fuqol217 posted at 11:53AM Sat, 28 December 2019 - #4374800

Hi Dan

Many thanks to you and Gérald for your work on VWD. I have used version 1 quite a lot (with animations) and while I sympathise with those who find it complicated, it is also very powerful and flexible. I have had some nice results, and some difficulties along the way, and I am still learning. I have found Gerald's videos extremely helpful. (Also Toonces "cheat sheet" in the Daz Dynamic Clothing forum).

Hello fuqol217,

Thanks for the vote-of-confidence - and I'm really glad the original version has worked well for you. I appreciate the 'if-it-aint-broke' position you are now in with this upgrade... :)

For those about to plunge into VWD I would remind them that you say on the store page that the program is powerful and complex and you recommend trying the free trial version first.

It's a tough line to walk - selling a great little tool, and not overselling it. We're careful not to use the word 'easy' or 'simple', but there's still the implication in today's market that tools like this should be more 'artist' friendly rather than technical in nature, so it's a tough dance. I see the complex shader product authors bump into this often as well, and I'm certain we are all wishing that our customers could get the great results with a couple of button presses - but with the huge variation in scenes, visions, and goals, it's not often that everything 'just works' in a given scene. With good information, we hope to help "teach folks to fish" rather than just "giving them the fish". That said, providing some good fish to eat while learning how to bait your hook is a noble goal.

What frustrates me most about this tool and this context we work in, is that the folks in here are really smart, and tools like this can make us feel otherwise. I think very often that the right small gem of information is all that is needed to get folks moving, if not running, to their successes. We'll soon see!

Now a question: I have stayed with Daz v4.10 so VWD v1 continues to work. Now I have VWD v2 ready to install. Should I continue with Daz 4.10 or upgrade Daz first to 4.12? If I stay with 4.10 I can revert to VWD v1 if I have a problem with v2? But is VWD better integrated with Daz 4.12? (My graphics card is not NVidia and I think this has caused some issues with other plugins).

Ok, this is a really good question. Let me answer in couple of ways:

• The lowest risk for a DAZ Studio 4.10 user is to stay on 4.10 and tweak your new V2 installation a bit to co-exist with V1.

V1 and V2 can co-exist with DS 4.10 only. (although I bet you let V1 go pretty quickly, as it is truly a subset of V2 - and V2 should look and act very familiar to V1). You can keep them both for a while to be safe - that's what I do.

Doing this installation tweak is pretty simple: Set up your system to use both versions by installing the new VWD V2 main program stuff into a folder/directory named something like C:\VWD2\ instead of the recommended C:\VWD). Only DAZ Studio 4.10 users can take advantage of this co-existence anymore because 4.11 breaks philemot's DS bridge, and our V2 plugin doesn't work in 4.9 or below. Also, to be clear, when you install the plugins and scripts into DAZ Studio (any) in the normal (copy files...) way, they should not overwrite or impact the V1 files or philemot's DS-bridge product files at all.

When you first run the V2 scripts in DAZ Studio (setup, start, help), it will ask you to find your new VWD V2 folder/program - and you should tell it (by browsing to the folder/files when prompted) where you installed the new V2 program files (e.g. C:\VWD2\ if you followed my example).

Give this a go and see if you can get V4.10 to start and run VWD V2.

We were careful to set VWD 2.x up to co-exist for exactly this reason. You should be able to get it working by simply doing the normal install with a slightly different VWD 2 program folder name - that's it! Again, DS 4.10 only!

Also - this slightly different folder name will work with DS 4.10, 4.11, 4.12, and 4.12 public-build at the same time (quick note: you must also install the VWD V2 plugins in the DS 4.12 public build 'plugins' folder if you need the public build versions to work with VWD on your system. A lot of folks don't realize this, or forget.)

Other notes:

• I have tested VWD with 4.10, 4.11, 4.12, and 4.12 public-build. They all work fine as far as my tests went. I also test almost exclusively in 4.12 - mostly because that's where DAZ is going, so we (VWD) need to be there early and find problems first. I'm not usually a 'latest and greatest version' guy at all. (Also tested and works with Poser 11.2 and Carrara 8.5)

• In DS 4.12, the animation system is quite different, so doing the upgrade will not only require you to learn new VWD-isms, but new DAZ-isms too. The new 4.12 timeline is not bad!, but it is different, and you can use your original graphmate and keymate in DS 4.12 if you need to. The 4.12 public build (not the standard release) already has some new fixes and updates for animators, so trying 4.12 public-build might be a good way to see what you are getting into as you keep your 4.10 installation safe. It's not too scary or complicated if any of you haven't already got a public-build install going.

• FWIW, a single installed version of the main VWD program folder works with Poser, DS, and Carrara. That said, if you pull the pdf docs (20 megs) from the main folder, the whole VWD program folder is only 10-ish megs, and having a VWD program folder of this size dedicated to each application is a viable option with today's disk/storage.

There are a few people on here with various problems with VWD v2, and a couple who are happy - But are there many more who have no problems and so keep quiet!?

We can only guess on this one. We (VWD) don't track usage, and I know there are many folks in this 3D business that 'collect' content and tools, as much as they actually use their goodies (dan sheepishly shuffles and looks down at his shoes... :)

And... I also know that I am much more likely to post items in a vendor/product forum when I have a need, rather than when things are going fine, so it's hard to measure customer success from the activity levels in these forums. Cool renders that get posted and cool tips and tricks are the best overt proof that things are working for folks.

Thanks again - And keep up the good work!

It's slow going, but your feedback is great motivation. It is much easier to put energy in to a project when you know it's being appreciated. Thanks for your supportive comments! and good luck on getting VWD working with your 4.10 version, or if you choose to upgrade. (or both, with a public build install!).

And post some renders and tips as you explore it all!

cheers,

VWD3D (dan)

--
Resources: https://www.virtualworlddynamics.net - https://www.patreon.com/VWD
Rendo PM: VWD3D or VirtualWorldDynamics or support@virtualworlddynamics.net
Current VWD Version:   Release: V2.2.924.6464 - 2019/12/12, 9:46am
Qualifier: Yes, I'm helping Gérald with VWD, Nooo, I'm not yet an expert on its use!