And the story continues as we learn that Richard just might have those skills he claims - or he just might be a bit delusional. You decide...

It just dawned on me that Lola works in a CAThouse (Mustang Ranch)! She is the purrrrfect girlfriend for Richard! They've already developed a close relationship in jail, and Lola is very impressed by Richard's many skills. How could I not have seen this coming? Will Jack be jealous or relieved that Richard has found someone else to spend time with?

I'm an Excellent Equestrian

Lola visits Richard in his home. He shows her that he really IS an excellent equestrian. She thinks he is quite cute, if a bit delusional.

Item Used: dForce CB Lala Clothing Set for Genesis 9

Some Reader Comments:

Richard Haseltine: I am an excellent delusionist.
Lilwolff: Mustang Ranch? The one in Nevada !? oh my,! Poor kitty or lucky kitty, depending on how you look at things.
barbult: Yes, Lilwolff, that's the one. These stories seem to develop a life of their own. I never know where they are going. Maybe she'll marry Richard and give up the working life, but that marriage seems improbable. Maybe she'll take a customer service job at Daz. No, not THAT kind of service. Maybe she is just the head of the IT department at the ranch, or the grounds keeping crew. She never said what she did there.
Lilwolff: Good point barbult, I am sure by now they have an IT department, seems everyone does.

I'm an Excellent Driver

 Note: I'm an Excellent Driver is one of my favorite renders ever!

Richard and Lola are out on the town, so he can show off his driving skills.

Richard: Look, I can drive up and down and forward and back, and the tractor rental is cheap - only 25 cents per ride.

Lola: Whee! Do it again, Richard!

Richard thinks to himself: Impressing a woman is a lot of work!

Item Used: dForce CB Lala Clothing Set for Genesis 9

Some Reader Comments:

Llola Lane:
OMG Barb... stooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooop!!!  My sides hurt from laughing so much... lol.  and yes.. we ARE a lot of work if ya wanna impress us ;P
barbult: I thought Richard's expression looked like "What have I gotten myself into?".
Richard Haseltine: It often does.

I'm an Excellent Auto Mechanic

Richard: See, I replaced the batteries and this dead truck is running perfectly again! I'm an excellent auto mechanic.
Lola: I think I'll keep my feet safely up here on the sofa. Your paw is not designed for precision joystick control. I don't know what that truck is going to run into next. I don't want it to be my bare foot.

[ Poor Richard, yes, he was right. It is hard to impress a woman.]

Item Used: dForce CB Lala Clothing Set for Genesis 9

Some Reader Comments:

Richard Haseltine: Richard is abysmal with anything requiring a joystick of gamepad at the best of times - he bought one of the Star Wars "flight sims" and probably destroyed more X Wings than the Empire.

I'm an Excellent Marksman

Richard: I'm an excellent marksman. I almost never miss the wall.
Lola (clapping): Woo hoo, Richard, you only missed once so far.
Richard: I don't count that as a miss. That horse should know better than to get between me and my target.

Item Used: dForce CB Lala Clothing Set for Genesis 9

Tag: Totte#03

#4518 G2M His Black Boots (Rendo)
#1006 Peasant Outfit for Genesis 3 Male(s) (#23585)
#1979 Sci-fi Police Outfit Textures (#47897)
#4147 X Fashion Club Harness Outfit Set 02 Bra and Harness for Genesis 8 and 8.1 Females (#87165)
LB1: #3182 Old Manor (#69547)     
LB2: #1518 SS Marcoor Medbay DS (#33891)
 

Also Used: 
IG Iray Lee 6 HD + Kung Fu Hair + Steampunk Working Class + Commoner Co-Star Lee Poses + Horse Stables broom)
Ragnar for Genesis 3 Male(s) + Bubba Hair + Barnabus props (staff)
Nenana HD for Genesis 8 Female(s) + SY dForce rags for Genesis 8 female(s)
Edie 8 HD + Sci-fi Police Outfit + Aeridian Future firearms 
KOO Tyson + Gentleman Style Outfit + 
ART Garbage
Oso VDB Magus Effects
Magical Potions and Bottles
Shattered
Sci-Fi patrol Bot

Scripts, Shaders and Lights used:
RSSY 3DL to Iray
Refracted Iray Glass
Platinum HDRI Pack 1

Alien Investigations

Multi billionaire and philanthropist Lotsa Pezos had captured an alien life boat while performing one of his trips to space. He decided to make his own scientific examination of his find, all in good faith. He did not anticipate that the alien's enemy's recon bot should arrive, and even less that the alien could use his powers to freeze dangerous objects in motion. To make it worse, bottles of strange liquids from the alien's ship shattered, but Lee the helper was quick to mop it up.

Then, old Edie, the security guard showed up, asking a lot of questions, specially about this strange fellow appearing out of nowhere, holding back the recon bot with his hand.

COMIXIANT said:

@KyotoKid
Well fancy that, the world's largest privacy invader and data scalper unable to find a pizza.  I'm determined more than ever now to find it, and in the process, prove the vast superiority of being a conscious human bein

...I'll be out there myself searching as well. 

SilverGirl said:

I just wish there was an option to turn AI off. Or, better, to have to opt-in to use it in the first place.

Yes I am a curmudgeon about these things. I don't even use a cell except for roadside emergencies, and it annoys me to no end that so much of society now not only assumes you have one, but requires you to have one to participate. Want to get that great bargain at the grocery store? Scan here. Want to participate in our discount club? We need your cell number. Filling out our form? Provide cell number in this required field. I got a card in the mail last year about proposed updates to the recreational areas in the city -- specifically the playgrounds. In order to find out more or enter an opinion, you had to scan a QR code. There wasn't even a "or log on to <whatever.com>" option.

...for Google searches just preface them with -ai and it will skip using it. 

Unfortunately that doesn't work on their AI assisted spell checking so I now have to depend even more on my trusty old version of Word 2000 with the custom dictionary I set up.

________________________________________

I still have my old flip phone which serves now as a travel and backup home alarm clock (in case the power goes out).  I actually miss using it as I could flip it open just like Capt .Kirk did with his communicator in the old Star Trek series.

LeatherGryphon said:

Old people bank stories:  I still use bank checks but the only thing I use my checkbook for anymore is rent and an occasional donation to some under-technicalized organization.  But I still keep the checkbook tally pages accurate and balanced with all my account's activity by check or credit card, despite also using the bank's Website records.  It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to see ink on paper with the same numbers as the computer.

...I do the same as ro pay though the management's online app costs an extra 7$. May not sound like much but when your only income is a very meagre SS benefit (from which rent takes a 47% bit out of every month) any savings is a good thing.  Plus, with this flaky management company we have here, that extra proof of payment could be a life saver.

[Blue Star Wireframe appearing on the model how to get rid of it?] This is what is appearing on model and one car i am using how to get rid of it. I tried hiding and unhiding everything cant understand what causing this. See the attachment below. Thank you for help. 

True. But Mediaeval fortresses have a considerably longer history.

It is a skill getting ones head around the possible word soup necessary to prompt the type of image you desire.

This prompt: "flying castle,view from above, planet orbit, star, mediaeval" 

Then: "flying castle,view from above, planet orbit, star, science fiction"

Finally "flying castle,view from above, planet orbit, stars and moons with space ships, science fiction"

Still not a mediaeval castle made from shaped stones with crenalations etc flying high, but closer

Regards,

Richard

Honestly, I've felt that the smiles on DAZ figures have gotten increasingly creepier with each generation since Genesis 8, and it's always been more extreme on the male figures...   With Genesis 3, the expressions were primarily morph-driven, which made for very smooth facial flow but could leave one unable to get a really extreme expression, whereas beginning with G8, the basic problem became that while the "bones" allow for greater and more varied movement, they're ultimately a compromise as real expresions don't really work the same way the DAZ face is being manipulated and the more extreme the expression is, the more obvious the "bending points" become.  My solution, such as it is, is to keep every expression a bit on the muted side, and if I want to make them a bit broader, to fix it in post by copying out the area right around the mouth into a separate layer in photoshop, nudging the shape of the mouth ever slightly using the puppert warp tool, and then blending parts of that back in carefully so that it fills in the harsher bends.  

Well, that, or just make all my males from Star Trek's evil universe and giving all of those characters moustaches or beards. :)          

deepred6502 said:

kyoto kid said:

...I did the same, still have a box full of them.  Haven't checked to see if they still can be read.

I also still have a couple boxes with 3.5 and 5.75 floppies as well.

I even used Zip disks once, unfortunately. It was at a time when USB storage was still an expensive novelty.

(Looks in the vault)  Yeah, I have a couple of both zip and Jaz discs.  We got a lot of use out of the zips for a few years, but I think Jaz was basically obsolete within a year or two of coming out.  But at least they paid for themselves and there are far worse products to have invested in.  Back when VCRs were still in the above $1000.00 range, a friend of mine got talked into buying a Video 2000 system, which was Phillips' way too late entry in the format wars that ended up being between VHS and Betamax... Never heard of it?  Yeah, they dropped support pretty quickly. and as a result, he was stuck with just the five V2000 tapes he'd initially bought until they all wore out from repeated overrecording.          

I agree, I see more of Katharine McPhee than Jolene Blalock.

ChangelingChick said:

asilios3d said:

I also believe V3D Nova is meant to resemble Jolene Blalock (T'Pol, Star Trek Enterprise)

https://www.daz3d.com/v3d-nova-hd-for-genesis-9

She looks like Katharine McPhee to me. 

Charlie Judge said:

Llola Lane said:

Charlie Judge said:

Llola Lane said:

ok. did a speed test twice for my internet.. I guess mine is waaaaaaay slower than yours Frank (sighs)... And it is NOT cheap what we pay per month :(

What ISP plan do you have? Most cable or fiber optics plans provide at least 300 megabytes per second or more. If you are paying for that and not getting it you may have to contact your ISP.

ETA: I looked your modem/router up on the internet and it looks like it should be cabable of handling up to about 400 mbps:

https://www.amazon.com/ARRIS-Surfboard-Certified-Spectrum-SBG10/dp/B07H42QXF1/ref=asc_df_B07H42QXF1?mcid=91fe7be42cf432eba30d76400fa5b8dc&hvocijid=5486153348248238483-B07H42QXF1-&hvexpln=73&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=721245378154&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5486153348248238483&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9009863&hvtargid=pla-2281435175938&psc=1

ok... hubby and I did some chatting... going without a wireless is NOT an option for us.... We have to keep the wireless (for cellphone usage and hubby's computer in the far bedroom (I also plan on doing a speed test with his laptop to see what reading we get for him))... So... We are going to try and move the desktop closer to the wireless to see if speeds improve... if so we know it's the wireless and distance.    We have spectrum cable in Ohio.

Just did some rechecking and some  of the 1 star reviews say that this modem doesnot work with Spectrum. Also the title has been changed to say it doesnot work with Spectrum. Do you own the modem or does Spectrum provide it? If Spectrum is providing it you may need to contact them for a replacement. Spectrum has modem router combinations you can rent or they will provide a modem and you can purchase a seperate router. 

Thanks Charlie.. that is true... we own our wireless... hubby doesn't want to rent any more equipment if he doesn't have to.  We pay sooo much already.   

Not sure if you saw my CONCLUSION above... We have ordered an antenna for my computer with a 6 foot cord so I can move it way from metal interference... I have the computer sort of in the middle of the room now and I'm getting good speeds downloading DIM.. Today it actually hit 238mbs!  Just finished watching TV and I am mostly caught up with downloads... WOO HOOT... My manifest files seem to be all there too.  When I load my characters now I'm getting metadata correctly... Still sorting out my favorites... etc... I could not find my old LAYOUTS... but... I've also ordered a case for the old C ssd drive and hopefully I'll be able to grab a few files before it dies completely.  I've also ordered a 26tb external hard drive... I plan on putting ALL my files on the new drive... I have about 10 external drives of various sizes with stuff scattered all over them.  This will let me get everything sorted on 1 drive.  I love organizing!  So... slowly getting back to normal with Daz here and I'll be back to rendering in no time (fingers crossed)

Thank you ALL for your support with trying to help me sort this all out.  Hopefully it will be a while before anything else goes on my computer... lol

Stay well one and all... Llola huggiezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Llola Lane said:

Charlie Judge said:

Llola Lane said:

ok. did a speed test twice for my internet.. I guess mine is waaaaaaay slower than yours Frank (sighs)... And it is NOT cheap what we pay per month :(

What ISP plan do you have? Most cable or fiber optics plans provide at least 300 megabytes per second or more. If you are paying for that and not getting it you may have to contact your ISP.

ETA: I looked your modem/router up on the internet and it looks like it should be cabable of handling up to about 400 mbps:

https://www.amazon.com/ARRIS-Surfboard-Certified-Spectrum-SBG10/dp/B07H42QXF1/ref=asc_df_B07H42QXF1?mcid=91fe7be42cf432eba30d76400fa5b8dc&hvocijid=5486153348248238483-B07H42QXF1-&hvexpln=73&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=721245378154&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5486153348248238483&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9009863&hvtargid=pla-2281435175938&psc=1

ok... hubby and I did some chatting... going without a wireless is NOT an option for us.... We have to keep the wireless (for cellphone usage and hubby's computer in the far bedroom (I also plan on doing a speed test with his laptop to see what reading we get for him))... So... We are going to try and move the desktop closer to the wireless to see if speeds improve... if so we know it's the wireless and distance.    We have spectrum cable in Ohio.

Just did some rechecking and some  of the 1 star reviews say that this modem doesnot work with Spectrum. Also the title has been changed to say it doesnot work with Spectrum. Do you own the modem or does Spectrum provide it? If Spectrum is providing it you may need to contact them for a replacement. Spectrum has modem router combinations you can rent or they will provide a modem and you can purchase a seperate router. 

Well Charlie cared for his younger brother, a 3paw, and now comes to let me know when it is time to take my nighttime meds and go to bed so we can wake at 0330, even on the night before a day off. He reminds me, if I forget, to refresh all food/water bowls, brush both of them, and then get the raffia mouse on the stick for exercise every morning. And when he wants to sleep, he will have me turn on YouTube for squirrel and bird sounds. He figured out they are NOT in my TV screen so has quit attacking it.

Now Transformers, well my son then in the 80s was in K - 3 grades and we would get home in time to watch the cartoon together. Big bonding time. But yeah, the Walkers are cool. An author friend of my excoriated the idea of them as the computing overhead to just walk a bi-pedal machine was rediculous. Of course that was based on the year 2000 programming languages and storage which would have been like recording on a stone tablet compared to when Star Wars was set. 

Thanks! I of course also have a love of Mechs and I have no idea why. It's not a Transformers thing, they are pretty cool but the mass shifting always bugged me. The Star Wars walkers, the very first time I saw them, that was a real WOW moment for me. My cat thinks she's a roster and wakes me at sunrise, all the time. I get up and she gets in the bed and sleeps like it's a shift change at the sleep factory.

asilios3d said:

I also believe V3D Nova is meant to resemble Jolene Blalock (T'Pol, Star Trek Enterprise)

https://www.daz3d.com/v3d-nova-hd-for-genesis-9

She looks like Katharine McPhee to me. 

V3DStella is a deadringer for Dafne Keen. Surprised no one had brought it up yet. The previews deftly avoid her usual hair color and styles that would have been an even more of a giveaway. 

https://www.daz3d.com/v3d-stella-hd-for-genesis-9

I also believe V3D Nova is meant to resemble Jolene Blalock (T'Pol, Star Trek Enterprise)

https://www.daz3d.com/v3d-nova-hd-for-genesis-9

wolf359 said:

The only regret is that it's probably slowing down production on the next Aurora Trek episode... 

 

 

There will be no more Aurora Trek episodes due to  Paramount's increased restrictions on Star Trek IP fan films a few years ago.

I was hoping the starship animation they posted a few weeks ago was something in the pipeline. Too bad, it looked awesome. 

The only regret is that it's probably slowing down production on the next Aurora Trek episode... 

 

There will be no more Aurora Trek episodes due to  Paramount's increased restrictions on Star Trek IP fan films a few years ago.

And finally, the only Mimic-based lip synch was only available in the 32-bit version. 
Mimic's still just 32-bit, sadly (I'd pay big bucks to have it in DAZ Studio 64 bit someday), but everything else works so much better for me.
>snip<
I dug out my trusty old 2012 iMac and installed a content library for just Genesis 3 for lip syncing. I access the iMac over wifi and screen-share it, so I'm basically running 32-bit DAZ Studio  on my MacBook Pro M4PRo.
 

Glad you found a work around solution for native lipsinc on OSX going forward because well..........

Mimic is officially dead
 

Sorry for the shortness of the reply; I'm still a bit sleepy eyed.  There are a number of wonderful tutorials, both narrative and video on how to do different things. I'm a dabbler so I tend to try things out, but unfocused enough not to master anything. I suggest you look for topics on shaders and textures to star with. Hang on a sec, let me fire up Daz to see some things...

Ah, yes. I couldn't remember the name of it....The Translucency Weight slider under surfaces is a quick way to alter pigment.  Generally, the higher the number the darker the skin. Note the results will be different from skin to skin because the base color of the skin varies. You can also play around with the Trans color itself; however, I find this to be rather tricky. Oh, make sure you have your figure highlighted in the surfaces tab.

Start with a skin you like and then dabble with that. Let me see if I can dig up tutorials I've used on the subject.

I found these helpful:

Using a Genesis 8.1 Shader on a Genesis 8 Figure in Daz Studio for free - YouTube

The best way to change genesis 8.1 skin color ? (darker) - Daz 3D Forums

How to achieve this Skin quality ? - Daz 3D Forums

Jay has done a lot of helpful videos.

Have you tried the Star Trek thread? Someone there may remember your renders or the hair piece. I joined Daz in 2016 and did buy a number of the older hairs, but don't remember that one. The lightness of it reminds me a bit of the PA Mairy. I checked that store and there is one hair, https://www.daz3d.com/iaso-hair that shows long hair and a fluff of hair on top, and one promo has the long hair removed.

kyoto kid said:

..yeah pretty lacklustre selection today, The "Classic" artist's group was primarily dominated by 3 PA stores that comprised about 12 pages out of 20. 

However I did find a couple useful items in the "Buildings" sale. 

I was out for the day and evening on Monday (Daz "Zero Hour" is 23:00 where I am and I got home at around 22:20) while Tuesday's sale selections were rather "meh", so I totally missed out on double tokens this week. 

Yeah miss that 50% Gold Star discount on new and "still new" releases, About the only time I could afford to purchase any. 

Well one more sale event (the Spring/Summer Plati-...I mean...Daz+ sale before my annual membership expires for the last time, Apologies but 99 USD is a bit rich on my meagre income for pretty much the same benefits I've received since I started here. Particularly so as Daz+ items have become a lot more expensive than they used to be.

 

I like the Build A Bundle options today (compared to most New Releases).  But the Featured Artists section just feels like a rehashed March Madness list-and I exhausted that recently.  So I'm going with just a few bundle releases.

..yeah pretty lacklustre selection today, The "Classic" artist's group was primarily dominated by 3 PA stores that comprised about 12 pages out of 20. 

However I did find a couple useful items in the "Buildings" sale. 

I was out for the day and evening on Monday (Daz "Zero Hour" is 23:00 where I am and I got home at around 22:20) while Tuesday's sale selections were rather "meh", so I totally missed out on double tokens this week. 

Yeah miss that 50% Gold Star discount on new and "still new" releases, About the only time I could afford to purchase any. 

Well one more sale event (the Spring/Summer Plati-...I mean...Daz+ sale before my annual membership expires for the last time, Apologies but 99 USD is a bit rich on my meagre income for pretty much the same benefits I've received since I started here. Particularly so as Daz+ items have become a lot more expensive than they used to be.