I've been beta testing Mimic 3, and personally, this is the best interface yet - especially for beginners. It is superb for teaching children how to integrate speech synthesis with Poser 4, 5, and 6. Well recommended. -scara

I have the book. You have to download the CD files from Thomson's Course Technology web site, but you can do almost all of the exercises without them. The CD files are mainly the default P6 male. It is a good beginner's book, but not an in-depth manual, so if you're already acquainted with Poser 4-5-6, save your money for something else. Strange terminology abounds: as an example, wacros - which are Poser Python scripts. Also - all screenshots are in a washed-out greyscale - no color illustrations at all, not even a gallery. -scara

I tried to figure out RayDream Designer but eventually gave up and went to the Dark Side when I got a copy of DoGA L1. Then I took the plunge and registered DoGA L2 and Vue d'Esprit 2 for Windows 95. Making cool spaceships in 3D and importing them into worlds that I made was really cool. Many years later (and countless missing hairs) I'm now using Poser 5, Vue 4, and Maya Unlimited daily on my beloved Mac platform. -scara

I haven't rendered in Studio because that's not my focus. I use Studio mainly for exporting Poser figures into Maya Unlimited for Mac. The exporter built into Poser 4, PPP, & P5 do not work. Sometimes the transmaps work, sometimes they don't. There's more consistency in Studio, and that's what I like - less hassle. -scara

See my answer to a similar post in the Maya forum. Why are you using the 3dsimport.lib in Maya? Do you also have 3DS Max? What you could also do, if your 3ds models won't import correctly into Maya, is run them through the (expensive) Okino Graphics converter plugin for Maya. Or better, find OBJ models instead of 3ds. Or even better, just use Maya's outstanding modeling tools! -scara

Is that similar to why my dog turns around three times before it lays down to sleep?

Ok, I've deleted ALL references to contentroom in the .xml document and...drumroll...IT WORKS!!! No more content parasite!!! (happy dance here) Thanks to all!

Since I have a Mac, and only tested on the Mac (with OS10.3.4 only), the Mac Exporter dialog does NOT have a drop-down or pop-up from which you can make a choice. Additionally, when you invoke the Export command, you get a dialog box that allows you to SAVE AS..., with a SAVE button. I wrote that gem up some time ago, because if it is confusing to me, it will sure be confusing to a newbie! As to expiration dates of content, you will have to contact DAZ or do a search on their forums. I tend to stay far, far away from expiration content. -scara

Message edited on: 07/25/2004 22:56

Yes, the latest Mac & PC versions (0.9.4.0) of the Bryce Turbo Exporter will make .obj and .mtl files from D|Studio, which can be imported into Vue4. But once in Vue4, you can't export anything as .obj. You can import the D|Studio .obj into Bryce, then export as .obj, then bring that into Poser. Then you're stuck, unless you save the new Poser mess as another .pz3 to export back into D|Studio. You cannot open or import .obj files back into D|Studio. D|Studio only recognizes Poser native formats such as .cr2, .pz2, .pz3, etc., and it's own proprietary format, .daz. Confused yet? Oh, BTW, you can easily import the D|Studio .obj into Maya (did it while beta-testing the plug-ins for DAZ3D), which also maps all the textures properly. Then you can export the file back out of Maya as an .obj and take it into 3DS MAX or any other program that can import and export .obj files. -scara

Message edited on: 07/24/2004 23:15

Haven't tried that yet. Originally I wanted to devise a simple method of getting DAZ|Poser models into Maya with the least amount of work, like grouping, etc. I started with the P4 Carmen model, then, using DAZ's suggestion, I tried V2. Now I'm going to see what happens with Stephanie and V3. -scara

The Mac plugin version will be available next week. Stay tuned... -scara

Ah, that's not technically correct - I've been alpha testing D|S for the past six weeks now and I'm on a Mac running OS 10.2.8. And no, I'm not a Platinum Club member either. -scara