Quote - It also means that you can't load old scenes made in old Posers which had no fixed render sizes (render into preview window), unless you undock. That's a pain.

How much older are you talking about?  Poser 7 worked this way for sure, and I believe Poser 6 did also (with the band showing render region).

Hi I posted this is the Vue forum, and not getting good responses. I thought you guys might be able to help. I'm running XPpro64 with a quadcore processor and 500mb Nvidia 6600 gpu. I'm currently working with Vue6 Inf-64 and Poser7, I was emailed an option to upgrade to Poser8 for a reasonable price...I noticed it did not specify that it was 64-bit friendly, however PoserPro detailed that it was, and is only slightly more money. Both have an all body morphing tool which is my main interest in upgrading (other than render/load speeds) Poser8 also advertizes import of motion capture files which is a bit of an enticement, however PoserPro allows for batch renders. Both of these are potentially useful features, but my primary interest is compatability with Vue6 64 and Skinvue (for Daz characters) especially with reguards to import speed and accuraccy. I'm also interested in better dynamic fabric/hair calculation and accurracy) I feel it's important to mention I don't use the Poser texture/repose options inside of vue, I find them too resource demanding.   I believe vue6 was designed with Poser6 and 7 in mind does it accomodate for these newer versions. I'm unable to upgrade Vue anytime soon. Is it worthwhile to upgrade Poser, and which is the best version for me? I appreciate your help.

oops! sorry about my previous post, sean, but my knowledge of modern english is far from compleat. 

perhaps one could use an analogy: poser renders may often have nostril glow, but after several years of repeated explanations on how to fix this, some users are able to render with nice shadows. 

it will be the same with poser renders using indirect diffuse light.  in the first few months, users will produce renders with weird shadows, funny-looking edges and splotches (here I'm intentionally avoiding any technical terms to describe those errors), but with succeeding patches and repeated explanations, users will be able to get rid of those items.  other users may wish to turn off indirect diffuse light, even as some users in the poser realism gallery turn off shadows and still get congratulatory responses and high ratings.

p.s. in case anybody asks, the poser disks ship with a printed manual and a quickie fold-out guide to commands, both of which are easy to read.

wushen:

Poser 8 is a 32-bit application. It will run in a 64-bit OS as legacy content. It will not take advantage of the extra memory that 64-bits makes available. It is, however, able to take advantage of the multiple cores of modern processors.

Poser Pro is a different product, distinct from Poser 8. Poser Pro is a 32-bit application but it is able to run its renderer, Firefly, as a seperate 64-bit process.

The new features offered in Poser 8, will not work in Poser Pro, which is an entirely different application. Poser Pro 2010, the update to Poser Pro will be available in 2010. It will have all (or most) of the new features introduced in Poser 8. It will probably not be a 64-bit application, but will retain its ability to render in a seperate process as a 64-bit program.

For those who own Poser Pro, and who side-grade to Poser 8 using the reduced price, Smith Micro will deduct the cost of Poser 8 from the cost to upgrade to Poser Pro 2010. Smith Micro will also invite these Poser Pro owners to be part of the beta testing team of Poser Pro 2010.

I do not use Vue, and I do not know anything about using Poser content in Vue. Maybe some one else can comment on the issues involved with Vue compatibility.

LMK

Are there any new tools for animating figures in p8?

Quote - oops! sorry about my previous post, sean, but my knowledge of modern english is far from compleat. 

perhaps one could use an analogy: poser renders may often have nostril glow, but after several years of repeated explanations on how to fix this, some users are able to render with nice shadows. 

it will be the same with poser renders using indirect diffuse light.  in the first few months, users will produce renders with weird shadows, funny-looking edges and splotches (here I'm intentionally avoiding any technical terms to describe those errors), but with succeeding patches and repeated explanations, users will be able to get rid of those items.  other users may wish to turn off indirect diffuse light, even as some users in the poser realism gallery turn off shadows and still get congratulatory responses and high ratings.

p.s. in case anybody asks, the poser disks ship with a printed manual and a quickie fold-out guide to commands, both of which are easy to read.

I ask myself each time i see that ... Where is the realism ??? But it's an other subject, i'm just happy to see i'm not alone !

Torulf:

http://poser8.smithmicro.com/index.html

This is to answer the often asked question, I did not see anyone mention this feature (including Smith Micro at their web-pages on Poser 8), is it in Poser 8?

In almost every instances, if it isn't mentioned in the features list released by Smith Micro, it isn't in Poser 8. If an old bug has been fixed it will be mentioned. If there are new animation tools, they will be mentioned and described. If a version of Poser offers 64-bit rendering, the promotional feature list will tell you about it. Except for bugs, Smith Micro is eager to expose ALL new features of Poser 8. Most of the features of versions of Poser 5 through Poser 7 are also in Poser 8 (except for the Poser 4 rendering option). They are not keeping secrets to tease people. If it isn't advertised, Poser 8 doesn't have it.

Remember that Pose 8 is a different product line from Poser Pro. Features available in the Poser Pro line will not be in the Poser line of products unless Smith Micro says so.

Any one who wants to copy the content of this reply to any other thread may do so.

Quote - Why is that so diffficult? Note the window size of the old file. Import the pz3. Reset the new window size to the previous one.

Am I missing something?

You aren't missing anything - It's just that I thought that loading a file might be as simple as going File/Load - choosing file, and that's it...

Starting P6/7 (2 minutes), loading that file (1 minute), jotting down the expected dimensions, quitting everything, loading P8, loading the scene in P8, changing the render dimensions in hope to find again my old framing - all this won't speed up my work, for sure...  :-(

Quote - > Quote - It also means that you can't load old scenes made in old Posers which had no fixed render sizes (render into preview window), unless you undock. That's a pain.

How much older are you talking about?  Poser 7 worked this way for sure, and I believe Poser 6 did also (with the band showing render region).

Poser 6 and 7 had a floating preview window, and the dimension of it were saved with the file. If I made a CinemaScope frame, it would load as such later on, even if I didn't  fix any render dimensions. For this reason, all my files don't have fixed render dimensions, they render in the "Match Preview Window" mode, since the preview stayed in the size I gave him.
Now the preview window is docked (a good thing, except this problem), the "Match Preview Window" mode I've been using for 5+ years has become useless, because the preview size is fixed, and depends on about everything except artistic choice (and changes each time you open or close a window, like the library, for instance)...

So yes, don't everybody try to tell me one can work like this, indeed one can, but I still consider this is a regression compared to before. I was forced to undock my preview window, because else it's just too much hassle to load old files (once again, because of the "Match Preview Window" render size setting I used extensively) .

Sorry to hear about your old files requiring you to resize a window or whatever.  I dunno, I'm more concerned about the fact that Indirect Lighting/GI renders so poorly as to be pretty much unusable. 

LOL

Okay, now let's not get into a pissing contest like "my bug is better than yours!"...   :-D

I was asking if this was a RTFM issue, or if indeed there is no easy way to use the docked preview. I was given the answer that indeed, there is no easy way to do it.  Okay.  I hereby declare that this is a pain in the rear, a minor one maybe, but a pain nevertheless, and I add the solemn statement that fixing this problem should in no way postpone or prevent the fixing of the GI splotches (I personally haven't met yet, but might eventually do).

All right?

just a question, because someone mentioned this and it seemed really crazy to me.  are you guys using IDL with IBL?  because that seems like a really bad idea.  the whole reason to use IBL is to fake what IDL does.  i can definitely imagine problems putting the two together.  maybe bagginsbill will set me straight, but if you're having artifacts when using the two together, that could certainly explain to me why so many people would be posting perfect, artifact-free renders while you guys aren't able to get past them.

personally, i'm planning to hold out for Pro, so i don't have my own direct experience to test.  but i know i'll have to change my lighting to use only directed light and ambient colors in my future setups.

I'm not, spotlights only (I agree with you about mixing the two).

cool.  it was just that someone complaining about artifacts mentioned using them together, and no one seemed to comment on that.

It is my opinion you get blotch artifacts pretty much with all combinations of settings with Indirect Lighting enabled, but with varying intensity. It seems they show up in the worst ways with standard lighting (spot or point) when you have an enclosing polygonal environment, and when you have a lot of complex, convoluted geometry with a lot of transitions from convex to concave and back.

how does the shadow_catcher work with GI?

anyone tryed?

I think that's not quite the only reason for using IBL. You might want it in a studio setting to give the ambience of a scene that is too much trouble to set up all off camera. But you might want IDL as well for specific, localized fill cards. (Weak argument, I agree.)

Whichway

Quote - just a question, because someone mentioned this and it seemed really crazy to me.  are you guys using IDL with IBL?  because that seems like a really bad idea.  the whole reason to use IBL is to fake what IDL does.  i can definitely imagine problems putting the two together.  maybe bagginsbill will set me straight, but if you're having artifacts when using the two together, that could certainly explain to me why so many people would be posting perfect, artifact-free renders while you guys aren't able to get past them.

personally, i'm planning to hold out for Pro, so i don't have my own direct experience to test.  but i know i'll have to change my lighting to use only directed light and ambient colors in my future setups.

Not right. I posted about this in another thread - can't find it.

IBL works differently when IDL is on. Poser implements an infinite sphere, populated by the IBL colors - effectively the same thing as my Environment Sphere.

IDL only "sees" the sphere if nothing gets in the way. If you're rendering in an enclosed room, IBL contributes absolutely nothing to the scene.

If you're out in the open, then IBL works just like the EnvSphere, only with better/correct occlusion, and also mixes local surface colors in the right proportions. In particular, a flat floor or wall will NOT have a uniform color on it from the IBL, while that is the case in Poser 7 and Pro. It will have a proper gradient.

Quote - how does the shadow_catcher work with GI?

anyone tryed?

I've been writing so many written answers about Poser 8, I have not had time to launch it in 3 days. I'm kind of overwhelmed at this point, after typing for a solid week in between my all-day meetings. I have a backlog of things people are asking me - how does this work, how does that work?

I have a new answer. If you're really not sure that you've seen enough to be convinced you like these features, or you're so poor that $130 is a hardship, then don't buy it now. Wait a month.

That had better mean "You'll get paid again in a month" and not "Price will drop next month"!  :biggrin:

Whichway

oblique way of saying "sr1 will probably be out in a month".

Well, after a little trial and error and swapping computers, I found that I had been an idiot and not updated my Graphics drivers. Feel a bit stupid but everything seems working just fine now.

So far, I'm very happy with the interface and the library in particular - this is going to be a massive help in the future.

It is going to take some time to learn how to best use this new lighting feature but trying out soem old stuff, I do find that the rendering is now much faster, perhaps enough to make short animations possible (I've been trying Carrara for that so far).

The first niggle I do have though is with the content. I'm certain that a better job could have been done with P8s new rigging and as for the models .... Am I the only one who thinks their arms are a bit short? It was a problem with the old Miki that was corrected for Miki 2 and the G2 figures but seems to have crept back in here. It is a pity, I really do like the G2 range and Miki2, so I would have been happy to see them return with new rigging.

This aside, first impressions are rather good.

Miki 2 didn't have body shape changes; her legs look a little shorter than Miki 1's in zero pose, but it's just the angle of the foot

I've had Poser 8 for a couple of days now and it everything seemed pretty honky-dory until it started to give me error dialogs and bombs me back to Windows.  It won't even start up now- all I get is the error saying that "something happened" at it needs to close. 

In fact, the error pops up twice, which kind of leads me to believe that it might be an issue with the FFrender.exe, which I set up to run in a separate process (two of them, in fact).  

Anyone know of a work around?  

Seriously, the dialog says "something happened"?

I think he's talking about the Windows error that basically says just that.

Yeah.  It's the lame dialog box that pops up whenever a program takes a dump.  Of course, whenever I try to find out some specifics, it won't let me copy any of the hexadecimal error codes to a text file.  That would be needed to send to Smith Micro so they can decipher why their newly-released program isn't ready for prime-time, you know? 

And before anyone asks, I DID install the hotfix that was released days after Poser 8 was supposedly ready to ship, too. 

If you've launched a lot of times, it's possible the "Temp Pathname" bug, which always adds "/8.0" to the path for temporary files, has extended the path enough times to make it too long, i.e. greater than 260 characters.

Yeah?  Never heard of that one.  How would I go about checking for that?  And -more importantly- how do I go about making sure it doesn't happen again?  

Quote - oblique way of saying "sr1 will probably be out in a month".

And I'm guessing, mind you. At the moment, I'm not on project with them. Steve Cooper says he wants me to do marketing stuff (the webinar he mentioned), and I believe they want more engineering, but nothing is official, and so officially I know nothing. Word.

I can't even start Poser 8...

When executing Poser.exe I get the message that "CoInternetSetFeatureEnabled" wasn't found in the urlmon.dll. Anyone know what that means?

Cheers
contrafibbularities

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2774766&page=65#message_3496254

It's a bug, there is no way to prevent it doing that until SM provide a fix.
All you can do is edit Poser.ini to make the path correct and delete the erroneous subdirectories created.

That link only gives me a Reply page. Could you tell me where I'd find the Poser.ini file? Thanks.

Whichway

Hey I was wondering if something changed in the material room.  I can't seem to find the little + to add my own materials to my collection.  I could  be blind though.  Thanks in advance for help :)

Quote - Hey I was wondering if something changed in the material room.  I can't seem to find the little + to add my own materials to my collection.  I could  be blind though.  Thanks in advance for help :)

The + only appears if you select a folder. I had the same WTF moment...

Quote - (hypothetical SR1 ETA) And I'm guessing, mind you.

I am going back into cynic mode until I'm shown some fairly major improvement to the renderer - not your fault, mine.  I do not have it (the hypothetical SR), therefore it is irrelevant.

Quote - Hey I was wondering if something changed in the material room.  I can't seem to find the little + to add my own materials to my collection.  I could  be blind though.  Thanks in advance for help :)

Depending on how you have the window positioned and sized, it may just be that the button is out of the viewable area.  Try scaling the library window wider (or showing it if it's hidden).

Ok, wow, I was away last week, but decided I was going to get Poser 8 at some point, so why not just buy it and see what it can do.  I read about through page 4 of this thread (through Thursday, I think) before buying.   Then I travelled to a place with only dial-up, which to me means NO internet other than emergencies, LOL.  Saturday evening was my first crack at installing and playing with Poser 8.

I should qualify everything I say here by saying that I really am a light user of all 3d apps.  I don't animate.  I am a hobbyist.  If I were grading my renders I'd give them an overall C, and working hard to get an A.  So my first impressions are these.

It's still excellent.  A little crashy for me (see below), but all in all a good improvement and well worth the upgrade price.  I'm using the 8.0.0.10099 (the hotfix version).

At first it wouldn't even start up.  I deemed that to be an emergency, read a thread about downloading the latest version of Microsoft C++, downloaded, installed and it worked like a charm.  Not terribly impressed, but glad it was an easy fix.

1.)  The GUI?  I had no problem with P7's interface, except I wished that the parameters dials would stay put.  So YAY for the interface!!  I love being able to move the palettes around and have them stick.  Something isn't working right with the palettes in the material room, but in the pose room it's really a good improvement.

2.)  The libraries. It took me forever to figure out how to add all my runtimes.  I read the included documentation and it talked about adding runtimes, but never said exactly how.  (It certainly never mentioned the Shaderworks script).  Anyhow I added them all one by one by the "add library" button.  Most of mine are on an external hard drive that isn't always plugged in.  I bought Semidieu's runtime utilities to add all my runtimes when I forgot or couldn't plug in my external in P7 and that doesn't work in P8.   Then I just read and found out about the new script.   I wish Poser had a way of keeping my runtimes in its memory when my external HD isn't attached, but the new script is ok.

3.)  More on the libraries, I don't like the tiny icons much, but found if I select one and it's big, then I can scroll through the rest and that's ok.  Yea, don't like it much.

4.)  And also on the GUI, I wish that any docked libraries could be slid closed and opened with a click like in P7.

5.) The material room GUI seems like it's not quite done.  I've seen people talking about the titles running off the nodes, which I've experienced as well.  However many times, Poser 8 crashes when I enter the material room. Are others experiencing this?  It happens with new scenes and old scenes, but a work around seems to be to reopen the document and select a different figure before switching to the material room.  I will file a bug report on this.

6.) The preview window somehow got docked in the bottom of my screen, and I can't get it to dock anywhere else or remain undocked. I never really found that preview screen useful in P7, but the OpenGL in P8 is much better and now I want to use it, so I hope this will get fixed soon.

7.)  The lighting is very much better.  Not nearly as much blowout and softer falloff is really making my renders seem gorgeous (perhaps a C+?!  ;->)  And faster, so so much faster.  I have dual cores, and often watched in P7 as one core finished its job and not help out the other core.  This does much better.  I'm not sure why, but hair seems to render much prettier, with better highlights.  Very cool!!

8.)  P7 scenes open without a hitch, and render immediately.  Whew, and thanks!

Well, that's my first impression input.  If anyone has any advice that would help any of the minor issues I'm finding, I'd appreciate it.  I'm glad I got it, and see no reason to use P7 anymore :)

Indi.

Quote - 4.)  And also on the GUI, I wish that any docked libraries could be slid closed and opened with a click like in P7.

I already asked for this, and was told to use Ctrl-Shift-B to toggle the library, which works indeed just fine.

Quote - 5.) The material room GUI seems like it's not quite done.  I've seen people talking about the titles running off the nodes, which I've experienced as well.  However many times, Poser 8 crashes when I enter the material room. Are others experiencing this?

No, not this, but I had it leave when I tried to add a Blinn node. Restarted, reloaded the scene and this time it worked just fine, so apparently it's random.

Quote - 8.)  P7 scenes open without a hitch, and render immediately.  Whew, and thanks!

Do your P7 scenes load in the right dimensions? Mine load in whatever aspect ratio the last preview window was in, even if it's undocked, which is an obvious bug. I expect my scenes to load just like I had saved them.  :-/

Quote - I already asked for this, and was told to use Ctrl-Shift-B to toggle the library, which works indeed just fine.

oooOOOOOoooohhh! Very cool, Thanks! It seems lots of things are "togglable"

Quote - No, not this, but I had it leave when I tried to add a Blinn node. Restarted, reloaded the scene and this time it worked just fine, so apparently it's random.

Random.... bummer.

Quote - Do your P7 scenes load in the right dimensions? Mine load in whatever aspect ratio the last preview window was in, even if it's undocked, which is an obvious bug. I expect my scenes to load just like I had saved them.  :-/

Hmm... most of my scenes have non-preview sizes and those DO load in with the right dimensions.  If you've only changed the preview size to change the render size, then yea, I can see how P8 would read that as your new preview size.  Can you undock the preview window?  I guess a work around would be to go back into P7, and change the render dimentions to an exact resolution, even if it is exactly the preview size and save it again before you load it into P8?  (probably already been stated).

Quote - If you've only changed the preview size to change the render size, then yea, I can see how P8 would read that as your new preview size.

Yes, that's the problem. And I have 56 GB (compressed) of Poser scenes in this situation...
Obviously I'm not going to re-render them all, but still, it worked in P5, in P6, in P7, in PP, why shouldn't it work in P8?...

Quote - Can you undock the preview window?

I can, but that doesn't change anything. That's what makes it a genuine bug. I can understand the docked preview can't adapt, but the undocked one should, like it always did.

Quote - I guess a work around would be to go back into P7, and change the render dimentions to an exact resolution, even if it is exactly the preview size and save it again before you load it into P8?  (probably already been stated).

Indeed. But that's 5 minutes work for each scene... A lot of time to fix what should be working.
Oh well. I'll file a bug report.

"CoInternetSetFeatureEnabled" wasn't found in the urlmon.dll

urlmon.dll is a part of IE and us use in conjunction with setting security levels. It's also used with a browser control embedded in an application which is apparently what Poser 8 is doing. The message is telling you that it can't find that patricular function in your urlmon.dll. According to Microsoft, the function was added as part of the security updates with XP Service Pack 2. If you're running XP SP2 (or I assume Vista) with IE 6 or above, it should be there. 

@lmckenzie
Thanks for the info!  I'm still running SP1 so that would explain the problem.

Guys, you will love this:
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2778635

"I'm still running SP1 so that would explain the problem."

Quite likely. I used a utility to check the dlls on my system and CoInternetSetFeatureEnabled is in my current version but missing from some older backup copies. Installing SP2 (or maybe better SP3) should get you past that hurdle at least.. Of course, backing up your system before installing the SP never hurts :-)

You also might to read up on changes regarding managing your firewall/anti-virus etc.www.pcworld.com/article/117422/internet_tips_tweak_windows_xp_sp2_security_to_your_advantage.html

a little advice, if you own Poser 8, you must have P3dO explorer by Yarp (freestuff) the best app to manipulate and to see preview content in Poser ... i do not understand smith micro companie to not include it with Poser 8 ...

Quote - a little advice, if you own Poser 8, you must have P3dO explorer by Yarp (freestuff) the best app to manipulate and to see preview content in Poser ... i do not understand smith micro companie to not include it with Poser 8 ...

I have been using that for years!  It was absolutely necessary for P7 to see all my runtimes and open anything in Poser without having to load a single runtime.   I'm glad to see he has updated the script for Poser 8 as well because I'll be going back to P3dO - P8 library is too frustrating atm.

Quote - Guys, you will love this:
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2778635

"No longer exists".

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2778635

yup it does.

My bad: didnt copy the full addy. Sorry. Carry on.