From a quick test it appears to work, but I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this, are there any hidden gotchas, like maybe the figure won't work in DS or something?

I have one .obj containing the basic bodyparts, and a second .obj file with a whole bunch of add-on bits and pieces. I could have turned many of the add-ons into smart props or sub-figures parented to the base figure to create the 'deluxe' version, but then their dials would be scattered all over the place. If one .cr2 file can include them all then one set of dials in the figure base can control everything, nice and tidy for the end user.

I wasn't sure this would even work, but it's even easier than I thought it would be - it seems that all that's required is to name the right .obj file just before the .cr2 mentions a bodypart from it.

So I have:

figureResFile :basic.obj

actor Basicbodypart_1

actor Basicbodypart_2 - and so on until an add-on bodypart name shows up in the list, then I add the second obj:

figureResFile :Add-ons.obj

actor AddOnbodypart_1

actor AddOnbodypart_2  - then back to the first obj for some more basic parts:

figureResFile :basic.obj

actor Basicbodypart_3

...and so on.

It means a dozen or so more lines in the cr2, but so far I can't see a problem with it. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Alternate geometry?  You might want to read this guy's section on the AltGeom channels:  http://brian-the-techie.blogspot.com/2013/04/how-to-poser-rigging-tricks.html?m=1

Pretty sure AltGeom doesn't work in DS4 though.  It worked fine in DS3, but I thought I read somewhere that it no longer does - they use geografting now, what ever that is.

If you want to see a classic example of AltGeom, look for Stonemason's Streets of NY.

Never tried anything like that, you say these add ons are body parts? with bones? I'm a little confused, particularly why you didnt merge it all together. Or these add ons were added to the .cr2 after the fact? How about as conformers? If it's working then good enough I suppose... It would be a little problematic if the figure went through QA ok and then some obscure bug showed up. I can think of a few forum members that might know about stuff like this, though I haven't seen any of them around here lately. Have you tried asking this question over at Rdna?

First thing that popped into my mind was geometry switching, but re-reading the OP it sounds like these are default parts added after the fact?

Not alternate geometry as such. As I understand it, that requires that the alt geom comes from an obj file which only contains that one replacement group. I'm talking about making one figure from geometry groups which are spread across 2 obj files, each containing multiple groups.

The thing about geometry switching maybe not working in DS4 is useful to know though, so thanks. I was planning to make use of that in this figure to swap out some parts. Hmmm....

Still wondering why you didn't just merge into one .obj but hey, if it's working, good to know this particular trick.

@DMD: Here's a WIP screenshot, the very crude bits are placeholders. The left figure is the basic one, the right has most of the add-on bells and whistles and some switched (alt) geometry like the different wheel hub and the different seat cushion. There's more to come, like bendy ventilator hoses etc. The fancy one also has an extra 'hinge' in the seat mechanism, where they can both tilt backwards, the fancy one can also tip forward and 'stand up', so it's a different rig. I had thought to package these separately, the basic model as a standalone, and all the rest of the stuff plus the fancy rig as an add-on kit, hence the plan to make the basic obj file necessary for the 'full house' cr2 to work. It would obviously be easier to just combine everything in one obj, but then there'd be no reason for a separate base version.

I think I'm getting your purpose, one thing's for certain... that's a helluva nice model you've put together. You should probably include various utility and figure poses for that. Deciding what figures to make the poses for is another matter, obviously v4 and m4... it's scaled for vicky right?

Thanks;-)

Yes, it's vicky-sized, and M4 fits into it, but the important bits adjust, so it should accommodate a few figures. If the whole alt geom thing works in DS I should probably do some G2 poses too.

Thanks;-)

Yes, it's vicky-sized, and M4 fits into it, but the important bits adjust, so it should accommodate a few figures. If the whole alt geom thing works in DS I should probably do some G2 poses too.

How about Dusk and Dawn for those of us who want to use weight mapped figures in Poser?  Pretty please?

How about Dusk and Dawn for those of us who want to use weight mapped figures in Poser?  Pretty please?

My target market for a model like this is reeeeally tiny, I would think the subset of that group which doesn't use Vicky would be about... um, two people? And that's because they're using M4. And we're only talking about a sitting pose, I'm sure Dusk and Dawn users can manage that? Bend hips bend knees, done. Sorta. ;-)

How about Dusk and Dawn for those of us who want to use weight mapped figures in Poser?  Pretty please?

My target market for a model like this is reeeeally tiny, I would think the subset of that group which doesn't use Vicky would be about... um, two people? And that's because they're using M4. And we're only talking about a sitting pose, I'm sure Dusk and Dawn users can manage that? Bend hips bend knees, done. Sorta. ;-)

OK

I've done this with a number of models over the years and it should work just fine... It's also something I've encountered in models I've downloaded from other places. Never had an issue in using them with either DS or Poser if the CR2's are set up properly to call the right parts. It isn't geometry switching... it's just a cr2 that references more than one mesh when loading...

I do have to say though that I use Daz's Figure Set-up rather than Posers for figure creation (I make Poser models but am better with DS' tool set so it's what I choose to use) so I'm not exactly sure how to set it up through Poser's Figure Room... In DS it's drag-n-drop to assign geometries... so if I have a figure that needs more than one I can just assign parts from each geometry as needed but I'm not sure if Poser works the same way. I do know that any figures I've done this with worked just fine in both DS and Poser even when created in DS (I test everything I make in multiple versions of both DS and Poser before releasing them so I do know that multiple geometries in a single Cr2 is perfectly workable)...

I've done this with a number of models over the years and it should work just fine... It's also something I've encountered in models I've downloaded from other places.

That's great news, thanks for posting.

No problem... my only suggestion would be to test it in both DS and Poser yourself just to ensure that your item works as it should, that way you can be certain that everything is set up correctly if your intention is to have it compatible in both... If you aren't worried about cross-compatibility then so long as it loads and functions correctly in Poser you're good to go...