Quote -
 - objects that exist in the scene and also in the scene that is merged (thus getting renamed by Daz to "-objectname- (2)" lose their Reality setting.

Problem solved! :)

Glad you found it. The Reality settings for a given object in the scene are linked to the object based on its name. If it gets renamed then Reality doesn't know how to connect the information. 

Imported OBJ, strangely, don't get renamed by Studio when you import multiple copies of them. That's why the settings only stick to one. With two objects with the same name there is ambiguiity which one will take the settings. Once they are renamed then they can be tretaed individually.

 

Cheers.

Paolo

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