Renderotica

I'll try to keep this as short and to the point as possible, I can tend to ramble.

I started using Poser back in '00, with version 4. I used Poser all the way to '16, and had version PP12, if I recall correctly. I too was hesitant to switch software, since I'm at the age where learning new stuff requires more patience than I tend to have, but that's a rant for another day. I've been using Studio since then, and I don't regret it.

The learning curve isn't 'that' bad, since a lot of it works the same. The two areas that required the most patience from me were the Surfaces tab, which is the equivalent to Poser's Materials Room, and lighting. Studio handles those things somewhat differently. I'd recommend taking a look at the many very good tutorials on YouTube that discuss things like LIE presets and the lighting system. SickleYield has some very good ones, and I subscribe to her channel just to see what else she has going on because there's always something new to learn. But, lighting and texturing are the two things that I found to be my biggest stumbling blocks when I made the move.

I can't really answer your question about animation, I only use the animation timeline for dForce simulations. I never animated with Poser, either, so maybe someone else can answer that for you.

I've never tried to use V4 skins, either, but I seem to recall someone making a UV transfer utility, so it may be possible. Keep in mind that you'll want to convert them to IRay, though, unless you plan on using the 3Delight engine. Speaking of rendering, if you plan on using the IRay engine, you'll want to get the very best NVIDIA GeForce card that you can afford, if you're not already running one. I use a GTX1080, and it's pretty efficient at kicking out a decent render in a reasonable amount of time.

I was also not looking forward to buying a lot of new stuff, either, even though I spend way too much of my disposable income on content. The nice thing is, if you tie Studio to your Poser Runtime, you can still  use a lot of your old content. You'll want to convert the shaders to Daz Uber, but that's not hard to do. Most items, especially props and environments, work just fine in Studio, and once you've converted them, you can save them to your Studio Content pane so that you don't have to do it again.

My main reason for the changeover was simple: V4/M4 were dated. Poser was languishing while Studio was pushing new tech, like geografts. I kept seeing all this great looking stuff for G3 in the stores(G8 wasn't out yet), and it frustrated me that I couldn't use any of it. Yes, I've spent a ton of cash on G3/G8 content, but I'd have been spending money on V4/M4 content if it was still coming out like it had been in their heyday, so that's not really a hindrance to me. I do not regret changing over to Studio, and I haven't fired up Poser in almost three years now.

Overall, the changeover wasn't that difficult, and once you figure out what the differences are, it's a pretty simple program to use.

With regard to using old Poser content in DAZ Iray, there are (at least) two must-have products by Vyktohria over on Renderosity: "Convert It!" and "Convert It! Vol 2 - Props and Architecture." These are a collection of shader settings that will convert old Poser materials to Iray shaders, while keeping the existing texture maps. And if you're a Prime member, both of these products show up in the Prime Flash Sales pretty regularly. ​​​​​​​

I started out with Poser 6 and 7, and switched to DS3A after Poser 8 came out, 'cause I couldn't stand the look or feel of Poser 8. I've tried to relearn Poser several times over the years (and in fact, I've bought every pro version up 'til now, excluding the new Renderosity edition), but using Poser now feels about as awkward as I would imagine going about your day while wearing boxing gloves would feel. (Imagine trying to tie your shoelaces, zip up your fly, use a pen or a cellphone, etc. Sure, you COULD do it, but it would take far more time and effort, and be a total PITA in the process.) Both programs do essentially the same thing (more or less), and it's the INTERFACE that gets me. IMO, DS has the modern, cleaner, more organized, easier-to-use UI, while each version of Poser simply slaps another layer of polish on top of its UI without ever really improving it.

On the other hand, FireFly handles some materials and lighting effects in ways I wish I could do in DS, and I would love to have a plug-in version of it to use in DS, but that obviously hasn't happened. I have also asked for something similar to Poser's Morph tool to be implemented in DS, and that hasn't happened, either.

However, DS is finally implementing its own dynamics with dForce. My understanding is that they had to wait for the contract with OptiTex to expire before they could implement something else, and that time has finally arrived.

I don't do animations, so I can't say anything about DS's capabilities there, sorry...

Also, not trying to antagonize anyone, but it's no mystery to me why the DAZ figures are dominant. Disregarding the tech they're built on and the limitations they're working under, the DAZ figures simply kick the Poser figures asses. It's no contest. They look good right out of the box, and they look even better with some 3rd party add-ons, of which there are tons to choose from. On the other hand, La Femme (the new Poser flagship figure) has been out for how many months now, and people are STILL asking for working gens for her? The Poser people always had the potential to look good, but the support simply isn't there. (And -- IMO -- the final results are usually nowhere near as good-looking as they are for the DAZ figures, either.)

I have bought several products from several different vendors to convert one generation of DAZ figures to another, and I haven't really been impressed with any of them, so I can't really recommend anything. It's simply easier for me to rebuild a character from scratch rather than try to port one over. (Funner, too.) I would be happier if DAZ simply made each generation more compatible with the previous one(s), but I can also see the issues with doing that, which is why they probably don't.

The situation has changed with Renderosity acquiring Poser, tho'. Poser is now THE focus, rather than simply one product amongst many competing for resources (time, money, programmers, content creators, etc.), as it was when Smith Micro owned it. Who knows what the future will bring.

DS will install and run without an internet connection, unlike Poser. (For now, anyways.)

Lastly, the crew running DAZ these days are the ones who pulled that nasty little stunt a couple of years ago with the content encryption, and it took almost a year of sales going over a cliff to get them to back off. (I assume: they've never addressed it publicly AFAIK, but I can't see anything else that would make them reverse course.) If they're stupid enough to pull a stunt like that despite the backlash they received BEFORE they actually did it, I can only assume that they're stupid enough to do something similar in the future.

Some of the more useful YouTube channels:

DAZ 3D (https://www.youtube.com/user/WWWDAZ3DCOM/videos)

Black Sun Comics (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd8YOdIhSc1IKrrJV5K7ccQ/videos)

JGreenlees (https://www.youtube.com/user/JGreenlees7243/videos)

Josh Darling (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtqhpxQyGa7fm0LPoDz4s4A/videos)

MYDART (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH1-ulEa5NhRvgYkfvgpsQw/videos)

Sickleyield (https://www.youtube.com/user/SickleYield/videos)

The WP Guru (https://www.youtube.com/user/wphosting/videos)

Thundorn Games (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3XOVUq1slkuM-JNh9OMD8g/videos)

VD GFX (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd1_8RzWkXO9XaoL1AqPe-Q/videos)

Xenic101 (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRzELNMh86qwS20f1eP0IpA/videos)

Edited by user Monday, December 30, 2019 8:20:58 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Switching from Poser to DAZ studio was my best 3d-art decision. I switched with the Genesis 3 figure release. At the same time Iray was introduced as a render option.
Those two options were my reasons to change. Figures are so much better in DS. Well they all carry a lot of JCMs with them to correct joints. Iray is a GPU supported PBR renderer. Its downside is, you'll need to get a real good NVIDIA card as a render beast.
The library system is actually quite handy, once you got used to it. The materials are usually in a sub folder of the linked item.
Lots of features are hidden behind the right mouse click.
In case, you'll make your own morph targets, the "Menu => Save as => Assets => Morph Assets" is essential for storing them.
Your created morph slider for e.g. G8 Females will be there any time you load a this figure.
IMPORTANT:
Do not store your content ("My Library")  folder in your "Daz Studio" program folder.
I use "Studio" for that. I have "Studio" and "DAZ Studio" in the "DAZ" folder.
Animation still seems to be a problem, but a good render takes at least 1 hour for me to go, would make 24 hours for 1 sec of an animation, so animation is out of the window anyway.
All summed up, I can only say, I completely recommend that transition.

Edited by user Tuesday, December 31, 2019 7:29:35 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified