There are so many DAZ figures and so many characters for the figures and so many hairs and clothes for the figures with so many restrictions and special considerations for making any of it work with any of it that I throw up my hands and just don't buy any of the new stuff.  I can't keep track of what UV set every character is designed for, or how to put clothes on something, or which shoes will fit which generation of figures.

Do not worry about the UV sets. The DAZ Originals "intermediate" figures like Victoria 7, Karen 7, Josie 7, and Eva 7 all have their own UVs, but anything based off of the intermediate characters (like EJ Tatijana, FWSA Adaline HD, Summer off Victoria 7, or Amandla and FWSA Kimmy HD off Josie 7) all drop right back to the original Genesis 3 female UVs. Genesis 2 was mostly this way, too. A few odd characters used Victoria 6 UVs (and a few other odd Genesis characters used Victoria 5 UVs, go figure) but characters based n other intermediates like Olympia 6 don't seem to use the intermediate UVs, it's right back to either G2F or V6.

The morphs are a bit bigger problem, they typically use the intermediate character at some low setting (typically 30-50%) so if you don't have V7, EJ Tatijana is going to look a little strange.

The bridge for me from DS to Bryce is not always the most trust worthy, often I exporting as .obj the safer approach and then importing into Bryce.  The bridge in the other direction seems even more tempremental.

David, I have noticed this too when using the bridge especially on textures, some work, others not.  And I have also noticed when you have added a Daz Studio shader, i.e. furs, velvets, etc. it doesn't show up in Bryce.  Could it be the fact that when using shaders in DS itself, one can only see the effect only when rendering in Daz?  This is such a pity as I have tons of shaders for DS which obviously won't show up in Bryce as I understand it.  I use Bryce mainly for renders and DS only for preparing the characters to add clothing, morphs, poses, props, etc. I have never made a scene in DS.

A funny thing also happended at first, with the first render of the ventriloquest doll above.  Genesis and the doll on his lap and the one sitting worked perfectly.  But when I have added the 3rd doll standing the body part textures were perfect, but the head had no textures thus only grey!!  I only got it to work eventually when I have added another extra head of the doll to the scene by itself.  Off course this extra head also turned grey!  But at the same time when the  extra grey head appeared in the scene, the doll standing's head got suddenly back the original textures!  I have then deleted the extra grey head from the scene and standing doll kept the textures as should!  Luckilly the head didn't turned grey again as before.  Is this normal behaviour?  I can also remember some years back when I have a few Victoria characters in the same scene who originally all had their own hair styles in DS, suddenly some (not all) of the characters lost their hair completely when importing into Bryce scene.  Too many characters and textures together? Could this cause such problems?

Yet there are people who buy G2F Skyler and her G3F clone and accompanying bundles for each. Not only that but an almost identical character appears and they buy that too. 

Guilty as charged. I have both the G2F and G3F versions of Skyler but not without reason. Simply put, though they're the same character, the fact that they're on different base figures means they're compatible with different items.  On Genesis 2 I have geografts like the snake tail and horns which would otherwise be incompatible with Genesis 3. I have Genesis 1 outfits which would otherwise look horrible if I autofit them across two generations. Looking at it the other way around, Genesis 3 is simply better rigged and more expressive, so I can give her more personality than I could using Genesis.

I'll probably do the same for the new girl Rayn too.

Still, I can see the arguments and they're sound ones. The best way to look at it is that the options are there for the people who want them. There's no forced upgrades, and Daz Studio remains fully compatible all the way back to Generation 1 Victoria, if you're that way inclined. That they've been able to do this and give us lots of new toys to play with is a pretty impressive feat in my books, and is the main reason I switched from Poser to Daz Studio.

I love Poser, but they're still still playing in the sandpit by comparison. Technology moves on, and it's just a shame they haven't done likewise. That said, it still has the advantage when it comes to physics. I think a lot of us want a new cloth draping option in Daz Studio, but I suspect part of Daz's contract with Optitex prohibits them designing their own or we would probably have seen it by now.

And she's live... 

http://www.daz3d.com/dara-for-victoria-7
 

I have the urge but not the cash nor the time to invest in every single new bit that comes out.  Right now I think all I have from the newest crop is Victoria 7 ... Yup, that's it.  I did buy the Gen 7 morph pack so I have all those shapes too.  I think that's good for now.  I have my own style for morphs that I create in ZBrush and quite frankly I've been using the Hivewire figures more as they are not so overly complicated.  I like the DAZ figures just fine, I think they are technically very nice and esthetically pleasing to the eye but yea, every time you turn around BAM a new figure with a threesome of new packs .......... just can't afford it and don't have time to play with all of it.  I do invest in things like iRay shaders and light sets and stuff like that. 

Last January, I conducted a lighting experiment to see how long it would take LuxRender v1.3.1 to render a high-resolution image full of reflections, transparencies, and other materials.  I threw everything I could at it, and added a couple of figures to the scene for contrast.  That experiment took 800 hours to render, and reach a level of quality I was happy with.  Much of that time was spent waiting for the reflections in the windows and table to smooth out.  By then, Lux had processed 30.10 kS/p.  I had to post the raw, 9.28MB PNG to preserve the image quality.  Otherwise, most of the texture detail in the reflections would've been lost.  You can view it at the link below:

http://orig12.deviantart.net/e81a/f/2015/029/7/e/uninvited_guest_by_matthewnyght-d8fw4er.png

Now that I've switched to Iray, I couldn't resist duplicating the experiment.  I deleted the scene file after posting the Reality version, so I had to recreate the scene, using the Reality version as a reference to get as close an approximation as I could to the original composition.  I opted not to have Victoria looking at a cell phone this time.

I could not be happier to write that Iray rendered this 767KB JPG in just 5 hours, and it actually looks better than the Reality version.

Full image here: http://orig15.deviantart.net/8da9/f/2015/270/1/6/uninvited_guest___iray_version_by_matthew_hutchinson-d9b2x8y.jpg

I do think they have overdid it a bit with releasing quite so many gen 3 females and not one male. I can understand Victoria 7... But Josie? I just don't get releasing teen figures before a male base has even been released.

I also think We got Lilith last year around October right? will we get Lilith 7 then?

I doubt it, she's only a year old or so. But you never know. Josie and Vickie are both 2 years old about. Means nothing, but if for example Lee 7 came out in a few months I think people would be annoyed. So I think the most recent releases may be closer to the end of the cycle. not last or in same exact time frame, but just not too soon either.

I suspect a lot of Gen 6 bases, like Lilth, Lee etc will not get an equivalent named one in generation 7. The only absolute certs are Victoria and Michael, all the rest could be new names like Karen, Bethany etc. Whilst I think an Aiko 7 is highly likely, even that is not guaranteed, as it was a long time before Aiko arrived as a Gen 6 base.

I suspect we'll see Olympia 7. That is probably one of the few I will actually buy, since I really adore Olympia. Maybe a Stephanie 7.

Actually, DAZ_Steve confirmed that Olympia 7 and Lilith 7 are indeed in the works because they were among the most successful Genesis 2 characters.
I wouldn't be surprised to see a Mei Lin 7 & Lee 7, actually. Both Gen 6 bases got notable character and content support post-release. Plus, Asian stuff is always a hit here in the store, which is all the more reason why I can't fathom the reality of Hiro not selling well... >_>

Alfred's finery is made for G2M with a bunch of custom fits for several other shapes, only the Alfred morph requires Michael 6.  Like it or not it is often neccessary to buy the Victoria and Michael for whatever generation figure you are working with as many characters will need either their morphs or their UV mapping.

Since at least gneneration 3 all DAZ figures use the same mesh for that generation and the mesh is based more on the female form.  This why the female figure always comes first and then the male sometime later (and why the nipple is always to centered on the pecs because they are actually re-shaped breasts).  Michael 4 had the longest delay after Victoria 4's release because we were told they had a heck of a time getting the chest right.

I thought maybe the first program and/or the second, made it possible to use your vic 4 characters (skins, etc) on the genesis 2 base (mesh). Is there anything that does that?

I have Victoria 5, but I don't understand what it is exactly that skin builder doing. I understand most of the program, e.g., the eyelash, gens, nails. The tan line thing alludes me as does the blending of multiple character skins.

The convertor does not convert textures, it convert old file format material presets to .duf format material presets.  Victoria 4 for Genesis 2 female does not convert anything it just adds Victoria 4 UV mapping and a V4 Auto-Fit clone to Genesis 2 Female.  Skin Builder uses Victoria 5 UV mapping which G2F comes with but you would need to purchase Victoria 5 for Genesis to use it on Genesis.

Hi there Horusra I have the V4 skins Batch converter, This takes the old v4 skins and converts them to a DUF file to be used on your gf2 figures (just the skins not the shapes) It is a script and you have to take some time a build up a little library of new converted skins. It is a fantastic product giving you lots posibilities!! The Victoria 4 for Gen2 female can only convert  files already in DUF format to gf2 -with this one you have to go into your daz material files each time you want to use a v4 skin and then pick the material out and apply it, I loved this product but find I use the  V$ skin batch converter all the time now as once you make up youy library it is very quick. hope this helps!! Anything else just ask!!

First: https://www.daz3d.com/v4-skins-batch-converter-to-genesis-2-female-s

Am i understanding this right, that this converts v4 skins/textures/uv's to G2F, essentially allowing you to use your V4 characters on the G2F base? And if so, doesn't this do the same thing, but I'm assuming not en mass as this: http://www.daz3d.com/victoria-4-for-genesis-2-female  ? Because I already own the latter. If the only difference is doing multiples at one time it wouldn't be worth it to me, as doing one at a time is no problem for me. I guess I don't understand this product very well.

2nd: https://www.daz3d.com/skin-builder-for-genesis-and-genesis2-female-s

This one confuses me. The only part I don't understand is the skin builder part, all other functions I understand. First, it says take skins from "different races." Can you take say two caucasian and combine, or two african american and combine? What about if I have a character and her skin is darker but want to make her skin lighter from a different character, is this possible? Thorough explanations in laymans terms would be greatly appreciated on both products. They've been on sale several times during the Festival sale and I've passed them over each time because of my confusion with them.

OK, I will give this a try. You'll have to tell me if I get some of the instructions wrong.

200 Plus - Head & Face Morphs for Genesis 3 Female(s)

I lke this product because it has so much variety in morphs and also has several easy one-click head presets. It is made by Dogz, so you know it is top notch. There were initially some problems with a few of the morphs causing distortion of the character's teeth. Dogz fixed that as soon as I reported it, and it was updated in the DIM.

Note that this product is only morphs, it does not come with character skins or texture files of any kind. I just used textures from characters I already owned. All of these renders are done with Iray.

1. The character in the red and white dress uses the Diane head morph and Eva skin.
2. The character with the peacock hair uses the Olga head morph and Victoria 7 skin.
3. The character with the blue shirt and dark jacket uses the Sabina head morph and Bethany 7 skin.
4. The character with long dark hair and necklace uses the Shu head morph and Eva 7 skin.
5. The dark skinned woman in the green jacket uses my own mix of the individual head and Face morphs and Bethany skin which has been modified with surface changes and LIE to add some spots. I probably used some of the DAZ head morphs, too.

I think Lee sold well.  Not sure about Monique/Mei-Lin./Darius.

I do think Darius and Lee are my favorites of those. They just are different enough to be interesting and warrant unique shapes. 

Of course one of my favorite Asian Characters is Ryuu. Hope to see a gen 7 adaption of him assuming that Gen 7 male makes this possible.

Would like to see some different bases though. Unless the figures are sufficiently unique, I don't see needing more Gen7 women.... Would like an alien/other type base figure (not a kidlike fairy please).  We seem to have the human girl with tanned skin covered.

I think our next female is Arabella. I'm not hopeful that is the name of an alien. Sadly.

The upset about the theme they were sold with aside, I think Monique and Darius had done well. Monique I particularly liked among the G2F iconic characters, I very much liked Gia and Stephanie also, Olympia was gorgeous too. Mei Lin was loverly, but I just saw too much of the Victoria idealization going on in her is all.

I would love a version of Ryuu in G2 + G3, he is such an awesome and unique character, certainly among the best characters for me.

I'm all for the aliens and fantasy creatures, but I am not keen on the idea of it breaking the release sequence of the already so few males. Minotaur and Reptilian were fantastic but they meant even less human male iconics as they were seemingly counted for G2Ms releases. Really could have used more human shapes for the males, especially thin and average blokes.

http://www.daz3d.com/skin-builder-for-genesis-and-genesis2-female-s

If there was one of these (a pro version as above) for Victoria 4, I'd buy in a second.

I do think they have overdid it a bit with releasing quite so many gen 3 females and not one male. I can understand Victoria 7... But Josie? I just don't get releasing teen figures before a male base has even been released.

I also think We got Lilith last year around October right? will we get Lilith 7 then?

I doubt it, she's only a year old or so. But you never know. Josie and Vickie are both 2 years old about. Means nothing, but if for example Lee 7 came out in a few months I think people would be annoyed. So I think the most recent releases may be closer to the end of the cycle. not last or in same exact time frame, but just not too soon either.

I suspect a lot of Gen 6 bases, like Lilth, Lee etc will not get an equivalent named one in generation 7. The only absolute certs are Victoria and Michael, all the rest could be new names like Karen, Bethany etc. Whilst I think an Aiko 7 is highly likely, even that is not guaranteed, as it was a long time before Aiko arrived as a Gen 6 base.

I do think they have overdid it a bit with releasing quite so many gen 3 females and not one male. I can understand Victoria 7... But Josie? I just don't get releasing teen figures before a male base has even been released.

I also think We got Lilith last year around October right? will we get Lilith 7 then?

I doubt it, she's only a year old or so. But you never know. Josie and Vickie are both 2 years old about. Means nothing, but if for example Lee 7 came out in a few months I think people would be annoyed. So I think the most recent releases may be closer to the end of the cycle. not last or in same exact time frame, but just not too soon either.

I do think they have overdid it a bit with releasing quite so many gen 3 females and not one male. I can understand Victoria 7... But Josie? I just don't get releasing teen figures before a male base has even been released.

I also think We got Lilith last year around October right? will we get Lilith 7 then?

I laugh every time I hear that female stuff sells better. Well, there is no male stuff... so what choice do we have?

Okay? Tell me about it, I'm a woman, but I don't WANT all this woman stuff, most of which I can't use. Hoochy-wear GALORE! Maybe it's because they are catering to those who animate in porn perhaps? I'm not sure... just a thought. But I will say this, more and more vendors are making clothing for the everyday life of Victoria and her possee. That's good... but... I want M7 let loose FIRST for once... as I see however, not gonna happen.