JohnDoe641 posted at 6:58PM Fri, 21 June 2019 - #4353923

This news does change things, drastically! If there was hope for Poser becoming a relevant contender with all the latest features, this is it and with figures like PE and LF leading the charge I am really hopeful that Poser will start to see the increase in use it deserves.

Funny how things can change so quickly eh?

I'll be flat out honest, as I feel I can do this now without accidentally burning bridges with Smith Micro, man I had already lost all hope well into PE's development. I was ready to give up back in 2016 when I saw how powerless some of the folks at Smith Micro where, they were f*ing clueless, but I couldn't mention anything, and I didn't want to be yet another artist that promised stuff and then cop out. I wanted to complete it at least. I'm thankful that I finished PE. But that was about it. I was done with Poser and to some extent CGI itself too. If it wasn't for my comics, i probably would have gone back to working in wildlife parks.

Chuck Taylor was Poser's last hope with Smith Micro. Even though I didn't agree with everything he decided, at least it was moving forward and he WAS listening and he did have a clue. Had SM given him another year or two, he might have actually managed. But I don't think SM could beat out this new opportunity with Renderosity. The sheer outreach of this company, its affiliations with other more relevant CGI organisations such as the magazines and software they connect with, gives me much hope for Poser now.

They really need to focus on Poser's strengths, her UI, her simplicity, the cloth room, the animation tools (in particular the animation layers), and of course the figures. While La Femme is certainly the best Poser figure that Poser has officially supported, I still insist that they look to Project Evolution for inspiration as to how to approach realistic CGI figures in Poser. If they choose to develop a new figure instead of going with PE, that is fine by me, but as long as it is a realistic looking figure. PE was my attempt and I am sure that other can do better, but please, no more beating around the bush. Rendo, make it happen.

Regarding PE, the only thing standing in the way of PE and a wider adoption, is accessibility in terms of making content for her easier to make. This is just a matter of bashing heads regarding Poser's rigging features. The clothsim already provides features that can be used to automate JCM creation, and subdivision can help refine morph transfer. But there could be other options instead of JCMs. That's just the tip of the iceberg of what Rendo can do provided they find some fanatics to develop for them. They could also go down the route of DS/Dual Quaretnion/ maya/max/C4D interoperability but they need to make sure that they develop the right tools and maintain Poser's accessibility, otherwise the spirit of Poser is kinda lost. I believe they could do it. Let's give them time. I am all ready to support them, even if I clashed with them at some point. Its worth it, I believe.

"The fool is not the one that does something foolish, but the one that does nothing at all."