Quote - WARNING!!

If you want your BRYCE 6.0 RIGHT AWAY, do NOT order the Content DVD in the same order.  My purchase is "being processed"  because some of the items (ala the DVD) are not available yet.  Hence my credit card has not been billed and I'm stuck in limbo even through I checked the "send out of stock items separately".

Hopefully this will be fixed shortly.

Brett

Hello everyone

There was a temporary issue where placing the Bryce 6 Content DVD in an order with other, downloadable, products caused the downloadable products to not have the download links become active right away. This issue has now been fixed, so feel free to include the Bryce 6 Content DVD in your order of downloadable products. Happy rendering!

Hello Everyone,

I wish that I could have been online over the weekend to help the DAZ moderators address this as the topic began, but that just wasn't possible for me this last weekend. I have to say that all of us at DAZ have learned after much hardship :) that it is not in our best interest to make Friday releases, so we have not for quite some time. This last Screamdesign email that everyone's talking about was actually the second in a series that we've prepared for that particular list of web surfers. The first was sent out on Thursday, March 18th.

DAZ has never offered any third party images to anyone, the only images that have been offered to the Screamdesign users are those on the DAZ|Original product pages (btw, Mehndi, your Stephanie 1.0 popup images were removed ages ago last I heard, so no worries there ;) ), we also excluded any and all gallery images.

Here's an overview as to why DAZ is giving the public permission to grab DAZ|Original product page images and do as they please with them. The prime reason being to serve as an incentive to bring in new customers to our online store. Most people in business know that it's easier to make a current customer base more active than it is to find new customers. Well, DAZ has been working hard over the past few quarters to get all of you a bit more active, but we're also working hard at enlarging our community. Creating a LightWave compatible version of DAZ|Mimic is part of the latter. And so is beginning to get a new base of image-fanatics familiar with images that can be created with DAZ products. We have seen many posts that said we didnt have permission to give PA images away. It's important to understand that DAZ has never assumed permission and that we would never do anything of this magnitude with products that we didn't own 100%.

We do realize that the Screamdesign newsletter had a bad typo and that one part of the newsletter was mislinked. We've corrected this for our next ScreamDesign newsletter, and are making the distinction between DAZ and third party products much more clear. We'll also be activating a "Clip-Art" category tomorrow that we've been preparing which will be where all Screamdesign traffic will be directed. DAZ will make it very clear that any other images taken without permission is not allowed and that they do so at their own legal risk.

Another thing that we've shared with several of our PA's (Published Artists) is just how successful this little campaign has been even after it's only just begun. The DAZ servers hit some of their highest traffic stats ever this past week. It's been made clear to us that lots of people are interested in what's available on the DAZ site. Of course, we would never force any of our artists to participate in this vertical strategy, but we will do our part to help share how successful this campaign turns out to be with them. We'd be surprised if not more merchants see the advantage of this idea and join those who become a part of this and gain the extra exposure for their products.

Most of our Published Artists sell their items through DAZ because we are able to produce higher revenue per product than many of our competitors. Recently, our marketing efforts have concentrated on increasing awareness as much as sales. This is in order to begin preparing new customers to place purchases at DAZ. Marketing to new customers is a long and often tricky process. Many companies start relationships with potential customers by giving out a sample of their products; Mrs. Fields gives bits of cookies, attorneys offer free initial consultations, and we even offer a free model each week. Somebody that has never used Poser is not going to immediately go out and buy Victoria and another $50 worth of accessories just from seeing one colorful newsletter. We have to develop a relationship with these potential customers and we feel that this strategy greatly aids us in this challenge.

We all know that the images used in our products are a just a fraction of the images that can be produced using the 3D items. We feel that these images are also good samples to give away to potential customers. By getting these people in the habit of using DAZ images, it's hoped that they will eventually find themselves wishing they could just modify the pose slightly, or adjust the perspective, or expression, etc. Once they get to this point, DAZ|Studio will allow them to easily make the leap from being a simple clip-art user to becoming a fledgling 3D-artist.

Anyway, I hope that this helps clarify the campaign that many of you are just hearing about second hand, once we have our next Screamdesign newsletter finished, I'll reply to this thread with a link to it so that all interested can see first hand just how we're conducting this campaign.

Thanks for your time, sorry if I was too long-winded. :)

Steve Kondris
DAZ Productions, Inc.

Attached Link: http://forum.daz3d.com

After careful consideration and in support of our new Platinum Club team member, Crescent, we feel it is appropriate to honor her original post. Therefore the Millennium Dog LE is free for all to download. Anyone who has already purchased it will get a full refund and everybody wins. :)

And, now that everyone is a member of the Platinum Club, not only do they get the LE for free, the combined discounts make this the deal of the century. For anyone who still feels that this deal's a dog, well... you're right! So, don't look a gift dog in the mouth, just go download your copy now while it's hot:

Visit the Commons area in the DAZ|Forums for the download links.

Thanks,

The DAZ Team

It was a very difficult decision to terminate our production contract with Anton Kisiel. Anton is a talented individual and all of us at DAZ Productions wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Attached Link: http://www.daz3d.com

The Michael 3.0 SR1 update is now available, you may either download the update file from the product page, or simply check your account as you should have new downloads available to you (perhaps 15 or 20 for some of you, ;) ) We hope you like the fixes, we did our best to incorporate all the major issues that were brought to our attention. Hopefully this will be the only update for Michael 3.0, but if serious, non-aesthetic issues arise, we will address them. Thank you and enjoy M3!, Steve Kondris DAZ Productions, Inc.

Yes, the SR1 update has been released. Check your accounts for a new download. Steve Kondris DAZ Productions, Inc.

Attached Link: http://free.daz3d.com

This has now been fixed. Everything should be fine now, you can just go back and redownload it you want. Thanks, Steve Kondris DAZ Productions, Inc.

Attached Link: http://www.daz3d.com

I went to our production guys and had them explain the latest with this. This is their answer:

"Originally, we thought it best to create the body bump map as it was (with the body hair dark in the bump map) because of 2 reasons:

1.) Although inverting the entire map would have made the body hair look better, it also would have caused the pores and other skin depressions to appear inside out and the darker pores and skin depressions to stand up instead of appearing correctly as pores or holes.

2.) At the time, it seemed that the only way to make the body hair stand out without inverting the entire map would be to go in to the bump map and paint in matching white hairs for every chest, belly, and leg hair that was on the texture itself. To do this would have caused the maps to become much more expensive due to the increased labor hours.

Upon further reflection and customer feedback, we decided to take another look at the bump maps to see if we could improve them without inverting the entire map. Yesterday, after a meeting of minds, we found a solution that gave us the desired result without the extra hours of tedious hand painting. These updates to the bump maps allow the pores and other skin anomalies to sink properly into the figures skin, while the body hair is correctly raised up. The bump maps have all been modified and updates will be made available tomorrow for the Michael 3 Hi-Res and Standard-Res Textures (these updates can be found on each of those products' store pages)."

Hopefully that explains things for everyone. If not, just email us and we'll let walk you through it a bit.

Steve Kondris
DAZ Productions, Inc.

Here are some comparison images showing the difference in how the new versions of the Michael 3 bump maps work versus the old versions:

New

Old

New

Old

New

Old

New

Old

Attached Link: http://secure.daz3d.com/galleries/p_submission.php?

Unfortunately, our initial set of Platinum Club Gallery contest rules and instructions were not as clear as they should have been. Even I myself had to discuss this with others a bit more in order to clarify it all for myself. This is most regrettable as it has personally affected several of our Platinum Club members negatively.

We have updated our Submission Instructions page to more clearly state that ALL entries MUST be anonymous and we even explained directly what that means:

Instructions:
All images in this gallery are copyrighted and owned by the artist. No image(s) may be taken or used without permission. All images accepted into the Platinum Club Gallery must include at least one product offered in the www.daz3d.com online store (including non-platinum club items). The Platinum Club Galleries are replaced annually as each new month is finished. Submitted images are posted immediately and are reviewed periodically for content by DAZ moderators. All images are initially posted without the artist's name being listed.

Image Specifications:

• All images must contain at least one Platinum Club product.
• All images need to be in JPEG format.
• All images must be submitted anonymously. This means that any images submitted must be ones that have not been posted publicly anywhere else. Also, all signatures or other identifying marks must be removed before submitting to the gallery. (The top three winners will be contacted and provided with instructions on how to upload their print quality images and may at that time add back in any signature(s)).
• Images need to be appropriate for all audiences to view. mages that are distasteful, pornographic, or of a controversial nature will be pulled immediately by staff moderators. As this gallery is viewed by people of all ages, no nudity will be allowed.
• Images must be submitted prior to midnight on the 24th of each month in order to be included in the monthly voting.

Voting:
All submissions are blindly judged (names of artists are not revealed until after the judging process is complete). All voting is done by fellow Platinum Club members only. Platinum Club members will be allowed to vote immediately following the submission period each month. The voting period extends from the 25th day of the month until midnight on the last day of the month. Each Platinum Club member is given 4 votes. Each member can only cast one vote per image. Winners are ineligible of receiving prizes for one year after their first win. The four possible votes are as follows:

2. 1st Place
3. 2nd place
4. 3rd Place
5. Honorable Mention

That's the instructions as they stand now. Let us know if you have any further uncertainties as to how things are run for this monthly contest.

Thanks,

Steve Kondris
DAZ Productions, Inc.
www.daz3d.com

Attached Link: http://secure.daz3d.com/galleries/

All images must have at least one Platinum Club product used in them.

Please do not sign the images, as all voting must be anonymous. Any images submitted with signatures will be removed from the contest.

No nudity is allowed.

Any other questions, please just ask!

Thanks!

Steve Kondris
DAZ Productions, Inc.

Attached Link: http://www.daz3d.com

After talking further with Anna-Marie, the End User License Agreement has been revised to put in much more precise terms exactly what type of work requires written consent and what does not. Because Ms. Goddard has been so cooperative and willing to work with this community, we have now rewritten the new EULA included with this product (the new installers will be uploaded sometime this evening I'm told).

The further clarification of this EULA means that the only restriction attached to this product is the use of Anna-Marie Goddard's name itself. Anything that is commercial in nature or is used as an endorsement of any type CANNOT include Ms. Goddard's name without her written permission. Likewise, any pornographic or otherwise degrading and/or demeaning material created using this product, along with her name, cannot be distributed without her written permission as well.

If you are uncertain as to which side of the line your work falls, please feel free to contact her directly (her contact information can be found via her website www.annamariegoddard.com). She has told us she is quite willing to handle all such inquiries.

Thank you, Anna-Marie, for being willing to work with this community. And thank you, everyone, for listening to her and respecting her decisions.

Steve Kondris
DAZ Productions, Inc.

Sorry, apparently it was not a minority, but, we got that fixed, now we're looking into that discount issue..... Steve

Attached Link: http://www.daz3d.com

There are a couple of different points here that I need to make, and I'll try to be as clear and concise as I can.

1.) As for the posting of images or renders: You can post anything you want, anywhere you want so long as it's not damaging to Anna-Marie Goddard. For example: pornography, anything that is slanderous or libelous in nature, or otherwise derogatory about her.

2.) As, FrankJann mentioned: An error in the EULA that didn't get caught as we were working it out with all the different lawyers: The line about commercial distribution (point 3) being limited if the item being distribute included any portion of the product is inaccurate.

It is supposed to say (and is being updated right now) "you cannot sell any portion of rendered output that contains the original 3-D Model, as delivered by DAZ3D, without prior written consent of Anna-Marie Goddard, her attorney(s), or other legal business representation."

You can use this item in a commercial endeavor so long as it is modified to a reasonable extent. As GhostofMacbeth stated, anything that uses this digital clone in a commercial way to show approval or endorsement by Anna-Marie Goddard of anything CANNOT BE DONE WITHOUT written consent. However, as Firebirdz brought up earlier in this thread:

3.) What if, since her package comes with morphs, [or is] mixed with other morphs to create a unique character? Can that be used for Commercial purposes ?"

YES, IT CAN. So, go ahead, buy her, make her look the way you want her to look, and then go about your business as usual.

Something else thats important for you all to know is that DAZ is not the entity responsible for enforcing the EULA, it is a concession that was made to Anna-Marie upon the request of her and her agents, they also agreed to be the ones worrying about policing these restrictions. Just FYI.

I hope that this helps answer the majority of your questions. Yes, these restrictions are beyond what we normally include with a purchase, but we are selling the digital representation of an actual human being. I don't know of anyone famous that would go for a project like this without taking such steps.

Thanks again for your patience with our store changeover. Everything seems to be settling down for the most part, only a couple of big things left. Btw, everyone's Platinum Club membership should be reinstated now, if not, please let our webmaster know.

Steve Kondris
DAZ Productions, Inc.

Attached Link: http://www.daz3d.com

Ummm,...I assume you really did mean the DAZ store, so I'm going to respond to you ;) Keeping the credit card # on file is a huge feature of our new store, the credit card info is kept on a physically separate server. This means that the absolute only process that can access ANYTHING on the credit card storage server box is a query that comes straight from the daz store server. And the query is highly encoded, and it not even a constant query - meaning that the same query isn't used multiple times, etc. It's darn near bombproof as far as hacking is concerned. So, we hope that you will find it easier to checkout now that your information is stored for you. The other issue you discussed concerning the validation of your credit card we are working on right now. The new store was set up to use a more strict address authorization system, which is having a bug concerning the characters that are allowable for an address. Again, we're fixing that. In the meantime, you can edit your address to make sure that it imported correctly from our old database. Any apostrophes, hyphens or foreign characters (accente graves, etc) need to be removed or replaced as they can, until we get the authorization portion of our code back as it should be. Thanks for your patience, any other problems, please email our webmaster@daz3d.com Steve Kondris DAZ Productions, Inc.

We apologize for this confusion. There was a bug in the system for two days, but it was then fixed. If any of you have not had these discrepancies already taken care of (check your online account for a voucher making up the difference), then please email us at sales@daz3d.com and Reba will set things straight for you. Thanks for your patience, we hope you like the Club! Steve Kondris DAZ Productions, Inc.