Thanks for the info. All of it is new seems fun to do so far. I've already learned to no try to rush the process and jump ahead; made those purchases and am now finding that I have figures that do not work in DAZ because they're Poser only, etc.

I'm working at creating scenes right now while I build a solid knowledge base for modeling. While I am not an expert on DAZ, it does seem to be a story builder type of application. I found a few shapes that I can create and shape. I have been working on an Orion Cruiser from the Star Trek TOS era that had been incorporated into a game  called Star Fleet Battle, created by a dude in TX named Stephen V. Cole. The game is still a seller. This Cruiser is not so difficult because it is made from basic shapes. My thoughts on this are that by creating the ship start to finish I can better understand why colors, textures, and shading do what they do on a model when I try to apply them. 

Yes, the different software mfrs have their own set of rules and language and that has been a hurdle; what is industry wide and what is proprietary in nature. This will be a slow learning curve hobby as I learn what programs are better for what purpose, and so on.