Sorry if my documentation for Shazam confused some people on how the new Morph AutoLoad features work. It is a bit of a new concept so I expected it to take a while until people were familiar with it, but I think my own docs may have been partially to blaim. I read the previous two Shazam threads though, and am starting to get the jist of what may be part of the solution. There are two readme's - the first 'main' one that everyone sees - and some even read :) - and a second one explaining how the scripting/morph AutoLoad features work. The main readme refers you to the second one, but perhaps the comment was way down to the bottom where people missed it. In any event, the second readme is called "readmeShazScripts.txt", and can be found in the "Geometries/mgToon/ScriptsV1" folder. This (is supposed to) explain in detail how to copy your own favorite morphs over to Shazam, and how they will then be automatically loaded next time you load the character. I's just a simple MorphManager task, with the only difference being that you copy the morphs over to the "Addin-UserHead.pz2" and "AddinUserBody.pz2" scripts rather than back into the Shazam cr2. It's a slightly different step than usual, but has the advantage that any morphs you copy to these script files will be automatically loaded/available in any other Victoria based cr2's. Assuming they have the AutoLoad feature in them of course, which is why the Shazam pack includes the AutoLoad-enabled cr2's for 'normal' V1 and V2. The other significant advantage to this approach is that it CREATES new morph channels if they don't already exist! That's a question/answer session scheduled for the Poser Technical forum though, and I'm just detailing the tutuorial and explanation. That covers how to add Morph AutoLoad'ing features to 'any' cr2, and the explanation is available for anyone that doesn't mind reading pre-finished material. In the meantime, I hope the above information and readme provides the information needed to USE the Shazam AutoLoad feature. It's not really any different than the normal use of MorphManager, and I appologize if my readme/docs didn't point people in the proper direction. I will be stopping on the fancy/generic AutoLoad tutorial to write a "QuickStart - Morph AutoLoad" tut for Shazam user's though :) So the tech-heads will have to IM or email me.

What is a Morph Autoload feature? I see there are scripts in the Geometry folder. I had some vague idea that scripts could only be used in ProPack and Poser 5 (and I use Poser 4). If I increase the scale of another Victoria 2 character head to 200% - can't I just save an obj morph target and apply it to Shazam manually? I've never used Morph Manager either, so I have NO idea what you are talking about. :-) thanks -dg

I bought the Shazam charater last night only to find that she won't install if you only have V1. The way things are described you'd think that she was supposed to work with V1 as well as V2. I am now most upset and although I know I can get a refund from Daz I'd much rather have Shazam fit V1. 8( Catlin

The installers for poser things shouldnt check if you have certain things before you install anyway. That would be like buying a ski hat in a shop and them asking you if you have skis and if you dont you can`t buy the hat. It should be stopped.

That is true xantor but in the reply I got from DAZ they say, "While the product is fully compatible with Victoria 1 or 2, it still requires Victoria 2 to install". They are also putting up a notice to this effect to avoid any more confusion and I'm getting a refund 'cos at the moment I just can't afford to get V2 and accessoraries. 8( Catlin

That doesnt seem right. You shouldnt need v2 if it works with v1 oh well

The files in the "Geometries/mgToon/ScriptsV1" folder come up as Pz2 files (pose files). I'm not used to pose files there, so these are then loaded separately into Morph Manager? I am unfamiliar with using Morph Manager, except for very basic stuff- so this is all new to me. I am looking forward to your tutorial, as this type of stuff goes over my head- until I can see some examples of what it does or looks like. You also mentioned that you are going to be presenting something about this in the Poser Technical forum. When will this happen? I'd like to go over there and read that as well- any any questions Poser tech-heads ask.

Hmmm, I better print this out. Sharen Thank you again for a wonderful product.

Xantor, the installer has to check if you have V2 installed because Shazam takes advantage of all V2 morphs. If they would not make sure that people have V2 as well those who only have bought V1 would get V2 for free included with Shazam. Don't think that this would be ok.

For using the Autoload Feature with Shazam and the Addin-UserHead.pz2:

It is really very simple and easy. Make a copy of your Addin-UserHead.pz2 and load it into the left window of MorphManager. Next you load a V1 or V2 Cr2 with custom head morph targets you like to copy to Shazam into the right window of MorphManager. Select the Head of your V1 or V2 Cr2 and click on Morphs that they expand and you can see the several MTs. Now click on the morph you like to copy over to Shazam, rightclick and select copy and it adds to the Addin-UserHead.pz2. This way you can copy all your favourite custom Vicki headmorphs (you do not need to copy the default V1 or V2 headmorps as they are already included with Shazam). Save your Addin-UserHead.pz2 and close MorphManager.
Start Poser, load Shazam and the Autoload Feature will load your modified Addin-UserHead.pz2 automatically and provide all your favorite Vicky Head morphs on top of the dials. Do the same with your favorite custom body morphs using the Addin-UserBody.pz2. I used this method to copy all of Thorne's and Zrincx' PT head morphs to Shazam and it worked fine.

You cannot add the morphtargets using the AddMorphTarget command in Poser, this would lead to strange results and distort the head.

Here's a link to the readme that some people seem to be missing. Not sure how that happened, but have to wait until next week to get it straightened out. Shazam User Gallery This is the current user image gallery, and I've added a link at the bottom where you can get the readme.

Hi Dragongirl: Scripts can be used in any Poser version from 4 up. The Morph AutoLoad feature is just something 'techy' I created fooling around one evening, and since I was working on Shazam at the time, I decided to include it in the character. It's basically a variation on the morph injection technique that was popularized with the Vicky 3 release. In 'normal' morph injection, the morph channels have to exist in the cr2 prior to injecting the morph. For the AutoLoad usage, the channels don't have to exist, and they will be created if needed. If that's a bit techy just ignore it - you don't have to understand that to use it. It turns out to be extremely useful for Vicky-based character's simply because there are so many addon body and head morphs. For creating morph injection poses for V1/2, people typically 'steal' an existing channel and replace it with their new morph. Unfortunately that means you loose the original morph. So by using the Morph AutoLoad technique, all your new morphs are added/inserted at the top of the dial lists as brand new channels. So if you have several 'favorite' head morphs, you can copy these to the AutoLoad scripts, and they will be available in any Vicky-based figure that has the AutoLoad feature. For example, I have several favorite ThorneWorks head morphs, and copied these to the AutoLoad script. So now when I load a character, whether it's Shazam, Vicky 1, Vicky 2, the Preteen, etc, those morphs are automatically loaded at the top of the head dials. Saves having to copy the same morph into each separate cr2.

Sharen: Glad you find her fun to play with. I guess you must have found some of the readme useful since you got them beauty boots on her :) Veritas: Yes I will be writing additional tutorials and some 'techy' insider info. We've been IM'ing a lot over the last few days, so will definately let you know the instant I have something :) catlin_mc: I'm sorry about the V1 issue, but there isn't much I can do about it yet. DAZ requested/insisted I include the V2 version, and as such they need to verify the person has it before installing. I appologize for the inconvenience, and hopefully the new comments on the page will avoid the issue in the future.

Great- I have been printing all this out too for reference. Last night I did manager to use Morph Manager 4 and transfer over a ROXANNE CR2 to the UserHead-.Pz2. However- I was afraid to OVERWRITE the User file, so I named it RoxanneHead.Pz2. After loading Shazam it didn't appear anywhere as a "pose", so I copied the RoxanneHead.Pz2 out of the Geometry location and dropped it into my Pose folder. It had a "What's Up" BLANK but when I clicked on it after loading SHAZAM V2 it appeared to load a bunch of morphs. However- if I clicked on a Roxanne FACE file (fc2)- there was only a slight change- so I gave up on that idea as I guess it MUST be the ROXANNE head for those files to work. BUT-AND-HOWEVER- With lots of strange new morph dials now loaded in the SHAZAM V2 I was able to tweak up an EXTREMELY cute looking TOON BABE with Dark Whisper's Nicole body MAT and some sexy blue boots- and she looks C-U_T_E_!!! So by stumbling around in the dark, I have been able to come up with some very satisfying new looks I've never seen before in any other Poser character model. I am REALLY looking forward to the M1-M2 version. I don't do much with male bodies, but I LOVE wild and crazy characters, and I am certain I will have a great time with it!

Hi Veritas. You do need to re-save back in to the Addin-UserHead.Pz2 for it too work :) If you're worried about over writing it don't be - that's what it's for. Don't over write the other V1/V2 pz2 files, but the Addin-UserHead.Pz2 and Addin-UserBody.Pz2 are there specifically for you to mess with :) If you look at them they don't have anything in them, they're just there as a named script for you to have a place to copy to. It probably 'tries' to inject if you copy over to the Pose library, but mostly that will just be the time it Poser takes to read it. Not sure about the Roxanne fc2 files... perhaps they have small components of regular V2 morphs? Glad you're finding those new face morph option useful. So where is this new cutey! :) You have my interest peeked.

Sharen I love your Shazam, she looks really cool in your images. Oh, maybe I should buy V2 after all. lol 8) Catlin

Hi DKE, I'll be posting some pictures soon. I'm really happy with this product as it works really well with several things I've been working on- Z-Toon Illustration look, the Capsces Roxanne and Boris characters, and other character clothes I've been collecting. I wanted a way to break out of the more realistic style that so many other characters look like yet not go way out either. This gives me the right mix and allows me to use my investment in V2-M2 characters and clothes. Questions- If I use the Addin-UserHead- what happens when I want to create a new one? Do I save my previous model as a CR2? And then do I copy back into the scripts folder a backup "blank" copy of Addin-UserHead to start fresh again? It sounds like obviously the Addin-UserHead/Body files MUST be in that mgToon location to work! And Question #2- How would this work with V2-Posette and M2-P4 Male? Since the heads are mapped for V2/M2 do I use one of the other SHAZAM characters- like Vanilla V2?

Hi Veritas. 1) "...what happens when I want to create a new one" If you want to have a different character that contains a different set of morphs? The easiest way would be to copy one of the existing cr2's. Then make a renamed copy of the Addin-UserHead/UserBody scripts, (perhaps Addin-UserHead2.pz2,) and remove/add the morphs you want to this new script. Lastly, you need to change the new cr2 to use the new AutoLoad script. This requires changing one line in the cr2, or perhaps two if you will be using new morphs for both body and head. That's part of the larger 'techy' tutorial I've been writing, but can give you a quick step-by-step list if you're in a rush to do it :) 2) V2-P4 I didn't include that, and wasn't sure if anyone still used the P4 body. Obviously Vicki body morphs wont work with the P4 body, but I believe the heads would. In this case it would be a simple matter of inserting a line into the cr2 that would load the Addin-UserHead script. Again, part of the larger tutorial, but also a simple task that I could provide a step-by-step if you are going to use that soon.

Thanks dke - that helps a lot. I hope! LOL! It's all new to me, but I have downloaded Morph Manager now and will have to give it a try. I, too, am saving this page so I can refer to it. Now - what is Shazam PLUS for? I click it, but nothing seems to happen? :-) (I'd love her even if she didn't do all this extra stuff, you know. :-))) thanks - dg

Hi DragonGirl You can thank Veritas for this explanation, since he was the first to ask and I've tried a couple variations out on him :) Hopefully I'm getting better each time. It's also where I realized some of my readme's didn't cover everything people would wonder about, so will be adding this to a FAQ on the gallery page. 1) Basically, the "Shazam for V1" and "Shazam for V2" are the full product. This includes: a) the resized body parts and extremities b) either the Victoria 1 or Victoria 2 morphs c) the special addon morphs I created specifically for the Shazam/'Toon style. 2) The "Shazam V1 only" and "Shazam V2 only" is the same except it doesn't include the specialty morphs I added. This is just in case somebody prefers the standard 'familiar' V1/V2 morph sets, and didn't want to clutter it up with my additions 3) The "Victoria 1 Plus" and "Victoria 2 Plus" are the standard DAZ Vicki models without the resized body parts and extremities, but that include the morph AutoLoad features for/from Shazam. These are just for if you ever want to take a little break from the Shazam big head, big hands, big feet style :) It's there so that when you do start using the AutoLoad scripting features for Shazam, that effort can be instantly used with the 'standard' Vicky characters. So once you've added your favorite head and/or body morphs to the Shazam Addin-User scripts, you can also have these morphs loaded automatically no matter which of the six variations you use. Saves a lot of disk space and you'll notice that even though there are 3 different V2 models, there's only one set of V2 morphs that is 'automatically' shared between all the versions. Hence the AutoLoad term. These AutoLoad-enabled versions for the standard Victoria 1 and Victoria 2 models will be part of the tutorial I'm writing about how the AutoLoad features work, and how to add it to any existing characters. You just get it first while I clear up any Shaz questions, and can then get back to the tutorial :)

Thanks dke. I've saved this and will have to look at it and the files in Poser when I get offline to see if I really get it. :-)

Hi DKE, Posted a message last night but somehow it didn't make it (?) Anyway- Reguarding the User Scripts- Here's my take on it- If they reside in the MgToon geometries sub-directory then the only logical way I can figure out to re-use them is to save my previously created head morph (like Roxanne) as a Pz3 or Cr2 and then dump back into the MgToon directory a "fresh new" user script to start of a new character. The idea of "editing" these things is less appealing to people like me and Dragongirl, I think. Also- I did create a Roxanne head correctly by using Morph Manager and saving it as the UserHead pose file in the scripts directory. (This was also mentioned previously too by someone --ABOVE-- who had figured this out) NOW the Roxanne Face Poses DO work on this Shazam character- so that's great too! I will be trying some Japanese girls too like the beautiful little TenTen and other cute PT characters from Japanese websites and look forward to seeing those as Shazam Toons with Anime Eyes! I am especially interested in the M2 version as I have TONS of character heads and ideas for that version. When is that coming out?

The Addin-User scripts just provide a list of morphs that will be 'available' in the character. You don't have to use them, and you can still save specific faces into the Face or Pose libraries. So I'm not sure what you mean exactly by "create a new character", but you can just zero whatever dials settings you have and start on a new face. The M1/2 version is nearing completion and will go into a wider beta test fairly shortly - hopefully in the next week or so. So it depends on how long the beta test period ends up being, but I expect it to be MUCH shorter than the V1/2 version, since all the generic glitches have been resolved. After that it depends on the time period between submitting it and having it show up in the store.

Ok grabbed morph manager, the mm4 plugin for p3do or whatever.. looks like shazam is a high maintenance gal! Guess it'll take some work to be able to play with shazam...

Nah, not high maintenance at all. Just slightly different, but only so far as to where you move 'extra' 3rd-party morph targets to. That's the new Morph AutoLoad feature I created for Shazam, but you can still play with her without getting involved in that :) Although once you do get a chance to try it, you'll (hopefully) see it does make things easier overall :)