patch fixed the scripts on my end.

    Best regards,

    Stan

  • jjoynerjjoyner Posts: 859

    I have five updates in DIM for five different Now-Crowds Billboards products:

    • Alien Predators (1 of 9)  -  Sep 9
    • Alien Civilizations (01 of 10) – Sep 9
    • Modern City Life (01 of 15) – Sep 9
    • School Life (01 of 12) – Aug 10
    • Santa’s Elves (1 of 2) – Sep 10.

    Have all of the issues with the scripts been resolved?

  • Now-Crowd Billboards - Disaster! (Part 1 of 14) has an update in DIM dated Aug 6, is it safe to install that update if i am using DS4 primarily or is that going to have the same problems as mentioned in this thread?

  • NorthOf45NorthOf45 Posts: 5,912

    The currently available Now-Crowd Billboards all have the same version of the script files of interest (on or around 2026-07-30), with a couple of hold-outs. A few of the Roman Legionnaires products have not been updated, but that is not really a concern if you have any other one with newer scripts, since they are the common elements used by all Now-Crowd Billboard products, and are the only parts that have been modified. Just be sure to install the newer one last, or just drag and drop the files into your library.

    Now, as to whether they are the latest and greatest scripts that have been debugged in this thread, probably not. The released versions older than the ones in the provided zip file patch. Does that mean there will be another wave of updates? Probably. Riversoft Art stated that he wanted to clear all the bugs before releasing. You do have access to the latest patch, so you can copy whichever set you want to use into the appropriate folders.

    There was also the problem with the version of Studio used for encryption. They were set to DS 4.24.0.4 (despite efforts to set an earlier version) and will not run on any other versin of DS4. Many users are reluctant to update to the latest so as to not lose their 3DL rendering ability. (There is a simple solution to that: Installing two versions of Daz on two seperate drives - Daz 3D Forums. It has a list of files to copy. Save them before updating, or keep your old installers)

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 27,603

    I believe the latest version of the scripts were encrypted in 4.22.0.19, so they should work fine in any DS4 version later than that, too. I don't know what version the current DIM updates were encrypted with. I am simply not installing any of those updates. I have installed the scripts patch that RiverSoft Art posted weeks ago. 

  • jjoynerjjoyner Posts: 859

    I too am holding off on installing any updates for any Now-Crowd Billboards until I get the All Clear signal.

  • NorthOf45NorthOf45 Posts: 5,912

    The only changes in the packages are the scripts, and they are all the same now (with a couple of exceptions that will probably be available soon). Any one of the updated packages will get you current scripts that will work with all billboards. Yes, they are a little out of date, based on the versions in the patch provided by Riversoft Art, but you will have a version to compare, if you want. The patch is already better, and there are no advantages to downloading the updated packages. It would just be a waste of bandwidth at over 30 GB for all of (just) the first parts with the scripts. (There are a few with only a couple of megabytes). It is a shame that the scripts were not separated from the data. One small update and you would be done.

  • NorthOf45NorthOf45 Posts: 5,912

    There is one more thing to consider. A few Now-Crowd products have been updated again (2026-09-09/10/11) to add the data scripts (those in 2025Common) to the manifest to actually get installed. (They also have a DAZStudio6 product tag for DIM filtering).The versions from 2026-08-06 to 2026-08-12 all have the 2025Common scripts data folder, but the files are not in the manifest, so they will not get installed.

  • jjoynerjjoyner Posts: 859

    All twelve of the billboards for Now-Crowd Billboards - School Life appeared in DIM today.  Those, along with four Now-Crowd billboards updates from earlier in the month, brings to 16 the total number of Now-Crowd updates that I have pending the final resolution on the scripts issue.  Is this it?  Dare I install the updates?  Is something else coming?

    Now-Crowd.jpg
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  • barbultbarbult Posts: 27,603
    I don't understand why all those School Life billboards were "updated" in DIM, either. It looks like another Daz mistake to me. I believe only the scripts changed, unless RiverSoft Art tells us otherwise.
  • jjoynerjjoyner Posts: 859

    barbult said:

    I don't understand why all those School Life billboards were "updated" in DIM, either. It looks like another Daz mistake to me. I believe only the scripts changed, unless RiverSoft Art tells us otherwise.

    Yes, it would be nice to hear from him as to what is going one.  Unless he doesn't know what DAZ3D is doing either.   :( 

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 27,603

    jjoyner said:

    barbult said:

    I don't understand why all those School Life billboards were "updated" in DIM, either. It looks like another Daz mistake to me. I believe only the scripts changed, unless RiverSoft Art tells us otherwise.

    Yes, it would be nice to hear from him as to what is going one.  Unless he doesn't know what DAZ3D is doing either.   :( 

    With all the recent DIM packaging errors, I don't think even Daz3D knows what Daz3D is doing. wink

  • barbult said:

    I don't understand why all those School Life billboards were "updated" in DIM, either. It looks like another Daz mistake to me. I believe only the scripts changed, unless RiverSoft Art tells us otherwise.

    It would seem it has to do with the way the originals were packaged, i mean ideally sure just send an update for the scripts only, but how can you do that without screwing up things for people who like to keep offline archives of everything? So then you have to redo the 1st zip of each package to make sure everyone has everything they need regardless of what product or products they may have bought. 

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 27,603
    That is what has happened up until now - only the first zip of each product was updated. That is where the scripts are.
  • ok, i misunderstood, i didn't close at the pic above.

  • NorthOf45NorthOf45 Posts: 5,912

    The updates for School Life are only to address the problem of not installing the files in "data/Riversoft Art/2025Common". They were originally included in the package, but not in the manifest, so they were not actually installed. No other content has been changed. The scripts are the same as the other packages, namely from July 30, 2026.

    Another change made is the addition of the DazStudio6 product tag to the supplement. You can see the effect in DIM  by hovering over the Product. The info popup will show "Active Tags: DAZ Studio 2025 (6.x), DAZ Studio 4.5+". This has absolutely no effect on the content. (I hope they don't do that for every package, that's over 350 GB of basically useless downloads just to clear the Ready to Download tab). That appears to be the case for all of them (I checked a few others). Daz is still catching up with the last updates from July, correcting the manifests and adding the tag to the existing products.

    To further confuse things, the School Life packages have been renamed from "IM00055025-XX_NowCrowdBillboardsSchoolLifeXXof12" to "IM00055025-XX_NowCrowdBillboardsSchoolLifeXX"

    To summarize, this latest round of updates only modifies the manifest and supplement, no other content that wasn't there in the previous updates from early August. Any one will get the latest released versions of the scripts (not necessarily the final resolution) and are shared by all Now-Crowd Billboard products. The newer scripts in the patch supplied by Riversoft Art (see above) will also work with all versions of Now-Crowd Billboards.

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