...direct 3ds and .lwo format import. 

Oooo... and add Sketchup .stl files and, as long as we're asking for the moon, .vob and .max.

..yeah that too, however, those often still need to go to a modeller to fix errors like ngons, back facing polys, and just sloppy work. 

...direct 3ds and .lwo format import. 

Oooo... and add Sketchup .stl files and, as long as we're asking for the moon, .vob and .max.

I get DAZ stuff into Unreal easily enough

you do need to tweak materials making two sided adding missed texture maps etc

but at least unlike Flowscape you can do that

FBX animations work fine and you can rotate bones for manual posing

retargetting to use Unreal animation another story

hit and miss on Genesis 3, takes me many goes redoing the pose translating hip etc to get it to work on the third person player manequin blueprint 

Genesis 8 I cannot do at all

others seem to but I have no luck there, learning to create my own blueprint and use animation imported with it  might be the only way

another software from Epic Games you can try is Twinmotion 

only static imports but lots of lovely brushable foliage with wind like Flowscape and scultptable terrains, animated paths  vehicles, people, furniture etc

and weather system and imports 3D Warehouse Sketchup skp files too

Not sure I'd need it but if I did I'd get it because it reminds me of the ship the Legion of Super Heroes from DC Comics would use to span the universe on a mission.  It's sleek and stylish.  Part of the reason I don't get most of the other ships offered is they are so bulky and got to many dodads added on.  THIS is a fabulous looking design.  If there is an interior then I'd hope the ship would go on sale and do a bundle for the main ship and it's interior.  Fingers crossed.  

YESSSS !!! exactley. It does remind of the Legions of Superheroes ship.
Loved that ship, especially the Mike Grell version of it. I've once tried to make a 3d model of it. Thought it should be easy, but since I am not really a model master, I messed it up. Maybe another day.

I'm not sure it would help you, but there are Sketchup versions of a few of the old Legion ships, including the Grell Star-Trek-inspired version:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/search/?q=legion of super-heroes

-- Walt Sterdan

Below is a render of the freebie from Sketchup Warehouse of

Caterpillar-D9-Bulldozer-Now-with-a-ripper-attachment-added-and-in-cab-updates

without any materials changes in Daz Studio 4.12.1 Beta iray. Looks like a lot of fixes needed.

I have added Brute 8 - https://www.daz3d.com/the-brute-8 - for scale comparison.

Sketchup is a free sotfware for creating 3D versions of text.  You might want to give it a try.

Got a link to the sketchup model and I'll check it out

I find myself in the position of needing a model of a D-9 Caterpiller Bulldozer. It doesn't need to be rigged. There are quite a few of them on various sites, both free and not. I'd prefer a free one, obviously. The issue is getting it into Studio. 

Most of the free ones seem to be Sketchup models. Either 2018 or 2017. It's also available as a Collada file, or an STL file.

What I want to know is whether Studio can import any of these directly? Failing that; can Blender import any of these directly and export them as .obj?

One more piece of information. I was adjusting the 3d mouse using the 3DConnexion Properties app. But I just noticed that in Daz, there is a Device Settings command in the Edit menu. This brings up a dialog that has 2 tabs. One is labelled "3D Connexion". It has Mode choices: Orbit Camera (selected), Rotate Camera, or Transform Scene Item. I will check if changes this helps. One worrisome thing, at the top of the tab it says "Unknown Device connected". That doesn't sound good.

The other tab is "Sando 3D Mouse". It says "no device connected", and the same Mode choices, but they are greyed out.

Also, I should not that my SpaceMouse works well with other apps, like SketchUp.

grumpy with Trimble for hogging the 3D warehouse making only later skp format downloadable so you need to pay $300 PA for Sketchup pro

none of my old importers, programs or plugins work now

I can load them in Twinmotion thats about it

the fee would almost be justifible if so many of the models were not utter crap

Today I've mostly been set dressing.  Curtains done individually (well, each row at least) in MD.  Building in Sketchup, though the lazy builder hasn't bothered making an upper floor yet.

I completed my 1st Blender tutorial after being sick for a week.  So far so good.  The 1st time I tried Blender, I had no expeience using 3D programs and very little with 2D programs like photoshop.  I think the experience I have now made Blender a little less intimidating this time around.  We'll see how the next Tutorial goes.  The British guy does a pretty good job of explaining things but he talks fast.  I had to pause several times to take notes.  I hope I can stick this out.  I've failed with Hexagon and Sketchup.  However, unlike those programs, Blender does everything.

Good to know you give a try Blender . 2.80 and up really easy to use than prior version . And eevee seems cool if you want to get fast and stylized render style . And there are awesome toon shaders and much more advanced line art technique you can use in Blender ;) 

I`ll suggesting you to check Blender binge - Ducky3d and Curtis holt youtube channel to start having fun with Blender 2.80 and up

Thanks for the information.  I've bookmarked their pages.  Question about toon shaders.  Do you make them or can you download them, or are they standard?

I completed my 1st Blender tutorial after being sick for a week.  So far so good.  The 1st time I tried Blender, I had no expeience using 3D programs and very little with 2D programs like photoshop.  I think the experience I have now made Blender a little less intimidating this time around.  We'll see how the next Tutorial goes.  The British guy does a pretty good job of explaining things but he talks fast.  I had to pause several times to take notes.  I hope I can stick this out.  I've failed with Hexagon and Sketchup.  However, unlike those programs, Blender does everything.

Good to know you give a try Blender . 2.80 and up really easy to use than prior version . And eevee seems cool if you want to get fast and stylized render style . And there are awesome toon shaders and much more advanced line art technique you can use in Blender ;) 

I`ll suggesting you to check Blender binge - Ducky3d and Curtis holt youtube channel to start having fun with Blender 2.80 and up

I completed my 1st Blender tutorial after being sick for a week.  So far so good.  The 1st time I tried Blender, I had no expeience using 3D programs and very little with 2D programs like photoshop.  I think the experience I have now made Blender a little less intimidating this time around.  We'll see how the next Tutorial goes.  The British guy does a pretty good job of explaining things but he talks fast.  I had to pause several times to take notes.  I hope I can stick this out.  I've failed with Hexagon and Sketchup.  However, unlike those programs, Blender does everything.

scene's are generally a waste of space, along with most charector models, you only need to buy hair, clothes and morph packs, if you have the time, you can make every charector yourself using the G8 base model and your morph packs

 

 

When you get right down to it, we could learn how to draw and paint really well, and skip the entire 3D modelling thing altogether.  We could use paints we make from dirt and leaves and the blood of roadkill, which could also provide the hair for brushes, and hides upon which to create our masterpieces.  You know, if we had the time.

you can use terragen free for terrains https://planetside.co.uk/free-downloads/terragen-4-free-download/

you can use p.Con planner with BIM for free for rooms/buildings https://pcon-planner.com/en/

you can use any asset in p.Con planner downloaded from 3d warehouse https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/?hl=en / you can also use them importing them directly to Daz, if you clean them up in hexagon

if you have the right morph packs, a charector only takes an hour to make, with a skin builder script ontop

Most people mess up SketchUp modeling because SketchUp makes it too easy to make models that look good in SketchUp but are terrible everywhere else... 

Whatever you do, don't model using N-gons... make your models using logical quad modeling flow... if you for example model a cube and then draw an offset 12 side circle on the surface and extrude it, even if you have the options set to "trianglulate" it on export, it will be a damned mess... models need to have good topology or all sorts of bad things happen, from weird faceting to distorted textures.

One thing I discovered a while back about exporting a model from SketchUp is it sucks at exporting... pro, make, free- it doesn't matter the format- obj, fbx, dae, or 3DS... for some reason, most, if not all the faces become unwelded upon export.  Doing it using the "weld" plugin is useless... export a sphere and it'll look like a faceted jem, not a ball... why? Because each face is separate and smoothing won't apply... 

You need to send the model to either hexagon or blender and weld the faces... my personal favorite program to weld a SketchUp model back together is Ultimate Unwrap 3D Pro... it's a UV mapping program and has tons of import/export formats... I import in .skp or .dae and weld the model together and export in .obj... for that convenience alone, it's worth the $60.

I generally take the .obj and import it into either Poser or DS... I prefer to import to Poser and even if I want it in DS, I'll usually go through Poser first and export the model into DZ as a PP2 latter, as the scaling is less flaky and more predictable.

If you are genuinely interested I could share tips on SketchUp-Poser workflow... sorry if I'm not offer too much info outright, but in the past I've gone through a lot trouble writing out info and making images illustrating methods and 100% of the time the person the info was directed to never responds, no thanks, no further questions, just crickets... I never know if I helped or they just took someone's suggestion to use a different program.

Anyway, if you want info I'll be glad to share.

Good luck.

Are you importing the normals into Poser or are you throwing them away? And do you have smoothing turned on  for your surfaces? Without smoothing you will get faceting/angle breaks (phong breaks). "Holes" in the mesh might be flipped normals...or there could be a point welding problem.

What happens if you re-export as obj from Blender or DS and then import? It might be that there are problems coming from sketchup that those older versions of Poser can't fix, that Blender/DS are auto-fixing on import. 

If you want to drop the model to me I can try it in Poser pro 12... email is mary @ canary3d.com, minus spaces.

Next question: I don't see anything I recognize in the list at the front of the thread, but does anyone know where there is a model available of the original Matt Jefferies shuttle design? Preferably a freebie, of course ;) This was done by Vance Bergstrom - I like the proportions, not as wide as some other interpretations.

You can try asking over here - https://www.trekbbs.com

From browsing their forums just now there seems to be some very reliable folks who know how to find stuff out.  I have personally never seen that design before.

While you are there, check out what this guy has done in Sketchup - https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/refit-1701-a-3d-model-full-interior.276201/

make your own rooms and buildings using p.Con planner, and use sketchup models from 3d warehouse for props

https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/351866/p-con-planner

you can open doors and windows using transform/rotate

Sketchup exports have in the past been problematic in some cases.