I've been using 2014GameDev since it came out, with the PoserFusion plugin for 3ds max. My entire work flow depends on that. So imagine my surprise when I was forced to update to 11.2, only to find the Fusion plug-ins are completely gone. Poof, five years of work, including the project I was in the middle of working on, now unavailable just because of a mere license issue. My business is in ruins. If I try to load my 3ds max scenes now it just says no licensed version of Poser available and crashes completely. I opened a support ticket and the response so far appears to be, "sucks to be you." I won't rant here about removing features from software that I specifically bought it for. More importantly, has anyone come up with a solution to be able to still load files that used poserfusion after the 11.2 forced update? Any help or ideas are greatly appreciated!

Have you tried to use just Poser 2014 Not Game Dev? Maybe they can get you a serial for just PP2014 if you. don't have one

Not a bad idea, though I'm not sure if there were any differences in the file structures between Pro2014 and GameDev2014. Unfortunately I don't have Poser Pro 2014 nor a license for it though, only for GameDev, and I doubt Smith Micro is going to sell me one these days, unless someone has another way to get one?

You might be able to find one on eBay.

I really wish they'd given people the option of a permanent license of the old version of their software, without the serial check over the net. Or just mirrored the SM server, so it would have been possible to keep using the old software. At least until they could replace the stuff they needed to remove.

It's not right, to forcibly remove features that people depend on. I never used PoserFusion, but I did use Wardrobe Wizard, and had bought a lot of expansion packs for it. (Luckily, I was able to retrieve the script from an old installation of Poser.)

randym77 posted at 7:58AM Mon, 14 October 2019 - #4367037

I really wish they'd given people the option of a permanent license of the old version of their software, without the serial check over the net. Or just mirrored the SM server, so it would have been possible to keep using the old software. At least until they could replace the stuff they needed to remove.

It's not right, to forcibly remove features that people depend on. I never used PoserFusion, but I did use Wardrobe Wizard, and had bought a lot of expansion packs for it. (Luckily, I was able to retrieve the script from an old installation of Poser.)

Mirroring the site probably would have meant foregoing the re-branding and the additional content. While the content could have been otherwise distributed, the re-branding was essential. Too many people already think Smith Micro still owns Poser and come here to complain, so continuing to use Poser as if nothing has happened just was not a good option.

If enough people make their feeling about Poserfusion known, I'm sure Bondware will either find a workaround or replacement.

I think it would have been a better option than putting dugpa into the situation he's in. It's basically giving people the choice of losing features they need for their businesses, or turning to non-legal options. I don't see how that helps Bondware.

I don't use PoserFusion or InterPoser, but OReilly has an article up that, from the title, suggests that Interposer might be a solution. I didn't read the article, as it requires signing up to the site, but you decide:

PoserFusion Versus interPoser

I don't think interPoser is still a thing. Didn't he shut down his web site?

randym77 posted at 8:26AM Mon, 14 October 2019 - #4367041

I think it would have been a better option than putting dugpa into the situation he's in. It's basically giving people the choice of losing features they need for their businesses, or turning to non-legal options. I don't see how that helps Bondware.

Not meaning any disrespect, but if it was so essential to his business, don't see how it came as such a surprise.

randym77 posted at 8:33AM Mon, 14 October 2019 - #4367044

I don't think interPoser is still a thing. Didn't he shut down his web site?

I ran a check and found this link: It is an older version, and it is for Cinema 4D, so...

InterPoser Pro

EClark1894 posted at 8:02AM Mon, 14 October 2019 - #4367048

Not meaning any disrespect, but if it was so essential to his business, don't see how it came as such a surprise.

Most people do not expect features to just go away. I was following the news of the sale and upgrade, and I didn't know Wardrobe Wizard was going away until I tried to use it and found it gone. I don't remember seeing PoserFusion mentioned in any of the announcements.

In the case of WW, people who knew ahead of time could have saved the script so they could continue to use it. But there's nothing that could be done if you rely on PoserFusion. You couldn't not upgrade. There's no other plugin that does what it did. What are people supposed to do, except wish they'd never relied on Poser to begin with? I really think Bondware should provide some kind of solution for people like the OP.

Will it even be possible to install Poser Pro 2014 if he somehow finds a copy? Will he be able to register it?

People were informed right from the start, at least 3 months before it happened, that bondware would no longer be supporting poser fusion.

I was surprised about the Buyout, but in the Early adopter article, Bondware did mention that the Fusion products would not be included. I'm just wondering why the OP didn't pay closer attention. He even considered the update to be forced.

Where was the info that Poser Fusion was going to be killed off? All off a sudden, the cheaper price for Poser Pro is not a good deal anymore, since Poser Fusion was killed.

Any other options for Poser to 3ds max or Lightwave?

Maybe these tips will help someone with PoserFusion:

Link

http://www.jurn.org/dazposer/?p=11379

/Edit, news post also states that PoserFusion death was a rumor.

@dugpa did you remove the Poser 2014 GD installation?

Since FuserFusion comes with its own permanent license, there is a good chance it still works as long as the Poser files are there even when Poser itself does not work anymore.

@ dugpa

Your option would of been to block the call home feature and keep the old install , if you still have the 2014 Poser installed then you might be lucky. either by blocking it to call home with firewall or adding " 127.0.0.1 my.nalpeiron.com " in your host file. at least this method would of saved your Installation

alternative if you really depend on the Poser Fusion Plugins for your Projects then you probably will only get it through a crack to get em to work.

I also depend on quiet some features that were removed in Poser 11.2 and could save my Old version to keep it running .... also dislike it that there has to be a Pyton Hack in this new Poser version to let your old expensive Pytons work and it is not even guaranteed that it fixes all of them.

every update is a full installation and a reinstall ( nor very healthy for the registry in Windows ) and there were quiet a few the past weeks ! not to mention the call home feature if you want to have it removed for a while you need to beg for it and give some reasons .. sure not my thing !! even heard that one had an issue after 3 tries and the Key expired he had to spend another 100$ to get a new licence as he had some projects going !!! Not sure if a rumor but if true than sure not a fair business ...

this whole situation might sure push quiet some people to either get a Hack for their old versions or jump onto another Programm ( I would assume that it would be the first of the two choices as else it could be a great loss of Investments on Licences for poser models )

so if your business is in ruins due the changes ....a support ticket and the response so far appears to be, "sucks to be you." then sure I would do anything to save my Projects " Got a Legal lifetime Licence for what I bought " so if there is no way around then the hack might be the medication for the problem to be solved !

If you owned Game Dev and had a "permament activation" from SmithMicro, did you even need to upgrade? I'm not claiming that was the case with the OP, I'm just asking a general question for anyone who has an answer.

EClark1894 posted at 12:56AM Tue, 15 October 2019 - #4367112

If you owned Game Dev and had a "permament activation" from SmithMicro, did you even need to upgrade? I'm not claiming that was the case with the OP, I'm just asking a general question for anyone who has an answer.

No need for a upgrade in that case. I have both PP2014GD and PP11.1 with permanent activation running on my machines.

EClark1894 posted at 12:52AM Tue, 15 October 2019 - #4367112

If you owned Game Dev and had a "permament activation" from SmithMicro, did you even need to upgrade? I'm not claiming that was the case with the OP, I'm just asking a general question for anyone who has an answer.

LOL ... I got a Permanent Licence , but for sure do not want to take the risk that it will not work and still call home , then if , it then might still deactivate Poser and you end up to be forced to update .. so better take the secure Path and block it with all ya got .

Alternative you would have to save the Licences in a backup then go for a try , in such a case you could get it back running by replacing the dead activation files with your backups.

A fair thing would of been if Smith micro would of released a Patch that removes the activation on the Previous two releases.

strange is that Renderosity sell Poser with the terms ...."" • Product requires your choice of online or offline activation. "" <----- not true as it Periodically calls home A new customer would sure not be happy about this term !!! and not sure if the Offline activation works as I have not tried to install the Ro version jet

I don't see why Bondware can't give you a serial number for PP2014 after all they have the code for how it is created. Maybe they won't provide a patch to keep 2014GD running, although it should be fairly easy to just remove the call function from 2104GD since it hasn't been updated since Poser 11 came out so if it worked just remove the one function and when Windows Mac make changes that cause it to stop then too bad so sad, but until then let it run.

To answer a few questions: Yes, I got the email about the change of ownership. They all said that you would need to update if you had Poser 11 or later. PoserGameDev 2014 came before that, thus I assumed I was fine and would not need to worry about any updates. If they had said 2014 would stop working I would have tried to sort something out back then, instead of suddenly discovering my Poser didn't work one day. In fact, they seem to have forgotten 2014 even existed, as all the emails only talked about what to do if you had 10 or 11. Nor did it say anywhere that Poserfusion wouldn't even exist anymore. People have mentioned a permanent license. I didn't know such things existed, and certainly had never been made aware of it when I purchased, otherwise I would have gotten one, even if it meant paying extra, just to make sure this situation never happened. I did not remove the Poser 2014 GD installation. But it has unlicensed itself since it couldn't phone home and won't let me re-license it as it thinks I have used my three instances of Poser already for some reason (I had this problem a few times even though I only have one install). Unfortunately when I try to load a scene in 3ds max that used Poser elements, the plug-in says it can't find a valid Poser installation, refused to create the Poser Universe, and crashes 3ds max completely. I don't know that blocking the ip address would work, as I assume it still wants to talk to a server a some point to keep running. That's assuming I could get it re-registered in the first place. A crack is probably the only option at this point, even though I hate to resort to such, but unfortunately there don't appear to be any for 2014GD around anywhere.

So yeah, I'm still screwed so far.

Blocking the server wouldn’t have changed anything. The expire is stored local and does not need a server to shut the application down. The information about permanent license activation was IIRC only available in a forum post in the old official Poser forum at RDNA.

Only solution for you is to either find a patch or get a Poser1014 Pro license from somebody. IMHO that ’somebody’ should be Bondware.

dugpa posted at 10:02AM Wed, 16 October 2019 - #4367229

To answer a few questions: Yes, I got the email about the change of ownership. They all said that you would need to update if you had Poser 11 or later. PoserGameDev 2014 came before that, thus I assumed I was fine and would not need to worry about any updates. If they had said 2014 would stop working I would have tried to sort something out back then, instead of suddenly discovering my Poser didn't work one day. In fact, they seem to have forgotten 2014 even existed, as all the emails only talked about what to do if you had 10 or 11. Nor did it say anywhere that Poserfusion wouldn't even exist anymore. People have mentioned a permanent license. I didn't know such things existed, and certainly had never been made aware of it when I purchased, otherwise I would have gotten one, even if it meant paying extra, just to make sure this situation never happened. I did not remove the Poser 2014 GD installation. But it has unlicensed itself since it couldn't phone home and won't let me re-license it as it thinks I have used my three instances of Poser already for some reason (I had this problem a few times even though I only have one install). Unfortunately when I try to load a scene in 3ds max that used Poser elements, the plug-in says it can't find a valid Poser installation, refused to create the Poser Universe, and crashes 3ds max completely. I don't know that blocking the ip address would work, as I assume it still wants to talk to a server a some point to keep running. That's assuming I could get it re-registered in the first place. A crack is probably the only option at this point, even though I hate to resort to such, but unfortunately there don't appear to be any for 2014GD around anywhere.

So yeah, I'm still screwed so far.

you should be able to use a copy of 2014 Pro as the latest updates SM made included Game Dew ,it seems to me that they made the announcement on that update. my Poser Pro 2014 has the full support after the 10.0.5.28 updates the only feature that is not aviable is to reduce Polygons but that feature does not work right in Poser anyway.

Sm Verions do not need a check after the activation if you are offline ,if online it actually does a check if two versions run simultaneous with the same activation on two Machines. If it detects that two versions run at the same time the second will get a message that it can not run at the moment , this will be until shutting down the other.

Sm never stopped an activated Poser just because it could not call Home this feature has been added by Bondware

gate posted at 10:58AM Wed, 16 October 2019 - #4367259

Sm never stopped an activated Poser just because it could not call Home this feature has been added by Bondware

Don’t mix things up. Periodical license re-validation was introduced by SM starting with the PP2014GD license. Optional permanent activation was added later. A non GameDev license is not affected and works offline just like all other older Poser licenses.

True. My non-Game Dev Poser Pro2014 is still running fine. Heck, I believe it even starts up faster than my Poser 11.

So a few things. First, while I can block it from trying to phone home to the old servers, I need a way to be able to activate my 2014 GameDev again in the first place. It's still installed, it just won't activate. When I try to enter my existing serial, it just tells me I've exceeded the max number of installations and closes. I actually had this problem a few times in the past as even though it's literally only ever been installed on a single computer, every year and a half or so it would suddenly decide my computer is a different one and want me to re-activate. I actually had to go in and delete old installations on SmithMicro's license site a few times over the years so it didn't think I was exceeding my three. But now it won't let me do that, and I doubt it's even talking to the server in the first place. So I need someway to reset my licenses back to no installations, at least as far as my installation in my computer thinks, and then reactivate 2014 GameDev. Any ideas. Losing money every day because of this mess.

Its not possible anymore. AFAIK the license server has gone and the GameDev license does need access to the license server for activation. The only Poser2014 license that is still working would be a non GameDev license as that one works offline.

Nagra_00_ posted at 6:08AM Wed, 16 October 2019 - #4367266

Its not possible anymore. AFAIK the license server has gone and the GameDev license does need access to the license server for activation. The only Poser2014 license that is still working would be a non GameDev license as that one works offline.

If the PoserFusion plug-ins are the same between the two and it's known it will load GameDev Poser files, I'd give Poser Pro 2014 a shot. Unfortunately I have no idea where to even find a copy at this point (yes, already checked ebay).

PP2014 and PP2014GD are the same. The different feature sets are controlled via the license. Not sure about PoserFusion (i use PoserFusion11) but they should be identical as well.

But i can only speak about the Mac version, on Windows some things seem to be handled different. Just to give you an example: I removed the license data for Poser11 so its not working anymore, but after doing so i can still use the C4D version of PoserFusion11. I imported a Poser scene saved it and reopened it, all works fine.

Unfortunately the Windows version of PoserFusion appears to specifically look for a valid activation of Poser running (and 11.2 doesn't count), otherwise it won't allow any poser content to load in 3dsmax.

I can't believe they can't or won't help you with this.

Could you use System Restore to rollback to before you installed Poser 11.2, and get Poser Pro 2014 back, then get a permanent license or block the connection to the net? Or install Poser 11.2 somewhere else, so PP 2014 is still there, and maybe PoserFusion will be happy?

Can you use an earlier version of Poser Fusion? Maybe from an earlier version of Poser?

I talked to someone different in support who's seeing if there's anything the dev team can do. Crossing my fingers. As for another version of Poser Fusion, I already tried that. I've been a Poser user since the original Pro Pack with 4.0 and upgraded every few years or so, so I have a few earlier versions. But unfortunately none of the ones I have will load the 2014 files, not to mention many of the older versions of the plug-ins don't even work in newer versions of 3ds Max, so there's comparability issues with not just one but two pieces of software trying to go that route. In fact I literally still have Poser Pro 4 and 3ds Max 5 installed on my system as well just so I can go back and access older content I created. Ironic that I can still access stuff I made almost 20 years ago, but no longer can access stuff I made a month ago.

Well, I hope it works out for you, but even if it does, I would continue to look for a work around in case it happens again. This is your business, as you say.

@ dugpa do you still have the Download manager ? It is still possible to download Poser 2014 if you have a valid Key! so you would only need to organize one ...

You might also consider keeping a duplicate and separate copy of all your software either on another machine or better yet a protected thumbdrive or separate harddrive that you can obtain a backup copy from. DO NOT use these instead of the ones you have. They are PROTECTED backups.

gate posted at 8:09PM Thu, 17 October 2019 - #4367377

@ dugpa do you still have the Download manager ? It is still possible to download Poser 2014 if you have a valid Key! so you would only need to organize one ...

I still have the download manager, but the download manager doesn't work anymore as there's no server for it to talk to. It just tells me I need to download a new version of the download manager and sends me to the new Poser 11.2 download page. Also I never owned a copy of Poser 2014, just Poser 2014 Game Dev, so even if it would re-download the files, it's just going to not be able to activate them.

if you still have the smith micro download manager, open it, place your POSERFUSION serial number into the box and enter, all the poserfusion apps will still be downloadable.

structure posted at 2:07AM Fri, 18 October 2019 - #4367522

if you still have the smith micro download manager, open it, place your POSERFUSION serial number into the box and enter, all the poserfusion apps will still be downloadable.

That doesn't work. Even if I enter my Poser Fusion serial, the only option it gives me to download is an update to the Smith Micro Download Manager, which just sends me to the new Poser site. But getting the install files isn't the problem. I still have the original install files on my computer from when I downloaded them with the manager clear back in 2014. But without a way to activate them, just installing them doesn't do me any good. I need some way to be able to activate the software.

@ dugpa I have send you a site mail offering you the latest Download manager as you can not get it any longer also the Possibility to get Poser to run again but I did not get any respond on the mail I send , you might not seen it jet , just let me know if you are interested as this will most-probably resolve your issue . I can only help out as long as the Download manager works as I have only a Cell Phone Internet and it is Pretty limited in brandwith this prevents me making a large upload.

go here, perhaps the guys in this thread can help?

Someone from the Poser Dev team contacted me and I'm partially back up and running now. I can at least load in my existing 3ds Max scenes with poser, which is huge, so things are partially good again. Big props to them for helping on a solution for this.

That's great news! Thanks for reporting back.

any chance they gave you pointers you could share with the rest of us on how it got fixed?

Found my poser fusion serials. Anyone have a copy of the MAC installer for the Smith Micro download manager? When accessing my account, it only points me to the windows version, even though I purchased from a Mac for a Mac.

I wrote to Smith Micro, and they stated unequivocally that the entire Poser line and all its products were now serviced by the new owners here. I thought it odd, but not completely unheard of, that they might keep the plugins while selling the software. Companies do weird things sometimes. They were quite clear though about all the Poser software getting support from www.posersoftware.com.

And Poser new owners write to me.... "We no longer provide those plugins, as you can just use the export and use FBX at this time. ?" Which seems a bit disingenuous to me given the difference in workflow.
But it seems that the new position is to make do with FBX. If I wanted to do that, I could have stuck with DAZ and not paid for Poser (or paid even more for PPro).

So far, the new boss seems a lot like the old boss(es).

What is the state of the FBX export from poser.??

Anyone tried it to the major 3DCC apps like Maya or Blender 2.82.?

https://youtu.be/7hSW7H8RVjY

La Femme with bones in Lightwave via FBX export from Poser.