Hi,  I am a hobbyist who enjoys 3d and character modeling but it has probably been a couple of years since I was last very active with it. I've always used Poser primarily although I've tried a few other products.

I upgraded to Poser 8 yesterday after reading all the reviews. I had downloaded Daz3d Studio and after a couple hours decided it had a long way to go.  Maybe if I could have installed it to C:/ the interface would have been more comprehensible but the non-intuitive interface had blank default tabs as well as tabs where I had installed the product. Very confusing.

After downloading my Poser 8 digital upgrade files I worked on installing it.

I have to admit I was not pleased with the lack of professionalism evident in the install process. After creating my combined setup directory I ran the installer and let it run "forever"! :)   Well, it did take a long time but that is ok because that meant I was getting lots of goodies, right?

After install and hotfix I tried running and got a strange error. I figured that something had gone wrong in the install process so I uninstalled and re-installed.....more time passes....install done, same error occurs when I try to run Poser 8.

The hotfix never really said it was finished, it just updated poser.exe and .... nothing. I had to assume it did what it was supposed to do. Would have been nice if, at the end, it had popped up a message saying "Hotfix completed. U R00l!"  Or someting like that. :)

This time I Googled like mad and finally found the reason for the error on the Smith Micro support site. Apparently, Poser 8 requires a specific version of Microsoft C++ runtime libraries. Ahh, well that was easy to rectify but why didn't the install program note I had an old version? The only thing I use Microsoft for is the XP operating system. I use OpenOffice and Firefox. I don't use .Net apps or anything like that.  Why would Smith Micro assume I had the latest greatest whatever that Microsoft has put out? Pretty odd to assume like that and the error message gave no clues.

This time I run Poser and it opens. Whee....oh wait...on the right side there is a message about Flash not downloading or something. WTF?  This time I start searching immediately and find out this is another common problem that users have had. I uninstall whatever version of Flash I have and install the latest. Ahhh, joy at last.

Quite impressed with the new library interface. Quite impressed with the usability as well. Rendering is slow, of course, but my 3ghz dual core Pentium 4 with 2gb ram and a fairly high end graphics card never has appreciated Poser too much. Maybe someday I can upgrade to a quad processor super XYZ lightning fast machine with mutant graphics processors or something. For now, I'll be patient.

By this time, the evening was over and I only had time to do a couple quick renders but I was awed at the quality. Alyson's default hair was soft enough to touch...

I'm very  much looking forward to spending time with Poser 8. It is unfortunate that the install process was so poorly designed but the end result will be pleasurable...I hope!  Many hours will be spent...and from what I read I can convert the "tons" of older clothes I have right in-program. That'll be sweet.

Steve

You really want to learn Poser, visit the forum often and the amount of information posted will simply spin your head.

Hi hborre,

Yes, I used to haunt this place in the past. It is good to be back. I'm mainly a dial spinner but anytime I have a question, I know I can find an answer here!

Steve

@ sls

Thank you Steve ... for taking the time for this very good review.
I am sure it will probably save some time for others who may experience these problems.

Again, thanks for taking the time to post this information.

cheers,
dr geep
;=]

 The Microsoft C++ runtime isn't really under SmithMicro's control... it's a requirement of the installer (Wise?) that they are using. I've seen some versions of Wise that will update the C++ Runtime automatically, but maybe this version just doesn't.

Daz3D has had some strange installers as well. I know that to install any of their unimesh models in Win7 x64 I've had to create a few empty directories with an empty dummy file in one just to make their installer not give a strange error and exit. Alas.

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2789820

Yes much appreciated
"Thank you Steve ... for taking the time for this very good review.
I am sure it will probably save some time for others who may experience these problems."

I learned something already ...I may need to upgrade My C++ runtime Library and upgrade whatever flash I have on my HD ..since I dont use any of them I doubt there current!

thanks.

At this point, please do not apply the hotfix to new installations any more. It was only necessary until the first service release was available. Please download and install the latest service release from http://my.smithmicro.com/win/poser/updates.html - that's all that is necessary. Among other improvements, it will ensure that the Visual Studio redistributable libraries get installed correctly.