On the topic of maintaining Firefly for "backwards compatibility," I thought it might be worthwhile to point out that just because PBR rendering is a newer method, that does not mean it's a better method for all users, and certainly not for users whose primary goal is to produce renders that are stylized rather than photorealistic.

Going forward, I hope that Poser continues to offer two main TYPES of render engine, each with its own Preview renderer: a Non-Photorealistic Renderer (NPR) and a Physically-Based Renderer (PBR).

Under NPR, I'd want most of the capabilities of Firefly plus all of the toon rendering options (rather than having some available only in Preview and others only in Firefly). Perhaps the Sketch Renderer would fit in here as well. The goal of non-photorealistic rendering is not to "fake" PBR effects but rather to enable users to achieve a stylized look not possible when one adheres to the rules of "physically accurate."

Under PBR, I'd expect whatever combo of Superfly/Cycles features are most wanted by those whose goal is to produce photorealism.

I would NOT expect for materials designed for NPR renders to automatically work fine for PBR renders, or vice versa. In fact, it would make more sense to me if the shader trees for each render engine were completely separate, not mixed together in some kind of sphaghetti-node mess that makes it hard to figure out what to adjust. If I happen to load an item that's setup with FF/SF "hybrid" materials, I delete all the nodes and start over with a PoserSurface root node, not b/c I'm unwilling to learn the Superfly/Cycles nodes but b/c I have no interest in the kind of renders they're designed for.

All of which is to say: just b/c PBR is all the buzz right now, that doesn't mean it's the future for every user of 3D graphics software. So continuing to support Firefly (or something similar) isn't so much about maintaining 'backward compatibility" as it is about offering an alternative to photorealism that still appeals to many, many users.

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TOOLS: MacBook Pro; Poser Pro 11; Cheetah3D; Photoshop CC

FIGURES: S-16 (improved V4 by Karina), M4, K4, Mavka, Toons, and Nursoda's people

GOALS: Stylized and non-photorealistic renders in various fantasy styles