Just curious. It seems the primary focus of the Pro Pack expansion is in animation, which I never do. Are there other perks that would make it worth the purchase? And does Pro Pack increase memory use? If it does, I couldn't use it at all. :P Thanks!

From what I've seen of the PPP, its benefits are pretty restrictive -- import/export to a few additional pieces of modelling software, some plug-ins, and some additional characters in the library. As primarily a Mac user, there wasn't anything in there of interest to me, so I gave it a pass. But I would imagine that many of the PPP functions will show up in Poser 5. And, as with every new version of any software, you can certainly bet that it will increase memory. I have yet to hear of a program that didn't.

if you dont want to make your own poser figures
if you dont animate

if all you ever do is make still renders in poser

you dont need the propack

I have the propack becaus I do all of that and more
but it sounds like you dont need it.

Thanks, that's what I suspected. I am on a Mac an ooooooold Mac and I only ever do still renders, don't model, and don't even own a modeler. Sounds like I can save my money then for when Poser 5 finally appears.

I have both, I do modeling and posing and small animation, use really to articulate our models, I loved Poser 4, I bought Poser Pro, I unistalled Poser Pro and am using only Poser 4, why, lots of reasons, for you, this is all you need in my opionion. Sharen

I bought the PC version of Poser Propack for one reason, its ability to use JPEGs instead of BUM files. It has a couple of other advantages to it, the multiple camera window, PNGs instead of RSR thumbnails, and it can save compressed files, about 5 times smaller. At 128 meg of memory it runs well enough for my needs (1 or 2 figures and some clothes and a few props). It can be slow to update when you access a directory with a lot of files in it. Youre luckier in the U.S. as it costs $230 in the U.K. Overall the benefits dont equate to the cost for general Poser work, unless of course you are rich B)

Attached Link: http://66.70.166.29/animation/mike2.MPG

so the poser pro pack has effectively become a character animation plugin for my primary 3D program
Cinema 4DXL7

I'm on a mac and am very pleased with PPP. I do have Bryce and like making VERY simple models and popping them into Poser. Strata has a freee modeling program that you can do simple stuff in too. ie, a folded letter. I haven't done much with animation yet but that is part of my master plan. The PPP patch I wasn't happy with, Poser crashed and I had to completely reinstall. Now, though it is good. Also like that with PPP you can animate the textures. I don't think that is an option in regular poser.

For me, it's worth the price for the Set-up Room alone. If you're at all interested in making your own posable characters or props, or conforming clothing, buy it. If not, then it's probably a waste of your money. In my opinion, the other benefits are minor.

I am interested in developing my own poseable figures for possible sale, that's why I bought the Pro Pack. I also like the ability to use multiple payne windows, but I don't own any of the expensive programs which Pro Pack has plug-ins for. I haven't had any trouble with Pro Pack since I've installed it--knock on wood. If you are interested in figure development, although you don't animate it probably would be worth it to you.

I'm interested in making my own clothes (once I get the hang of modeling). Is the ProPack a good thing to get as far as setup goes? From what I've heard it makes things a lot easier for conforming and new characters. And files made by it can be used in regular poser with no trouble, right? Lyrra

Yep. There are no special files or anything. The Set-up Room simply provides you with a visual "Bones" way of working, instead of messing with a bunch of numbers in a .cr2 file. It still takes a bit of patience at first, but it's definitely the easiest way of making posable or conforming figures. If you want to do that, you want the Pro Pack.

Lyrra, There is a program specifically created for making clothes called Fashion Studio--it also exports in a file format Poser can read. You might want to check it out.

Tomsde, Fashion studio? Never heard of it - link please? X2k, Bones? Like Character Studio in Max? hopefully simpler? :) Lyrra

As near as I can find out it is a product of a company called Dynamic Graphics Systems of Toronto. Unfortunately their website is no longer "funct", so I haven't been able to get any more info than that. It DOES sound like a neat project though. BTW there are several plugins for 3DS Max that do cloth simulations. So far all I have seen is the demos, but they really look like exactly what you need. Take a look at www.digimation.com for more info.