I have a few of the products in your list and they are still there.

Painter's Lights

Victoria 8

Penny 8

Careless Braid for Genesis 3 Female(s)

Edward 8 HD Add-On

dForce Master - Cloth Simulation Presets

dForce Duchess Dress for Genesis 3 and 8 Female(s)

DG Iray 200 Hair Color Shaders and Merchant Resource

Affected Products

• SKU# 16933            Teen Josie 6 ​
• SKU# 17264            ​​Scarf Braid Hair 
• SKU# 17050            Casual Jeans and T-Shirt for Genesis and Genesis 2 Female(s)
• SKU# 17576            Trendy Layers for Casual Jeans and T-Shirt
• SKU# ?????             Slacking for Casual Jeans and T-Shirt
• SKU# 18059            Cross-back Dress for Genesis 2 Female(s)
• SKU# 18060            Cross-back Dress Textures
• SKU# 18534            ​​Giselle 6 
• SKU# 18844            ​Spriteling for Giselle 6 
• SKU# 19650            Feral Fey Wings
• SKU# 20021            ​​Belle 6 
• SKU# 22135            Painter's Lights
• SKU# 22231            ​​Mec4d PBS Shaders vol.1 for Iray
• SKU# 22362            Beautiful Skin Iray Genesis 2 Female(s)
• SKU# 22363            Beautiful Skin Iray Genesis 2 Male(s)
• SKU# 23435            Malice and Mayhem
• SKU# 24296            Bella Donna Dress for Genesis 3 Female(s)
• SKU# 30790            ​​Mec4d PBS Shaders vol.2 for Iray
• SKU# 33185            ​​Promo Style Catch Lights for Iray 
• SKU# 36525            Careless Braid for Genesis 3 Female(s)
• SKU# 37449            Classic Tuxedo for Genesis 3 Male(s)
• SKU# 37451            Classic Tuxedo Textures
• SKU# 40975            Morning Star Wings for Genesis 3 and 8 Female(s)
• SKU# 43673            Victoria 8
• SKU# 47091            dForce Gored Dress for Genesis 3 and 8 Female(s)
• SKU# 49691            Edward 8
• SKU# 49699            Edward 8 HD Add-On
• SKU# 50109            dForce Master - Cloth Simulation Presets
• SKU# 50909            Penny 8
• SKU# 52701            dForce Wizard Lore Outfit for Genesis 8 Male(s)
• SKU# 55453            dForce Duchess Dress for Genesis 3 and 8 Female(s)
• SKU# 56181            ​DG Iray 200 Hair Color Shaders and Merchant Resource

edited to add more products​

I live in South Australia meself, tis a great place with roos, maggies, lizards and snakes.. We do have dropbears as well but they mostly live on Kangaroo Island..

I thought all of Australia was "Kangaroo Island".

It is, it is we just have one place called Kangaroo Island..

I live in South Australia meself, tis a great place with roos, maggies, lizards and snakes.. We do have dropbears as well but they mostly live on Kangaroo Island..

I agree and am incredibly glad I don't live in Victoria right now during the pandemic 

Yeah I am very glad as well, interestingly here in South Australia we have been good in keeping the numbers down, and when I go shopping you would not know that there was any problem..

down here in Tasmania we're even luckier being an island cut off from the mainland though it can still get us been a few snuck in breaking the rules 

he may not be Aussie but he loves our country and animals that's why Alessandro_AM has done several of our critters

I wish I could live in Tasmania 

Adelaide is too dry and hot in summer

I live in South Australia meself, tis a great place with roos, maggies, lizards and snakes.. We do have dropbears as well but they mostly live on Kangaroo Island..

I thought all of Australia was "Kangaroo Island".

It is, it is we just have one place called Kangaroo Island..

I live in South Australia meself, tis a great place with roos, maggies, lizards and snakes.. We do have dropbears as well but they mostly live on Kangaroo Island..

I agree and am incredibly glad I don't live in Victoria right now during the pandemic 

Yeah I am very glad as well, interestingly here in South Australia we have been good in keeping the numbers down, and when I go shopping you would not know that there was any problem..

down here in Tasmania we're even luckier being an island cut off from the mainland though it can still get us been a few snuck in breaking the rules 

he may not be Aussie but he loves our country and animals that's why Alessandro_AM has done several of our critters

One thing comes to mind...

\My Daz Connect Library\data\cloud\meta and \data\cloud\1_22086

Those are not "proper" paths for the files as the paths have originally been specified, but the readme and filelist (with proper paths) seems to have vanished as well from the DAZ server at least for Victoria 7 Extreme Expression...
If you download the zip manually from "My Account\Product Library" at the DAZ site, you should see the proper paths inside the zip.

Edit: Now it started working... http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/read_me/index/22086/file_list

Those file path's quoted are when you install with Daz Connect which is entirely different from a DIM install file paths as shown in the file_list link above.

One thing comes to mind...

\My Daz Connect Library\data\cloud\meta and \data\cloud\1_22086

Those are not "proper" paths for the files as the paths have originally been specified, but the readme and filelist (with proper paths) seems to have vanished as well from the DAZ server at least for Victoria 7 Extreme Expression...
If you download the zip manually from "My Account\Product Library" at the DAZ site, you should see the proper paths inside the zip.

Edit: Now it started working... http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/read_me/index/22086/file_list

I am seeing missing Genesis 3 Female expressions too.  I install via Daz Connect when available and created short cuts to populate my Daz Formats Library.  I can easily scan through the expression folders in the Daz Studio Format Library and see which folder of short cuts are no longer valid as the icons are replaced with a ? icon.  There are ALOT if them in this condition. 

I examined one of the products 22086 Victoria 7 Extreme Expression and here are issues I found:

1. The product is missing from the Smart Content Tab, the product will not come up searching for sku::22086 on the Smart Content tab.
2. The product is missing from the Product Library listing
3. The .jpg and .json file DO EXIST in \My Daz Connect Library\data\cloud\meta and I can view them.
4. The product files DO EXIST in My Daz Connect Library\data\cloud\1_22086 and appear to be "working", ie: decrypted.

I did install this product with DIM and here are the issues I found:

1. The Product did install, and I can see the product and files in the Daz Studio Formats library in Genesis 3 Female/Expressions
2. The files are operable.
3. The product does not have metadata, which prevents it from showing on the Smart Content Tab
4. The metadata files are in Runtime/Support and eyeballing the .dsx file a product is declared and the path to the files are correct.
5. The product is missing from the Product Library listing as there is no product assigned.

Tested in DS Beta 4.12.2.6 and DS 4.9.2.70

Real odd situation, it's obviously some issue on DAZ's end.  I'm not going to spend anymore time trying to fix something I can't fix.  Being that it's affecting others, I'm just going to sit back and see if it clears itself.

Hey everyone,

About 1/2 to 2/3 of my expressions are missing in Smart Content and Content Library.  Most are G3.  Tried reinstalling via DIM nothing.  Tried installing in DAZ3d 4.12 they don't even show up to be installed, updated or in the Smart Content.  Also tried manual upload and that didn't work.  DIM says I own them, Daz3d says I own them but DAZ 4.12 doesn't show them.  What the heck happened?!?

Thanks

I live in South Australia meself, tis a great place with roos, maggies, lizards and snakes.. We do have dropbears as well but they mostly live on Kangaroo Island..

I thought all of Australia was "Kangaroo Island".

It is, it is we just have one place called Kangaroo Island..

I live in South Australia meself, tis a great place with roos, maggies, lizards and snakes.. We do have dropbears as well but they mostly live on Kangaroo Island..

I agree and am incredibly glad I don't live in Victoria right now during the pandemic 

Yeah I am very glad as well, interestingly here in South Australia we have been good in keeping the numbers down, and when I go shopping you would not know that there was any problem..

Dunno if anyone has mentioned this yet, but my favorite lights the Cake One Click N Render HRDIs. They really are one click, then just rotate the dome to taste. Nice to have a subtle neutral backdrop with the dome on plus great lighting if you turn it off and do composites. 
https://www.daz3d.com/click-n-render-ibl-set

That's a great set, I use it! :D

When I first used Victoria 4, I wish somebody had told me don't get the Elite Body Shapes because nobody is going to support all three. And you can create very similar shapes with Morphs++, which you're probably going to need anyway. I guess non-standard morphs don't matter as much now that the clothes follow whatever shape the character is. But I think telling people what not to buy, and why you shouldn't buy it, might be more helpful than telling them what to buy. Or at least equally helpful.

You'll find the not to buy section before the to buy one! :D

I live in South Australia meself, tis a great place with roos, maggies, lizards and snakes.. We do have dropbears as well but they mostly live on Kangaroo Island..

I agree and am incredibly glad I don't live in Victoria right now during the pandemic 

When I first used Victoria 4, I wish somebody had told me don't get the Elite Body Shapes because nobody is going to support all three. And you can create very similar shapes with Morphs++, which you're probably going to need anyway. I guess non-standard morphs don't matter as much now that the clothes follow whatever shape the character is. But I think telling people what not to buy, and why you shouldn't buy it, might be more helpful than telling them what to buy. Or at least equally helpful.

The expression files like "eCTRLWink_HD.dsf" can be found in "Genesis 8 Female Expressions"

http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/read_me/index/42077/file_list

Thank you!  That is the answer.  It seems crazy to me that this is not listed as a required for installation of Victoria 8 given that it will generated errors if not present.  This was all I saw for requirements on the product page for Victoria 8

This product requires installation of either Genesis 8 Starter Essentials through Daz Connect or both Genesis 8 Female Starter Essentials and Genesis 8 Female PowerPose Templates through Daz Install Manager. Product Library, DIM or Daz Connect.

PROBLEM
I recently started a project to remove morphs that were generating errors and slowing character loads.  I was able to remove all of the problem morphs execpt for a group related to expression morphs for Daz Pro Characters.

• Example: 2020-09-24 17:50:07.938 WARNING: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(6681): Could not find target property for formula: Genesis8Female:/data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Expressions/eCTRLWink_HD.dsf#eCTRLWink?value in file : /data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Victoria%208/eJCMVictoria8Wink_HDLv2.dsf

ACTIONS

• Uninstalled DAZ, DAZ Install Manager, the database, and selected to not keep any settings.  I followed up by I also deleted all of the folders that were left behind, and did a deep registery clean with Glary Utilities 5 Pro.
• Fresh download of DAZ of DAZStudio_4.12.1.118_Win64 and DAZ installer and installed on the default locations of the C:Drive for the application and my content directoy on my G:Drive.  Clearly not all of the registery must have been cleaned because the DAZ installer defaulted to my content being on the G:Drive without me having to input it.
• Fresh download of all Starter packages from Genesis to Genesis 8 and installed.
• Started DAZ and Genesis 8 Male and Genesis 8 Female loaded without errors.
• Fresh download of Michael 8 and Victor 9 and installed. Once I loaded either Michael or Victoria the same expresion morph errors occur in the error log.

NEXT STEPS?
Now I am at a loss of what to do now.  Any ideas?  Below is a list of all of the errors when loading Victor 8 as well as a snapshot of my Content Directory settings.

2020-09-24 17:50:07.383 *** Scene Cleared ***
2020-09-24 17:50:07.938 WARNING: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(6681): Could not find target property for formula: Genesis8Female:/data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Expressions/eCTRLWink_HD.dsf#eCTRLWink?value in file : /data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Victoria%208/eJCMVictoria8Wink_HDLv2.dsf
2020-09-24 17:50:07.938 WARNING: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(6681): Could not find target property for formula: Genesis8Female:/data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Expressions/eCTRLScream_HD.dsf#eCTRLScream?value in file : /data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Victoria%208/eJCMVictoria8Scream_HDLv2.dsf
2020-09-24 17:50:07.938 WARNING: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(6681): Could not find target property for formula: Genesis8Female:/data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Expressions/eCTRLRage_HD.dsf#eCTRLRage?value in file : /data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Victoria%208/eJCMVictoria8Rage_HDLv2.dsf
2020-09-24 17:50:07.938 WARNING: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(6681): Could not find target property for formula: Genesis8Female:/data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Expressions/eCTRLPain_HD.dsf#eCTRLPain?value in file : /data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Victoria%208/eJCMVictoria8Pain_HDLv2.dsf
2020-09-24 17:50:07.939 WARNING: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(6615): Could not find output property for formula: Genesis8Female:/data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Expressions/eJCMPain_HD_div2.dsf#eJCMPain_HD_div2?value in file : /data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Victoria%208/eJCMVictoria8Pain_HDLv2.dsf
2020-09-24 17:50:07.939 WARNING: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(6681): Could not find target property for formula: Genesis8Female:/data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Expressions/eCTRLHappy_HD.dsf#eCTRLHappy?value in file : /data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Victoria%208/eJCMVictoria8Happy_HDLv2.dsf
2020-09-24 17:50:07.940 WARNING: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(6615): Could not find output property for formula: Genesis8Female:/data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Expressions/eJCMHappy_HD_div2.dsf#eJCMHappy_HD_div2?value in file : /data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Victoria%208/eJCMVictoria8Happy_HDLv2.dsf
2020-09-24 17:50:07.940 WARNING: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(6681): Could not find target property for formula: Genesis8Female:/data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Expressions/eCTRLFear_HD.dsf#eCTRLFear?value in file : /data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Victoria%208/eJCMVictoria8Fear_HDLv2.dsf
2020-09-24 17:50:07.940 WARNING: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(6615): Could not find output property for formula: Genesis8Female:/data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Expressions/eJCMFear_HD_div2.dsf#eJCMFear_HD_div2?value in file : /data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Victoria%208/eJCMVictoria8Fear_HDLv2.dsf
2020-09-24 17:50:07.940 WARNING: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(6681): Could not find target property for formula: Genesis8Female:/data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Head/PHMEyelidsSmooth.dsf#PHMEyelidsSmooth?value in file : /data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Victoria%208/eJCMVictoria8EyelidsSmooth.dsf
2020-09-24 17:50:07.941 WARNING: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(6681): Could not find target property for formula: Genesis8Female:/data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Head/PHMEarlobesAttached.dsf#PHMEarlobesAttached?value in file : /data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Victoria%208/eJCMVictoria8EarlobesAttached.dsf
2020-09-24 17:50:07.941 WARNING: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(6681): Could not find target property for formula: Genesis8Female:/data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Body/PBMBreastsSmall.dsf#PBMBreastsSmall?value in file : /data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Victoria%208/eJCMVictoria8BreastsSmall.dsf
2020-09-24 17:50:07.941 WARNING: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(6681): Could not find target property for formula: Genesis8Female:/data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Body/PBMBreastsGone.dsf#PBMBreastsGone?value in file : /data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Victoria%208/eJCMVictoria8BreastsGone.dsf
2020-09-24 17:50:07.942 WARNING: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(6681): Could not find target property for formula: Genesis8Female:/data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Expressions/eCTRLExcitement_HD.dsf#eCTRLExcitement?value in file : /data/DAZ%203D/Genesis%208/Female/Morphs/DAZ%203D/Victoria%208/eCTRLVictoria8Excitement_HD.dsf
2020-09-24 17:50:08.092 Begin Loading Character Addons...

I just made a restore head pose to remove expressions. It sort of depends on how it is made. 

 There is also Ultimate Zero, which has the ability to restore lots of things back to default... .Although you may find some unpleasant suprirses. Such as I found someones's character imbedded in one of mine, even though I had none of his elements dialed in. werid.

I haven't asked for a refund for Ultimate Zero, because it can be useful for some stuff, but I wouldn't suggest it for that purpose: it's slower than "restore default pose" and, at least in my tests, it leaves the expressions sliders on.

FYI, it zeroes the expression sliders if you have "Zero Properties" checked.

If you try that freebie I've linked (that sadly doesn't work on expressions), it's instantaneous!
Restore default pose, on the other hand, is crazy slow on big libraries.

Now, that's VERY useful, thank you RiverSoftArt! :D

Yes, like this is fast, and that's what I hoped to achieve in the first place!

It could be faster in the script loading phase, but it's probably faster than manually zeroing the sliders in the end.

 

It's been almost 3 years since I started using Daz Studio, and almost 2 years since my first purchase on the Daz Store.
During this time, I've spent maybe too much money there, sometimes with smart purchases, sometimes with dumb ones.
I've checked every single product of the last years, and I check the new releases every day.

So, I thought it would have bee nice, both for new and for older users, to write this guide.
I hope it'll help you to spend your money in a wiser way, to see a real improvement in your workflow and in the quality of your art.

If you're just starting to use Daz, my suggestion is to check freebies all around the web: you can learn with those, then choose if you'd like to make more with Daz!

This guide is about Iray, Genesis 8 and static renders, because that's what I've done thousands of times, while there surely are better users than me to talk about previous generations, 3Delight and animations.
Furthermore, I use Daz Studio to create stories set in a contemporary setting: that explains my focus on workflow and reusability of assets. I think that people interested in making a few artistic renders every once in a while may have a different opinion about some parts of the guide.

It's hard to write such a long guide, and I've tried to keep it organized.
Sometimes I've stated my opinion as facts, and that was to not repeat every time that everything I've said is subjective and based on my personal experience.

I've written a brief description of most products, because this is not a list of things to buy: read the description, and choose for yourself what you need and what you don't!

I hope you'll find this guide useful, and feel free to contribute in the comments if you think there are some great products I haven't listed here!
I care about your feedback and opinion, and I've already changed some parts of the guide based on that.

INDEX

• General Tips
  • Daz Deals
  • Gift Cards
  • Platinum Club
  • Store Sales
• What Would I Avoid?
  • Too Many Figures And Morph Packages
  • Textures
  • Too Heavy Products
  • Bundles
• What Would I Buy?
  • Utilities
  • Shader Presets
  • Figures
  • Morphs
  • Expressions
  • Poses
  • Environments
  • HDRIs
  • Lights
  • Hair
  • Wardrobe
  • Accessories
  • Props

GENERAL TIPS

Daz Deals

If you're interested in spending money on the Daz Store, the first thing you should do is to install the Daz Deals browser extension.

It will allow you to see if the current price is a good one (like Keepa or CamelCamelCamel for Amazon), and you can even set email notifications to be alerted when a specific product has reached the price you wanted, or when it's at his 1/3/6/12-months best price.
Keep in mind, that the price you could have reached special sales is not shown there. Indeed, to see those prices, you have to put some specific products in your cart at the same time.

And one of its most useful features is that you can filter the store by wishlisted items, or by PC coupons.

You can also receive mails for flash sales (Daz doesn't send them).
Furthermore, you'll be notified about daily Daz sales hours before Daz will do it. To me, that means I can check new releases when I wake up, instead of maybe losing sight of them throughout the day.

Plus, with Daz Deals you'll find, on every product page, links to gallery renders that have used it, and to forum threads where it has been mentioned. That will help you to clarify what the promos and description are not specifying.

It's free, so there's no reason not to install it!

Gift Cards

When I see a 10-20% gift card sale, I always buy some store credit, even if I'm not going to purchase anything in the near future.
This allows me to combine that discount with other sales.
Sometimes you'll be even able to purchase gift cards at a 30% discount: that's when you really want to stack up store credit.

Gift card sales often need a new release in the cart.
To find the best item, just search for "new" in the store, and it'll show you every product considered new.
Then, you can filter it by wishlisted items, or just find one that you like. If they cost too much, just grab a 2$ texture set, and it'll probably be worth it thanks to the store credit discount.

Platinum Club

If you regularly purchase products from the Daz Store, this is the best purchase you can make.

Every month, you'll get

• 6$ coupon to use on many products
• 6$ coupon to use on even more products, but only if you're spending at least 18$
• Freebies. Sometimes they're great (like an electronic store), other times it's stuff you don't have a use for. But it's always free stuff.
• A lot of relevant discounts on most products in the store.
• Often, there are specific sales for PC+ members.

Now that you want to join the PC club, what membership should you aim for?

The 3-months one makes little sense, unless you just want to try it out, because it's 8$/month, while the annual membership is 5.8$/month.

On top of that, there are sales when you can purchase the memberships with a 30-50% discount.
They're more frequent for people who don't currently have the PC+ membership, but sometimes (maybe every 6 months) there are also flash sales for already members.

In the best-case scenario (50% discount on the annual PC+ membership, 30% gift card), that means you can get 12$ worth of coupons, freebies and a ton of sales and discounts for 2.04$/month.

Store Sales

Chance is you probably need a specific plugin ASAP, but you can wait to get that new hair.

Daz marketing stuff is seriously great: every day a new sale is on, with wonderful graphics etc.
But most of the sales are just not good in practice.

If you can wait, it's best to wait for huge Store Sales, which usually happen 2/3 times per year.
On those occasions, the whole store can go on sale.
Some premium products won't be discounted by more than 50% in a small window of time, but that's still better than full price.
Other products, like i13's huge library, often reach something like 90-95% discount.

Be aware when you spot a great gift card sale: a store sale is probably coming.

WHAT WOULD I AVOID?

Too Many Figures And Morph Packages

Something I've recently discovered is that, with Genesis 8, the more morphs you have installed in your library, the longer loading and clearing times will be.
It doesn't matter if you're not using them on a specific figure: it will take longer both to load it, and close Daz Studio (very important fact, now that we need a script to open more than a single instance)/clear the scene afterward.

It's very sad to say, but I'm currently not using 2/3 of the figures and of the morph packages I had bought.
And I'd uninstall even more of them, if I hadn't already used them in story characters I still need.

So, avoid figures who look very alike, and absolutely avoid morph packages you're not planning on using.

Textures

There are a lot of awesome texture packages around, but the chance is, you can apply shaders yourself for a fraction of the price.
Furthermore, you can use shaders everywhere, but you can only apply textures to the relative products. And you don't even see them, unless you're in Smart Content->Files. And trust me, as your library gets bigger, you'll forget about most products you have in it.

Please note, this is a controversial thesis: some people have different opinions about textures for specific products, and they have expressed them in the comments.

Too Heavy Products

I'm a huge fan of SSDs, and I don't have a single HDD installed in my build. I've discussed this choice in other threads, and since this one is already going to be pretty long, I'm not going to discuss it further.

The problem is that SSDs cost a lot. Especially if you have your Daz library installed on an NVME one, like I do.

So, I have to think about storage space too.

In particular, this is one more reason why I'm not fond of texture packages.
And I'm not fond of dForce hair too, in general: they look great in the final renders, but sometimes they make my whole interface sluggish, they are not viewable in the Texture Shaded viewport, and, first of all, they sometimes can occupy more than 1GB of storage.

Bundles

Almost every day there's a new bundle, both in its "Pro" and "Basic" version.
Honestly, since most products in those bundles are not useful to me, there was never a time when I've thought "this is a good purchase".
Plus, if you have already purchased a few products from that bundle, you'll still have to pay for the whole thing, differently to how bundles work on other platforms like Steam.

The only bundles I've purchased are those for charity, and one with a male and one with a female figure, because it's the only way to receive the relative Anatomical Elements.
I've also purchased bundles that contained all products I needed, and I've regretted doing otherwise when, for example, I've purchased separately the male and female versions of the same addon: it would have been wiser to save for the relative bundle in that case.

So, in the end, just wishlist the specific products you'd use, and don't let that majestic marketing techniques go to your mind.
For example, you need some specific figures to use other figures in the store.
The most important ones are Victoria, for females, and Michael, for Males.

Please note, this is a controversial thesis: some people love to purchase pro/basic bundles.

Thank you very much for the effort and explanations, I agree with most of it.

I am using Daz since 2015, and these are some things I would add as useful (i.e. I use them a lot):

Bone doctor for converting poses

https://www.daz3d.com/bone-doctor-pose-control

My favorite G8 female character

https://www.daz3d.com/ly-zara-hd-for-genesis-8-female

My favorite G8 male character

https://www.daz3d.com/dylan-for-michael-8

My favorite jungle

https://www.daz3d.com/jungle-construction-kit

My favorite HDRI

https://www.daz3d.com/dry-mud-desert-iray-and-add-ons

You're welcome @alienarea! :D

I've wishlisted the HDRI!

Look back a couple of posts and you'll see it, my screen-cap.  The only difference between success and fail is loading Victoria in two steps instead of one, so it's a small workaround.  I have a few other G8F characters so I'll give them a test, but I haven't noticed problems there yet.  I haven't tried V8-HD yet either, come to think of it.

That's weird. Definitely shouldn't happen. Open a Support Ticket about it, and see what they can do for you. (Click on "Help" at the top of this page.) There should be no difference with V8-HD, it's just another more detailed character shape laid on top of the V8 shape.

Have you tried uninstalling/reinstalling V8? (Don't uninstall/reinstall everything, there's no need.) If there's a glitch in your installed V8 files, that might clear it up. This won't affect your Genesis figures or any other installed characters.

My experience base is Poser, where character morphs aren't available on my figures until I inject 'em.  But in D|S I'll place a G8F, look at her parameters, and there I see face and body morph sliders for every G8F character in my content tree... and they're active.  Is that normal?  Doesn't it eat memory?  Will I need to start applying REM poses?  

It isn't a Poser/DAZ|Studio thing, it's a Unimesh/Genesis thing (DAZ figures before the first generation of Genesis were made from a single figure called Unimesh). Genesis doesn't use INJ/REM poses, all the morph channels for every character you have installed will be present in the Genesis figure when you load it into the scene. And it doesn't take up too much system resources; only the morph channels are included, the morph data (which is much bigger than the channel data) will not be loaded until you give that morph a non-zero value.

It's fun experimenting with them now I admit, but as my runtimes grow that slider pane's gonna get packed.

Yes, it does. I only have a few characters each for less than half of the main <name>8 base characters, and my scroll-wheel finger gets a lot of exercise. 

What are you seeing?

Look back a couple of posts and you'll see it, my screen-cap.  The only difference between success and fail is loading Victoria in two steps instead of one, so it's a small workaround.  I have a few other G8F characters so I'll give them a test, but I haven't noticed problems there yet.  I haven't tried V8-HD yet either, come to think of it.

My experience base is Poser, where character morphs aren't available on my figures until I inject 'em.  But in D|S I'll place a G8F, look at her parameters, and there I see face and body morph sliders for every G8F character in my content tree... and they're active.  Is that normal?  Doesn't it eat memory?  Will I need to start applying REM poses?  It's fun experimenting with them now I admit, but as my runtimes grow that slider pane's gonna get packed.  I'm just glad all the material presets don't pile up that way.

Whatever you can tell me, I appreciate it.  Thanks for reading.

Hallelujah!
Disciple

It's been almost 3 years since I started using Daz Studio, and almost 2 years since my first purchase on the Daz Store.
During this time, I've spent maybe too much money there, sometimes with smart purchases, sometimes with dumb ones.
I've checked every single product of the last years, and I check the new releases every day.

So, I thought it would have bee nice, both for new and for older users, to write this guide.
I hope it'll help you to spend your money in a wiser way, to see a real improvement in your workflow and in the quality of your art.

If you're just starting to use Daz, my suggestion is to check freebies all around the web: you can learn with those, then choose if you'd like to make more with Daz!

This guide is about Iray, Genesis 8 and static renders, because that's what I've done thousands of times, while there surely are better users than me to talk about previous generations, 3Delight and animations.
Furthermore, I use Daz Studio to create stories set in a contemporary setting: that explains my focus on workflow and reusability of assets. I think that people interested in making a few artistic renders every once in a while may have a different opinion about some parts of the guide.

It's hard to write such a long guide, and I've tried to keep it organized.
Sometimes I've stated my opinion as facts, and that was to not repeat every time that everything I've said is subjective and based on my personal experience.

I've written a brief description of most products, because this is not a list of things to buy: read the description, and choose for yourself what you need and what you don't!

I hope you'll find this guide useful, and feel free to contribute in the comments if you think there are some great products I haven't listed here!
I care about your feedback and opinion, and I've already changed some parts of the guide based on that.

INDEX

• General Tips
  • Daz Deals
  • Gift Cards
  • Platinum Club
  • Store Sales
• What Would I Avoid?
  • Too Many Figures And Morph Packages
  • Textures
  • Too Heavy Products
  • Bundles
• What Would I Buy?
  • Utilities
  • Shader Presets
  • Figures
  • Morphs
  • Expressions
  • Poses
  • Environments
  • HDRIs
  • Lights
  • Hair
  • Wardrobe
  • Accessories
  • Props

GENERAL TIPS

Daz Deals

If you're interested in spending money on the Daz Store, the first thing you should do is to install the Daz Deals browser extension.

It will allow you to see if the current price is a good one (like Keepa or CamelCamelCamel for Amazon), and you can even set email notifications to be alerted when a specific product has reached the price you wanted, or when it's at his 1/3/6/12-months best price.
Keep in mind, that the price you could have reached special sales is not shown there. Indeed, to see those prices, you have to put some specific products in your cart at the same time.

And one of its most useful features is that you can filter the store by wishlisted items, or by PC coupons.

You can also receive mails for flash sales (Daz doesn't send them).
Furthermore, you'll be notified about daily Daz sales hours before Daz will do it. To me, that means I can check new releases when I wake up, instead of maybe losing sight of them throughout the day.

Plus, with Daz Deals you'll find, on every product page, links to gallery renders that have used it, and to forum threads where it has been mentioned. That will help you to clarify what the promos and description are not specifying.

It's free, so there's no reason not to install it!

Gift Cards

When I see a 10-20% gift card sale, I always buy some store credit, even if I'm not going to purchase anything in the near future.
This allows me to combine that discount with other sales.
Sometimes you'll be even able to purchase gift cards at a 30% discount: that's when you really want to stack up store credit.

Gift card sales often need a new release in the cart.
To find the best item, just search for "new" in the store, and it'll show you every product considered new.
Then, you can filter it by wishlisted items, or just find one that you like. If they cost too much, just grab a 2$ texture set, and it'll probably be worth it thanks to the store credit discount.

Platinum Club

If you regularly purchase products from the Daz Store, this is the best purchase you can make.

Every month, you'll get

• 6$ coupon to use on many products
• 6$ coupon to use on even more products, but only if you're spending at least 18$
• Freebies. Sometimes they're great (like an electronic store), other times it's stuff you don't have a use for. But it's always free stuff.
• A lot of relevant discounts on most products in the store.
• Often, there are specific sales for PC+ members.

Now that you want to join the PC club, what membership should you aim for?

The 3-months one makes little sense, unless you just want to try it out, because it's 8$/month, while the annual membership is 5.8$/month.

On top of that, there are sales when you can purchase the memberships with a 30-50% discount.
They're more frequent for people who don't currently have the PC+ membership, but sometimes (maybe every 6 months) there are also flash sales for already members.

In the best-case scenario (50% discount on the annual PC+ membership, 30% gift card), that means you can get 12$ worth of coupons, freebies and a ton of sales and discounts for 2.04$/month.

Store Sales

Chance is you probably need a specific plugin ASAP, but you can wait to get that new hair.

Daz marketing stuff is seriously great: every day a new sale is on, with wonderful graphics etc.
But most of the sales are just not good in practice.

If you can wait, it's best to wait for huge Store Sales, which usually happen 2/3 times per year.
On those occasions, the whole store can go on sale.
Some premium products won't be discounted by more than 50% in a small window of time, but that's still better than full price.
Other products, like i13's huge library, often reach something like 90-95% discount.

Be aware when you spot a great gift card sale: a store sale is probably coming.

WHAT WOULD I AVOID?

Too Many Figures And Morph Packages

Something I've recently discovered is that, with Genesis 8, the more morphs you have installed in your library, the longer loading and clearing times will be.
It doesn't matter if you're not using them on a specific figure: it will take longer both to load it, and close Daz Studio (very important fact, now that we need a script to open more than a single instance)/clear the scene afterward.

It's very sad to say, but I'm currently not using 2/3 of the figures and of the morph packages I had bought.
And I'd uninstall even more of them, if I hadn't already used them in story characters I still need.

So, avoid figures who look very alike, and absolutely avoid morph packages you're not planning on using.

Textures

There are a lot of awesome texture packages around, but the chance is, you can apply shaders yourself for a fraction of the price.
Furthermore, you can use shaders everywhere, but you can only apply textures to the relative products. And you don't even see them, unless you're in Smart Content->Files. And trust me, as your library gets bigger, you'll forget about most products you have in it.

Please note, this is a controversial thesis: some people have different opinions about textures for specific products, and they have expressed them in the comments.

Too Heavy Products

I'm a huge fan of SSDs, and I don't have a single HDD installed in my build. I've discussed this choice in other threads, and since this one is already going to be pretty long, I'm not going to discuss it further.

The problem is that SSDs cost a lot. Especially if you have your Daz library installed on an NVME one, like I do.

So, I have to think about storage space too.

In particular, this is one more reason why I'm not fond of texture packages.
And I'm not fond of dForce hair too, in general: they look great in the final renders, but sometimes they make my whole interface sluggish, they are not viewable in the Texture Shaded viewport, and, first of all, they sometimes can occupy more than 1GB of storage.

Bundles

Almost every day there's a new bundle, both in its "Pro" and "Basic" version.
Honestly, since most products in those bundles are not useful to me, there was never a time when I've thought "this is a good purchase".
Plus, if you have already purchased a few products from that bundle, you'll still have to pay for the whole thing, differently to how bundles work on other platforms like Steam.

The only bundles I've purchased are those for charity, and one with a male and one with a female figure, because it's the only way to receive the relative Anatomical Elements.
I've also purchased bundles that contained all products I needed, and I've regretted doing otherwise when, for example, I've purchased separately the male and female versions of the same addon: it would have been wiser to save for the relative bundle in that case.

So, in the end, just wishlist the specific products you'd use, and don't let that majestic marketing techniques go to your mind.
For example, you need some specific figures to use other figures in the store.
The most important ones are Victoria, for females, and Michael, for Males.

Please note, this is a controversial thesis: some people love to purchase pro/basic bundles.

Thank you very much for the effort and explanations, I agree with most of it.

I am using Daz since 2015, and these are some things I would add as useful (i.e. I use them a lot):

Bone doctor for converting poses

https://www.daz3d.com/bone-doctor-pose-control

My favorite G8 female character

https://www.daz3d.com/ly-zara-hd-for-genesis-8-female

My favorite G8 male character

https://www.daz3d.com/dylan-for-michael-8

My favorite jungle

https://www.daz3d.com/jungle-construction-kit

My favorite HDRI

https://www.daz3d.com/dry-mud-desert-iray-and-add-ons

Question- when I add a Victoria 8 to my scenes, she arrives without functional ear bones or face rigs, but if I add Genesis 8 female, she has 'em.  Then I can impose the Victoria 8 character and have her correctly rigged.  That doesn't happen with Michael 8.  Is that how it works for other customers?

That... shouldn't be happening. Remember Victoria 8 isn't a different figure, it's just the Genesis 8 Female figure with the V8 character morph and textures auto-applied.

Here's what I get when I load V8; note the highlighted body parts in the Scene pane on the left. What are you seeing?

Yeah, Product Library now has the order and date :)

It's a start! lol

Now they just need to put back product information.

To be honest, I'd be okay with just a link to the product page for active products, and full information for those no longer in the store. (And while they're at it, a way to see the promo images of products that are no longer available, too.)

I'd vote for that too! (I have quite a lot of "discontinued" stuff from way back)

Same here

I just looked at mine and it only goes back to 2001 none of my purchases prior to that are there.

That could be because maybe DAZ was still just Zygote at the time as we're talking pre-Victoria ( Poser 3 and 4 Posette & Dork (aka poser male) )