Ok, Been using Poser etc for quite a while, but have not even opened it or done any graphic work in almost 4 years due to not having the time...so you can all imagine my shock at where things currently stand.  (Where the hell did all the old threads go?  Lost so many links from my bookmarks...meh...I'll leave the state of this site and forums for another discussion lol).

So, currently have Poser 8, and will most likely upgrade this.  Having perused the sites here and over at Daz etc...all change I see.  Now I have a lot of content for V4 and I noticed that despite the new Generation 2 bodies, people here still seem to be churning out content for V4 rather than the Gen 2 bodies.

In your opinions, do you see much of a future for Generation 2, and is it worth bothering investing in or would you stick with V4 still?  If you can give me your opinions and 'why' it would be greatly appreciated.  With looking at new content to obtain, IDL lighting now, Reality 3 etc etc...any money saved on not bothering with Generation 2 stuff can be used elsewhere.  Never been keen on Daz in the past, not sure I want to be bothered messing with the DSON....so you're input would be appreciated.

As for some more generic questions, I assume I can still import folders into the newer Posers?  I have all my content on a separate drive, and used to unzip content into specific folders and then import just the folder I was going to use.  Still possible?

Lastly, browsing new content over the last few days, can anyone tell me what outfit set (or sets/Textures) is being used on the 3rd & 5th promo pics of this figure please? http://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/sv7-brook/102027# (and yes I have contacted the vendor but they have not replied yet, just looking to save some time).

Thanks in advance :)

Runtimes can be linked between Poser versions and external, no need to move anything if you have the proper folder.

Generation 2?  Are you referring to Simon, Jessie, etc?  The only one that has gotten major attention is Miki.  For you, it would be Miki3 working with Poser 8.  There is not too much investment going on with these models but many users go back to them every so often.

V4 is still marketable because the conversion to the Genesis models has not caught on with the majority of Poser users.  I am revisiting this subject, but haven't formed an opinion yet.  It does have potentials.  However, there is an effort try to promote the current Poser legacy models (i.e., Roxie, Rex); many content can be found freely on the net.

If your intention is to upgrade soon, concentrate on the weightmapped models which have better bending and movement.  If you are interested in creating content and rigging, the PoserPro series will be more to your liking.

Welcome back, and yes, it is good to do some research before investing.

For Poser, V4 is still the queen, and she sits pretty solid on her throne.

The Gen 2 figures are best left where they belong, DS.

Why?
Poser8, and Poser9, and Poser 10 are 32 bit applications, so you are limited in available RAM of 2GB per app.
You have to upgrade to a Pro version to get a 64 bit app.

Fiddling with DSON to get a Gen 2 figure to work in Poser, (asuming you have hair and wanna get bold), it will be gone after you got any Gen2 figure to work in Poser.

Some get lucky, most give up. And then the whole thing starts over for ANY clothing, shoe's, hair, you name it.
RAM and CPU go downhill fast.
And mostly it takes from minutes, to a full coffee breack, just to get the things loaded.

There are TON's and TON's of posts here about DSON, V5, V6. .

Long answer  : read them all. (See ya in a year or 2 LOL.)
Short answer : leave them in DS.

So V4 and M4 are still your best option, certainly when you have a ton of content for them, and new stuff gets build every day.

YES ! When upgrading Poser you can link your existing runtimes into the library of your newer Poser version.
And you can organise then as you like.

Happy Posering, Tony

hborre...thanks, actually meant the DAZ Generation bases for male/female.

Vilters...Thanks, and excellent to know...what I wanted, and was pretty much what I already thought myself from spending this week reading up on it all.  (though was initially suprised V4 was still so popular and supported).

Never used a pro version before, but was thinking about it this time around to make use of 64bit (primarily, though the other features are nice to have).

Guess I will get the new Daz and the rest of the garb and leave it sat doing nothing until such time as I see something that warrants axctually using the program, I have always preferred Poser anyway so guess V4 it is then unless others chime in with more information.

Thanks again.

Just a consideration, the DAZ DSON importer does not require DAZStudio for using content, the Poser Companion files are part of the package with newer items.

Poser 2014 changes...... everything.  I simply can not stress that enough.

64-bit memory management is the least of the new features.

Figures:

There are a number of new figures available that take advantage of the tech that has been added to Poser since you left.

Antonia & Michelle are over on RDNA.  In addition, 2 new toon figures have also been released over there that push Poser tech to the limit, SuzyQ & Dude 2.

The creator of Victoria & Michael is no longer at DAZ.  Chris Creek (along with a couple of other long time DAZ folks) are at hivewire3d.  They released a new figure named Dawn. She is available as a native figure for both Poser & DazStudio.

Subversive New Technology in Poser Pro 2014:  The Fitting Room

With the fitting room, clothing has been decoupled from figures. In Poser Pro 2014, you no longer have to deal with vendors who have the "I make what I am interested in, and I am not interested making content for any figure not named Victoria 4." attitude.

Pick whatever clothing you like and fit it to any figure. It's a 2 to 3 minute process - if you take your time.

Subversive New Technology in Poser Pro 2014:  "Copy Morphs From"

Have you ever noticed that conforming clothing never has all the morphs character creators use for their figures.  Smith Micro did.  In Poser 2014, you can add character morphs to your clothing with only 3 clicks.

Subversive New Technology in Poser Pro 2014:  Subdivision

In the attached image I have two Poser 2 Lores Female figures.  Both figures have their right knee bent at 135 degrees.  Figure on the right is at subdivision 3.  Not bad for a figure that is old enough to vote.

New figures are nice, but I have a lot of legacy figures - subdivision, weight mapping and an occasional swipe with the morph brush make every figure a new figure, ready to take full advantage of Poser Pro 2014.

Subversive New Technology in Poser:  Python Addons

Poser Pro 2014 exposes more of the program to 3rd party products via Python.  You can add 3rd party products such as Reality (a plug in for the LuxRender engine), EZMat (to update those skin textures to work with modern lighting techniques).  This is also the route to get DAZ's genesis 1 & 2 figures into Poser.  It isn't easy, as others have noted, but it does work.

Cool items that have shown up since you have been away.

Over the past few years, a number of products have been developed to help the end user repurpose content.  These are the ones that I can't live without:

EZSkin 2 (available @RDNA) - A Python script that selectively replaces the shaders on a figure with new ones that take full advantage of the latest developments in Poser's Material Room.  Free.  The author is working on an expanded product that will work on all materials (See EZMat thread at the top of the forum - cool stuff coming soon.)

Dawn Fitting Room Magnets (available here):  Snaps V4 clothing to the proper position for Dawn.  Best $5.95 you will ever spend on the Dawn figure.

*Hair Control System (@RDNA): * Converts V4 hair to other figures.  Currently has modules available for Alyson 2, Antonia, Cookie, Dawn, Michelle, Miki 3/4, Roxie, & Victoria 4.  I have asked the creator to update the HCS II modules (SM G2 figures Male & Female, Miki 2 & Terai Yuki 2 modules) - he seems amiable to it (python recompile).  Base module (with P6 Jessi support is free - modules prices vary (7.95 - 10.95)

Texture Transfer (available here):  Converts V4 skin textures to Dawn Textures.  Upcoming conversion modules include - Victoria 4.2 to Roxie, - Michael 4 to Rex, V4 to genesis, - More based on community demand (Blacksmith3D has a forum here @ 'Rosity - so march right over and add to the "demand" list.  On sale through the weekend (34.99)

*Batch Material Converter (@Content Paradise): * Converts material .pz2 files to .mc6 files.  Will also move conversions from the pose subfolder to the materials subfolder (where material files belong).  I converted a 40Gb pose subfolder in less than 2 minutes, with no errors.

*Reality 3 (available here): * Poser Plug-in to easily access the LuxRender render engine.  And it's on sale till the end of the month. (27.96)

Welcome back.