The past few day's, I've been viewing alot of content at the store. What exactly is needed for a beginner ?? Requirements can be very confusing/frustrating. I was going to purchase Victoria 4 pro suite, but didn't need all the items in the bundle, then I discover characters I would like to purchase require V4 base/V4.2 morph++. Examples here:

Victoria 4.2 base - $29.95
Victoria 4.2 morph++ $29.95
Total of $59.90

But then I discover (less expensive):
Victoria 4 starter bundle - $49.95, which includes
Victoria 4 Skin Maps (Std Res)
Amarseda Hair
V4 Basicwear

Now if one buy's V4 and M4 base seperately:
Victoria 4 base $29.95
Michael 4 base $29.95
Total of $59.90

But then I discover Anime Manga Starter Bundle (less expensive), which includes
V4.2 base, Michael 4.2 base
Aiko 4 starter bundle
Hiro 4 starter bundle
Total of $35.97

It's like the Daz store is playing games here. Reason I'm very hesitent in ordering any content. A person would figure, V4 and M4 base would be less expensive, then starter bundle. I've seen people make this mistake at the forum, asking if they can exchange what they purchased. If a person purchase evolution body morph, why do they have to purchase V4.2 morph++, doesn't make any sense, evolution body morph, should be universal standard for all bases.

I don't mind making purchases to enjoy Daz free software, but at the same time, I do not wish to spend a ton of money, I don't need to. There should be a sticky, to help beginners choose content on the site. Such as starter bundles required before seperate purchases.

I don't know any direct conforming ninja outfits but you might try mix and match
There is a Ghost Recon for M4, which is a modern sort of infiltrator
http://www.daz3d.com/ghost-agent-for-michael-4-and-hiro-4
Sort of something similar
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/m4-assassin/80375/

Sadly it is dynamic but Poser dynamic, so might be useful for you
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/dynamic-ninja-for-m4/84376/

I recently upgraded from Daz 4 to 4.5. I re-installed almost everything except the body and head morphs I bought a year or so ago. Now I can't find them in my downloads area, or on my hard drive anywhere. Any help would be most appreciated.

Also, it would be nice if this program didn't scatter its support files all over my computer.... makes it really hard to a) clean things up or b) put things in the right folder manually.

I am looking to make some men and women. Also some creatures. Going more fantasy style. I have not bought any thing yet i have only played with daz3d for a few days.

I have been working with Maya some time now and i have made a ton of things. I was looking in to using Daz3d to make things more quickly and hopefully shorten my pipeline for making massive amount of people/creatures that all have some different looks. say a scene with 35 warriors not all 35 of them will look the same.

This is the list i have been looking into so far. any ideas?

Genesis Evolution: Morph Bundle $33
Genesis Evolution: Muscularity $40
Genesis Creature Creator Bundle $18
Genesis Head Morph Resource Kit 4 $12
Knights and Knaves for Genesis $13
Michael 4 Creature Creator Morphs $12
Michael 4 Base $30
Fantasy Age Morphs $8
The FREAK: Morphs and Maps $12
Michael 3.0 Head & Body Morphs $20

KevinLQ said:

DS comes with no instructions since it's free software. Yes it's got a terrible learning curve. The shop is still terribly designed with no information on anything. The installers STILL come in the format of "ds_23592379sadghasdgiaosgd.exe" whatever the hell that means. It still doesn't have information on what packages include this already, what's excluded, and explicit info on required products.
Bottom line? Don't buy from daz shop. Buy from renderosity instead. Much better layout on that site. All the content on that site comes in a folder instead of a installer so you know exactly what you get. It says very clearly what you need to get the product to work, and whether or not it works in daz (keep in mind most stuff are made for poser, not daz studio).

Now, onto the main reason for this thread, to answer some questions and point you in the right direction:

1) A character preset is a morph and material set for a specific character model. There are a LOT of different character models out there, so be sure to get ones which you can use. By default, Daz Studio comes with the Genesis figure, which is arguably one of the more flexible in terms of what you can do with it.

Other figures include Victoria 4, Michael 4, The Kids 4 and so on. If you don't have the necessary character model, then you can't fully use the product. However, skins for the Generation 4 characters will still function on Genesis. You just have to change the UV set under the "Surfaces" tab to the appropriate model.

2) The different material types represent what they do to a surface. This is pretty basic 3D stuff, which is why it's not explained in any detail on the site. It's assumed that if you're downloading this stuff you at least have a grasp of the basics. To get you up to speed, here's what they do:

- Texture maps are the colour for the surfaces. Whether its skin colours, a cardboard box or the marble in a monument.
- Bump maps do exactly what they say on the tin. They map little bumps and dips in the surface, giving the illusion of depth
- Specular maps are for the 'sheen' of an object. It adds those more subtle details when figures or objects catch the light.
- Displacement maps are for 'real' bumps. When these are used, instead of the system faking bumps, like with bump maps, it alters the actual geometry of the surface.
- Normal maps are similar to bump maps, but are far more advanced. Used in combination with displacement maps, they can give amazing results.

3) There are countless items in the store which are Genesis specific. It's Daz's new baby, and it's come out kicking and screaming. Look for anything with 'Genesis' in the title, and chances are that it's compatible. Some do require pre-requisites like Victoria 5 or Stephanie 5, so look out for the requirements in the product information.

4) Given that Lucrezia is a new character, there should be a character preset for her in the 'Figures' tab in Smart Content. Failing that, you can load the basic Genesis figure and apply Lucrezia's materials and morphs from there. If the morphs are not listed in Smart Content then chances are they'll be found in the Shaping tab under Actor -> Female.

Any further questions feel free to ask.

Recently, I purchased The Kids 4 Base for Daz and I download the files I needed (PC). But It is not appearing in my game, or in my Daz 3D folder. What do I do? This has also happened to me with my Victoria 4.2 and Michael 4 downloads, except the show up in the program, but It will not let use them due to "missing meta data." Please help! Thank you!

If it is for Michael 4 (not genesis) you could probably get a start with the dwarf shape in this set, then make him skinnier and scale up the head

http://www.daz3d.com/the-marvelous-morphs

Rawn

Right now, the thread I'm getting help with that is this one:
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/20002/#294141

I was learning the difference in UV sets, material presets, textures, etc- and note the patience and a big thank you to....
Szark, Richard H, Jaderail, scorpio64dragon, BWSman. Below I've shared their information.

Information from Szark:
"Here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO28vRt7hqo&list=UU38T95wHAxyCrOO6b1tD7Nw&index=30 you will see why changing the UVmap setting can help with making sure the texture maps are correctly align and has minimal stretching.

So V5 being an extra morph of Genesis base it will have a slightly different and tailor made uvmap, same with the Gorilla, M5 etc etc."

Then:
Szark will show you where the material presets for Victoria 5 are located- see this image if you're having trouble locating them.
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/20002/#293768

Information by Richard Haseltine:
"By default you can use maps made for Victoria 4, Michael 4 and the Kids 4 on Genesis. If you have Victoria 5 you can also use Victoria 5 maps. DAZ Studio presets, new ones, will apply the correct UV set for you but older items, and Poser material files without DS settings, won’t - for those you need to know which figure the set was made for and select its mapping in the UV Set drop down in the Surfaces pane - generally you can select all surfaces and change them en masse, unless you are mixing and matching."

I was still hashing out the UV Map and texture jargon, not what they did, but what was what. Vs the term "material."

Information by Jaderail:
"Short and Simple UV tut: The UV MAP is what is used to make a Texture to be applied to the surface of a Mesh. The V4 and V5 Shapes are just a little bit different meaning the Textures are just that little bit different. If you wish to use a TEXTURE for a V4 figure you would select the Default V4 UV on genesis even on a V5 shape. The V5 UV is auto loaded for MOST if not all V5 only textures sold here at Daz3D."

Later, he provided this helpful tidbit to clarify something for me-
" It really does not matter which UV set you have selected on Genesis you should still get all your Textures listed for genesis, male or female. DS does not stop you from using any texture just by selecting a UV on Genesis. DS will happily let you load any of them even if they do not fit to the selected UV.

And for Textures the Sample Jeremy and Lana are the Basic Male and Female textures that come with DS. No Basic Male Textures are or Basic Female by those names are supplied with DS."

(Am I the only one just learning this? Probably. In other words, here's some textures to start with that are free, for you to experiment with.)

Information by scorpio64dragon: And thanks for the link for everyone!
"V5’s UVs only comes with the V5 morph so it would require a purchase, I think that Genesis comes with the basic Genesis UV and M4 and V4 and K4 UV’s as well as basic textures for a female a male and a child, or any texture set for these UV’s would work. Reciecup has some nice free ones."
http://rendercandy.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=11

Information by BWSman:
"A “material” is a collection of settings which affect how a mesh looks. It includes settings for diffuse; specular; ambient; reflection; bump & displacement and opacity/transparancy. A texture map is a texture applied to one of those settings (usually the diffuse setting.

Genesis Starter Essentials includes textures for the Basic Male; Female & Child as well as the sample Jeremy & Lana textures."

I'm doing a screenshot of the Basic Child so you can see a texture you get with the Essentials- without buying anything, so you can play around. Back in a bit.

By default you can use maps made for Victoria 4, Michael 4 and the Kids 4 on Genesis. If you have Victoria 5 you can also use Victoria 5 maps. DAZ Studio presets, new ones, will apply the correct UV set for you but older items, and Poser material files without DS settings, won't - for those you need to know which figure the set was made for and select its mapping in the UV Set drop down in the Surfaces pane - generally you can select all surfaces and change them en masse, unless you are mixing and matching.

I think Simple Skin may be a Shader Mixer example, or even a Shader Builder example, though I don't know why it would make the figure move.

Hello. I am fairly new to using DazStudio and I need to export a figure (Michael 4) from DazStudio for use in another 3D program (MODO from Luxology). When I import the model into MODO the geometry looks great. However, I find that I have a lot of materials (face, head, eyebrow, teeth, inner mouth, torso, arms, hands, etc., etc.). For the render I am doing, I don't need anything fancy. Is there a way, in DazStudio, to combine all of these textures and materials into ONE (or a few) so that I only have to adjust the one in MODO? I understand why someone would want to keep the eyes separate (for example), but I really just need all the skin to be the same (one diffuse channel and one material).

I've heard I can use the Polygon Group Editor, select what I want, and then go to Polygon Assignment>Create Surface From Selected, but when I do, the Michael 4 figure just turns gray.

Any help would be appreciated.

I don't know much about 3DS Max, but I can provide some information on content... There is a lot of good free clothing on ShareCG (for starters, look at wilmap's stuff), and lots of high-quality outfits available for $1.99 each for Platinum Club members: http://www.daz3d.com/clothing-accessories?plat_club=23

You can get pose sets from the same two sources, or just make your own poses.

High-quality free or cheap characters are perhaps a little harder to come by, but they do exist. The Freepository forum is a good resource for freebies. Which figure or figures do you plan on using? Genesis? Victoria 4 and Michael 4? Something else?

Well, it's actually not a risque comic. It's actually very family friendly. There are no scantily clad women, no vulgar language. There's romance, but no explicit sexual situations. As far as why I didn't change the figures, I simply like them the way they are, and most people are not familiar with DAZ so they're not going to recognize Michael 4 or Mindy or Reby Sky. I hope you'll check out the comic. I think you'll like it!

Hi Cathie, thanx for info. Know exactly what you mean pertaining to read description, I learned the hardway, to make sure I read clearly, Lol !!! Almost ordered wrong products. Also if unsure, then ask :)

Novica said:

To add to that, something that is confusing is the "required products" often list EVERY character it works for. If it says Michael 4 and Victoria 4, for example, and if you aren't using it on say, Michael, then you can go ahead and get the product and use it on Victoria. They are two separate characters and not related.

READ THE PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS TOO! Sometimes the description will tell you that it is a texture product, (I hope I am using the right term there, I'm a newbie too- or is it materials?) and what it goes to- but the name of the texture product may not have the original product in the name. Making something up- let's say you have Pink Polka Dress, and a texture set could be Flashy Dots. (with different colors for the Pink Polka Dress.) Although it SHOULD say Pink Polka Dress is the required product, it might not. The description for the Flashy Dots may say, "You'll be astounded at the myriad of colors you can add to the Pink Polka Dress....." so it would tell you in the description.

Also be sure you read what it is for- Poser or Daz or Carrara or ...(the list goes on.)

Cathie

To add to that, something that is confusing is the "required products" often list EVERY character it works for. If it says Michael 4 and Victoria 4, for example, and if you aren't using it on say, Michael, then you can go ahead and get the product and use it on Victoria. They are two separate characters and not related.

READ THE PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS TOO! Sometimes the description will tell you that it is a texture product, (I hope I am using the right term there, I'm a newbie too- or is it materials?) and what it goes to- but the name of the texture product may not have the original product in the name. Making something up- let's say you have Pink Polka Dress, and a texture set could be Flashy Dots. (with different colors for the Pink Polka Dress.) Although it SHOULD say Pink Polka Dress is the required product, it might not. The description for the Flashy Dots may say, "You'll be astounded at the myriad of colors you can add to the Pink Polka Dress....." so it would tell you in the description.

Also be sure you read what it is for- Poser or Daz or Carrara or ...(the list goes on.)

Cathie

Ken OBanion said:

In anticipation that my last render will get a 'green-light' from the mods (and I really, really hope it does, because I really, really want you guys to see it; I am seriously pleased with the way it turned out - especially the transparency maps and re-texturing I had to do!), here's my pull for Round 4:
1484 - Hardcore M4
486 - Diamond Hair
1194 - MS Lycan
1258 - Parkside Point and Interior Poses
Hmm, M4, V4, Genesis, and... whatever. If the Gods of Random are going to jump out from behind the sofa and yell 'April Fool!', um, now would be the time....

No?
Well, okay then; I guess I'll just have to run with it. Although how I'm going to spin this into a practical joke is something of a mystery at the moment....

Drawing a pose package is a real pain in the never-mind-precisely-where, because you apply a pose, then to make the scene work, you have to modify that pose almost beyond recognition! (I ended up using two poses from the package - a 'Go-To' pose, then a 'Pose' pose, and ended up altering both to the point that I might as well not have used any!)

* I learned that injecting the Nico head morphs, and dialing in about 50% of the Stephan morph, gives me a character that bears just the tiddliest resemblance to Brendan Fraser. Just in case you wanted to know!

TAG: obanion#04 (Entry number 3 is still awaiting a judgment)

Title: One Way to Win With the Ladies
Step 1: Take her someplace really creepy. Step 2: Hire an out-of-work actor with a really good costume. Step 3: PROFIT!

Hello,

I would like to tell everyone about my new digital comic book which I’ve been working on since last August. It is a science fiction epic called Max Rogers, and it is composed mostly of products from the DAZ website. I hope you will check it out at: http://maxrogerscomic.com

I’d also like to thank everyone on these boards that helped me out with technical problems as I would have been lost otherwise. I should also extend thanks to the following PAs whose sci-fi products were invaluable: Kibarreto, Jack Tomalin, Stonemason, and Dreamlight.

I think I’ve managed to create a comic unlike any you’ve seen before. It’s composed entirely of single-page panels. And because of the digital format, I can make it as long as I want, and so I’m able to draw scenes out in a way that a traditional comic book simply can’t. One person told me that when reading the comic it almost felt like they were watching a movie.

Anyway, I hope everyone will check it out. And if you like it, please let me know!

Here is a video about the comic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADBfTTsIqZs

Here is a video about the making of the comic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcbbfh4Vtb8&feature=endscreen&NR=1

The Cast

Michael 4 is Max Rogers
Violet for V4 is Cleo Chronos
Mindy for V4 is Destiny Jones
Reby Sky is Aurelia Aaron
Droid is Rokur

I've made some clothes for the 4rth generation Michael 4 character, I have the 4rth gen morphs for genesis but would prefer to use the 4rth generation figure for one simple reason.......SHOES!!!!!!!! Since upgrading to 4.5 the "make clothes" that I used previously for V4 garments has disappeared and I can't get the transfer utility to work in creating stuff for gen 4 figures other than V4, converting to triax weight etc. etc.

I hadn't previously tried making clothes for M4, so have no idea how it would have been done even in version 4.0.........

Daz Studio 4.5 has been a good upgrade choice in most areas for me, I do however feel an endless sense of frustration in not being able to get shoes for my Genesis male characters (or the ladies for that matter) to fit well. I have scoured the store to try and buy basic men's shoes for Genesis, like the ones in the Tuxedo set for M4, I want shoes my guy can ballroom dance in!

Please, please can anyone point me to some nice, won't break the bank shoes for genesis males?

PS. I did try every trick I could find in the forums and on the net in general to make those darn shoes work on Genesis!

rmckeown said:

Thanks Cholole

The ad for that says it includes Michael 4 shape Morph and Victoria4 shape Morph

So by buying this product at 13.97 I effectively get Michael 4 and Victoria 4 ?

Hmmm, I've been reading the most recent posts in this thread and I'm realizing many folks are using Gen X differently than me.

I'll go through how I use it. It might not be the best way, but it seems to work. Hopefully this might help cridgit and vienastoks with their issues.

1) Make sure you have M4/V4 Shapes for Genesis in addition to Gen X (or S4, A3, V3 - whatever is relevant to your character).
2) Start DAZ Studio.
3) Go to Window -> Tabs -> Gen X. Click on the top bar and attach it to the opposite side of your Content Library (for me, the CL is on the right side, so I'll attach Gen X to the left).
4) We'll do a Michael 4 character. In the Content Manager, go to your Gen 4 stuff (e.g., your Poser library).
a) Go to Figures -> DAZ People and drag Michael 4 to the center of the Gen X window.
b) Go to Pose -> DAZ's Michael 4 -> Morph Injections and drag INJ Morphs++ M4 to the Gen X window.
c) Repeat step (b) for Elite, Ethnic, or whatever if they're needed.
d) Go to your desired character (in my case, I'll use Donovan for M4). Drag the body, then head morphs to the Gen X window (or just the body if you prefer).
5) With the Gen X window staged, below the center panel, select "Create a single morph" then "Transfer On: for all non-zero values"
6) Right below that, Michael 4 should be already selected. Click on Transfer. I'll just use "Donovan" for both the Identifier and Name.
7) Load a Genesis figure into the scene.
8) In the Shaping tab, for Actor -> Male, crank up Michael 4 to 1.0
9) In the Shaping tab, for Actor -> Gen X, crank up Donovan to 1.0
10) In the Shaping tab, for Torso, crank up Navel to 1.0

For V4 characters, it's pretty much the same thing. Hope this helps.

Well, Michael 4 and Victoria 4 are separate figures. But with that product you can make Genesis take on the appearance of Michael 4 or Victoria 4.

One difference is, some products that require Michael 4 or Victoria 4 won't work on Genesis, even with the M4 or V4 shape. If you have questions about specific products it's best to ask...but the basic rule is:

Skin textures for V4 and M4 can be used on Genesis
Clothing for V4 and M4 can be AutoFit to Genesis (results vary but are usually good, except for shoes and some long dresses and similar items)
Hair, poses, and props for V4 and M4 can be used on Genesis, but may require some manual tweaking to work properly
Morphs and expressions for V4 and M4 won't work on Genesis, unless you own Genesis Generation X (GenX).