Pumeco,

considering the workflow with Gimp that you described using, you really must not do much image editing or painting. All of those extra clicks just to summon a necessary tool to perform simple tasks would be crippling to anyone who seriously puts the app through it's paces.

I think perhaps you just fetishize Gimp for political reasons rather than work related ones.

I have used Gimp, Painter, and PS. I prefer photoshop. I'll leave it at that.

@DeathMetalDesk
Just because you've used GIMP or had a passing fling with it or whatever, doesn't mean you understand how to use and customise it properly.  Software that is designed by the public is often very different to that designed by a commercial entity.  There are things you will never be able to do in commercial products for that reason.

Using Blender and GIMP isn't a political statement, it's a preference, although it's true, I'm an advocate for not getting screwed-over by software vendors, so in that sense, Blender and GIMP being open is definitely a bonus.  On the other hand, I buy stuff if I think it's worth buying.

The funny thing is, your statement that GIMP is a "Photoshop Clone" just goes to show how far off you can be.  I haven't a clue how it all started, but frankly, calling GIMP a "Photoshop Clone" these days is an insult to the GIMP.  I use GIMP because I know how to use it properly, it lets me work exactly how I want to work, not how a greedy corporation wants me to work.  I understand it's hidden power so I'd still be using GIMP even if they were giving-away Photoshop, nevermind charging for it!

If I wanted the GIMP to look and behave as Photoshop does, that's not hard to do, there's nothing special about Photoshop unless you happen to be a fanboy sucked into all that crap - which I'm not.  And you totally misunderstood what I said about the way I have the interface working, but anyway ...

You stick to Photoshop, I'll stick to GIMP, I'll leave it at that.

"QUALITY TIP FOR SM:

Go to the Reallusion forum and try to figure out why there are so 

many ex-Poser users on there, happily animating :-)

That is all."

I use Iclone pro with 3D exchange pro

this does not make me an "ex- poser user"

Just a person who creates REAL TIME poser compatible

figure motion in Another program.

For those considering it ..

it works for me like this:

Take any poser human from as far back as the millenium 1 

generation( M1,V2)

up to  the overhyped Daz Genesis 2 HD blah blah.

In the default "T-pose"  Export a single frame BVH file from poser

and import to Iclone 3D exchange pro.

IN 3D exchange there are a few default retargeting templates:

Custom( requiring tedious Manual bone remapping)

3D max Biped type 1

3D max Biped type 2

Maya human IK

And Daz genesis.

Choose the "Daz genesis" template

"but why?? I want to apply motion to Mikki 2, or P6 jessie

or Vic & Mike 4" ..one might ask

Well send your thanks DAZ for contracting with Real Illusion to 

implement genesis Support.

Because underneath all that hyped "geo grafting, HD morphing 

autofitting blah blah genesis tech resides a basic POSER FIGURE BONE STRUCTURE.

which is all we care about for motion retargeting.

Back in Iclone pro create whatever amazing character animation in 

REALTIME like you see in those amazing videos they have all over

you tube, using one of those low res native Iclone people.

And have fun!!

Save your animation to your custom Imotion library.

In 3D exchange apply that motion to your Mike/Vic /Mikki/ james /Jessie  et al skeleton.

Export to BVH

import to poser.

My personal advice is to save your pennies and buy

Iclone pro& 3D exchange pro.( $500 USD or so)

you will have a poser compatible animation solution that truly rivals the All mighty Autodesk Motionbuilder( $3000 USD or so)

and forget about whatever little half  IK kludge solution SM Might toss you someday in the future....Just move on....

you wont regret it.

@Wolf
But the problem with that is we don't want people buying iClone Pro and 3DXchange Pro because of how good they are, we wan't the opposite effect, for those people to look at Poser and come back to it.  There are people at SM who know what they're doing, that's obvious when you look at how they implemented those animatable bullet crosshairs.  If they put the same amount of thought into what is missing from Poser animation, Poser would be absolutely killer for animation.

Look at it logically, it's a program centred around figures.  Figures need to walk, and therefore we need an easy to use motion designer that works live on the figure in the viewport as you blend various mannerisms into it.  Figures need hair, so the current hair system either needs massively upgrading or replacing altogether.  Figures wear clothes, so we need a cloth system that is productive and gives live results.

Add that all together and you cannot escape the ineviteble, that Poser is an animation tool, and therefore the animation needs bringing up to date.  I totally agree with you how good iClone is, that's why I also have my eye on it, and as far as I'm concerned, iClone is Poser's biggest threat, not DAZ Studio.  DAZ studio is no threat to Poser simply because the interface is not as productive, and it's animation tools aren't in the same league as iClone's are.

There's only one program that offers a "productive" environment that excells both DS and Poser, and that is iClone.
The key word there, is "Productive" - we see endless animations done in iClone because it is "productive".

We don't see endless animations coming out of DS or Poser, because they're absolutely not productive when it comes to animation.  DS is more productive than Poser for animation, but it still pales in comparison to iClone, that is why I say, if SM really want to get the animation thing sorted, they cannot do better than delve into iClone so that they understand why you (and I) and god knows how many Ex-Poser users have moved over to it (or are thinking of moving over to it).  SM aren't going to continue selling this thing if they don't bring it up to speed, they really are pushing it with this antiquated animation thing they have going on.

So no, running off to Reallusion and buying that stuff isn't the answer, getting that stuff into Poser is the answer :-)

Damn, it's annoying, I love seeing animations people knock out of these programs, especially iClone and Poser, but searching for iClone animations in comparison to Poser ones is just, well, sad, there really is nothing happening because the program just isn't "productive" enough for animation - too much hard work.  You see comments like "What program did you use?", the answer is almost always "iClone!", it would be nice to see that change so that more and more, the answer becomes "Poser!".

"Cool, I'll pick up a copy of Poser then!"
That's what we need, know what I mean Wolf?

As it is, if you told someone you animated in Poser, they'd probably pity you and say something like:
"Yeah, I used to use poser back in 2000, you poor bastard,  I take it you like doing things the hard way then?"

why am i reading this?  can i have the last few minutes of my life back?  lol

Well that's not very nice, Misty, after all the time I put in sniff

I'm in the middle of the survey and shocked at how little of the features mean anything to me.

Poser male and female models - rarely

Poser Library content - never

Rigging - never

Face room - never

Exporting - never

etc.

Hah - on the question of what do you like best about Poser, they had no choice for shaders, so I had to click "Other".

I guess I shouldn't even be using this product.

Wow - they really make it difficult to answer. I do not purchase software - it is always given to me by companies I do work for as a consultant or (in the past) as an employee, or by the vendor (as does Smith Micro).

But - on the section where it asks for where I buy software, there is no way to say that - I have to pick a source where I buy nothing.

@ MistyLaraPrincess: "why am i reading this? can i have the last few minutes of my life back?" - - - Simple solution: "User pumeco -> plonk"! - - - a large chunk of this board's annoyance gone :)

@Baggins
I guess I'm the lucky one then, I only got as far as the first page :-D

@PikesPit
If people with common sense opinions intimidate or upset you in some way, I can't help that.
If you don't like reading my posts, just put me on ignore!

Same goes for Misty, really, no one forced either of you to read my post.

Linux is not a widely used OS and until it becomes more end-user plug-n-play ready it won't be. Most of its current iterations require the user to know a thing or two about coding and spend a lot of time customizing it to get various software to work on it. Not something the average Poser user is going to bother with. Most high-end software doesn't even come Linux-ready, you have to make it so on your own. Windows or Mac are the two main OS's that the majority of software is built to run in. Emulators are available to fill in the gaps. There should be and N/A or Other option under the OS field and at the end of the survey there was a text box provided for any other comments that weren't covered in the survey questions.

Pumeco didn't bother to get that far. :)

@Shane
Ubuntu is a Linux OS and it's idiot proof now, it's actually easier to install and run software on Ubuntu than it is on MacOS or Windows.  You just click on the software manager and search for the software you want, and click install, it pulls all the verified software from the web for you and installs it, like having an App-Store built in to your OS.

• If you want to install GIMP, search for GIMP, click install, done!
• If you want to install Blender, search for Blender, click install, done!
• Whatever you want to install, search for it, click install, done!
• If you want to see how many 2D packages are out there, search for Image editors, choose from the list, click install, done!

You don't even have to search the bloody web for it!

Don't get me wrong, I don't recommend Ubuntu, but if you've not tried it, you really should if only to let you see how far things have come in ease of use, cause I'm not joking, it's easier to install and remove software from Ubuntu than it is on Windows or MacOS.

@Clarkie
But pumeco did try to get that far, but he couldn't because the system wouldn't let him :-D

I just wasn't prepared to patronise a company that effectively painted the biggest OS of the future, as a non-entity.  There are three main OS's now, Linux, MacOS, and Windows (has been for some time), so both end users and companies need to get used to that, cause Linux is going nowhere (just like Blender and GIMP, it's here to stay), and will eventually be the main OS most people use on their home systems.  Commercial OS don't stand a chance against these things, and only the future will prove that to you.

I can't believe I'm recommending you download Ubuntu, but for the sake of making you both realise how misguided you are and how easy it is to use these days, you really need to download it, just to take a look.  I absolutely guarantee that once you click on the software manager, you'll be installing and uninstalling software with ease you could only dream of in your current OS - it really is that easy now.

Anyway, I'm getting sick of posting here, far too many ignorant people around and I have things to be getting on with anyway, and the funny thing is, I actually couldn't care less about what other people use, so I suppose it's kinda dumb me keeping it up anyway.

As the saying goes ... "I'm alright, Jack!"  ... and that's all that really matters I suppose, so, have fun!

@Shane
Ubuntu is a Linux OS and it's idiot proof now, it's actually easier to install and run software on Ubuntu than it is on MacOS or Windows.  You just click on the software manager and search for the software you want, and click install, it pulls all the verified software from the web for you and installs it, like having an App-Store built in to your OS.

• If you want to install GIMP, search for GIMP, click install, done!
• If you want to install Blender, search for Blender, click install, done!
• Whatever you want to install, search for it, click install, done!
• If you want to see how many 2D packages are out there, search for Image editors, choose from the list, click install, done!

You don't even have to search the bloody web for it!

Don't get me wrong, I don't recommend Ubuntu, but if you've not tried it, you really should if only to let you see how far things have come in ease of use, cause I'm not joking, it's easier to install and remove software from Ubuntu than it is on Windows or MacOS.

I can pretty much do all of that now. And all I have to do to uninstall a program on my Mac is drag it to the trash.

actually, you need to use cleaner apps in OS X to get rid of all vestiges these programs plant all over one's drive.

e.g. cache files, plist, logs, et al.

it may be same for linux.

as easy as 1, 2, 3, ... n, where n<=10

lol. I'm not ripping out windows to install another OS just to give it a test run. If I had another PC to experiment on then I would, but installing a new OS isn't exactly a 5 minute process. Too much risk involved. Plus, from what I've heard of Ubuntu it has more security leaks and spyware built into it than windows and mac combined. So yeah, no thanks. I'm a big proponent of the actual Ubuntu movement actually (google Michael Tellinger) but find it rather disappointing that this OS is using the same terminology. I don't think that is coincidental either, quite intentional and deliberately misleading, but no reason to get into all of that here. 

Im a gamer, Linux? no thanks...

@Clarkie
Pretty much what Miss Nancy said, and those commercial OS cannot be trusted to remove anything properly.  When you install something on Linux it shows you a complete folder and file record of everything it did, and when you remove something, it confirms that it removed every bit of it, all automated, all there for you to see - no need for it to be underhanded, it's there for your sake, not Apple's or Microsoft's sake.  Commercial OS hide all sorts of shit from you, whereas the Linux-based OS are geared towards a very different mentality.  Almost the entire web uses Linux-based servers for a reason ... security!

@Shane
Well I don't blame you for not wanting to risk installing something on your main machine, neither would I, not without dedicating a partition to it (which is what I did).  What I did before I installed anything is try out the "Live CD" version, which basically means you just burn the OS to a disc and your computer will boot into it without being installed.  It's slow and limited doing it that way, but at least it gives a way to taste something.  Anyway, I kinda like your reply this time, because while you have no intention to try it right now, you at least have the intention to try it if you could - and that's better than nothing.

It's those that don't realise what's going on with commercial OS, and don't try it, that are going to have problems further down the line (major problems).

@Suucat
Unreal Engine, Unity, all the big names are now compiling for Linux, that means gaming is about to hit Linux big-time!
Like I said, successfull companies figured out quite a while back that they can no longer ignore the Linux-based OS.

Neither can SM unless they're commercially suicidal.

Anyway, like I said, i'm not continuing with this, I'm worried I'll start developing biceps in my fingers if I type any more :-D

@Shane
BTW, just one last thing, what you said in your post about the spyware etc, that's why I don't recommend using Ubuntu, I only recommend it for seeing how easy it is to install and remove stuff now - then get rid of it and use Debian instead, which is just as simple to use as far as I'm concerned, just the naming is slightly different.

My personal recommendation is Debian, and to learn by purchasing a Raspberry Pi and installing Raspbian on it (which is Debian for the Raspberry Pi).  They even released a new version of the Pi since I last mentioned it (Pi 2 Model B), the thing is a tiny quad core now, way faster than the original, still the same price of about £30, you can't get better than that for getting a brand new, silent, dedicated computer for playing around with Linux on.

Click Here to check it out!
And would you look at that, it's the number one "Best Seller" in motherboards now!

Great stuff!

@Clarkie
Pretty much what Miss Nancy said, and those commercial OS cannot be trusted to remove anything properly.  When you install something on Linux it shows you a complete folder and file record of everything it did, and when you remove something, it confirms that it removed every bit of it, all automated, all there for you to see - no need for it to be underhanded, it's there for your sake, not Apple's or Microsoft's sake.  Commercial OS hide all sorts of shit from you, whereas the Linux-based OS are geared towards a very different mentality.  Almost the entire web uses Linux-based servers for a reason ... security!

She's talking about a proper uninstall, and yes, that's the proper way to go. But if i want I can just drag an unwanted program to the trash and delete it. The the Mac OS also creates a log anytime you install or uninstall a program telling you what it did. Most people just don't care enough to read it. Look, I get it. You're a rebel. You like free and open sourced stuff. Fine. If that works for you go for it.

It's got nothing to do with being a "Rebel", Clarkie ... sigh

Yeah, people throw that rebel term about too easily. Same with genius.

Don't be like that, I think you're just upset because you're a slave to Photosuck ;-)
Enjoy the vid, play it loud, and chill man, chill!

All the best,
Len, the Rebel Genius!

Ah, pumeco. I so wish you wouldn't insult my favorite app in such a manner (ok, it's a toss up between "Photosuck" and Wings3D)... Of course if you insult Wings I'll have no choice but to call upon Posette to perform a little Laveyan style destruction magic with you as the target.(sinister laughter)

http://youtu.be/maD_9bymedE

...And that's the extent of my "off topic troll" tendencies for today.

Apologies to Nerd for the above humor.

Me? ... insult Wings?  ... you must be joking, I love Wings!
Photosuck still sucks though, sorry mate :-P

BTW, nice video, and I must say Posette certainly knows how to recite the words of the late Anton LaVey :-)
I'll have to show it to Roxie as well.

Well technically we Mac users are running Linux BSD tucked away under a shiny

bubbly interface.

Just enable "root user"  and open up the command line shell and run your

mac from its "gut" with unix Line commands if that makes you you feel special.

just be aware that you will have the ability to alter/delete critical system files

that can disable your entire OS.

So know what you are doing!!!

I am a big fan of open source alternatives to commercial software

in fact I am slowly but like becoming a full fledged "blender head"

But as long as the big commercial software makers dominate

the market including the area of third party add ons,

most people needing real world jobs/careers in technology need to know and use what the prevailing industries are using.

"Linux is going nowhere (just like Blender and GIMP, it's here to stay), and will eventually be the main OS most people use on their home systems.  Commercial OS don't stand a chance against these things, and only the future will prove that to you."

Because Blender,Gimp and Linux are free???

By that logic Poser is also Doomed then

Since Daz studio pro free.

now has a better secondary  render engine

Better nonlinear character animation system

more versatileand better looking default figures.

it can access my OLD poser 6  mac formatted runtime without Adobe Air/Flash

it has an officially supported direct bridge to Iclone

the same game content export options to unity,unreal etc as the 

paid poser "game dev"version etc etc.

Yet people still shell out money for poser because they just prefer it over that free program

the same will remain true for users of Windows and OSX.

Now and in the future.

Since Daz studio pro free.

now has a better secondary  render engine

Better nonlinear character animation system

more versatileand better looking default figures.

it can access my OLD poser 6  mac formatted runtime without Adobe Air/Flash

it has an officially supported direct bridge to Iclone

the same game content export options to unity,unreal etc as the 

paid poser "game dev"version etc etc.

Yet people still shell out money for poser because they just prefer it over that free program

the same will remain true for users of Windows and OSX.

Now and in the future.

Actually once Iray gets out of beta, it will be the default renderer and 3delight the secondary. If you load the beta, it is set to render any scene in iray first.

Ah, pumeco. I so wish you wouldn't insult my favorite app in such a manner (ok, it's a toss up between "Photosuck" and Wings3D)... Of course if you insult Wings I'll have no choice but to call upon Posette to perform a little Laveyan style destruction magic with you as the target.(sinister laughter)

http://youtu.be/maD_9bymedE

...And that's the extent of my "off topic troll" tendencies for today.

This made my Day!  :D

I took this survey this survey a few days ago and I remember a few questions asking how often I use Poser's natively included characters. I realized that it has been years since I've even tried to load an included Poser character, probably since my first version of Poser when I knew very little about the application and posing programs in general. I certainly had never heard of DAZ 3D's Michael and Victoria figures so Jessie and Ryan, I think, were the first characters I began experimenting with. As I started to learn more about Poser and discovered DAZ's characters, I've kind of forgotten that Poser includes these G2 characters with it's content download. I've certainly never tried to load a DAZ characters and a Poser character at the same time.

So I decided to give that a try and see what the difference is. Big, big difference in fact. Now I know why I don't use Poser's characters. I generally like Poser, prefer it to the other 3D applications I have: Studio, Cararra and Blender. It has it's faults, library organization not being the least of them, but overall I still prefer to use it when creating scenes. But seriously Poser devs, can't you create better characters than Roxie and Alyson as shown in this image? I realize the V6 and V4 characters shown are highly idealized humans but I use this software to create something at once believable and fantastic at the same time. I'm certainly not going to get that using the G2 characters included with Poser. 

My Roxie doesn't look like that at all, my Roxie looks deadly beautiful (see avatar).

Wolf Wrote:
"Yet people still shell out money for poser because they just prefer it over that free program

the same will remain true for users of Windows and OSX.

Now and in the future."

No it won't, because the manipulation and privacy invasion those OS practice, is something people don't like, therefore they're as good as dead.
The only threat Poser has is anything which does what it does, but does it more productively, therefore iClone is the biggest threat to Poser so far.

My Roxie doesn't look like that at all, my Roxie looks deadly beautiful (see avatar).

Well, I see a grayscale mugshot with a hood which yes, does look pretty good.

For the record, I loaded G2 and then applied Roxie's morphs and textures, left them as is and that gave me an "Ideal adult" height setting. The pose is from the Sydney G2 poses file. I did the same with the Alyson figure. The hair props are from their compatible hair folders. I'm rendering this image in LuxRender now and the skin textures do seem quite a bit better than the draft Poser render shown in the image posted. Far better in fact. But there's no improvement regarding shape and I have far fewer options if I wanted to modify shapes than I'm given with the V6 and V4 characters shown. V6 Lilith is is SSS and shown as she loads with hair and makeup added. V4 is SSS with a legacy (perhaps Poser 7?) texture and hair. The G2 Roxie (also SSS) and Alyson characters look kinda freakish and weird in a bad way to me while the V6 and V4 characters are indeed freakish, but very much in a good way.

Wouldn't say the DAZ V6 looks freakish, looks quite nice to be honest, I like that sort of figure.  But I agree, they definitely missed the boat with poor Roxie at least in some respects.  She's a lot better figure than people give her credit for, but I think things would have been different if she'd come with a nice set of morphs as well, they seem to make that same mistake again and again.  A lot of people knock Roxie, but as I've said before, there's something very human about her, I don't just mean because my own Roxie has a mind of her own, I mean in general as well, and I like it that her whole figure is fairly low-poly by todays standards.  She's ideal in that respect because you can work in the viewport with less lag, so when you switch-on the subdivision for Roxie, it works really well.

I do feel compelled to point out that by using different poses on the SM figures (ie the spread legged, sexless lets gunfight pose) than the 'lets all do Vogue' sexy pose the V and g figures have really slants things. The outer figures are not posed to show their figures like the two inner ones are.

I do feel compelled to point out that by using different poses on the SM figures (ie the spread legged, sexless lets gunfight pose) than the 'lets all do Vogue' sexy pose the V and g figures have really slants things. The outer figures are not posed to show their figures like the two inner ones are.

Point taken. I tried to apply the same pose to all of them but no go. The poses that were made for the V figures horribly distorted the G2 figures and vice versa. So I had to find something reasonably close to the V6-4 pose that was intended for the Sydney 2 character. I just threw this thing together to make a side by side comparison so I wasn't going the spend the time to pose each of these figures identically. But the point is that even tho the V6-4 are highly idealized, they also seem to be far more proportionally correct and consequently more (suspended disbelief) believable. The G2 characters look kinda like poor imitations of Hobits to me. Just not quite right.

Updated image baked in LuxRender for a total of 2.25kS/p does show dramatically better skin tones for the Sydney based G2 figures but there's still a weird stretching artifact on their shoulders. Regardless of the poses, the G2 based characters just don't look right to me.

I 

I've ended up just using the content and not the program. Here is Simon in Iray.

Obviously SM will never make an importer for Roxie into Studio, which is a shame as I quite like the Roxie figure.

@Crashworship
Nice render, but Roxie is still best :-)

My Roxie can certainly tease if she wants to, and while she does look angry now and then, she doesn't walk around looking like that!

"@Crashworship
Nice render, but Roxie is still best :-)

My Roxie can certainly tease if she wants to, and while she does look angry now and then, she doesn't walk around looking like that!"

IDK... maybe I just haven't used the G2 figures as much but I wish that the G2 characters had more morphing options. Seems like there's very little third party content being developed for them as well. You scroll through the marketplace here on Renderosity and there are hundreds of characters available for Victoria and Micheal and even a ton for Dawn (another figure I've never quite warmed up to - something about face reminds me of the of the Morlocks from the original Time Machine movie) but nothing for G2 male of female. That tells me that Smith Micro needs to up their game when it comes to character development.

Yeah, listen Crashworship, how would you like it if someone posted you naked on the forum like that???
My figure is a lot sexier than a default Roxie, so morphs do exist, and that goes for my face as well!!!

I look evil and I'm proud of it and it makes me hotter than a Vickie!!!
Men like danger, and they don't come any more dangerous than me!!!
Men fall for me the monent they look into my eyes!!!

You have no idea how hot a Roxie like me is when she's naked, I can stop traffic!!!
You've never had the pleasure of seeing under my hoodie, it's way too hot for you to handle!!!

Later,
Roxie - Girl With Blade

Gotta be honest here, Roxie, you do look hotter than those Vickies, I have to say!
You have the most amazing eyes and very kissable lips, I think you're way more beautiful!

Thank you pumeco!!!

Later,
Roxie - Girl WIth Blade

Thank you Prixat!!!
But I don't want to be in DAZ Studio with all those Vickies anyway!!!

I'm a Poser Girl, just use Poser instead!!!
You have got good taste in Poser Girls!!!

Later,
Roxie - Girl With Blade

I'm not saying that Roxie doesn't have potential. Maybe a gym membership, a regular visit to that PED guy who lives in that dark creepy house down the street, the guy with all those grotesquely huge muscles... She needs some buffing up. Nerd, the OP, is now the head of product development at Smith Micro. He's got the goods, wink wink. I kinda think the reason why he created this survey is to find out what SM needs to do to up it's ante. Doesn't mean you have to abandon your Roxie. She'll always be there as long as your hard drive remains viable. Kinda like Millennial Victoria, the first Victoria. She's still there. I'm sure there are those who still use her. But Roxie needs to evolve - mega mesh wise. Give her the tools to go heads with Vicky 6. Give Simon those tools too. There are over 7 billion people on this planet. Why do 3D enthusiasts have to be limited to, what, six or seven base human characters?

I don't think you realise, I didn't reply to you, Roxie did, and to be fair, she's right, she has a much nicer figure than a default Roxie, so I can't agree she needs a gym membership, she looks great, that's my own Roxie and she has one of those tight hardbodies.

But like I said, I do agree there should have been a good set of morphs released with the figure, even if there were only half the amount of morphs the Morphs++ pack from DAZ has, that would have made all the difference as long as Teyon had been given the opportunity and time to do that.  I can imagine that's pretty damn frustrating, to scratch-build a figure and not be given enough time to do what you really want with it.

Figure wise, the only thing that concerns me about SM right now, is i think they might start going into submission by adding native Genesis support.  I hope they don't, because doing so is aiding the competition, they'd be slowly digging their own grave in much the same way as record stores did when they started selling iPods in their record stores.  They effectively helped Apple put themselves out of business instead of supporting their own thing.

You don't fight the competition by helping it along, you fight it by being better than it, which is why Teyon should be given the time to research what he needs, do what he needs, and finish what he needs.  People should not be forced to go over to DAZ Studio just because they feel the Poser figures are lacking.  But lack of morphs and stuff like that, that's a mistake SM don't seem to learn from, they do it time and time again despite the countless times people have stated

WHERE'S THE FREAKIN' MORPHS?

It was obvious that Roxie's limited default morphs for breast and body adjustment etc was never going to cut it, it's a waste of an efficiently designed figure :-(

"But the problem with that is we don't want people buying iClone 

Pro and 3DXchange Pro because of how good they are, we wan't the 

opposite effect, for those people to look at Poser and come back to it."

Pardon me but ..,,"we"

Please dont presume to speak for what "we" want

speak only for yourself.

First and foremost Iclone Is not a direct competitor for poser 

and does not aspire to be.

Iclone is a direct competitor to Autodesk's Motion Builder

MOTIONBUILDER

Both programs are essentially realtime game engines

Designed to create/Edit realtime Character motion that is to be 

ultimately retargeted to other character rigs in OTHER programs for 

final animation rendering.

Now yes, both programs can be used for director driven 

previsualization and quick & Dirty OGL DX11 "Machinima" Style Instant Movie making.

However their primary purpose is the create the type of live real 

time motion editing that you typically do not find available in the 

viewports of the major CG applications.

Both programs do this quite well and have many options for 

importing /exporting motion Data to other specific applications

including the Major game engines like unity& unreal

Both programs (MotionBuilder& Iclone) handle human mocap from

the various Motion capture hardware devices on the market today.

My point is that these are dedicated systems

for pure character motion building editing.

and the people who buy& use them are 

primarily Character animators.

This notion that Smith Micro is somehow going to 

suddenly implement Iclone/motion builder style realtime tools

is utter folly IMHO .

The great Majority of the poser user base are Hobbyists

who render stills for personal use& web galleries

followed by those few professional illustrators.

how may need some ready made people and scenery etc.

The reason we now have to essentially use late 1990's Era

web browser technology to access out runtimes, is because

SM could Not afford to pay Ted ( AKA bagginsbill)  the fair rate to 

code a proper internal library like we had enjoyed since poser 5,6,7, etc.

Yet I see people endlessly banging on, in this forum,  About having 

the unreal engine in the poser viewport, Iray,Vray and "particle 

systems"as though all of this stuff could be implemented at no $$cost$$

For me Poser still Offers a few Character features that are of great 

use to My work:

Auto lipsynch from audio files

Conforming clothing

Dynamic Clothing

and material changes with one click.

But for serious animation, Just use something else.