I haven't yet been able to try the Dforce utilities yet. Real life situations in the way right now (my Dad had a stroke in July so I been back at my parents home in my childhood bedroom with no access to my desktop) but it looks so exciting.  I know it's a lot to ask but if anyone has these items below, I'd love to know how well they work.

https://www.daz3d.com/elven-dress-for-genesis

https://www.daz3d.com/dragonkeeper-outfit-for-v4

https://www.daz3d.com/dragon-queen-for-genesis-female

https://www.daz3d.com/dragon-princess

https://www.daz3d.com/priestess-for-genesis-female

https://www.daz3d.com/sensibility-for-genesis-2-females

https://www.daz3d.com/victoria-iven-for-genesis-3-females

https://www.daz3d.com/vintage-rose-for-genesis-3-females

https://www.daz3d.com/winter-fantasy-for-genesis-2-females

https://www.daz3d.com/the-glacierqueen-outfit-for-victoria-4

So excited when I saw Damien Pro Bundle went down to $15.74 in my cart! Hit that buy button pretty fast! Then I realized Tara 2 HD for Victoria 7 & Victoria 8 was also madly discounted ($5.63!), so I got her quick as well! So happy with the sale so far, though my wallet is much lighter now XD.

Your links go to the EULA.

Hi all
We are still working on fits for the overskirt and sleeves, And will get those done asap.

Princess of darkness fix will be going up soon. It was a matter of fixing the material names.

Will let you know when the overskirt and sleeves are fixed, (yes the whole set is being looked at and will be fixed completely before the next update) We are also checking the Moxie, Faye and Young Lyra morphs but please understand that the mfd is meant to support the DAZ original morphs (now Victoria 8, Olympia 8 and so on current to today) so there may be adjustments needed for other specialized morphs like those.

Jen

So excited when I saw Damien Pro Bundle went down to $15.74 in my cart! Hit that buy button pretty fast! Then I realized Tara 2 HD for Victoria 7 & Victoria 8 was also madly discounted ($5.63!), so I got her quick as well! So happy with the sale so far, though my wallet is much lighter now XD.

Update: Corrected the links! I did just copied them from the product library, apologies!

Hi Mat :)

the process of attaching rigging to a mesh in every program i've used,. creates an "area of influence" (for the mesh defomation) ,.around the bones,. automagically..

if the user then want's to re-define, or adjust those weights,.(by manually weight painting) ... that is optional..

Carrara does a pretty decent job of creating the mesh weights based on the bones. but those can be adjusted or changed easily (using Bone influence slider controls,.. or painting by hand) in the weightpainting area.

As for an established system,. 

Ideally,. you'd make the mesh for your figure,. then add bones to allow deformation of the mesh,. then attach those bones to the mesh.

whether you do the bones in Carrara, Poser, or even daz studio would depend on the intended use for that model,. EG: personal use, limited use EG: a single animation project

, for commercial profit, (mass retail) etc

In carrara,. you could simply make a mesh,. export it as an OBJ,. and use Poser or Daz Studio to "Transfer" the rigging from an existing figure (eg Victoria/Michael/Genesis) onto your imported OBJ mesh from carrara.  ...this is ideal for creating clothing "figures" for Genesis etc..

(note) this will automagicallly create weights for your mesh based on the bones.

In Daz Studio,. there's a function called "Transfer Utility" under Assets,. which allows the user to select a "Source" figure, and "Target" mesh, and auto transfers the rigging and creates weights from that rigging to fit the mesh.

Hope it helps :)

Considering this sale https://www.daz3d.com/edwardian-victorian-items ; what would be appropriate for Missy?

I'd put her in https://www.daz3d.com/victoria-iven-for-genesis-3-females (possibly with one of the addon textures) with the parasol from this: https://www.daz3d.com/edwardian-accessories-for-genesis-3-females (comes in open and closed varieties).

Or maybe:

https://www.daz3d.com/edwardian-suit-for-genesis-2-females with https://www.daz3d.com/lady-mary textures

He looks great indeed.

Would you like to share your tweek/setting changes?

Sure, let me see if I can package it up and send you the link. :) Send me a PM as a nudge if you don't hear back from me in a day or so (I can get forgetful). 

I'd like the link, too, please? Your results are the only thing that will keep Lucas from being returned for me.

Will do! :) I'll send you the link as well.

Thanks to you! Now, what if you did fix-up shader settings for the G8F/M's and sold them as Divamakeup New Looks for Genesis 8 Core?

That would be cool! :)  I'm not sure Daz would go for it though. lol

Of course they would. I remember a product for Victoria 7 (that I cannot presently locate) that offered new settings for her. Judging from this forum alone, people really need options for Genesis 8 that make them compatible with Genesis 3 in the same render. Right now, I can either light for Genesis 8 Core skins or for Genesis 3, but the same lights rarely work for both.

You will have to find the characters that have individual make up parts - lips, eye make up, etc.  There are more than you might think, but a lot of the earlier stuff, like Richard said, are a whole new face, this is usually found most often in V4 and Genesis.  Of course, you could just transfer the whole skin over for the make up you want to use- I.e move Elizabeth's skin to Victoria if you really want to use the make up

Hi there, I've recently gotten into Daz Studio and have just had fun creating scenes and poses and I had a question regarding positioning clothing for example if a character is removing clothing. With the Victoria 7 Pro Bundle as far as I've seen the clothing involved just fits onto the character and cannot be manipulated so I was wondering how do you know which types of clothing can be manipulated/morphed or can all clothing do it and I'm just doing it wrong?

This is more of a curious observation.  I love V4 and still use her (as well as V3 and others).  But why is there an influx of V4 stuff being sold all of a sudden?
I've always been a fan of Liquid Rust and Surreality, but in the current V8 landscape, I find it wonderfully interesting that these vendors still find love for V4.

I am looking at several products that are finally on sale, and realise that I am not sure whether 1. they do what I think they do and, ultimatly, which one - or ones - i need to accomplish my goal. I'd really appriciate the insights!

Goal: An Easy way to make not-originally-iray stuff render more photorealistically.  Specifically, since joining less than a month ago, I find myself playing mostly with pre-iray products: M6, V6, Daz 2 horse, Daz 2 Cats, Daz 3 dragons, clothing built for genesis and gen 2.  The following products, all finally on sale today, seem to all claim "Click me, and I will make your stuff look good in iray. No experience required".  the only difference is that the first product seems to work for "everything" while the next three are specific "skin", "dragon" and "horse".

Below are the products I'm looking at, along with MY understanding of what these products do. Can you tell me if my understanding is correct what product or products you think would accomplish my goal?

1) https://www.daz3d.com/n-g-s-anagenessis-2-revolution - This looks like a magic perfect for everything solution.  Appears to be a "catch all" that does a descent job on everything from skin to fabric to animals on any genesis figure. So it looks to me like the perfect easy and most universal solution. Too good to be true?

2) https://www.daz3d.com/ig-iray-essentials-dragon-3 ; - I think this makes my dragons look good with one click but works only on dragons. I'm unclear as to whether this is the same as NGS but only for dragons.

3) https://www.daz3d.com/ig-iray-essentials-victoria-6-michael-6 - I think this makes V6 and M6  look good with one click but works only those figures and is thus not very helpful since I use Stephanie 6 a lot.

4) https://www.daz3d.com/iray-smart-converter-and-advanced-skin-managers-for-genesis-2 - I think this makes all Gen 2 humans look good, but is more complex to use. Not sure how it overlaps with NGS

I upgraded to Daz 4.10, and autofit on loading of a clothing item is crashing DS continually during the import of old items through the API.  See image, and log below.

In the dialog it gets to the point where it reads "Normalizing Weight maps" and dies.

It all seems to work fine, if I cancel out of Autofit, and then autofit after the object loads, but as we all know, if you have the figure selected, it will try, and a crash destroying the work I was doing is a real pain!

I would love to provide more info, if anyone needs it.  Reproducible on almost any item I have.  Posting here in case anyone is seeing similar, or if anyone has ideas?

Also, is there a way to disable the autofit trying to automatically auto-fit on load?

2017-10-30 09:33:37.045 Compiled C:/Users/Matt/AppData/Roaming/DAZ 3D/Studio4/temp/shaders/brickyard/{155157f5-1e43-45fc-8f03-8fb14ffd594a}/shader_Surface.sdl...
2017-10-30 09:33:46.122 *** Scene Cleared ***
2017-10-30 09:34:12.369 File loaded in 0 min 26.4 sec.
2017-10-30 09:34:12.369 Loaded file: Genesis 2 Base Female.duf
2017-10-30 09:34:16.207 Loaded image V5BreeTorsoM.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:16.524 Loaded image V5BreeInMouthM.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:16.946 Loaded image V5BreeLimbsM.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:17.024 Loaded image V5BreeEyesM.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:17.609 Loaded image V5BreeHeadM.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:17.692 Loaded image V5BreeLashes1.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:19.521 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeLimbsSS.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:22.592 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeLimbsTL.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:26.319 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeLimbsM.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:26.665 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeLimbsB.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:26.944 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeLimbsS.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:28.140 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeHeadSS.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:31.923 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeHeadTL.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:32.284 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeHeadM.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:34.291 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeHeadB.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:35.439 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeEyesB.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:35.875 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeEyesM.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:36.981 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeHeadS.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:37.670 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeInMouthM.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:38.075 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeInMouthB.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:39.508 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeTorsoSS.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:43.382 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeTorsoTL.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:45.151 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeTorsoB.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:45.214 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeTorsoM.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:45.493 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeLashes1.jpg
2017-10-30 09:34:46.598 Ran tdlmake on image F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/Runtime/textures/DAZ/Characters/Genesis2/BaseFemale/V5BreeTorsoS.jpg
2017-10-30 09:40:48.662 Loading script: F:/Hobbies/Daz/Studio/content/People/Victoria 4/Clothing/Fantasy/!S37 Fighting Fae/Fae Chest Armor_ptr.dsa
2017-10-30 09:40:48.677 Importing File...
2017-10-30 09:40:48.677 Importing Fae Chest Armor.cr2 ...
2017-10-30 09:40:48.958 Reading ChestArmor.obj
2017-10-30 09:41:04.876 WARNING: elements\joints\dzlegacyjointrotator.cpp(39): NULL driver for joint parameters in DzLegacyJointRotator::DzLegacyJointRotator()
2017-10-30 09:41:07.816 Loaded Morph Deltas in 0 min 0.2 sec.
2017-10-30 09:41:07.816 Loaded file: CloneVictoria4.dsf
2017-10-30 09:41:09.218 Loaded Morph Deltas in 0 min 0.0 sec.
2017-10-30 09:41:09.218 Loaded file: FBMExpandAll.dsf

I hope they don't ruin her shader settings like they've done with Victoria, Olympia, & Stephanie.

I wonder... could all these problems stem from the new surfaces parameters that are being used on the new Genesis8 skins? Is there a difference between using Gen8 and pre-Gen8 skins with the same lighting setup? I know lighting is more important than it was for Iray rendering; could it be differently important when the new parameters are used?

There's no need to chnage the material settings to apply the dForce properties to a surface, as far as I am aaware theya re entirely separate. The change in Genesis 8 is the addition of Dual Lobe and Diffuse overlay properties to the Iray Uber base shader, though those can be used in principle on older figures.

I think the complaints are about the lighting neutral skin shader defaults compared to G3.

@luci45 - Who, me? I can quit anytime, honest! What a great job on Ken - and I'm awed by your ability to smoothly meld such different environments.

@Gopherus - Love it! Totally punny... I completely missed the "getting soaked" last night, but ha! It made me laugh out loud this morning.

I fell asleep while this was rendering last night and missed the conteste deadline, but wanted to share it anyway in the spirit of the season... (and I may just keep on doing random renders as a practice thing, just like I use random word generators to kickstart my poetry brain... who, me, addicted? Nahhhh...)

Tag: NOT AN ENTRY

Title: The Perfect Halloween Costume - 1994

"It's a very creative costume, baby. I'm pretty sure you'll be the only cowboy ballerina skater army sergeant clown at the party."

Used:

Classical Dance Poses for Genesis 3 Female(s)
Army Uniform for Genesis 2 Female(s)
Skateboarder for The Kids 4
Oleander Hair for Genesis 3 Female(s)

Also used:

• Josi for Kids 4
• Sweetheart for Kids 4
• Cowpokes for Kids 4
• Sally Mae Hair
• Halina x2
• Ultramodern Beach House
• Victoria 7
• Wilmap's Ballet Outfit for G2F
• Aaron for Young Teen Justin

I hope they don't ruin her shader settings like they've done with Victoria, Olympia, & Stephanie.

I wonder... could all these problems stem from the new surfaces parameters that are being used on the new Genesis8 skins? Is there a difference between using Gen8 and pre-Gen8 skins with the same lighting setup? I know lighting is more important than it was for Iray rendering; could it be differently important when the new parameters are used?

There's no need to chnage the material settings to apply the dForce properties to a surface, as far as I am aaware theya re entirely separate. The change in Genesis 8 is the addition of Dual Lobe and Diffuse overlay properties to the Iray Uber base shader, though those can be used in principle on older figures.

tag: luci45 #10
Ken Returns to Wisconsin
The lone cash-only place in town and it looks a bit suspect. Wait, is that Victoria? What's she doing in a place like this? 

Army General Uniform
Hotel Reception
Pure Hair: Crazy for Genesis
The Clock Collection
Beach Cafe Interior Furniture (LB)
Street Mage Textures (LB)
City Courtyard (LB) 
Streets Of The Mediterranean (LB) 

Also used:
Riccardo Hair
On Way Ticket jacket and scarf
Spex
Various morphs
Citizen X
Travel Baggage
George texture
Noctem Sanguinis for Arabella 7

That's a spot on Ken!!! Well done Luci!!

I know that I've had to drastically change my iray lighting when using the 8 line with the 8 skins. Using G3 skins on the 8 figures, no problems. But use the G8 skins.....hoooo boy. It's no secret that Olympia 7 is my all time favourite G3 character, with Monique 7 coming an extremely close second. I was devastated when I bought Olympia 8 to see her skin - I have one iray light setup that stops the orange of her skin. Just one. I am REALLY worried about Monique 8 - while her morphs will work well in my library, I am pretty much biting my nails in anxiety over what her skin will be like. And her eyes. Honestly, I am not happy at all with the G8 skins. The figures/morphs, they are fine. But the skins.......ugh. Half of me is THRILLED to see Monique 8 coming out shortly - the other half is curled up in a ball, sucking my thumb in terror at what she will look like.  

I hope they don't ruin her shader settings like they've done with Victoria, Olympia, & Stephanie.

I wonder... could all these problems stem from the new surfaces parameters that are being used on the new Genesis8 skins? Is there a difference between using Gen8 and pre-Gen8 skins with the same lighting setup? I know lighting is more important than it was for Iray rendering; could it be differently important when the new parameters are used?

sorry about that... i was running out the door and thought i was on the entry thread

thanks ken for your comments… a massive undertaking!
@diomede #1  LOL!  the attack of the faeries!  almost like march of the toy soldiers.  good one!
@chameo #7  the movie posters are superb!  can t wait to catch them at the bargain theater.  nicely done!
#8  that s all the couple needs… a grandmother looking over their shoulders at their passionate moment and making comments… good one.
@ken #6  well done!  reminds me of the test for becoming a man in black… who is out of place in this scene… the dead on his feet zombie who just wants to get home after a night on the town or the perky co ed?
@luci #10  that sure fits ken to a t!  and now he s involved with victoria… another happy ending!  good one!

I hope they don't ruin her shader settings like they've done with Victoria, Olympia, & Stephanie.

I wonder... could all these problems stem from the new surfaces parameters that are being used on the new Genesis8 skins? Is there a difference between using Gen8 and pre-Gen8 skins with the same lighting setup? I know lighting is more important than it was for Iray rendering; could it be differently important when the new parameters are used?

It's Daz's implementation of the surfaces parameters. Benita for Victoria 8 is one of the finest, most photorealistic, tastefully detailed skins in Daz history, second only to Darius 6, imo. Divamakeup has done some settings on Victoria and Lucas that look quite good; so, it's Daz's issue.

I hope they don't ruin her shader settings like they've done with Victoria, Olympia, & Stephanie.

I wonder... could all these problems stem from the new surfaces parameters that are being used on the new Genesis8 skins? Is there a difference between using Gen8 and pre-Gen8 skins with the same lighting setup? I know lighting is more important than it was for Iray rendering; could it be differently important when the new parameters are used?