Hi all I was pretty sure I didn't want it, until recently. First I saw some really nice renders with the same one in pp4 and noticed a real difference. Also is it true that I can leave pp4 installed and p5 will read the runtime folder? Then to top it off I thought I heard I would no longer have the 250 folder limit is that true also? If these two things are true and I would get nicer renders, I may have to invest in this one. Sigh addiction is costly lol. Smiles from Rita

Poser5 has a whole selection of Poser4 models and props, but I would say yes that it will read the older runtime folder items with no problem. The improvements and additions to Poser5 are HUGE! It is a completely different beast, the texture generating application built into Poser5 is the same that Mac users have enjoyed with, Pixels 3D which is also where the Firefly render engine came from as well, that alone aside from all the dynamics are enough to upgrade. Super stuff! However there are a lot of the plugin things (if you have invested heavilly) that may need updating... ie., special clothing and hair and morphs and stuff like that. The other major thing to consider is that it takes a considrable amount more CPU power so you may after getting it be forced to upgrade your box... I don't know what you have. Otherwise I'd say "Go for it!". You'll be glad that you did.

Yep Poser5 can read the PP4 runtime with no hassle, even if it's installed on a different drive to Poser5. I'm not certain 100% if there is a limit to the number of folders in Poser5 (haven't found it yet) but with multiple runtimes you can have a seperate runtime for each character which would cut down the number of folders you have to trundle through. Just imagine you've got Vicky & Mike in seperate runtimes you'd never have to go through 150+ folders of Vicky poses to get to that Mike folder you want, all you'd have is the Mike folders to go through :)

x-post :) heh 2 heads are always better than one anyway ;)

I have a stupid amount of folders -- well over 250 -- and have had no issues with that in Poser 5. Like killer3D said, if you have the horsepower, buy Poser 5 today. I've been using POser since version 2, and 5 smokes 'em all so far.

Foxeelady - I agree with all of the above. Just some words of advice: if you DO go for P5: - Install it in a totally separate directory. - Add extra RAM - Be prepared for longer rendering times - Add extra RAM - Add your existing P4 runtime to P5's (go to any library, up to the top level, aqnd add from there) - Add extra RAM And yes, the cloth room, the Firefly renderer and the materials room are well worth the investment (get rid of "Contents Paradise" tho..) Cheers, Diolma

oops - and also ensure you update to the latest srevice release (at least that's free)..:-))

If you have more than 100 folders you may need to tweak the .xml file. (SR4 only) I had that problem. P5 will read any runtime you care to set up. Put a runtime on a different rive if you like. The linking process is not automatic but there are some good tuts on it. P5 from what I know does not link to LW or MAX as well as the propack links, but since I don't use those apps, who cares, eh? As for longer render times, its still way less than Bryce. And, you have the option of using the P4 render engine inside P5. There is a steep learning curve. much of the features in P5 you will not use right away. The materials room is way different from P4 materials so just get a good cup of coffee, read the tuts, and keep a stiff upper lip as you build new brain cells. I installed P5 to a new location. Do not overwrite P4PP because you will find that for some stuff, P4 is faster and more convenient. You can use your P5 files in P4 provided that you don't have dynamic hair or texture or any of the P5 special features in it. You may find that the smoothing option is a pain in the rear with imported models in P5. Once you get the hang of the firefly, you can tweak the daylights out of it for either speed or quality. Tons of options to chose from. When you load P5, load SR4 right away (before you open P5 and start to play, or at the very latest, before the "trial edition" ends in 45 days). Don't diddle with all the security crap in the install version because its a pain in the rear and it was bypassed after SR2.1.

I would agree with ericofsd apart from the smoothing option, I would say the smoothing is one of the best parts of poser 5, it can be switched off if you don`t need it or it can be switched off for individual characters/props if it is needed. For low resolution figures and props the smoothing is excellent.

Ah the updates, there's 2 of them so grab both & install the figure update first then the application update & like Eric said before you run it the first time.