Before anyone acuses me of being an obsessed fan boy who can't let go of the past, hear me out.  Like many A3 users, I started using her because I didn't like V3.  Among other reasons, I found A3 realistic to have a far more expressive face than V3.  When V4 came out, I tried very hard to like her, but like a lot of other people I know, I just couldn't get on with her.  Then came A4. 

I'm yet to find anyone who says they prefer A4 to A3.  Her realistic setting is as far from realistic as you can get.  Worst of all, as I already explained, I started using A3 because I didn't get on with Victoria 3 or 4.  Now Aiko users are expected to use A4, V4 with a different set or morphs.  That same V4 they didn't like.  The people at Daz are laughing of course.  One less figure to support and to use Aiko they get to sell another copy of V4.2.  Does any complain?  Yes.  Constantly. Do they take a stand a refuse to use it?  No.  That's what I'd like to change. 

It's reached the point now where nothing new is being made for A3.  The likes of Hongyu and other top vendors have dropped her like a stone.  Now people have no choice but to put up with V4 whether they like it or not.  I'm sure that if A3 products were still available she'd be as popular as ever.  Sadly, nobody seems willing to test that theory.  So, here's my plan.  I can make characters, textures packs and pose sets.  Unfortunately, I can't do 3D modelling.  I'm hoping to find a few people who can so we can start churning out A3 freebies by the bucket load and keep the character alive.  Hopefully this will catch the eye of the vendors.  If you agree with my sentiments please contact me.  If you think I'm insane, contact my doctor.

Lastly, renderosity could help with this campaign by renaming the "Aiko" section "Aiko 3".  The vendors have had long enough to move their A4 stuff to the Aiko 4 section. 

Anyway, maybe this is a futile request.  On the other hand, maybe there's enough of us out there who resent being forced to use V4 to make a stand and change things.  We shall see.  I look forward to speaking to anyone who's interested in helping.  Thanks. 
 

You're not forced to use A4/V4.  I like a lot of aspects of the DAZ Gen 3 figures and I use them all the time.  Get a copy of something like Crossdresser or Wardrobe Wizard and you can convert most clothing without too much trouble, or you can just learn Poser's rigging and re-rig stuff yourself.  Dynamics are also a great option.

Modeling isn't all that hard to learn either, if you've figured out how to do textures (assuming you're not relying completely on merchant resources) then you can learn to model :)  Here's a very thorough walkthrough I wrote up of modeling a dress, it's not specific to any modeling application - you could do this in Blender or Hexagon or whatever.
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2748221

I know this is a bit contrary to your intent but you shouldn't feel like you're limited by what OTHER people are able to create, you can learn this stuff!

Chalk me down as someone who likes A4 a lot more than A3. True, her "realistic" setting isn't realistic, but it isn't meant to be. (I use V4 if I want realism). A4's realistic is really just "realistic cartoon". Of course, I really like V4 as well. I always had problems with A3s expressions -- she didn't do "realistic" expressions very well, just toony/anime ones. I find that, with the V4 expressions available, A4s expression range can cover both the exagerated anime (and to a larger extent than A3) and the more realistic.

Can anyone speak to the relationship between A3 and SP3? They share the unimesh and mapping but do they share the same rigging? Can they share morphs? Why is SP3 an INJ/REM figure but A3 is a loaded .cr2?

Quote - Can anyone speak to the relationship between A3 and SP3? They share the unimesh and mapping but do they share the same rigging? Can they share morphs? Why is SP3 an INJ/REM figure but A3 is a loaded .cr2?

They don't actually share the same mapping, since A3 has an extra material zone in her legs. They don't share the same rigging, but are close enough that poses work reasonably well between them. (Clothes, on the other hand, do not.) They can't share morphs. I think that the issue of INJ/REM vs. loaded .cr2 was probably both a business and a technical decision. IIRC, A3 was the next-to-last Mil3 figure, so the size of the cr2 wasn't as big a concern as it would have been earlier. I think also that DAZ decided that a basic two-tiered purchase system (LE and fully-morphed) was better than the other Mil3 figures where face and body morphs were sold separately. A3 has fewer morphs overall than V3 and M3 (don't know about SP3), so the cr2 isn't that big. For example, V3 has lots of morphs to tweak tendons, individual muscles etc.

INJ/REM was introduced with V3, the Mil2 figures were loaded .cr2s.

Your handle says it all.
Alas DAZ has moved on and so will some vendors. They follow the $$$ (as a good vendor should).

Thanks for the info.

There's 1,380 Aiko 3 products in the Rendo marketplace, 404 at DAZ, and many more at other stores, as well as hundreds of freebies for the figure. Wardrobe Wizard and Crossdresser allow using many of the clothing items from other figures on A3. Aiko 3 is not hurting for clothing, morphs. Outside of the Victoria figures, Aiko 3 is the next most supported Poser figure of all time.

Merchants support the newest figures because they have the most interest for buyers who want to start building up a wardrobe for the new character. Freebie makers are still making new items and textures for Aiko 3.

There isn't a whole lot to lament about this character because A3 has been very well supported and you've probably only got a fraction of everything that is available for the figure. Try to find clothing for the original Millenium Boys Preschool figure (not Matt, though there's not all that much available for Matt or Luke compared to other DAZ figures) because there many more than a dozen or two things for that character in all of the Poser universe.

Thanks for the comments so far.  I appreciate you all taking the time to respond.  I have to say, however, I'm simply trying to put together a team to breath life into A3.  I'm going to contact a few freebie vendors and see what we can come up with.  The point of creating this thread was merely to see if I could find anyone interested in joining me.  As I stated, I'm looking forward to speaking to anyone willing to help.  Thanks.

I just thought I'd pop in and say that A3 has NOT been abandoned, not by me , and not by a lot of folks.
http://forum.daz3d.com/viewtopic.php?t=94685&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Well... if you're gonna build a "team" to continue to support the Gen3 anime figures (I suppose you don't wanna leave out Hiro3), then you had better find a place for interested folks to gather, some place like "Aiko & Hiro Addicts". A thread won't do because when it gets BIG, fewer and fewer people will want to wade through all the postings. Just my 2 cents.

Frankly, I can't escape the feeling that the DAZ support for V4/A4 tends to the sluttish in clothing styles. That's not a new problem, I'm not even sure it can be properly called a problem. I'm not averse to such things as Poser Porn--you can get the precise perversity you desire--but DAZ seem to be seeing the world through the eyes of a pornographer.

This is another reason why the A4/V4 thing doesn't work.  Vikki is clearly a lot older than Aiko.  She looks like a mother who borrowed her daughters clothes.  V4 can't get away with slutty teen clothing and Aiko looks ridiculous in things like Hongyu's classic dressy.  The clothes need to be for either one character or the other in my opinion.