I need some input here.

I'm making a office cubicle freebie, and I can do this one of two ways. I can make it with lots of parts, like shelves and cabinets that can be added in and smartpropped, or I can make it all one solid object with lots of mat zones so you can basically just make any and everypart of it invisible or not. Either way, i wanted to make it so that the user could customize it any way they wish.

What do you think is the best way to go?

I like the idea of a modifiable cubicle.  The decorations/furniture can be added at the users discretion to keep the image in a managable size for rendering.  Looks good to me so far.

Actually, either way I do it, the parts will have to have ways of making them invisible or not, like the walls, for example. The firsthing I thought about was making the walls able to turn invisible so you could get a camera shot. Also each panel of the cubicle can be made invisible so you can pick and choose your way in and out.

Most excellent.  I agree that the camera angle bit is a great idea.  I've bought several rather expensive (on my budget) props that there were no cameras or ways to get an internal camera to properly utilize the prop.  Looking forward to seeing your beta.

I need some input here.

I'm making a office cubicle freebie, and I can do this one of two ways. I can make it with lots of parts, like shelves and cabinets that can be added in and smartpropped, or I can make it all one solid object with lots of mat zones so you can basically just make any and everypart of it invisible or not. Either way, i wanted to make it so that the user could customize it any way they wish.

What do you think is the best way to go?

First option, no two ways about it. Bundle it as a set of props and a scene with them combined. Also, the .blend file if you're feeling really charitable.

First option, no two ways about it. Bundle it as a set of props and a scene with them combined. Also, the .blend file if you're feeling really charitable.

I'm not.

I'd also prefer the first option:

It makes the whole set a lot more versatile, i.e. users could remove prop parts from the cubicle and replace it with a door, or a window, or whatever else they fancy. Or they could combine two cubicles, etc.
Having separate props instead of a solid object also makes it more useful for people who are lost when it comes to using the material room, unless you include a ton of mat poses... *1)

You could use a "Grouping" for P10 (or a "null" prop for earlier versions) and smartparent all items to this base.

This should be loaded first. Then, make two options:

1. Make the props load separately, and automatically smartparenting to the base "on load".
   However, instead of having to load each single prop from a separate library icon, I'd bundle them in logical groups, e.g. "floor & ceiling", "walls", "desks", "lockers", "chairs", "equipment", "plants", etc.
   Like this it would be much easier to load what you want, and them delete from these fewer items what you don't, instead of having to wade through a list of hundreds of props loaded all in one go.
   (But it'll require manually editing the .pp2 files, before distribution, in order to replace "parent ..." with "smartparent ...", which Poser doesn't when saving multiple props to the library).

2. For those who want it, include an "all in one go" option nonetheless - you could even provide this "extra" as a scene file, with some lights readily set up, etc.

I know this is going to be some extra work, but compared to the time you needed modeling it, it's zilch.
After all, you'ld want to make this item as versatile and user-friendly as possible.

Just my Tuppence...

-Peter-

Footnote *1) with a little "tongue-in-cheek": It would also spare me the effort of taking the "solid prop" apart again with the grouping editor's "spawn props" feature, for my own use ;)

I'm not.

I can't help laughing because I understand your point of view. No hard feelings, I hope and thanks again.

Just out of curiosity, why do you want the blend files?

I'm a programmer for a living. I learn by studying other people's code and the same paradigm works elsewhere. That in no way obligates anyone else to share their source materials with me and I apologize for stepping over the line.

 @ All

Well, actually it "IS" a very good idea to add the Blend files. ( or sourse files, but Blender becoming more and more polpular, why not)

Usually, end users are looking for some item, and they find, well, "about" what they need but not "quite exactly".

When builders would provide the sourse file also, it would make it a LOT simpler for buyers/end users to adapt the product to their exact needs.
Actually, providing the sourse files could enhance sales by quite a margin.

I like the idea, and for my next items, I"ll surely add the Blend files also.

Certainly for props
For clothing or figures that require rigging, conventional or Weightmapped, it is not so simple, but certainly an option.

I like it.

 @ All

Well, actually it "IS" a very good idea to add the Blend files. ( or sourse files, but Blender becoming more and more polpular, why not)

Usually, end users are looking for some item, and they find, well, "about" what they need but not "quite exactly".

When builders would provide the sourse file also, it would make it a LOT simpler for buyers/end users to adapt the product to their exact needs.
Actually, providing the sourse files could enhance sales by quite a margin.

I like the idea, and for my next items, I"ll surely add the Blend files also.

Certainly for props
For clothing or figures that require rigging, conventional or Weightmapped, it is not so simple, but certainly an option.

I like it.

I won't add blend files because I'm not a teacher and I'm not trying to teach anyone anything. I'm still learning myself, so the best anyone can learn from me is what NOT to do, or how to make your work flow harder than it needs to be. We don't need anyone learning or spreading bad habits.

Either way, Clark, I would love to have a model of a cubicle.  So very versatile! This is a thank you and a great show of appreciation for sharing your creation.

This is one configuration of the cubicle that you can make . This is still in Blender though as I'm still working on  everything and refining the way things fit together.

I'm also using the Cycles Renderer in Blender, so forgive the grainyness. This is actually my first time really using it. Everything in this scene was made by me except for the chair and Roxie.

This is great! I never had a cubie that large!

It can be larger or smaller if you want. Also, if you're doing an office scene, you could put up two or more cubicles side by side.

Meanwhile, I still trying to learn Cycles in Blender.

Can you make the cubie with the low walls all around.  (I recall that from my days at an HP call center in Cupertino)

Can you make the cubie with the low walls all around.  (I recall that from my days at an HP call center in Cupertino)

Yep. You have at least two size panels, one tall, and one short and you can duplicate them as many times as you like to get the size cubicle you want. My goal is to finish modeling everything so that everything will fit together without a problem. Then when i import everything into Poser, I'll actually build several configurations myself, so anyone who does not want to build their own can just pick one of the pre-built configs. For those who want to build their own cubicles, I plan to smart prop everything (within reason) to fit together. I should also add that Poser comes with some props already, so I tried to avoid making anything that they already had.

Looks good Clarkie!

This is fantastic!

Added a new shelf and a little Aiko 3 maquette to spice things up. Aiko not included. :)

Think I'm going to start smart-propping.