This question was just brought to mind because of another thread here about DAZ content and ... other stuff. So just a quick question about why you believe V4 is the most popular 3D figure.

Maybe because she is very customizable, and because there is now so much content available for her?

Suport, suport and suport.

Another detail... I find her hands and feet to be the most attractive of any of the models.

Oh basicwiz! LOL. The feet? With those monkey toes? LOL

I guess I've just never met anyone with those kind of feet...lol.

;o)

On topic tho, I think it is the amount of support. Nearly everything available is for one of the Daz figures. They got in early and managed to stay on top because no other figures were either as easy to use, as nearly accepted or even came close to the amount of content available.

Laurie

Support and the fact that - like it or not - DAZ are the pre-eminent content providers for Poser.

Which is pretty much what Laurie said.

Quote - ... Which is pretty much what Laurie said.

Which is pretty much what Grappo said...lol.

Such a simple answer ;o).

Laurie

Started a similar thread At DAZ. So far, I'm hearing availability, support and versatility.

For me its the content that is available for v4. Without morphs++ and a handful of custom body morphs I would be using Miki3 and A4 a whole lot more.

Although I think once there is more content available for Miki3 I will be using that figure more.

simple ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvmZ9SPcTzU

From what I've seen, it seems that in the earlier days of Poser, the early Victorias were competing against Posette. (And while I've seen people do lovely things with Posette, the simple truth is that she's not as easy to use right-out-of-the-box for realistic renders.) Then, when DAZ started upgrading the Victorias, people got the upgrades because they were happy with the older figures. (If Vicky 1 or 2 worked well for you, it stands to reason that Vicky 3 might too, right?) And, we do have to admit that Victoria 4 is a nice figure; if not the absolute best, she's not the absolute worst either. I use her because of the support available.

Which is exactly what everyone else said. I guess we're all in agreement here :)

Plus, now the base model is free.

Popularity reinforces itself, when it comes to Poser content.  There's certainly a lot of support, sure, but keep in mind people produce content for V4 simply because she's very popular.

It's a vicious cycle ;o).

Laurie

Quote - It's a vicious cycle ;o).

Laurie

Yes her popularity is self perpetuating
and from a business standpoint we have no choice

personally **I UTTERLY DESPISE V4!! ** but...... the reality... is..
(looks down at his sig banner)

Cheers

Of course, for those of us who LIKE the Daz figures, it's all gravy. And I doubt I'm the only one who really does LIKE them!

The Vickies have always been the most popular figures, ever since Daz relased the first version as the first big shiny new figure which wasn't included with P4.  V4 is simply the most recent in the Vicky line.  There are probably nice things about the figure which have helped keep it popular, but it was going to be the most popular figure for Poser as soon as it was released.

The big question in my mind is whether V5 will continue the trend of the newest Vicky being the Queen of Poser. 

Any word about V5 yet?

it's not so much disliking the figures... to me it's they're over used. way way over used. back when I was on a SF modeling forum a lot, we had an acronym. JABE.

"Just Another Bloody Enterprise"

since that was the main model that people were making. Enterprise NCC-1701. out all the things they could model from the SF works in the world or imagine, it was the Enterprise. when I stopped going there, one guy was on his 11th version of the ship, still trying to find perfection... and that was one of about 20 or so versions of her being worked on.

when I look in the gallery's, while there's good work there, I just see vickies... and I wonder, what more can we do? it's just vickies all the way down?

Nobody's stopping you (any of you)...  Certain syndromes like this, the main responsibility goes to the buyers.  Here's a good example:

http://sharecg.com/v/46985/view/Poser/V4-Morphs++-Loader-Poses

http://sharecg.com/v/46955/view/Poser/M4-Morphs++-Loader-Poses

These two items are functionally identical, took the same work, have the same appearance, do the same thing etc.  One of them has been downloaded 224 times and is rated 5/5 by 3 people.  The other has been downloaded 117 times and is (inexplicably) rated 1/5 by one person.  They took the same amount of work to do, and the work cannot be re-used.  People can argue about quality standards or design preferences or whatever, but this is pretty black and white 1:1 parity.

Oh, Vicky you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind, hey Vicky!

Thank you, Toni Basil.

I think there's something related to the support and ther first third-party figure issue: familiarity.

I'm later than some to the Poser community. I got in with Poser 5 and Vicky 3. I was aware of Poser earlier, but frankly the images I saw back then didn't impress me enough to have a go myself. I think I may have played with Don and Judy for a few days before seeking out DAZ and the Victoria everyone seemed to say was The Best.

Even then, Vicky and Mike 3 were a clear step up from the native Poser figures.

Now, I'm not so sure. I'm really impressed by the expressiveness of Alysson and Ryan.

But each time I load them up, I'm experimenting with their capabilities somewhat. I have to think about how I use them, and what I can do with them (and the same applies to other Daz figures I use less frequently, like all three generations of DAZ children).

Because I use Vicky and Mike a lot, I'm familiar with their setups, their morphs and, in most cases, where I've installed all the stuff for them in my runtimes.

At one stage, I even had Vicky installed to load up in my default scene (these days, I have an empty scene, metric and white background/foreground, then I don,t prejudge what I'm going to fill it with).

Apollo and Antonia are great figures. G2s are very nice, but their support is a little naff, with some cheesy outfits, and the P8 generation are excellent.

But invariably, I load Vicky 4 straight off, with Steph4 my second favourite and Mike4 coming in third.

Because they were clear winners a few years ago, and because of the sheer amount of stuff I have for them, and because I know how to move, morph and pose them, I turn to them as a default. Familiarity.

Like many other people, I do a lot of doodling in Poser. The images I post are either stuff I've planned or doodles an image grew around, and they're a tiny fraction of the images I render, most of which I don't even save. But doodling increases my technical skills, and recently I've been trying to push a few personal boundaries in core skills like lighting, texturing, shading and rendering. I want a familiar figure in there while I experiment with other stuff.

Despite the old adage, familiarity doesn't always breed contempt.

Edited: fixed typo.

A very consistent downside of the EF/Smith Micro figures is getting the face to look substantially different from the default morph without a pretty massive amount of work in a sculpting app.

"Despite the old adage, familiarity doesn't always breed contempt."

oh no no. not contempt. think more, "chicken thursday"........ there's more to life...

Ive actually thought about sending a posed model of V4 to shapeways to realize one of my ultimate fantasies....hahahaha , Im such a nerd.

I still prefer Posette!  Remapped PosetteV3 with Nanette Tredoux custom made hair, the Nelly Bly Coat Freebie, and my own Custom made hat (Done in Max).  The pose is one that i'm working on for her to grasp the steering Wheel of a ship.

dph

If you do nudes, nothing comes close off the shelf. mo I mean,,, come on

excuse fellow on left. No scaling yet

Quote - oh no no. not contempt. think more, "chicken thursday"........ there's more to life...

Chicken? On Thursday? But Thursday is steak and chips night!

I do understand what you're getting at. Vicky here, Vicky there, Vicky's just about everywhere...

But she is versatile. She's fairly easy to do a lot of different things with, and many people know how to make her different - with the various morph packs, if you're at my level. And many don't. Even if it's not a NVIATWS, we're still seeing a lot of unadulterated Vickies (and if you go to DA, many Vickies 'adulterated' only with the Breast Size morph).

So what? Many of us are learning the 3D for the first time, learning Poser, using Vicky because she's convenient, well-supported or familiar.

But there are also people who are doing some awesome, advanced stuff with Vicky or without.

Do I get tired of seeing her? Yes, sometimes - although it's probably closer to the mark to say that I get tired of people doing the same old thing with her. Even if she isn't naked in a temple, she's semi-naked and thrusting her ass at me.

But not always. Not always.

I generally ignore that stuff I've seen over and over again, unless I see something in the image I like - the lighting, the colours, the composition, whatever - in which case I usually leave a comment.

And when it comes to my images, I will often use a standard pose, tweaked in some way, or a standard character morph... But these days, as my skills are increasing, I customise more and more, so that most of my images have something original in them. Morphs, textures, simple models.

At the end of the day, I'm a hobby user. And generally, that's when I doodle and render: at the end of the day. While my interest now is in using something I've created myself in an image, I still use a lot of bought material because I have it, ready and waiting to use, to help me make an image that satisfies me, as my relaxation. And I need to use those shortcuts because there are many other demands on my time.

And when I need to use a starting figure I'll usually turn to some variation of Vicky or of Mike for reasons heretofore and aboveforth stated.

I believe many users are like me in this. And believe you me, I appreciate those who break out of the box.

Laziness? I don't think so. Lack of skills? Perhaps; we're all learning, after all, even if some of us are learning more basic things than others. Convenience, ease of use, familiarity... I honestly think this is at the heart of the proliferation of Vickies.

And there may also be an amount of happenstance. I've used Miki 2 quite a bit, G2s a little, Alysson more often... but never in an image I've posted to my gallery. It's all been in experimental doodles.

Or are we instead complaining that we're using Vicky over Mike. Too many females in our images, not enough males? On that, I defintiely agree, even as I continue to devote an unfair proportion of my attention to my runtimes' women. I admit my guilt, but in mitigation of my offence wish to draw the court's attention to the fact that boobies are soft.

Well, it all began with props. I mean, temple after temple. Someone thought it a good idea to make swords, soon we had more swords than you could shake a stick at...

But something was missing...something n*ked...something that had never been done before, except as a rite of passage.

Daz saw the marketing opportunity, and with alacrity, came up with the first Vickie. The crowd responded with delight, and soon the world contained the ubiquitous model, even including clothes, hair, and all the accessories needed.  NVIATWAS in all her glory. Just another Bloody Vickie...;)

I get the impression that the good people at DAZ really care about the Vickys. There is usually a noticeable improvement in quality from one version to the next. So much so that I do not mind paying the full price when she is first released and am rarely disappointed. 

So that usually makes the newest Vicki the HOT Poser figure to have.

Quote - I get the impression that the good people at DAZ really care about the Vickys. There is usually a noticeable improvement in quality from one version to the next. So much so that I do not mind paying the full price when she is first released and am rarely disappointed. 

So that usually makes the newest Vicki the HOT Poser figure to have.

Strange, I've never noticed any improved quality from one version to the next, only of poly density and increased weirdness.  As for quality, rather than an improvement, rather the opposite.  V4's body is even weirder than Jesse's! -overly short in the hip and overly long in the thighs, and an impossible texture UV format.

dph

I really do not like V4.  As V4, that is.  I like the S4 and A4 versions much better but...

As my good mate DPH commented, the mesh is ludicrously dense.

The default V4 looks horrible, too.  As I once noted, it has a face like a bag of smashed crabs.  I also don't like the need to buy 3 different morph packs to get a reasonable amount of variety, either.  Yes, I know, modelling app, FBM etc.  Life's too short.

Looks like I'll be leaving the Victoria boat soon anyhow; I can't afford to upgrade my software and system, so V5 won't be a valid option for me.

Quote - Better rigging than anything in Poser. For the old type of rigging. More support. Easier to morph into just about anything.

Are you trying to pick a fight?

Have you ever checked the rigging on any poser figure since P5? every figure has problems.

If you don't want everyones opinions then you should state that we are not allowed to say anything about JPs in Poser figures. You asked why V4 is popular and I gave you my reasons.

It seem you have the problem with that.

I think that Morph for Morph, my remapped PosetteV3 has much more of them, and that they are for FREE and included gratis in her Cr2.

dph

I dont like V4...I just buy her cloth and convert them to A3 :)  But I can understand why V4 is popular; she is the newest daz V figure and she have a lot of support in content being made for her.

When V5 comes, the smae thing will happens to her, she will be most supported and most popular.

Quote - Have you ever checked the rigging on any poser figure since P5? every figure has problems.

If you don't want everyones opinions then you should state that we are not allowed to say anything about JPs in Poser figures. You asked why V4 is popular and I gave you my reasons.

It seem you have the problem with that.

Not really. But over at DAZ you said "...Not sure why dragging in I hate all things poser comments has to do with V4 popularity.  Really, "I think V4 is so popular because I hate Poser.'  Thanks, I needed a good laugh."

So it sounds like you couldn't get a rise over there so you came over here. I admit, I might be the only one who noticed since I started both threads. But yeah, that got my attention.

Quote - Better rigging than anything in Poser. For the old type of rigging. More support. Easier to morph into just about anything.

I'm looking for something inflammatory there and not seeing it.  Should it make you angry if someone likes something you don't like, or vice versa?

I don't think it is true that V4's mesh is denser than V3's. As far as I know, the G2 females also have a denser mesh than V4. The way her mesh is organised does not seem to lend itself well to re-mapping, but the way her default UVs are laid out is fairly straightforward, hence we have so many textures for her, including some good free ones. She is a useful girl to have around, but I use her for variety, to prevent my Poser figures looking like they all stem from the same family tree. That probably means my morphing skills leave much to be desired...

Quote - I don't think it is true that V4's mesh is denser than V3's.

This comes up a lot, and I don't know where it keeps getting perpetuated, but you're right - V4/M4 have a much lower poly count than V3/M3:

blMilWom_V3_V2      74396 polys          72584 verts
blMilWom_v4b      66830 polys          68498 verts
SydneyG2      97204 polys          97903 verts

LOL. EClark1894. You don't find those comments silly and funny? You ask why V4 is popular and you get a couple of V4 is popular because I hate Poser. I really really hate Poser.

I LMAO when I read those. What has software got to do with the figure of choice? Like there are not other figures to chose from? I was having some fun with some absurd answers. Not trying to start something as you say.

If you don't find the humour go ask to have the post removed.

Quote - When V5 comes, the smae thing will happens to her, she will be most supported and most popular.

May not be as much support for some time. It is a new sytem in rigging and clothes design. DAZ said they are working on tools for thier PA's but many of them will have to learn and who knows what software as in MAX/Maya you may need to buy to do it in. Figure all the merchants in all these marketplaces that make content for V4. How many do you think will have the time and money to learn a new system. It may be a slow process in forth coming content.

DAZ did say that V5 was around the 70k mark. I would think that they have learned over the few figures as were better to place polys. More in some places and less in others. Better mesh design that is not to bloated with enough for detail. Add displacement and normal maps. You could end up with a pretty nice figure with the type of bending that we have all been asking for for years.

May not be as much support for some time. It is a new sytem in rigging and clothes design. DAZ said they are working on tools for thier PA's but many of them will have to learn and who knows what software as in MAX/Maya you may need to buy to do it in. Figure all the merchants in all these marketplaces that make content for V4. How many do you think will have the time and money to learn a new system. It may be a slow process in forth coming content.

DAZ did say that V5 was around the 70k mark. I would think that they have learned over the few figures as were better to place polys. More in some places and less in others. Better mesh design that is not to bloated with enough for detail. Add displacement and normal maps. You could end up with a pretty nice figure with the type of bending that we have all been asking for for years.

Total ditto ..lol*

I suppose V4 is popular because she is so well supported.  Every one knew when V4 was released that she was going to be the most popular poser figure. Her popularity means that, she will be well supported, thus she will become even more popular.  It's self re-inforcing to a degree.

Having said that, I do think V4 is a great mesh over all. She does bend quite well compared to some of the other figures out there and she looks attractive (for a 3d figure).

For me the biggest drawback is that V4 is quite a complex figure. I mean all those JMC's and what not's make it pretty difficult for a novice (like me) to make clothing for her. Hacking cr2 files, to make sure that the clothing confirms relatively well with V4, is a pretty daunting task.  There's something very odd and complex about how her cr2 file works.

Lovely morph, Tashar.

Thanks AndyStaples. A little bit of morphs plus and whole lot of Poser magnets. LOL.

Actually, I can understand the support part.  I often wish i was more into modeling for Poser than I am, simply because I would love to create clothes for all the undersupported figures out here.

i hope V5 finally good joint bending, that is the only thing i hate on V4.

You know, Poser, and it's content "is what it is."  And that's about all you can really say about it because Poser is behind the times.  I'm kind of glad it is, because so am I. 

behind the times?  so you do not like to evoluate to better resources?

Not when i'm still a blundering noob at the old ones.  Unless newer = easier which I have found almost never to be the case with software, particularly 3d stuff.

Quote - Not when i'm still a blundering noob at the old ones.  Unless newer = easier which I have found almost never to be the case with software, particularly 3d stuff.

I heard that! ;o)

Laurie