Recently, I sent Zygote an email regarding the aesthetic aspects of their Vicky figure & also the problematic collar/shoulder area of Vicky that produces the "armpit web." Here is the response from Steve Kondris: "We appreciate your input and are seriously considering it all. We have received various other emails form people proposing that Victoria is too "masculine" in her design. We compensated with the two maps we now offer for her and have plans to create something much more feminine. More than that, I am not at liberty to say, as things are still in the planning stages. But, rest assured that DAZ 3D will be releasing a definitely feminine figure sometime in 2001 (shouldn't take more than a year..) As for the inaccuracy of the muscle structure around Victoria's upper arm, we are also considering that and shall keep the community informed of whatever updates may come in effect, etc. Thanks again for the constructive criticism, we realize just how vital it is to our existence." -- HAPPY HOLIDAYS -- Steve Kondris -- steve@zygote.com

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/softgood.ez?ViewSoftgood=423

When we created Saluda, we fixed the masculine shoulders, chicken legs, underarm "web", "balloon breasts", etc. She is based on Vicki, so if you already have Vicki she should work fine for you. She also accepts all of your other favorite morphs and textures, as well as the assortment that come with her. To see more about her, go to:

Saluda rocks! (shameless unsolicited plug by a very satisfied owner!!!!) :o)

LOL Thank you Shadownet!!! And his renderings of her rock too! he has turned her into Santy Clauses sexiest elf!

Mehndi: Saluda looks great! The only reason I didn't buy the model right off the bat a few weeks ago when I first saw her was because I thought that if all the Vicky morphs work on her, then the vertices count must be the same as the original (the best way out) & the collar/shoulder thing must have been altered using a morph by Jaager (available in one of his body packs?), which I already have used in a couple of Vicky variations, so it's possible I have already tried that morph. Then again, maybe Saluda uses a different one(s). But when I contacted Zygote, I referred indirectly to the morphs that were already out there & mentioned that in my view Zygote's Vicky figure was so strange in the collar/shoulder area that although morphs seem to help somewhat, morphs can't be expected to make Vicky look as good as a whole new figure or at least a major rebuilding of that area. I think that's why Steve in his response implied that Zygote may have something in the wings to correct the problem in a fundamental, polygon way, which would be included in a basic revision of the whole figure that slims Vicky down & fixes the square jaw & other things. But meanwhile, I may go ahead & buy Saluda because it looks like you guys did a great job & Zygote won't have a revised figure until next year. Thanks!

Please could any successor to Vicky have Vicky's head? Then the face morphs that people have developed for Vicky will still work.

Would it means that every maps i bought for Victoria also fit on Saluda ,idem for clothings?Because Saluda is based on Vic model.Because i have now lots stuff for Vic .Thanks

To try to answer all of your questions: Will other maps for Vicki fit Saluda? Yes, though there is seperate mapping in the areas of the genitals, nipples and lips. Saluda includes genital, lip and nipple maps, and there are literally dozens of others also to use to match various skin tones for free as well, on Morphworld 2, by Jaager. Is the fix to her shoulders, square jaw, chicken legs, etc, all just morphs available on morphworld 2, so you could swiftly whip out your own Saluda? Swift... hrm. Saluda took Jaager and I 4 months to create. Over 350 hours... I began to lose count in the end. Over 1 gig total of old versions of her before everything was "just right". Morph targets... Some are ones that Jaager has been good enough to make available on morphworld 2. Run grab them :) all good stuff! However, much of what goes into making Saluda unique from anything out there are custom morphs, built by myself and Jaager to create a body type that fitted the vision of Saluda that is unique from any existing version of Vicki. They are not available anywhere save on Saluda. Also, your own morphs, or ones done by others will work just as well on Saluda as on any Vicki, since we have not modified the base geometry. There is no guarantee they will create a pleasing look. That is up to each person, and how they turn those dials. But they will load and they will work. Though no one asked this, it is important, I think. Fingers are fixed in Saluda, so you get no more icky broken fingers when posing the hands. We include literally dozens and dozens of library settings, faces, hands, poses, lights, camaras, you name it. This is our concept package, and all others I do will be like this as well. You can literally unzip, install, and start rendering to get quality ready to use renders. There is enough here to do that. You of course later will be making your own poses, and own library settings, but to get you started, you have all of mine too. Saluda is anatomically correct. She also has a second version of her in the same 2 cr2 files, that of being pregnant. This is not a ball on the front of her abdomen as the other Vicki pregnancy solutions have been, but a genuine effort at creating convincing pregnancy as it affects a womans body from head to toe. Our Beta Tester Marque was WONDERFUL help here to me in this, she is a nurse, and a mother as well, and took pains to work with me on the medical side of pregnancy to be certain we had the right look. We include two texture map sets, a brunette base set, and a blonde base set. Each of these sets has variations for freckles, pubic hair, no pubic hair, no freckles, basically a mix and match wardrobe of body textures... so that in total there are 8 body textures along with Saluda, not just your standard 1. At this time my plans are to also develop additional assets to go with Saluda. A red head texture set is fairly well done, and merely needing final tweeks before release. More clothing morphs to fit her, other things that go with her. These are for the future though. As she stands now, she is the most complete solution to "download and render" on the market.

Attached Link: http://www.bbay.com

When I started work on Supermodel Vickie (SMV) I tried to sound Zygote out, as I didn't want to put all the time in if they were going to come up with a similar figure. While they wouldn't tell me directly (and remember I sell at Zygote, and at one point we were discussing selling her thru Zygote), I got the impression that they weren't working on one. Of course, now that they can see the intrest in Saluda, not to mention Supermodel Vickie, they might have changed their mind! ;) I just sort of want to mention that you don't have to wait for Zygote, Saluda and SMV are already here! And they might even be better that what Zygote comes up with later. (I can't really tell, my crystal ball being cloudy right now). All existing maps also fit SMV, as will head morphs. And she comes complete as shown!

Hi, Having beta tested Saluda to some extent, I can attest to the fact that not only is it a great model, but that the morphs I tried, (mainly ones by Jaager it must be said) worked fine. The finger and shoulder fixes are a godsend for anyone who's ever tried certain poses only to be defeated by the imposed limits, or the look should you remove the limits. I've been reloading my poser stuff of late, and just today I found the zip I had Victoria archived to, so when I get back I shall begin to play/post once more :) later jb

One thing is for certain, Saluda and SMV will certainly be less expensive than any proposed future model Zygote will be releasing in the unspecified future. You get alot more bang for the buck in these two ladies, since as private independent developers we can keep our overhead costs to a minimum. If you add up the model itself, the cost of texture package, and all, just for Vicki, you have already paid more than you would for both Saluda and SMV. And yet what you have bought, though an EXCELLENT canvas for any digital sculptor to work with as a raw material, is not suitable for actual usage. She needs work. Saluda and SMV are solutions that work perfectly out of the box, with no additional work needed, unless you just choose to put in the time for your own fun.

when i bought poser 4 in this spring,everone was talking about vicky.I bought her , but i didnt liked her face.but with saluda and smv there are two great girls out. and tammies vanessa in the store has the most beautiful faces Ive ever seen on vicky

Mehndi: Very nice additional info. Thanks. Bottom line is, noone needs to choose between Saluda, SMV & Zygote's upcoming figure, as if one choice or another means the end of the ballgame. Why not dig into those pockets a little deeper & try at least one of the local guys AND Zygote, if that's at all possible? Saluda & SMV are very reasonably priced. I can't buy either one this week unfortunately because I just spent $600 on business stock & two badly needed hard drives to replace those that crapped out on me, but I definitely plan to buy products not only from the creators of Saluda & SMV but also Zygote when they're done developing a new figure next year. It always makes good sense to support product creators (just as I like to be supported by my own customers!), as long as it doesn't create a serious financial burden. $30 or $75 or whatever is not really a big amount of money nowadays. When a few more developers start using the Pro version of Poser, there's going to be a whole flock of new products out there, but it's up to the average user to get behind all the most talented producers & shell out some bucks once in a while.

Well said michalki! When Zygote gets around to releasing a new lady, no doubt I will develop for her too :) I am not opposed to Zygote releasing new work, as that just broadens the market out there for what I can then develop addons and accessories and solution packages for! ;P

"If you add up the model itself, the cost of texture package, and all, just for Vicki, you have already paid more than you would for both Saluda and SMV" Except of course, that you already had to have bought Vickie for either Saluda or SMV to work..... Scarab <-(and I still say the pea was under the middle shell!)

IF anything Zygote should fix vicky and release an update to owners, not make a new figure and charge us again for it. Just my 2c. Imaginos

Hello, this is Chad from DAZ Productions. This thread was recently brought to my attention, and it looks like perhaps it could use some clarification. (I can see how speculation on a new project like this would evolve; the information quoted from Steve Kondris was intentionally vague and contextual simply for the purposes of reassuring Michalki that we appreciate his feedback.) In any case, though we typically don't like to "leak" info on new products so long before their anticipated release, I'll just correct a couple of misunderstandings here: - We don't yet know exactly what form the final product (to which Steve referred) will take. - We do know that it will require the Victoria model. As a result, all morphs and maps will also work on this new character. The figure will, however, be more versatile and the default state will be more feminine. (Don't worry Imaginos, it could easily be regarded as an optional update for the current owners of Victoria.) - As it will incorporate much of the work already done for Victoria, this project will not be as costly as creating a figure from scratch. (Similar in some ways to methods others have used to create characters using the Victoria and Michael figures.) Hence, it is by no means "certain" that the product will be comparatively expensive. We had not intended to disclose any information at this time regarding this project, but are definitely excited about what it will do in making Victoria the defacto female figure for serious Poser and ProPack users. We appreciate your concern and anticipation for the DAZ product line. (I truly believe that Victoria and Michael are very wise investments for the majority of Poser users, and am sure that this will become the case even moreso in the future.) Thanks for the support and feedback. Chad Smith DAZ Productions

Chad, It is nice to see a response and we are all awaiting this new modified victoria figure eagerly. IT is also nice to see a company who cares about its user base :) Imaginos p.s. thank you for the response.