This is a shock. I have only spoken to Joana a few times, I remember her as being very friendly and open. Her characters always had such life and I always enjoyed using them in projects.

My sympathies to her friends and family. She will be missed.

@ DUDU

Excellent work. I agree with Doc Bernie. You have some great shot composition and good pacing.

dr_bernie posted at 4:35PM Thu, 21 April 2016 - #4266430

I did some experiments with V3 and A3 here, here, and here.

I think the results aren't all that bad. Warning: Images contain mild nudity all within RO's TOS.

At this point having Carrara's native renderer improved so that human skins don't render like cardboard should have priority over a Genesis 3 implementation that will never be finished.

As far as human skin that looks good, I use the Elite skin with GKD Skin Ultimate! It looks REALLY good.

RHaseltine posted at 4:08PM Wed, 20 April 2016 - #4266332

"You guys release a Carrara 8.5.1.19 that wasn't even tested for 15 minutes" - that sort of comment, which is utterly untrue, makes it pretty much impossible for anyone to engage in a discussion with you. I am not part of the Carrara development or testing, so there's a limit to what i know (and an even stricter limit to what I can say). Criticism can, and should, be a matter of pointing out issues - once they are wrapped in hyperbole it comes very difficult if not impossible for anyone to respond to them.

I'm pretty sure Doc Bernie knows that his statements are an exaggeration, but I don't know too many people who think the amount of testing was sufficient for that Carrara release.

It's kind of funny, but criticism is not even allowed over at the Daz forum. I know this because you have yanked down enough of my posts to the point where I don't even feel comfortable posting over there, for the most part. I am not alone in that feeling.

So, Bernie is making a criticism, and hyperbole notwithstanding, I agree with him.

I guess we can all agree that we just want a better Carrara going forward, so we can use all the great new sets and characters to make our art?

Doc

A Couple weeks late for April's Fools.

I still don't understand why Genesis doesn't work right in Carrara. The same with DUF format. It seems like Daz could have worked out something by now, without constantly breaking everything they have already fixed.

Oh well, I needed a little sarcasm break anyway. Thanks Bernie

I checked my Products list at Daz, looks like I downloaded the latest version (haven't installed it yet).

Is there a way to get earlier versions?

Would they be helpful at Daz customer service or would they tell me scram?

cjd posted at 9:47PM Fri, 11 March 2016 - #4260322

Hmmm, its not a good sign when representatives of a company show up on another forum and feel they must dismiss what they call wild speculation about their product.

Even if a very small percentage of the things said are actually true, would not their time be better spent working to develop and extend their product. If comments such as these motivate Daz to actually talk to users, rather than positive requests request to make corrections or enhancements that users have been asking, what shall we conclude?

That's a rhetorical question Richard.

I was actually thinking the same thing. It seems like certain individuals caution against (and when they are in a position of power, censor) any "speculation", but we rarely get any actual facts until, 15 minutes past too late.

IF development was going on, it would be nice to HEAR about it. The questions have been floating around for awhile and Carrara users, bless em, have been a LOT more docile than DazStudio users about these kinds of things.

Will Genesis 2 and DUF ever work seamlessly in Carrara? Will Genesis 3 ever work in Carrara? Will the stuff that was broken not too long ago ever get fixed? Hell, are there some technological problems that are impossible to ever fix and we will just have to live with these problems?

Carrara is an AMAZING piece of software. I LOVE it, will keep using it, but at what point will my hardware no longer support it? How long before even the smartest vendor stops supporting older versions of Poser/Daz/Carrara?

dr_bernie posted at 7:52PM Sat, 05 March 2016 - #4259341

Quote: Oh, and writing, "Accelerate development and release of Carrara 9.0 will probably fall on deaf ears."

That there will never be a Carrara 9 loaded with jaw-dropping new features/improvements/fixes is a certainty. But I don't rule-out further 8.5.x.x releases.

The latest 8.5.1.19 version 'smells and feels' like it was hastily put together by a summer intern paid with peanuts, although I do not have any hard evidence for it.

If my 'hunch' about a summer intern working on Carrara oft and on is correct, we should see a new Carrara 8.5.x.x 'release' sometime next fall. It will be a buggy, poorly tested version of Carrara and it will eventually have a mostly unuseable Connect 'functionality'.

Now Doc Bernie, this speculation is not called for and won't be tolerated. It wasn't peanuts, it was popcorn. A rather large bag in fact!

I have photgraphic evidence

Hey Stan, Sock, and Books!

Good to see you all again!!!

My 2 cents...

Just because someone doesn't agree with the "corporate position" doesn't make them cranks or crazy people. That attitude is condescending and largely unfair.

For my part, I try to make my arguments, provide examples, and go from there. People are free to disagree (and they DO).

The "vocal minority" argument is an old one that many people use to marginalize dissenting voices. In TV and radio, when we receive ONE letter from a viewer, that letter is considered by the Powers that Be, as representing HUNDREDS of viewers who didn't bother to post a letter to the station.

I don't know about most of you, but I don't have any "Internet Courage." The stuff I say here is the same stuff I say to your face. In the "Real World" I have worked as an arts advocate, serving on various boards to help artists with all manner of issues. Believe me, I'm a LOT more sedate on the web than I can be in person.

Rendo has taken an enlightened view, in that dissenting posts are not immediately removed, because any rational person would wonder what the company has to hide by yanking down negative posts. I had a talk with a friend about that recently (I'll mention that conversation in another post late, busy now).

In reality, by allowing dissenting views, Rendos forums are much more civilized. Some forums yank down dozens of posts. Are those posts somehow "wrong?" Are these people incorrect or simply not supporting the "official position"? Other forums give an unrealistic view of what people are actually thinking.

So, my advice is to read the posts, both Pro and Con, then make up your own mind.

I guess complaining helped after all. This is a positive step in the right direction. Now, I guess we will have to only wait a year to get anything that is Connect only.

DAZ Connect Encrypted files will be unlocked after 12 months

__

It has taken a bit of time, researching of numbers, and technical development and testing, but we feel that the jist of the idea above is not only doable, but does indeed address a significant number of concerns of Daz, the interest of the PA's, and customers.  As such, Timmins, I want to say "We hear you", and furthermore "We thank you" for your suggestion.  

Effective immediately we are rolling out functionality that will cause Encrypted products to become un-encrypted 12 months after launch.  This will be through a process that runs on our servers and replaces the encrypted content with a non-encrypted one.  Anyone who buys or updates the product after that point will get the non-encrypted version.  This means that even if you buy it during that first year, at the end of the time period you will be able to get it as an update without encryption if that is of concern to you.

This change is effective now.  Any encrypted content that has or will release will automatically decrypt after 12 months after its launch date.

   The folks at Daz`

Tony_Stark posted at 3:41PM Fri, 05 February 2016 - #4252981

I just decided all my content will be manually installed. I got tired of DAZ's slipshod way of installing stuff all over the place. I refuse to buy any DAZ Connect only content.

I don't plan on BUYING any Daz Connect only content, but I did pick up a freebie, that's available this week. I hope they don't start offering more freebies that are Daz Connect only

diogenese19348 posted at 4:00PM Tue, 02 February 2016 - #4252747

So those of you with the "sky is falling" complex, please, it is getting old. If you don't want encrypted content, don't buy it. That really is the only thing that will effect the situation.

What is getting old is people saying that the sky isn't falling when clearly it has at least dropped a few yards and continues a downward direction.

It doesn't hurt to keep ones eyes open and pay attention because things don't seem to be getting better.

A friend of mine told me that same rot back when I said our local market is collapsing. "It's getting old, it's getting old."

Well, more and more of us aren't working and he's had to sell his nice car for a piece of junk, move out of his nice condo. Now he's writing letters to the senator complaining about the sky that he said wasn't falling a few years back.

My advice is... Go ahead and toss an uninstalled copy of Daz4.9 on the hard drive for safe keeping. Maybe you'll use it, maybe you won't. Don't want encrypted software, don't buy it AND let them know WHY you aren't buying it. We'll all see whether the sky is actually falling or not eventually.

MDO2010 posted at 4:40PM Sat, 30 January 2016 - #4252131

dr_bernie posted at 7:56AM Sat, 30 January 2016 - #4251877

@tsarist:

Thanks for your concerns tsarist, but there will be no update catastrophes for me! The last good known version of Carrara is 8.1.1.12, and that is that!

Can I ask what that is based on? I am using the most recent version (8.5.19 something something) and haven't run into any issues in it that were not present in earlier versions, plus I can now actually use smart content (I rarely do except for Genesis stuff, but I can) and it also seems to start a bit quicker. I agree with most people that it wasn't any sort of earth-shaking improvement over earlier versions, but I keep running into people who stopped at 8.1 and I don't understand why. Even if it was just for the few little bug fixes, why would you not use the most recent one?

I can't speak for everyone on this (I'm still running C7Pro), but when 8.5 was released a lot of people were having problems with it. Some things that were working became broken. Some functionality between Carrara & DS stopped working. This of course is not a universal phenomenon. Expert users seem to have had less problems, as did those who had better rigs.

I personally just stayed clear because what I had was working fine and I have had some bad experiences with Daz upgrades.

If C8.5 is working well for you, that is perfect and the way it should be.

ssgbryan posted at 4:12PM Fri, 29 January 2016 - #4252003

Razor42 - the pirates won't crack the product DRM - they will bypass the encryption in Daz Studio.

I love you guys, but vendors are delusional in thinking that piracy = lost sales. The people who download pirated content never had any intention of paying for the products, at ANY price.

It is obvious that DAZ's long-term goal is customer lock-in with a subscription model and/or renting 3d assets. The people that made DAZ great (and Steve Kondris) no longer work at DAZ. The new owners are looking for steady income streams - which CAN NOT be done with DAZ's current sales "structure". This is simple business economics.

Coding-wise, it is a very short step from using DRM content to requiring DRM content. Anyone want to take bets on the next version of genesis (24 months out) being "DAZ-Connect"-only?

Thanks for saying what I have been thinking Sarge

I don't care how many times I try to tell people, Pirates DONT plan on buying your stuff! Actually, MOST pirates of 3D stuff, that I have talked to online, at least, DONT even USE the stuff they pirate!

I bought a hard drive off a guy a little while ago. It was Filled to bursting with Pirated stuff. I deleted a bunch of it, as I really couldn't use it. TONS of Music Top 40 rubbish and rap, plus software I will never use and have no need of. The guy hadn't even accessed most of the files, nor did he even know how to use the software.

I'm NOT advocating piracy, but 1 pirated download does NOT equal 1 lost sale.

I am an artist and don't like to see my stuff stolen, but spending money and energy to prevent theft from people I was NEVER going to make any money from is pointless.