With March 23rd right around the corner, where can I read up on the latest features offered in Poser 13?????

If you subscribe to the Renderosity newsletter, they have been posting P13 updates along with that

And if I read it correctly the announcement stated March '23, not necessarily being March 23rd. 

Right, it should be interpreted as "March 2023"  or 1Q23, which ends on March 31.

Or you can click here, in case you don't subscribe:
https://www.posersoftware.com/section/14/news

Are we upgrading from Poser 11?????? I do have Poser 12, but it was basically a beta version.

Right, it should be interpreted as "March 2023"  or 1Q23, which ends on March 31.

I will upgrade, yes, but I had P12 and updated it continuously. If you read the article with the features, you can decide if you want to or not. This will be the first full Renderosity version--P12 was mostly SM code updated and patched, from what I understand. Even that way, the render times alone were worth it for me. YMMV of course, especially if you don't use Superfly still.

EClark1894 posted at 9:41 PM Wed, 22 February 2023 - #4456650

DCArt posted at 5:26 PM Wed, 22 February 2023 - #4456626

Right, it should be interpreted as "March 2023"  or 1Q23, which ends on March 31.

Miss B said it should read as March 23.

Then we can still be waiting for an entire month with a release date of March 31st.

Are we upgrading from Poser 11?????? I do have Poser 12, but it was basically a beta version.

Are we upgrading from Poser 11?????? I do have Poser 12, but it was basically a beta version.

The last official release is 12.0.1029 and you can go directly to Posersoftware.com to download it.  And to be honest, P12 is just the pilot software for P13.

Well, I am a wee bit disappointed by the latest news. I am reconsidering upgrading, in all seriousness. 

Well, I am a wee bit disappointed by the latest news. I am reconsidering upgrading, in all seriousness. 

You mean the no unimesh thing?

That, and looking at what they list as features. It's..

no unimesh,

no new figure,

the Superfly improvement list is vague

an  HDR dome... I already have from several sources

the content creator improvements are not for me as i am an end user

Included content reorganization... I already have that content

In short, unless there are a bit more meaningful details about what the Superfly improvements exacly are... this is just not telling me why someone who already has P12 should upgrade???

They need to let us know about unimesh - is it just not going to be done in time, or has it been dropped.

If it has been pushed back because they can't get it done in time, that is one thing - if they have given up on it (after talking it up over the past year), yeah that is going to be a problem.

Can someone explain what no support for unimesh figures means? Does this mean I won't be able to use M4/V4 .ect inside Poser 13 and if so, why would they stop supporting those figures?

@Rhia474 we're confident the SuperFly improvements in Poser 13 will speak for itself.  That's why, like all recent versions of Poser, 13 will come with a 21-day free trial so potential buyers can kick the tires before purchasing.

Hey, thank you Tim, we will see. I would like to be excited about this. I know you guys worked hard.

Whoa, I hadn't heard the no new figure thing. That is a disappointment, after telling us there would be one.

I'm really curious what the new figure was going to be. Are they just hitching their wagon to Dawn 2 now? (I wouldn't mind that. I think a new base figure might be difficult to properly support if you're making the software, too.)

I will probably buy it just to support Poser, like I did with Poser 12, but I don't care for Superfly so I hardly use Poser 12 and can't get too excited about Superfly improvements.

I'm not too keen on Rosity's runtime organization, either. I have my own system, with separate runtimes for each figure, as well as themes like fantasy, SF, horror, contemporary, toon, etc.

I really dislike the way LaFemme stuff is organized, with everything in a La Femme folder. (Sometimes LaFemme.) It's an extra click for me, since I have a separate La Femme runtime.

aztecmarco posted at 9:43 PM Fri, 24 February 2023 - #4456833

Can someone explain what no support for unimesh figures means? Does this mean I won't be able to use M4/V4 .ect inside Poser 13 and if so, why would they stop supporting those figures?

They're talking about something that only vendors/content creators really have to worry about. If you don't import/export Poser figures to Blender or similar modeling software, you probably won't even notice.

FWIW, Mec4D at said this in the Dawn 2 thread at Hivewire:

"Poser13 is a game changer , it is rewritten from the core and has a new engine , it is not an update , it is totally new software with quality rendering . I was waiting for that changes for too long , as it will bring future creations to a next level , P12 was just an bandage ."

aztecmarco posted at 9:43 PM Fri, 24 February 2023 - #4456833

Can someone explain what no support for unimesh figures means? Does this mean I won't be able to use M4/V4 .ect inside Poser 13 and if so, why would they stop supporting those figures?

They're talking about something that only vendors/content creators really have to worry about. If you don't import/export Poser figures to Blender or similar modeling software, you probably won't even notice.

For those of you saying no new figure. The article doesn't say that. It says "The figure to be included as a Default Scene for Poser 13 is still a closely guarded secret." All that means is they're currently keeping it a secret.

Being that a recent screen capture, in an unrelated topic thread, of a couple of folders in one of DCArt's Runtimes were titled LF2 and LH2...

Of course this is just wild speculation and might be entirely unrelated <adjusts tinfoil hat>

RedPhantom posted at 7:35 AM Sat, 25 February 2023 - #4456862

For those of you saying no new figure. The article doesn't say that. It says "The figure to be included as a Default Scene for Poser 13 is still a closely guarded secret." All that means is they're currently keeping it a secret.

But I guess it's a reasonable assumption. The new figure was supposed to be unimesh, which would make it more compatible with other software. From what I understand, not just vendors, but people who want to export Poser scenes to FBX or whatever. (Which is kind of a crapshoot now.)

V4, LF, LH, etc. are not unimesh figures. (NOT talking about the old DAZ meaning of unimesh.)  Maybe LF2 and LH2 will be?

Well, it'd be a reasonable assumption that since they said 'no unimesh' the new figures won't be either. But, again, based on the vague announcements, this is just a supposition.  I am still not excited about this, I expected, based on what was said before, a bit more meat. Probably not going to get it immediately but as a trial--which would be a first for me since Poser 7.

A new figure does not have to be "Poser Unimesh".  If that was the case then the new Hivewire figure would be pretty much a waste of time since it was built on Poser 12 and  earlier prior technology.  The only thing that Poser Unimesh should bring is the ability to import a figure pose it and then export it and it have the same exact order to the vertexes between the import and export.  And really that is the only thing that 99.999% of people will care about.  What it does inside the program is of little interest to most of you.

Most all if not all of the commercial figures that you can get for Poser are "Unimesh" objects.  It is only after you import the object turn it into a figure does it get split.  And that includes everyone's favorite V4.  So since Poser works with V4 ther is no reason to think the Poser 13 won;t either.

A new figure does not have to be "Poser Unimesh". 

True, but I thought the whole point of a new base figure for Poser 13 was to make it unimesh.

Being that a recent screen capture, in an unrelated topic thread, of a couple of folders in one of DCArt's Runtimes were titled LF2 and LH2...

Of course this is just wild speculation and might be entirely unrelated <adjusts tinfoil hat>

tim posted at 10:03 PM Fri, 24 February 2023 - #4456839

@Rhia474 we're confident the SuperFly improvements in Poser 13 will speak for itself.  That's why, like all recent versions of Poser, 13 will come with a 21-day free trial so potential buyers can kick the tires before purchasing.

I feel like everyone (or most people) would understand a delay on release, as long as good things come with it.  I want Poser to thrive. I want more people to come. Please.

In the new article there is a part where they mention "volumetrics", off course I'm just wondering here but if that means a good implementation of VDB volumes I believe that alone could mean a lot:

"One of the most significant improvements in Poser 13 is the updated SuperFly render engine. This engine, based on Cycles X, provides faster rendering times and improved rendering quality. It also includes support for new features like ray tracing, caustics, and volumetrics."

If Tim thinks that SuperFly improvements are a major selling point - the Poser team isn't confident - they are delusional.  Most folks don't appear to use Superfly.

From my position - if the Poser team wants SuperFly to be a selling point, they need to support more than Nvidia graphics cards.  The Intel Arc series can outperform Nvidia cards in Blender - that open source tech needs to come to Poser.

Jensen has lost his mind if he thinks people are going to pay $500 for 8Gb 4070 cards.

From my position - if the Poser team wants SuperFly to be a selling point, they need to support more than Nvidia graphics cards.  The Intel Arc series can outperform Nvidia cards in Blender - that open source tech needs to come to Poser.

Jensen has lost his mind if he thinks people are going to pay $500 for 8Gb 4070 cards.

What are you talking about - Superfly has never required NVidia cards. You can render just fine on CPU. Slower sure, but P12 is already much faster at CPU rendering than P11. I imagine P13 is faster still. Plus, new Cycles version, might expand the GPUs supported...

Well I'll just reitterate what I said in the 13 wishlist thread...

I'm confused... 

• Support for a new figure type that maintains true unimesh geometry inside Poser to simplify content creation and cross-tool content development

Despite the many requests we've received, support for unimesh figures will not be included in Poser 13

Are these the same feature or mutally exclusive, Is or is this not going to be included?

And, what is the upgrade pricing going to be ?   I'm guessing 200-300 USD?

 Some of the features sound ok, but not really worth that pricing range if thats what it's going to be, especially since features (unimesh) that where supposedly  going to be rolled out in 12 is once again being chopped. And any word on the python upgrades from some of the older pythons, I thought there was collaboration for Dimension 3D's at least.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming you for the python as I know it had to be upgraded, but even though ken1171 is putting out some nice replacesments, still a few that I use in 11 that has no substitute.  Also, will the scripts made for 12 still function properly in 13?  Just too many questions from my end.

I'm sorry but before I go shelling out for another upgrade, I'm going to want to see videos of everything working correctly, I don't want to be another beta tester. I did that with 12.

Despite the many requests we've received, support for unimesh figures will not be included in Poser 13

This is very poorly worded. As I mentioned before, Full Unimesh Support was promised, and being backpedaled. The wording makes it sound like the Unimesh Skinning option is being removed. Such a statement is bound to cause confusion, and already is. The implications as worded suggest that figure Subd levels are being dumped, one of the consequences. Probably want to clarify that one.

I will upgrade, yes, but I had P12 and updated it continuously. If you read the article with the features, you can decide if you want to or not. This will be the first full Renderosity version--P12 was mostly SM code updated and patched, from what I understand. Even that way, the render times alone were worth it for me. YMMV of course, especially if you don't use Superfly still.

Assuming the prices are on a par with past versions and includes a discount for upgrades, I will certainly be upgrading from day one.  It is personal choice but I have not used Firefly for rendering for a couple of years now and find Superfly to be a vast improvement.

Again, I have no animus against Superfly..... except for those five or so nodes that I've been complaining about for years. It makes little sense to me to build something in Blender, Use Cycles nodes in Blender, but not be able to reproduce what I made in Blender, in Poser.  For the moment, I'm foregoing getting Poser 13. Something I have done, since Poser 5 is to skip a version.

Everyone is staring, like rabbits at a snake, at Unimesh. It is of no use to anyone to open just one more construction site. But there are many important things that need to be done first.
 
1. the full Cycles Node support
2. remove the bugs from the existing Cycles Nodes
3. a more manageable way to access the nodes. The four level pulldown menu is just annoying.
4. a faster preview window
5. a faster and updated clothroom
6. an overhaul of the outdated UI
7. a few working examples for the integration of Python programs in the addon directory. Everything is very cryptic.
8. removal of the unspeakable Firefly engine

I will update in any case. Just because of the faster render times. I am rather the impatient type
Greetings Bastep

Bastep posted at 4:20 AM Sun, 26 February 2023 - #4456969

Everyone is staring, like rabbits at a snake, at Unimesh. It is of no use to anyone to open just one more construction site. But there are many important things that need to be done first.
 
1. the full Cycles Node support
2. remove the bugs from the existing Cycles Nodes
3. a more manageable way to access the nodes. The four level pulldown menu is just annoying.
4. a faster preview window
5. a faster and updated clothroom
6. an overhaul of the outdated UI
7. a few working examples for the integration of Python programs in the addon directory. Everything is very cryptic.
8. removal of the unspeakable Firefly engine

I will update in any case. Just because of the faster render times. I am rather the impatient type
Greetings Bastep

And I'm no Firefly expert, so I just don't use it. I never got along with it which is why I never understood why in the world Firefly was tied to Cycles. That said, I still wouldn't ask that it be removed as some people really do like it.

I suspect the only reason people use FireFly is ease of use (old products just work) and speed of render. Personally I only use SuperFly in Poser12 as I find the results more pleasing. 

There are lots of infuriating things in Poser that need addressing like switching from Material  room and back again resets the material that is open, so you have to re-open it every single time, I guess all the old threads of wish lists and bugs still get ignored. I don't think the people who code Poser actually use it or they would experience the frustrations and address them. 

Preview window needs to have the postFX for example and needs to be a configurable size with separate render presets assigned to it. 

On Mac working with Poser in fullscreen is impossible if you have multiple monitors, because so often dialogs get randomly placed outside of the visible screen real estate - meaning one has to move the main Poser window to get the popup dialog on screen and then move Poser back to a sensible position.

One can't even purge the Texture Cache from inside Poser - it has to be done manually in the OS filesystem.

We should be able to add notes or at least names to renders inside Poser to help us in comparing renders made with different settings. 

I was a programmer for a few decades so I know how many of these and many more are things you would have expected to be fixed in a Poser 12 update.

* I love Poser's UI

* I would really appreciate a better access to some internal functions and processes of Poser though Python
---> one example that's doable in Blender and that's something I would find really cool to have: a way to read an existing PZ3/PZZ file from Python, without effectively loading tuff (just referencing them), select one and import it in the current scene. Nowadays, if you need something in another scene, you have to save, load the other one, export/save to lib, reload the first
A better access to some "major" processes/functions could easily multiply the poser of Poser.

* I don't use Firefly, but IMO that's not a reason to discard it. Would someone get a reason? Just ask Erogenesis. Look at his artwork

* I'd like a way to decide the level of denoising effect: sometimes, it's too strong

I will do the upgrade, as I'm also of the impatient kind 

ader posted at 7:12 AM Sun, 26 February 2023 - #4456975

I suspect the only reason people use FireFly is ease of use (old products just work) and speed of render. Personally I only use SuperFly in Poser12 as I find the results more pleasing.

I actively dislike the way Superfly looks. It's visibly grainy. And I haven't found any SF hair shaders that I like.

Not everyone wants photoreal renders. I find the uncanny valley problem especially bad with Superfly, because some things look so real (metal, glass), while others do not (hair.) Plus, I typically use Photoshop to make my renders look hand-drawn, so hyperreal renders are kind of a waste.

The slowness, I would put up with if the results were worth it, but for me, they are not. Firefly just looks better to me. I like the sharpness.

Firefly and Superfly are quite different technologies. To unite the two in one program I think is quite daring. To make lights, cameras, texture handling and other things equally well manageable for both engines, ends up in a big lazy compromise that is ultimately unsatisfactory for both engines. That's why I think Firefly should ultimately be removed, and development should focus only on Superfly.

Greetings Bastep

I would settle for a way to get a file scene from Poser into Blender. Then I could use true Cycles to render the scene. That's the one benefit Poser has over Blender at this point, posable figures.

I would settle for a way to get a file scene from Poser into Blender. Then I could use true Cycles to render the scene. That's the one benefit Poser has over Blender at this point, posable figures.

<As I look over my  rapidly growing collection of free and purchased poseable figure models in FBX and blend file format>

@primorge: you have a setting that is blocking me from your comments.  Please fix that.

@primorge: you have a setting that is blocking me from your comments.  Please fix that.