It looks like I am finally going to go from poser 3 to 4 just as the rest of you guys get 5, so before you move on I was wondering... Why is 4 so much better than 3? Every one keeps saying it is, but not why? I'd also love to know... If you could only buy ONE item to go with Poser 4, what would it be? (max spend 50)and why? :-)

Haven't used P3, but I understand it does not support transparency in textures. This is one very nice feature of P4, allowing a great deal of variation in clothing and props. You can have see through areas or totally hide a portion of a figure. It also does wonders for increasing the realism of hair, with several excellent free hair sets available using transparency. Don't know what the current exchange rate is but that 50 Pounds should get Victoria or Michael. one of the Millenium figures from DAZ and a nice high resolution texture. That would probably be my choice.

I suppose it would be Vicki2-- but I'd probably go lowres for now, use all the excellent free textures-- there are a ton-- and buy hair and clothes with the rest-- which ain't much. If there were only a low res Michael. I'd recommend the big three low res. I never used Poser 3, but I'm assuming the best thing is Transparency. The chance for realistic hair and freedom to cut up those clothes into interesting shapes. And why IS there no low res Michael? That should be the quickest way to get people using MIchael stuff. But maybe some people would never upgrade??? No clue. Emily

I didn't use Poser 3, but if I had, what's better would probably be running at a dead heat, with conforming clothing, transparency, and JPEG support in the lead. If I could only buy one item, it would be Pro Pack, but that's outside your price range even with the current sale. Perhaps Victoria or Michael instead.

ya know curious labs offers an upgrade price from Poser 3 to 5 as well. I would just skip 4 at this point but: Mat files(one click placement of morphs, textures and such.) That and better models. One thing? I've bought lots but of them all I love vicky the best. If I get the money I'm going to get vicky 2, I have some nice morphs saved up for her. But seriously go for the upgrade to 5, instead of 4.

Tip if you are using free textures and/or low res textures-- Rdna has for about $10 a package called bump and grind that are multipurpose bump maps-- they really change and amp up free textures-- and pricey ones too. Yup, an inexpensive Mil lowres figure, the Vicki clothing pack and one hair thingey, maybe. There are some very good free hairstyles now in FS, including what was lacking, good long hair. If you can find a bargain, the Vicki1 CD is not a bad buy-- Awhile back someone was selling both MIke and Vicki 1 cds for under $70 which I'm assuming is around 50 pounds. Emily Emily

I've been using Poser since version 2.0 and 4.0 was a big improvement over 2 and 3 with the morphing capabilities and ability to use DAZ's Michael and Victoria characters. I never tried the high poly count figures in 3.0 so I don't know if they work properly. Also the transmap capabilities. I agree with whoever posted the message about why there's no low res Michael version. There is too much emphasis on Victoria especially with clothes. I have both 1 & 2 of Mike/Vicky and Stephanie, but I'd prefer to have a low res version of Michael when having to put a lot of people in one scene. The P4 version of Michael isn't bad, but still eats up a lot of disk space and memory and doesn't have a Michael body. I'd skip Poser 4 and go with 5 unless you're looking for some discounts in upgrading. In the long run, you'll be satisfied you went with 5 because it is offering so much more.

I agree with almost everything said here. Been on board since P2, which was awful. P3 was a struggle but fun. P4 was a major step up, a great relief but irritating for some limitations. And P5 is liable to be a revelation! But I would say, go directly to P5, via upgrade. Of course, P4 may suddenly become supercheap now, I don't know.... :] FishNose

The Big diffidence between Poser3 and Poser4 is clothing. There is no cloth conform in Poser3.

Poser 4 in general: fast rendering, and the ability to do a lot of renders with different styles and lighting when experimenting with scene setup, or doing layering for a print image. P4 over P3... conforming clothing, and transmapping, mostly. As far as I recall anyway. I didn't experiment with 3 much except for th freebie magazine versions. I went straight from Poser 2 to Poser 4.

The Millennium figures! They'll only work in Poser 4 with the 4.03 update, so I know they wouldn't work in Poser 3. Definitely transparency, so you can use Kozaburo's hair. Magnets, if you can master them. Spotlights. Melanie

50 pounds is about $75.00

If you are looking to get a lo-res Victoria, I'd recommend spending the rest on a PoserStyle or PoserWorld subscription. Loads of clothes, textures and props for very little outlay. I have a PoserStyle sub, fantastic value. Others will testify to the quality of a PoserWorld sub. Definately use the hair from Kozaburo. That's my 2 pence anyway :)

Excellent idea, Raven. PoserStyle gives you excellent clothes and Tex for Mike and Vicki, but if you would like sets, go for PoserWorld. It would help if you had a Vicki to P4 for that [I don't think that comes with low res Vick] Personally, I'd probably go with PoserWorld and save up for Poserstyle sub next. The clothes are almost all original and you don't need the clothing pack for most. Emily

I got lo res Victoria 1 free from Daz.....she works just fine in Poser 3 (didn't know she wasn't supposed to!) Thanks all for some good ideas. :-) It's taken me since January to save for p4, going to have to wait until next year for p5. It's not cos I don't want to........:-) Shanna