I see there is a new Legacy UVs for Genesis 8 / Victoria 4 in the store. I already have the G3/V4 version though, so if G8 shares UV with G3 can I use that one instead?

I have the base Genesis 8 Female. I have not purchased any of the morphs packs or any characters, including V8. I have purchased the Mega Wardrobe from OOT, but I can use that on G3F, too, and is the only reason I bought. That doesn't mean I don't like G8F, only that I'm not willing to invest another couple $1Ks in another generation...
 

This, exactly. I hear what everyone is saying... and I get that... ALL of the comments, about some of the Generation 3 and 4 skin maps being as good or better than anything out today. Especially with Annagenisis 2 to give them that extra little boost.
​But I've invested a couple of thousand dollars to get to where I can do just about everything on Generation 4, Gen1, 2 or 3, on any other generation - and by the time you move that perfect skin map to Gen3... what exactly does Gen8/V8 bring over G3F to the table as a value add to entice me to spend thousands more?
​Genesis 3 is good... real good... huge improvements over Gen1 and 2 (although Gen 2 isn't bad, and I can work well with Gen 1, too, if I have to.)
​And then the promotions for V8... "Buy V8 and get one of the Victoria Pro packages you've already bought, free!"
Well... that isn't going to do it for me.
​So, then a few weeks later, orange banner time, "We see you've bought it all, and you skipped V8, so we're going to extend the original discount to you again - but you still don't get any other incentive..."
Yeah... still waiting.
​"Buy Victoria 8 Pro for the initial deep discount and get ANY G3F or G3M pro package that you don't already have for free..."
​That is the minimum to get me CONSIDERING purchasing V8, I think.
"Add her morphs and a new release and get an even deeper discount on all of it... and oops, we made a stacking discount glitch so you can get some FaceGen Pro for $40 and some V4, G1, G2 and G3 content for 90% off, and get 20% off on a gift card before you buy, *and* renew your PC+ for $15..."
​I'm totally in for another $150 total. :)
​They did get me today. Some V4 and G1/2 stuff for between $.80 and $2 and I found an excuse to use my PC+ coupon. But my PC+ membership ends in August, and once it is gone, until the next time I see a year for less than $30... I don't think I'll be shopping much here.  
 I still don't get it. I think everyone focused on the "Why would you use V4 skins on G8," comment. That isn't exactly what I mean.
​"V4 brows tend to be better..."
​Heck, I've got a bunch of Zev0 utilities to erase and make brows. I've got Wow Brows. I have Molly's Brows. I've got Dale's brows, I've got um... the teen character with catepillar brows. I get that brows are a problem - especially when you don't want perfectly plucked, narrow, arched brows that look like they belong on an exotic dancer. I get that V4 skins offer a lot of additional alternatives in this case. But I can use them all on G1, G2 and G3. It just seems to me that V8 should *solve* these problems in a consolidated way, rather than encouraging me to bring Generation 4 maps forward to Victoria 8 on Genesis 8?
​Ok... I'm totally ranting and complaining. If I were buying in TODAY, as a new customer, maybe I'd feel different.
​I'm just having trouble figuring out what the incentive is to people who have been at this for a while... other than that it is more about collecting content than it is about the end art product you might create with it.  

I think she's magnificent. Bestest Victoria evah.

Am too busy to play with items I've already purchased at the moment, so good discipline means I must wait for V8. It's a good thing (in this instance) that coupons don't combine, otherwise poor discipline would have prevailed.

I google cached the topic to see the aforementioned "Olympia 8"...meh...I hope she is more appealing than that. I am not particularly fond of V8, either. She is the first Victoria that I passed on. What is the character in the first promo image? I would rather have her than V8 or Olympia 8.

Each to their own, she's the first Victoria I'm happy to have bought. Although, I'm not sure I like the new Olympia, but judging of just a small number (one is certainly a small number) is a little harsh.

Yeah, I'm really happy with Victoria 8. I was very happy with Victoria 7, and I have all the Victorias since Victoria 4 - but Victoria 8 is by far my favorite. 

A change of scene. The backround image was taken on the local Tow Path beside the canal.

Canal Tow Path background Genesis 2 Female, FW Joannie HD, Victoria 5 UV Set. Librarian Outfit with G2Female Flipflops and Flirty Hair

2017-07-15 22:07:53.430 Total Rendering Time: 27 minutes 43.66 seconds

Click on image for full size.

I google cached the topic to see the aforementioned "Olympia 8"...meh...I hope she is more appealing than that. I am not particularly fond of V8, either. She is the first Victoria that I passed on. What is the character in the first promo image? I would rather have her than V8 or Olympia 8.

Each to their own, she's the first Victoria I'm happy to have bought. Although, I'm not sure I like the new Olympia, but judging of just a small number (one is certainly a small number) is a little harsh.

I google cached the topic to see the aforementioned "Olympia 8"...meh...I hope she is more appealing than that. I am not particularly fond of V8, either. She is the first Victoria that I passed on. What is the character in the first promo image? I would rather have her than V8 or Olympia 8.

Here is another. This is Troon South Beach in Ayrshire.

Troon South Beach background Genesis 2 Female, FW Joannie HD, Victoria 5 UV Set. Librarian Outfit with G2Female Flipflops and Flirty Hair

2017-07-15 20:55:44.533 Total Rendering Time: 4 minutes 9.38 seconds

Click on image for full size.

Well, I think it woud be super cool if Daz tossed out the old release schedule and gave us Michael 8 next!

+1

And for goodness sake, don't release a gazzillion white girls before releasing the first black and Asian characters. From Victoria 6 to Monique 6 we had to wait 1 year and 8 months. From Victoria 7 to Monique 7 we had to wait 1 year and 6 months. Releasing at least a dozen different "Official" white girls before the first black character of each generation is just gross.

Another one different view.

Achmelvich Bay background Genesis 2 Female, FW Joannie HD, Victoria 5 UV Set. Librarian Outfit with G2Female Flipflops and Flirty Hair

2017-07-15 20:08:21.371 Total Rendering Time: 10 minutes 54.16 seconds

Click on image for full size.

Just back from two weeks in the tropical sun so thought I would do a quick beach scene using one of my own photographs as a backdrop (not from this holiday but from Easter this year)

Achmelvich Bay background, Genesis 2 Female, FW Joannie HD, Victoria 5 UV Set. Librarian Outfit with G2Femail Flipflops and Flirty Hair

2017-07-15 19:25:16.403 Total Rendering Time: 12 minutes 42.25 seconds

Click on image for full size.

for me, it's not so much higher quality (which of course IS a big thing tho), but the fact that there are a LOT of V4 skins that are different and original. Compared to the many many skins that are blue eyeshadow/red lipstick and that's it, there are skins that have fantasy designs, and sci fi designs, and dystopian designs etc etc etc. (and then of course, there are the incredible Victoria 3 skins by samildinach which have never been repeated for the genesis line, nor are any of the genesis skins anywhere near the eye popping designs of those - so I've got the V3 one in my wishlist too LOL ) I'm sitting here trying to figure out whether to get the V4 one now as it's new......or get the V3 one instead.....or wait till the pa sale to pick up the V3 one and get the V4 one now. Decisions decisions. Dead broke, but dammit, I have MORE V4 skins than the entire Genesis line and they are just going to waste because I don't use V4..... 

And I absolutely do not understand the hype of using V4 maps on V8... 
 

Some of my favorite textures are from V4 line of figures.  I hate to say it but some of them are a higher quality than some of the textures being released today.

 

I totally agree! Some of the better V3 and V4 skins are still amazing. Many convert well to Iray. (I've put V3 on a book cover, actually! And both the old and new versions of my Midwest book cover use M4 and V4.) 

There are still new, beautiful characters being made for V4 at other stores, some with Iray and Superfly materials, in addition to 3Delight and Firefly. I love having so many options. Being able to use them on G3F and G8F via Cayman's products is another huge plus. Maddelirium's V4 characters in particular look great on G3F in Iray and I can't wait to see what they look like on G8F. Cayman's products are a must buy for me because I work across the generations and want all the variety I can possibly get.

for me, it's not so much higher quality (which of course IS a big thing tho), but the fact that there are a LOT of V4 skins that are different and original. Compared to the many many skins that are blue eyeshadow/red lipstick and that's it, there are skins that have fantasy designs, and sci fi designs, and dystopian designs etc etc etc. (and then of course, there are the incredible Victoria 3 skins by samildinach which have never been repeated for the genesis line, nor are any of the genesis skins anywhere near the eye popping designs of those - so I've got the V3 one in my wishlist too LOL ) I'm sitting here trying to figure out whether to get the V4 one now as it's new......or get the V3 one instead.....or wait till the pa sale to pick up the V3 one and get the V4 one now. Decisions decisions. Dead broke, but dammit, I have MORE V4 skins than the entire Genesis line and they are just going to waste because I don't use V4..... 

And I absolutely do not understand the hype of using V4 maps on V8... 
 

Some of my favorite textures are from V4 line of figures.  I hate to say it but some of them are a higher quality than some of the textures being released today.

 

I can only use so many of "lets slap some lipstick and eyeshadow on her and call done" textures. Of course when they are done well and not merchant resources, I'm more inclined (and do) buy them. I've bought a character, noticed the merchant resource use, and returned.

I have seen at least one other game where the developer uses Victoria 7 with the same hair for the title screen. My guess is some developers just don't want/can't invest much when they start and go with the default character + hair. House Party is 3d so they probably use the indie game license from daz which would limit them to daz original characters.

for me, it's not so much higher quality (which of course IS a big thing tho), but the fact that there are a LOT of V4 skins that are different and original. Compared to the many many skins that are blue eyeshadow/red lipstick and that's it, there are skins that have fantasy designs, and sci fi designs, and dystopian designs etc etc etc. (and then of course, there are the incredible Victoria 3 skins by samildinach which have never been repeated for the genesis line, nor are any of the genesis skins anywhere near the eye popping designs of those - so I've got the V3 one in my wishlist too LOL ) I'm sitting here trying to figure out whether to get the V4 one now as it's new......or get the V3 one instead.....or wait till the pa sale to pick up the V3 one and get the V4 one now. Decisions decisions. Dead broke, but dammit, I have MORE V4 skins than the entire Genesis line and they are just going to waste because I don't use V4..... 

And I absolutely do not understand the hype of using V4 maps on V8... 
 

Some of my favorite textures are from V4 line of figures.  I hate to say it but some of them are a higher quality than some of the textures being released today.

The gaming site Rock-Paper-Shotgun published a preview of a title called "House Party" Apparently it's not a very good game, but what caught my eye was a screenshot with our trusty Vicky 7 featured prominently, default hair and everything.

Some of the other characters in the game looked familiar, perhaps they're other Daz models? Wonder what kind of licensing deal is going on there.

[Links removed]

I know this is a necrobump, but there are a few inaccuracies in need of correction here. 

Generation 3 - The Unimesh

For the next generation of their humanoid figures, DAZ introduced a technology they called the "Unimesh." Rather than building each figure on a distinct mesh of polygons, they started with a single, androgynous mesh and crafted all their people from it. The advantages of the unimesh included increased compatibility (particularly with regards to textures and morphs)

Textures yes, morphs no. When M3 was released later on he had the same overall poly count and UV map as V3, but the body parts were subdivided differently with differing poly counts, which breaks morph target compatibility (e.g., V3's head has fewer polys than M3's). An actual Unimesh has to have matching poly counts and subdivisions. Also I might be remembering wrong but I don't remember DAZ marketing that term until Generation 4.

Another popular figure known as The Girl dates from this era as well; she is not based on the Unimesh, but she is compatible with textures made for Victoria 3.

Also not true. The default Girl figure DAZ purchased from Kim Goossens had her own UV mapping (possibly inherited from Goossens), and every character I saw developed for that figure had textures based on this mapping. Later on, DAZ released a product update that added a separate, V3 UV-remapped version (!the Girl_V3UV). 

The 4th Generation Figures

For the fourth generation, DAZ 3D opted for separate meshes for male, female, and child characters.

This is misleading; DAZ didn't opt to do anything here. They couldn't sell M4/V4/K4 separately as base figures without each having their own meshes. It wasn't anything unusual, either; throughout DAZ's history Genesis 1 has been the only androgynous figure where male and female were technically characters (if someone more versed in DS can correct me here and indicate that the rigging changes, please do so). As of this writing, Genesis 8 Male still hasn't come out so if it changes this model apologies in advance.

For a long time, I stayed away from Daz and Poser because of the majority of the art I saw created with these programs.  I used to refer to Poser as "soft porn creation tool" because when I visited the company websites and other fan websites, I was practically overwhelmed by the number of Victorias in sexy clothing and poses with her boobs hanging out.  It found it a little creepy, so I decided this software wasn't for me.  Even now, I see wonderful creations by artists like Dreamlight marred by scantily clad women strolling along his beautiful Italian streets.  I mean, how often in real life do you see a woman in a string bikini (outside a beach) or cutoff t-shirt?  In the Daz / Poser world, this is how women always dress.  Poser art has become equivilent, in my eyes, to art that looks like it was created by a teenage pubescent boy.

It wasn't until I moved to China and filmmaking became so difficult (talent and language gap), that I considered Daz figures as a replacement for real actors.  Daz figure technology is a dream.  In my opinion, they are mostly underutilized as a fetish doll Disneyland for people who like to create their own special kind of porn.  Am I being too harsh here?  Well, when I visit the Daz marketplace and see that the underwear, lingerie, hyper-mini skirts, and other skimpy clothing far outnumber the types of clothes I normally see women wear in real life, I have to call a spade a spade.  PA's design clothing that will sell.  Apparently, clothing that doesn't reveal the naughty bits of Victoria isn't very popular.  I get it, the nude body is beautiful.  I agree.  But the art that is generated from Daz/Poser seems to be disproportionate to what I see created in other software.  Thus, there is a stigma attached to "Poser art".      Just my observation.

I'm pretty much in "hobbyists" section i have much to learn yet, still...

Sometimes i disregard using backgrounds with my daz renders not because i can't/don't know how, but because i purposedly not very like idea of it... i mean, in my eyes nearly always backgrounds doesnt fit with main figure at all - perhaps because of questionable contrast between high-tech Victoria/Michael etc. figure and 3d background which have less details and everything.

Also i'm personally no really into "making scenes" though i respect those who can and do them amazingly, but for me more fitting would be some nearly abstract backdrop which is neutral so you use it for your "virtual photo studio" purposes.

As an artist, I have much more respect for someone who uses Poser/Studio to set up a scene as reference and later later drawing/inking it by hand, than I do someone who uses a plug-in/filter to fake line art/inking, but that's neither here nor there.

Keep in mind, though, that Non-Photorealistic Rendering is it's own subculture/community/enthusiasm boat etc. It's not always "faking" but often "doing for fun/because i like this exact technology". You know, when i was graduating from school i made a short animation movie, where i used videogame engine modding tools, blender, Poser and videoediting software; I created scenery using level creating software for that game engine (it was basically more primitive version of 3d modelling), then i used in-game effects for post-processing (fog, bloom, etc); in blender i did some object whcih then in poser i mixed up with character (like having pyramid instead of head etc); then i used Poser for animating some characters movement while also having screenshots of in-game pics of created by me scenery, and on top of that i used that sketch shader or how it is called. Then i had final cut in moviemaker or smth. Since then i got interested in NPR, so when i returned to this hobby in form of DAZ i gladly bought MangaShader etc. Yet before that i had some IRL experience with traditional drawing... In my head they are not rivals (unless you use some really crazy simulation but high-end advanced simulations of watercolours which imitate every physical process involved etc are hard to get and much more expensive then your typical daz/poser plugins).

Given a lot of people here naturally do consider using DAZ/Poser as creating art, and thus are unhappy with comments from so called "Real Artists" that pour scorn on it, I wonder how many would consider the merits of art creation in an even more machine driven manner. I am refering to simply pressing the screen capture button whilst playing a 3D game, and then posting this as "Art" they created. I understand that in some 3D games like second life/fallout/skyrim etc (note I have not actually played any of these) you can upload your own assets, plus manually pose your characters, and thus can require some level of skill. However this is not the case with more traditional action games like GTA, Assassins creed etc. You can customize your characters in these games, and naturally you decide where they go and what they do, but the art creation part is little more than a button press. I guess you could argue that is no different than the art created by a photographer, but at least the photographer had to wander around in the real world and find an interesting scene/moment to snap.

I have seen a number of these game capture still art posted to Deviant Art, and other places, and I am curious as to what others consider to their merits to be called "Art".

Why does it have to be called "Art"? It's fan labor. It's what fan of those games do for fun and enjoyment* - silly crossover pics, comics, stupid/pretentious poses etc. The problem in putting results on DeviantArt? Well, perhaps. In my take, it's just DA comfortable enough file hosting for both galleries and communities themself, where enthusiasts unite.

*though i must note that "craft of beautiful screenshotting" also exists on it's own (check DeadEndThrills etc.) and has nothing to do with your typical xnalara fanfiction mentioned above, no (well, obviosly they serve different purposes).

**and modding/creating custom content is it's own tier, which often leads to actual game development from scratch.

 Yes, yes you can pose Sims, there are poseboxes available so you can take screenshots of whatever you want them to do. ;

At some point i thought about temporary retiring from DAZ3D to Sims 3 custom content/modding community for some reasons... Character editing possibilities are improved there if you use custom made dials so it's not as primitive as in vanilla version + (no offense, but) i got kind of tired from mainstream of what daz content makers suggest in products while i found refreshing and interesting things among Sims user made content regarding clothing etc. Mostly korean/japanese-inspired fashion etc. etc.

I have observed that viewers from other user communities only use "poser art " in a derogatory fashion when it depicts scantily clad or naked northern european white women.

I would say it's pretty difficult to make good nude-related "art" in general, whether it's photography or 3D (or drawing?), so most of it is just, well, "pretty naked people omg" and nothing more :) I don't feel like having right to discuss it seriously, but it's not good how it impacts overall poser/daz/etc perception in eyes of others, and sometimes people won't care if it's some fetish quick picture or something with more work spent.

 It makes things so much easier when I want to create a character and share it with the world, because that is why I do it.  Not to be considered a 3D artist, but to create characters that with my own hand would take more time away from me than I have to spare.

Also this... DAZ/Poser has so many different uses for so wide categoried of people, with so different end results.

A similar thing happened with the introduction of anime to America.  While every type story you can imagine has been done in the anime medium in japan, it was typically hentai (a subgenre of explicitly sexual content), or extremely violent anime which first showed up in the states identified as anime, and even to this day that is the image that first comes to mind in many people when they hear the word.  

Bad reputation problem again, like with DAZ/Poser content; now some fire: you may know that actually good dramatic movie/anime can also have bits of ultraviolence or orgy in it, yet... It's complicated. Twin Peaks is pure gold for A or nonsense trash for B.

Still waiting for a "create art" button. 

But I'll probably get a "create Victoria naked in a tent with a sword" button.  With an option for "barebelly" (I'm sure we still need it even if she's naked) and radio buttons for "tent/temple/budoir/house of parliament", "sword/knife/gun/fryingpan/winebottle/fountainpen/powerdrill".  Extra beta testing time needed for the "highheels/higherheels/platformsandals" option as well as the slider for "bikini-string thickness".

Okay, seriously:  Easier to read fonts and graphical elements.  Do that for me and I'll buy you all lunch the next time I'm in Utah.  Thank you very much!