In my smart content is missing about 95% of the content I had before.

I have a single figure in my figures, Summer. Nothing else.

I get the same pose set for my Genesis 9, Genesis 8 female figure and Victoria 3, everything else is missing.

Everything worked fine last October. Then when I tried to do a Christmas render in November and December that was when the missing poses happened.  

I’ve tried various things and nothing changed including hitting the filter by content box on and off, uninstalling DAZ and resetting the database.

I’m beyond my breaking point on this problem. I have thousands of dollars of content and can’t use it.

Victoria 9.

There is no image attached, but https://www.daz3d.com/victoria-9-hd?

I have manually transferred Albany to G9. Her face is similar to Victoria 9, including the eyes (just need to be a bit more "relaxed") and nose (need to be a bit more pinched and turned upwards a bit). But, Albany has those rounded cheekbones which completely differentiates her face from V9's face.

If Chanel G8F can come back as Kim G9, then Albany should come back too under another name.

Richard Haseltine said:

Memory would be tight, certainly, and the GPU probably wouldn't be useful. Unfortunately PBRSkin requires at least DS 4.15.x.x

No worries.  I have literally thousands of characters and items to play with from victoria 4 to G8.  I doubt I will get bored anytime soon.  Appreciate it!

You do not need the Premiere software. The free version is totally capable of making great stuff.

What you would benefit a lot from is getting some poses and getting some specific textures. Some specific examples would be muscle textures. For example, for G9
- https://www.daz3d.com/masculine-muscle-maps-for-genesis-9 ;
- https://www.daz3d.com/feminine-muscle-maps-for-genesis-9. ;
Probably it is a good idea to get the Muscles Genesis version 8&3, because you can find more poses, and sometimes with a great discount n_n
- https://www.daz3d.com/muscle-maps-for-genesis-3-and-8-female
- https://www.daz3d.com/muscle-maps-for-genesis-3-and-8-male
There are also some Morphs. Look for one that has sliders so you can adjust the intensity. This would be useful to define shapes, with skin on top :)

Also, you could get a skeleton. There is one for Victoria 4 and Michael 4. That is something that nothing else can do drawing by viewing the muscles themselves and seeing the bones.

And if you want to adjust the poses, the Power Pose panel is your best friend.
---
But even using the free version and some free assets you can get, I would say that, besides posing, the most important thing would be lighting and framing. Try first 1 light setups.

I wanted a. Book called What to expect when your MC is expecting.  MC as in main character.

I found this book which is the closest thing I can find especially for free.

I'm getting back into writing.  I'm writing an urban fantasy Christmas book that takes place Christmas season of 2004.  A newly wed vampire finds out she is expecting.  I haven't written much other than it is Black Friday in 2004.  they live in a town called Raleigh.  Wait? Is Raleigh a town or city?  She is about to go to Victoria's Secret and get her bra fitting.  I need a reason for that.

Padone said:

Also SBH was introduced after G8, so you can assume everything before is not. As well hair curves and the omnihair shader were introduced after G9. For example Victoria 8 is code 43673, so a hair product before that code can't be SBH, that of course doesn't mean everything after is SBH as PAs are not forced to adopt the new hairs.

Now that I'm reading this, I realize that none of these digital products have a release date. This is surprising and somewhat confusing, especially since many (most) were created before the official DAZ version. They are only labeled as "Compatible Software: Daz Studio 4.24" (Victoria 4.2), while I would expect compatibility with more DAZ versions. - So: Thanks for the tip with the product code.

Oh.... but actually I meant : Are there any so-called "third-party creators and vendors" in this Daz3D store.  The vendors selling products in this store should be all registered Published Artists, so to me they're native. Usually we call those who sell products in other stores as "3rd-party vendors". Make sense ?

Oh, yes.  The daz store is partly a brokerage so that Sickleyield, for example is a 3rd-party creator and sells other products in FlippedNormal, 3dshards, and other stores. Pretty much all the software like Filterforge which you can buy in this store is made by software manufactors who would amused and puzzled if described as part of Daz3d or "native".  Filterforge is sold in a lot of places. Daz3d is a creator in its own right with products such as Daz Studio, those core characters such as Victoria 9, assets commisioned by Daz3d such as the the matching products that go into a core character's bundle.  Thus if you made a pirate core character with a bundle, you might commission pirate themed products like hair, clothes, and weapons, along with textures, and maybe a special edition character for the Premier members. In general, the PA's here are sort of free agents i.e. 3rd party vendors who sell their specific wares here exclusively for a period but can leave if they want to and remove their products.  They aren't "native" or more specifically not traditional Daz3d employees who might have their own lockers at the headquarters.  This whole metadat crunch happened because a bunch of vendors of another store who you might perceive as being "native" left at the same time and came here to become "native" i.e. and expected 3rd party vendor or PA but they never needed metadata because the store was geared more towards Poser users and there was no time to make metadata for the new products.

nemesis10 said:

"Are there any so-called "third-party creators and vendors"?

Yes, for example, Sickleyield has products in various 3d stores and isn't a Daz3d employee but sells a portion of her products through the store as opposed to whoever created Victoria 9 which either was made completely in house or a PA was commisioned by DAZ3d to create the product specifically for the DAZ3d and cannot ever show up at Renderhub or Renderosity.  The category has gotten blurry but the "core" characters always have Daz3d as the creator. Some vendors have multiple generations of the same character but they are considered the "artist name" Trixie 3.0 for example rather a core character like Michael or Victoria.

Oh.... but actually I meant : Are there any so-called "third-party creators and vendors" in this Daz3D store.  The vendors selling products in this store should be all registered Published Artists, so to me they're native. Usually we call those who sell products in other stores as "3rd-party vendors". Make sense ?

"Are there any so-called "third-party creators and vendors"?

Yes, for example, Sickleyield has products in various 3d stores and isn't a Daz3d employee but sells a portion of her products through the store as opposed to whoever created Victoria 9 which either was made completely in house or a PA was commisioned by DAZ3d to create the product specifically for the DAZ3d and cannot ever show up at Renderhub or Renderosity.  The category has gotten blurry but the "core" characters always have Daz3d as the creator. Some vendors have multiple generations of the same character but they are considered the "artist name" Trixie 3.0 for example rather a core character like Michael or Victoria.

I have been asked (admittedly not very recently) why I still bother with V3. I can now say 'Because this:' and show the attached image.

Jim Burton's Glamorous Vickie 3 TriAx'ed, G8F Denim Diva outfit, G8F Akhelloos Kasia Hair and V3 Celestial Jewels converted to TriAx GV3 wearables. PolyHaven HDRI.

While I was converting the nose ring on her right into a TriAx GV3 wearable, I exported, mirrored and inverted normals on the ring and chain, re-imported, and created a left nose ring wearable to match the right side one - so don't go looking for a left side one in the Celestial Jewels set.

I have just noticed that the HDRI is actually a different direction of view of the HDRI used in another of my GV3 images, the one here. Dear me.

Regards,

Richard

richardandtracy said:

@DollyGirl, that is very illuminating. The use of the same texture, hair, clothing and pose on both characters enables a direct comparison of the differences. V3's hand, elbow & armpit show their age quite a lot in the image. However, you have also shown that with a bit of work, both generations can stand alongside G8 and G9 for a full figure shot without looking out of place. Most impressive.

Regards,

Richard

@DollyGirl: Totally agree, this is incredible - a V3 texture which looks so beautiful and realistic even today, I also like the outfit with feather boa  - many thanks and I hope you don't forget to post it also at https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/108001/the-older-generation-victoria-2-3-michael-2-3-and-their-children-renders. Very impressive!

Also SBH was introduced after G8, so you can assume everything before is not. As well hair curves and the omnihair shader were introduced after G9. For example Victoria 8 is code 43673, so a hair product before that code can't be SBH, that of course doesn't mean everything after is SBH as PAs are not forced to adopt the new hairs.

p.s. In general you can always look at codes to evaluate how old a product is, or go to the documentation center.

http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/read_me/index/start

p.p.s. Also be aware that hair curves don't support the omnihair shader as you get a different result.

https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/572941/

• How long have you used Daz 3D Studio?
• I first used DS at version 0.7.xx beta in 2005. I continued with its development until 2007 when it became apparent my PC couldn't cope with Victoria 4 or Genesis. I took a break until 2019 when I got hold of a vastly more powerful ex-work machine that I could upgrade further quite cheaply. Since then, I've stuck with DS.
•  
• Do you use any other software with Daz 3D? (bridges, photo editing, or other rendering software)
• I do use other software. As a creator of a certain amount of freebie content, I do use various other programs. Due to my history as a design engineer, stress engineer and amateur programmer, some of my programs are unique. I use my own copy of SolidWorks to model mechanical items. The version of SolidWorks I have and DAZ Studio have no common formats or bridges, so I export to STL format, use my own STLtoOBJ translator, clean the model in my own home written 3d modeller (which I originally used to create stress models with and have repurposed by adding additional functions). Then I either texture map in my modeller or in 'UVMapper Free'. I create textures in 'PaintShopPro 5' or 'GIMP' (only if PSP5 can't do it). Normal maps and bump maps are generated from textures using 'Materialize'. Then, I collect and zip a distribution package together using 'Windows Explorer' or '7Zip' - depends how lazy I feel. I have used Carrara and Pegasus 4.1, neither of which have got to finished products yet. Hexagon and Blender work well for artistic types and the way they think. I'm an engineer, and both programs feel irrational in the way they work to me. Blender by & large only has video tutorials - which are unsearchable, and hugely inefficient in time and bytes and seem to always miss the single piece of information I've wasted 30 minutes watching for.
•  
• How easy or difficult was it to learn Daz Studio?
• I thought it fairly easy to use to a basic level. Due to the catastrophic inadequacies of the documentation, it is far from easy to use to its limits.
•  
• Did you have to purchase a specific computer to use the application?
• I did not have to. I chose to buy one. My second hand work computer was satisfactory, but getting very long in the tooth as it dated back to 2013, and I replaced it at 10 years old.
•  
• How much money have you spent at the marketplace or other third-party sites for content?
• These days I have a monthly discretionary spending budget of £60 for all my hobbies. These include fountain pen making, metalworking, model trains and cross stitch. This hobby has to take its place in that.
•  
• What kinds of bugs or errors have you ran into?
• None really. I don't push the program to its limit so really only use tried and tested features.
•  
• Is there anything you would change about the application?
• It needs, desperately, an adequate WRITTEN handbook. Video is unsearchable, hopelessly inadequate and grossly inefficient in terms of bytes an time, at recording every function, syntax, script use etc. Not only would it document all the functions for the users, it would also ensure that the programmers document every function so nobody looses track of any function or nuance.

One thing that may be of interest to gather is what users consider to be DS's unique selling points. To me, it's rendering quality and UltraScenery. No doubts.

Regards

Richard

I forgot how well G2F cleans up with some updates to the skin settings.

FW Destiny HD for Victoria 6: https://www.daz3d.com/fw-destiny-hd-for-victoria-6

Skin updated to Iray with: https://www.daz3d.com/n-g-s-anagenessis-2-revolution and https://www.daz3d.com/iray-smart-converter-and-advanced-skin-managers-for-genesis-2

Hot Uniforms School Girl for G2F (shirt, skirt, and backpack): -no longer for sale here http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/read_me/index/20831/start

XBikini: https://www.daz3d.com/xbikini-for-genesis-2-female-s

FW Kenzi (eyeglasses): https://www.daz3d.com/fw-kenzi-character-and-accessories

Delphi Hair for G3F/G8F: https://www.daz3d.com/delphi-hair-for-genesis-3--8-females

LuneChains for G3F (sold at Rendo)

Lighting: PixelTizzyFit NeonSplash 3 pt lighting setup combined with a Cake One HDR:

https://www.daz3d.com/ptf-neon-splash-lighting-suite

https://www.daz3d.com/click-n-render--pop-edition--ibl-set

The skin and brows are from Victoria 9: https://www.daz3d.com/victoria-9-hd

Maybe it's her head morph too, but she felt a bit younger than she usually is. I can't say it's because FeSoul blended her with other character or if it's the hairs or her expression.

Product: https://www.daz3d.com/dforce-fe-strand-based-bubble-bob-hair-for-genesis-9

AndrewJJP You can find out more about this topic from the previous threads that exhaustively went over it - all just a google search away. (Where even google's AI assistant will give you a summary of what's in those threads...)

The "AI gets it right" statement for a user influenced response was a bit jarring. So here, we can also let AI Victoria summarize that side for us! Why not?

My question: 
Can you state all the reasons PAs can't link to all the products used in the promo images?

AI Victoria's answer: (Quickly pulled and magically summarized from various threads - may not be complete and comprehensive of course - so best to refer to those actual threads as needed too):

Here are the main reasons why PAs (Publishing Artists) can't link to all products used in promo images:

Time and Effort Constraints

• Creating comprehensive lists requires significant additional work with no financial benefit to PAs
• PAs pull many different objects to create appealing images, making it impractical to track every asset used
• Listing assets weeks or months after creating artwork becomes extremely difficult

Custom and External Assets

• Many PAs use personal custom characters rather than store-available products
• Assets often come from other websites outside of Daz, which can't be linked back to our store

Production Workflow Issues

• PAs may not create their own promos - external promo artists handle the work
• Kitbashing involves combining 30+ products, making comprehensive listing impractical

Business Structure

• PAs don't receive affiliate income from listing other products
• Our store policies don't allow linking to competitor products

The primary goal is showcasing the featured product effectively, not cataloging every supporting asset used.

AND from one those threads, here's Zicon's quick list explaining it all too:

Zicon said:

Possible reasons why a PA has not listed additional assets used in promo images for a product:

• the asset is sold in a different store
• the asset isn't sold anywhere anymore
• the asset was created specifically for the promos and is not available
• the asset is an early version of a different product and looks different from the finished version
• the asset was modified so heavily by the promo artist that it's not representative of the product used
• the PA does not remember what assets were used
• the promo was made by someone else and the PA does not know what assets were used
• creating a product is a lot of work and listing assets used is yet another chore
• the "additional asset" is part of the product

Thank you Leana, I'd forgotten the address format for direct access to the readme. And you're right. No untie morphs.

The Hongyu G8 bikini does, as does the equivalent G3 bikini, if that's any use.

Regards,

Richard

Many thanks @SapphireBlue, hope you will show us some more g2 artworks of yours!

Here is a more relaxed and quiet render: https://www.daz3d.com/candy-slims-jeans-for-genesis-2-female-s by WildDesigns with the sweater from https://www.daz3d.com/autumn-chill-for-genesis-2-female-s also by WildDesign with another texture pack available: https://www.daz3d.com/coldsnap-for-autumn-chill  by Jessaii and Raziel. The slippers are from https://www.daz3d.com/nitetime-outfit-for-genesis-2-female-s by Nikisatez. https://www.daz3d.com/micah-hair by AprilYSH includes a male and female version. The character is https://www.daz3d.com/nyota-victoria-6 by gypsyangel. Not g2 but the fountain pen Nyota is using is a freebie from @richardandtracy: https://www.renderosity.com/freestuff/items/95165/cheap-fountain-pen (commercial use allowed). Many thanks, Richard!