RE: the operating system comments and securityware - You can upgrade windows 7 to Windows 10 free still, we did it a few days ago on a PC dating back to 2013 and it is fine now. Windows 10 security from microsoft has a good permission system to help protect from ransomware too.

RE Daz in general when returning.

I started with Victoria 4 but found Genesis was easier to work with when it came out, then Genesis 2 came out and got the new content, then Genesis 3 which I got more content for. Not been a fast adopter of Genesis 8 as I have expressions and hand movements and so many more things for G3.
Where I am going with this is I was quicker to abandon V4 as I found her a bit harder to work with. Various bridges and converters were used for a time converting my custom characters from V4 to G2 then G2 to G3 but have not touched any of those converters in years. I do have my older content in a seperate content library I rarely use now.

There are paths,methods, scripts, procedures and programs to get textures and morphs from V4 to newer Genesis also. Sometimes getting a new texture and dailing up a new version of a character is the best approach though. One of my main actors is wear a converted Victoria 4 tecture and my mains shapes mostly were salvaged from old content using GenX plugin.

Really depends what you want to do. If you want to make new content and sell then your best to stay on the latest generation genesis, while I prefer the character I have the most stuff for.

What I am doing is running a main content library on my core systems SSD, then a secondary content library on my much larger storage drive. My Victoria 4, Genesis 1 and 2 live on the 2nd drive.If I decide I am not using a G3/G8 morph group, don't like the character, only need one eyelash morph and have 5 etc... then those extra can go to the large drive. I'm mostly working in G3.
I'm normally working in Beta 4.15 and I don't have the big drive mapped as a content directory. If my release version is slow loading I work in the Beta till it gets there... mostly I am using the release version to compose subsets of scenes I then grab into my main working instance.

In effect the 2nd Content Library is not gone it is just a "back bench" out of my main working flow. However when I am making assets and scenes using the release version it can still see all of this stuff. RE: Back Benching Morphs - I use SceneNotes text files.. where I say what I want to do and what the scene needs... and also normally have OneNote ready to pop up. The reason I mention this is if I decice to backbench a set of morphs I can just quickly expose the path in parameters... then snapshot a view of it into OneNote to tidy up later. This is to stop my work flow going off on tangents. When I do a session of "back benching" morphs I have a visual list on a OneNote page.

Mostly I will only do backups of the main content (in case of disk failure etc.) and as such keeping it lean saves time.

Oso3D said:

Wolfwood said:

Oso3D said:

If you don't like the look of Cleopatra and prefer Twosret... you could always just use Twosret shape but skin and everything as Cleopatra.

So, considering that the "main figure" is the most expensive item in the bundle (as with all DO main releases) people that don't like it would be basically overpaying for an already expensive bundle.

The main figure includes a shape, makeup, and skin texture. So the shape is a fraction of the figure item.

I don't think it's a particularly expensive bundle as far as bundles go, but hey, if you don't like it, then ok.

 

If you consider (for example) that 7 items from this bundle have more value than 11+ items from average PRO Bundle then fine. Many people feel that way.

But a lot of people feel they get a lot less: 1 hair less 2 outfits less, 2 character less. On the plus? An environment  and maybe one of the other two items (depending against what bundle you compare and if the user likes expressions/poses). That's more Less than Plus.

In any case, this inspired me to do a more fair/easier comparison for core bundles and it certainly shows how bad current bundles/offers are.

WARNING: Bellow this point, there is math. Any reader ofended by the sorcery that can be replicated with a little a app called "Calculator", be advised.

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here"

Let's forget for a moment previous release promos (leave that for latter). Instead of starting with all the perks lost i will calculate what would cost other bundles and its price/item if they shared the same promotion as of today, very interesting results:

For today's discount i will consider 50% discount buying a second "MAD" item, 30% PC+ and 10% key item (i think it was a free item recently so most people have it). So, 0.5x0.7x0.9 = 0.315 (or 68.5%)

Good old G8 PRO Bundle: $134.95 x 0.315 = 42.51 (While some have 12 or more items, i will count only 11 items): $3.86

Starter Bundle: $89.95 x 0.315 = $28.33 (6 items): $4.72

Millawa 8 Cyber Mission Bundle: $126.95 x 0.315 = $39.99 (8 items): $5

Juan Carlos 8 Streets of Cyberpunk Bundle: $149.95 x 0.315 = $47.23 (9 items): $5.2

Victoria 8.1 University Bundle: $149.95 x 0.315 = $47.23 (10 items, not counting vellus as that was controversial): $4.72

Victoria 8.1 Loving Life Bundle: $139.95 x 0.315 = 44.08 (9 items, not counting vellus as that was controversial): $4.9

Michael 8.1 Campus Life Bundle: $164.95 x 0.315 = $51.96 (10 items): $5.2

Torment 8.1 Temptations Bundle: $137.95 x 0.315 = $43.45 (8 items): $5.43

Torment 8.1 Hell On Wheels Bundle: $142.95 x 0.315 = $45.03 (8 items): $5.63

White Priestess Spell Caster Bundle: $123.95 x 0.315 = $39.04 (7 items): $5.58

White Priestess Enchantment Bundle: $113.95 x 0.315 = $35.89 (6 items): $5.98 

Cleopatra's Ancient Treasure Bundle: $122.95 x 0.315 = $38.73 (7 items): $5.53

These last two are basically "stater" bundles but are priced closer to what a pro bundle cost. And we need to note that individual items did not suffer a price increase (at least noticeable) to justify the new core bundle structure / prices.

Now we can add again the lost perks, we went....

From: $3.86 per item + credit/free items + extra BIG discounts + one purchase to be made in 5 to 7 days (before promotion runs out, no need to hurry) + having just to own "some" of those bundles to be considered a customer worth of something.

To: Over $5.5 per item (average), no credits, no free items or extra (noticeable) discount. Need to buy the first small bundle on release date in the hope to get a discount for the second small bundle to compensate buying the same figure TWICE. And having to purchase everything like clockwork on release to MAYBE get an extra discount on the next release for being a "good" customer.

Note: In case my post attracts some white knights i want to make a couple things clear. This is a comparison considering someone "likes/values" an equal (or similar) percentage of things from each bundle. If someone only like 3 from 11 in a Pro bundle, and 5 of 7 in in the newer ones, then obviously the the value for that person is different. Also, considering that not all items have the same stock price, i don't want to repeat myself and i have already made comparisons of raw/stock price of individual items in the newer bundles against the PRO ones, demonstrating that the problem is in the "bundle discount" here is an example: https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/6410671/#Comment_6410671

Padone said:

@highStrangeness @TheKD

I tested Victoria 8.1 with futalicious and headlights. I have to copy materials by hand in daz studio, from the body to the geografts, because I have the G8 version so the copy material script doesn't work for G8.1. That apart she works fine here. Then I can't post pictures because of the forum policy. As for custom textures, diffeo should work fine too.

If you use custom content folders be sure to add them in the global settings, otherwise the textures will not be found.

Then you can always post a issue at diffeo with a test scene, that's more flexible to talk about geografts. Though actually Thomas is quite busy with the new rig to allow HD morphs.

https://bitbucket.org/Diffeomorphic/import_daz/issues

Yeah, I can't post images of my work for the same reason, although the figure I'm using has Breastacular and Golden Palace.  I did get the HD grafts to import properly, with the multires option, as I said above, but I first used the method outlined in Thomas's blog link, in my previous post (the reply to Singular3D).  It's somewhat fiddly but it does work.  Also you can actually get the materials to copy to G8.1F with the new materials copy script that Meipe released earlier this year.  He mentioned it over on Renderotica.  

See here: https://www.renderotica.com/community/forums.aspx?g=posts&t=245063&p=2#post482087

Scroll down to Meipe's second post on page 2 and you'll find the Dropbox link to the script for G8.1F.

@highStrangeness @TheKD

I tested Victoria 8.1 with futalicious and headlights. I have to copy materials by hand in daz studio, from the body to the geografts, because I have the G8 version so the copy material script doesn't work for G8.1. That apart she works fine here. Then I can't post pictures because of the forum policy. As for custom textures, diffeo should work fine too.

If you use custom content folders be sure to add them in the global settings, otherwise the textures will not be found.

Then you can always post a issue at diffeo with a test scene, that's more flexible to talk about geografts. Though actually Thomas is quite busy with the new rig to allow HD morphs.

https://bitbucket.org/Diffeomorphic/import_daz/issues

xyer0 said:

I think AntFarm did an excellent job on his set piece. I own tons of Egyptian sets, but his brings something unique and instantly cinematic to the lot. The treasure and the weapons are a nice touch too. The outfits and hair seem well-made, but I already have several versions of the same thing. Now, Cleopatra 8.1 unfortunately (for me) seems stuck on the same bridge between realism and fantasy that Victoria 8.1 is on and that White Priestess was able to cross due to a more distinctive and detailed morph.

If they'd commission Josh Crockett to do a real Akhenaten 8.1, I'd get interested real fast.

AntFarm's Egyptian Oasis is gorgeous, I agree. I'd get that on its own, but it looks like it doesn't have rigged walls, according to the file list, which will make rendering and working with the inside a bit of a pain. Decisions, decisions...

xyer0 said:

I think AntFarm did an excellent job on his set piece. I own tons of Egyptian sets, but his brings something unique and instantly cinematic to the lot. The treasure and the weapons are a nice touch too. The outfits and hair seem well-made, but I already have several versions of the same thing. Now, Cleopatra 8.1 unfortunately (for me) seems stuck on the same bridge between realism and fantasy that Victoria 8.1 is on and that White Priestess was able to cross due to a more distinctive and detailed morph.

If they'd commission Josh Crockett to do a real Akhenaten 8.1, I'd get interested real fast.

I couldn't have put it better. 

I think AntFarm did an excellent job on his set piece. I own tons of Egyptian sets, but his brings something unique and instantly cinematic to the lot. The treasure and the weapons are a nice touch too. The outfits and hair seem well-made, but I already have several versions of the same thing. Now, Cleopatra 8.1 unfortunately (for me) seems stuck on the same bridge between realism and fantasy that Victoria 8.1 is on and that White Priestess was able to cross due to a more distinctive and detailed morph.

If they'd commission Josh Crockett to do a real Akhenaten 8.1, I'd get interested real fast.

Depending on what you've purchased during the sale and what other Mad items you include in the cart, the price can drop to a more or less reasonable $38.25 in the cart. $7 per item isn't unreasonable. A seven-item bundle is ... unusual. Though apparently she includes her HD, which Michael, Victoria, and Torment did not, but White Priestess did. (Assuming Cleopatra's product description is correct, and her HD does seem to be included in the readme file list for her. I wonder if this means that Cleopatra is an Artstation character? Included HD and attenuated bundles seem to be the norm for them.)

I actually like the bundle, surprisingly enough. But ... they've now done THREE Egyptian female themed bundles in the past six months. I suppose the Ancient Egyptian Oasis Bundle would theoretically count as a sorta kinda vaguely thinking about being a male bundle -- if you squint real hard -- but they don't have Akhenaten 8, he's just plain Mst Akhenaten. I mean, I like him, but it's not at all the same thing. Also, four Egyptian themed bundle in six months seems like more than the traffic can bear, really.

Thank you again!
I will try that tomorrow. 

For this effort of 2008 files I loaded Windows 7 Professional on a old Lenovo W700 laptop. 
Windows updates are updated, virus scan and windows file corruption scan completed with no issues. 
Backed up.
Added Daz Content Manager (DazCentral) and then it added DazStudio Pro. I think 4.15 but I can check that if it helps. 

Hoping to try what DazCentral installed first (using your suggestions above) but willing to load another machine and go further back in time. 

How much do you think DS versions matter? I know they matter, but there seems to be eras of versions that work up until the next era. 
Are there known eras (not sure what word to use) to watch out for? You mentioned transparency. What era might I have to go to for that to work? 
for example will 2.3 work? 
 

On a different note: I installed DazCentral and thus DazStudio Pro (I think it was called CM) and could see my plugins and assets. 
I clicked to install all the assets I thought I had used in the past. DazCentral seemed to install them. 
In the "smart" view of DS I could seem them. Yet none of the little icon/images for an asset showed up except things like genesis 8 or new stuff. 
For example Victoria  4 or 5 would not have an image? Is that normal or indicates a problem? Instead was a picture frame icon and an X. 

Richard Haseltine said:

With which character? Or are you asking about the new shader? Even then, because the maps used have changed, it would be tricky to do a fair comparison.

Don't really care about any specific character. I'm really just interseted to hear if people who have experience with any genesis 8.1 characters think genesis 8.1 characters look better than genesis 8 characters based on their experience and personal opinion.
So for instance, if someone has any of the characters that have genesis 8.1 and genesis 8 versions of the same character. Then I'm curious to hear if they think the genesis 8.1 version look notably better than the genesis 8 version
And if someone has any of the characters that only have a genesis 8.1 version (like victoria 8.1 and michael 8.1). Then I'd like to hear what they think of how those characters compare visually to any genesis 8 models they've worked with 

Definitely look at the texture maps of Micheal 8.1, Victoria 8.1, Torment, or characters like the new Thomas.  The layouts are pretty different for Genesis 8.

Ok so Zev0's skin builder 8 does not work yet on 8.1 cause I have tried, even though he his supposedly updating his scripts.  So, I tried the Ultimate Skin manager to see if it does cause it said it was updated for 8.1 and it is NOT working at all.  It keeps telling me to use gen 2, gen 3 or gen 8 only, not gen 8.1.  So here is my question:  does ANY skin builder script work at all atm for 8.1?  If not, I am just going to wait til gen 9 and victoria 9 which will probably release for daz 15 whenever that happens.

Greetings Again, 

Left off in Daz and 3D in 2008. 
I would like to learn how to get back to where I left off and bring that into the now. 
I have my old files. 
Yet I would guess they have to be placed/installed/improrted/etc to work. 
Getting the impression those were Victoria 4 times. Still exploring old files. 
Are there tutorials or user manuals or the like or is it best to ask here on the forums. 

Currently on a Mac M1 Big Sur. Get the sense I have to wait on that, but updates on when this will arrive would be fun. 
Excited! Bought this to get back into 3D. 
I have some older machines too that I dug up to make this go for now. 
A Lenovo W700 with Win 7 for example or an old Lenovo D10 ThinkStation and possibly others. 
The Basics I would think would be a machine that works, the Operating System needed for then or now or both and an understanding of how to place the many types of 3D files where they need to be to work - and work together. 

Do I start with the current Daz or use an old version? 
Help here would be wonderful. Would love to not lose years and years of work. 
If my questions do not lead to the answer then answer as you will. 
Thank you! 

So I've been looking to get back into messing around with Daz3d, and I just finished reading the official blogpost about 8.1 - https://blog.daz3d.com/genesis-8-1/
And while it mention stuff like shader and UV improvements, the blogpost doesn't have any side by side examples to showcase any of these supposed visual improvements. So I'm asking here to see what any of you that have worked with genesis 8.1 think about the visuals fidelity of genesis 8.1 characters compared to genesis 8 characters. 

Curious to hear what you think of both characters that are purely genesis 8.1, like Victoria 8.1, and the difference for characters that have a genesis 8.1 and a genesis 8 version

danielbui78 said:

 

Made using Unity 2019.4 LTS, Daz Studio 4.15, Blender 2.83, UMotion Pro - Animation Editor, Animation Converter for Unity (Soxware Interactive), OBS Studio 26.1.

Assets:
Daz 3D: 
Centaur 7 (Daz)
Monique 7 (Daz) 
Nox Hair (Daz, AprilYSH)
FW Sushmita HD (Daz,  Fisty & Darc, Fred Winkler Art)
FWSA Zarina HD (Daz, Fred Winkler Art, Sabby)
Nitsu Hinshi Samurai Armor (Daz, Barbara Brundon, Sarsa)

Unity: 
Horse Animset Pro Riding System (Malbers Animation)
Forest Environment - Dynamic Nature (NatureManufacture)
Realistic Eye Movements (Tore Knabe)
Dynamic Bone (Will Hong)
Full Menu System - FREE (SpeedTutor)

 

kewl 

Sevrin said:

Does anyone have any ideas about Maddelirium's new MDD Rebel character?  She's gorgeous, and looks somehow familiar.

I played with her and combined her with Victoria 8.1 and come up with this portrait that has some resemblance to the German singer Nena (99 Red Balloons) from the 80s

https://www.daz3d.com/gallery/user/5999567703113728?edit=albums#gallery=album145866&page=1&image=1128858

You might want to have a look on some older JEPE products.

V3Digitimes said:

---> The update allowing to use "Ultimate Iray Skin Manager" on Genesis 8.1 figures using Iray Uber as their shader (such as when you apply a Genesis 8 Iray Uber material on it for instance) is now live for a few days.

---> For the ones who wanted an equivalent tool for PBR Skins, this was developped, submitted, and tested by Daz. So far, so good. It is called "Ultimate PBRSkin Manager", is also compatible with any generation of figure from Genesis (and victoria 4) to Genesis 8.1 and there will be within the next few days a specific thread concerning Ultimate PBRSkin Manager, in order not to mix everything.

Where do I get the update? I don`t see it in DIM.

Thank you