Release of DAZ Studio has been delayed. Platinum Club members will now recieve an alpha version next week, after the US holiday weekend. General release of the beta version apparently will not happen until DAZ have had a chance to act on PC members' feedback on the alpha. DAZ expect this to be within "a few weeks" of release of the alpha version, suggesting that it may or may not be available before the new year. This information is available on the PC members' forum at DAZ. Steve Kondris's post was also very careful to stress that DAZ do not see the program as a replacement for Poser at this stage and initially it will not provide all of the functionality that Poser provides. Stephanie Petite has also been delayed and now appears likely to be released in December.

Steve was also very polite in expressing that Studio's functionality will eventually surpass that of its unnamed competitor. ;-) "Patience is a virtue" - Some boring old wise man "I want a golden goose NOW!" - Veruca Salt, "Willie Wonka"

"The proof of the pudding is in the eating." Often attributed to Cervantes; often misquoted -- means I'll hold back on my enthusiasm until I see it for myself.

I'll have sufficient time to upgrade my computer before next week.

Actually, what Steve said was: "This is a brand new program, and though some of the goals for it are similar to that which Poser reached, it has never been thought of by DAZ as simply a replacement for Poser. DAZ|Studio will quickly outgrow its competitors in functionality, but it is important to remember that it is still under development and though there are many things that it will one day be able to achieve, the majority of these cannot be done quite yet." So if and when it's going to "surpass" Poser, it's still going to take a while. -jjsemp

.."Dammit..I'm getting tired of the wait...I'm going to go kill something".. Said one vulture to another

Given how some people have been been talking about DS like it's going to cure cancer and bring peace to the Middle East or something, I'd be feeling pretty nervous in DAZ's position right now. If the crowd turns nasty, it won't be the first time DAZ has been caned for doing a lot of hard work and then giving it away free. Remember all the flak they took over the original Stephanie the Mystery Model? I'm a happy P5 user myself and I find it hard to imagine that DS could offer enough to replace P5 for me any time soon, but however you look at it, having more options and some healthy competition in the low cost 3D software market has got to be a good thing for us consumers.

I hope this 'surpass competitor' means surpass Poser 4...I still feel that for stability and ease of use Poser 4 surpasses Poser 5. Uh oh, duck the flames!! LOL.

Who says there can be only one? Why cant I just use both? Does anyone just use one software and there really isn't a best program any way. They all shine in certain areas. All I know is I cant wait to check it out. Its going to be something new and fun I hope.

don't wait for software! there is none that came out on the promised release date. when it's there, wait for the first service release and then buy it. saves time and nerves.

You can be sure that there will be other competitors to Poser in the future.... in fact I'm really surprised that we haven't seen any significant ones yet. There's a LOT of money to be made, a huge potential market. But what makes you the most money of all is selling content - the stuff DAZ has been selling for years. A lot more lucrative than making the app itself. How many Poser junkies do we have here? :o) Hands up! (Puts up one hand, then both) :] Fish

I admit I am a 100% certified poser junkie ( waving both hands in the air!)

(has both hands up too) doesn't mean I won't try out D/S tho, another render engine is always welcome :)

puts up both hands and a foot I hope being a Poser junkie means you can may only use POSER? I for one is eager to try it out. I love new programs, it's always good to see things from a new angle :o)

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?ForumID=12356&Form.ShowMessage=1540776

puts up both hands and both feet - should be interesting to see the next installment! This means I will be able to continue posing whilst Poser 5 is having one of its 'very long thinks'.

hmm..reminds me of povray a bit..

Hi my name is Jeff, I am a Poser addict. I have been using poser since ver 1. However I am so very angry and dissapointed with ver 5, I almost gave up all toghter on that aspect of my digital art. We all know that Poser 5 was released too early and incomplete.Currious Labs failed us big time. I'am looking foward to some competitive apps to Poser, we need new functional and useable tools.I want DAZ to take all the time they need with Studio. Just my 2 cents.

Me...Me! I am an Poser addict, and I don't want to be cured. [Both arms flailing the air, trying hard not to knock over the stack of 800 Poser file CDs.]

"hmm..reminds me of povray a bit.. "

I thought the same thing; delayed initial release, controlled expectations, public beta (that ought to be fun), etc.. It worked out for them though so it ought to work out for DS . . eventually.

As for poser addiction, I'm definitely addicted! I've lusted after it since version 1 but only finally sprang for a cheap copy of version 3 I found on e-bay in January. Before that I spent maybe $250 since '96 on my graphics hobby. Since then it's been nothing but a fun and expensive downhill slide :) I bought P4 and PPP and joined the Platinum Club, bought V3, M3, tons of accessories around the net. I even felt compelled to upgrade my computer to handle everything.

Whoa!! I better stop thinking about it, and just enjoy LOL!

"We all know that Poser 5 was released too early and incomplete.Currious (sic) Labs failed us big time." I know nothing of the sort. I'm one of the lucky ones who's had no real trouble with P5. It's got just as many quirks as P4 and a great many more benefits. But I also want Daz to take their time with their new program. --jjsemp

well since both hands and feet are already taken up I will just throw my wallet with my credit cards in the air. Count me in as a junkie.... Poser rehab anyone?

Precursor to what I'll say here: I will use Poser and DS both. I like both companies and have many friends at both companies (although there are quite a few less people at CL now). If DS was not intended to be a competitor to Poser then why are none of the DAZ models being tested and supported in Poser5? It is DEFINATELY a competitor. DAZ is in an interesting position. They are creating a program that will compete with the program that they create figures for that are there bread and butter. Wow...I said that all in one sentence. :) DAZ would be shooting there own foot by bagging on the program that uses there figures. Im assuming that Poser content is how they are paying for the DS development. I also know how classy the people at DAZ are. They wouldn't bag on Poser just in the fact that they are great guys and gals. Ajax: "IF" the crowd turns nasty? I know it's a beta and all but wait until somebody with a short temper and a long trigger finger can't render. I think we will be seeing a lot of posts from a lot of people simply stating "It's a beta people". "Did you report the problem to DAZ"? "No" "Uh... That's why it's a beta". Ooops... Now you all have ME figured out. LOL ;) All the best, Joe www.3-AXIS.com P.S. Personally I think that DAZ Studio is going to rock out loud! I'll definitely use it. Im looking forward to some incredible things from the gang at DAZ.

Oh... and yes. "I AM A JUNKIE" Woo Hoooooooo !!!!

Poser addict, Vue addict, Bryce addict and soon to be DS addict :) lynnJohnatan is right, they all have their special "niche". I'm not in a big rush for DS. It won't work worth a darn the first go round and no one should expect it to.

DAZ has already put a "D|S Updates" and a "D|S Feedback & Questions" forum under the Members Only section. The updates forum will be used for communicating known bugs and fix information. The Feedback forum is for reporting new bugs and Q&A. To address some of the other posts in this thread. DAZ started working on D|S when Metacreations announced that Poser was up for sale. DAZ is looking out for themselves as a business. And CL can use some competition to motivate them to get SR4 out the door.

"DAZ would be shooting there own foot by bagging on the program that uses there figures. Im assuming that Poser content is how they are paying for the DS development." Perhaps for now but not in the long run. It is true that DS will support Poser 4 files (not 5). "They are creating a program that will compete with the program that they create figures for that are there bread and butter. Wow...I said that all in one sentence. :)" Ah, this is were things get real interesting. Daz Studio will have its own propritary format! While it will be backward compatable with the Poser file format. That means that Daz Studio will be able to run all the old Poser stuff and the upcoming new Studio figures/objects. I believe that the writing is on the wall. Support for the Poser file format will be ending once Studio is up and running at full speed. Since Curious Labs has already announced that they are beginnig work on Poser 6 and they stated that it will not include any figures etc. only the base product. You can see where this is leading. Where will Poser be once support for their products file format stops and they can't use the the new Studio file format because its proprietary? Hummm, interesting...

I think CL said Poser 6 would not have any new figures, in reply to where are the promised new animals questions (but I bet they will at least try to have something to show off any new features - and I don't believe that any publisher can resist adding at least a new-looking feature to a new release).