it had them all along.
they were just not coded on the Daz end.....

the renderer having features for them isn't at all the same as the software having them.  iirc, there's a lot of stuff Firefly can do (like true SSS) that Poser doesn't support.  that said, there are multiple forms of SSS and translucence for D|S.  in point of fact, that was what turned me off.  there's pwSurface, the Elite Human Surface System, and at least one more (iirc).  

the heart of the community is building on what others have done.  it's really hard to do that if most people don't have the same tools, and the ones that do and have more knowledge  have paid a great deal for access to said knowledge.  for instance, i think they've made it free to develop for D|S recently, but making people pay for the SDK for so long has created a very mercantile system where in depth information isn't shared as heavily.  commercially it's a smart move to separate the average users from the pros, and keep your average users totally dependent and unable to grow without literally buying into your system.  i'm just personally not someone who can afford to make this into a business, nor am i interested in never being able to actually make anything unless i make an merchant-sized investment.