Gerald, I will do my best to contribute towards improving the manual for DS users; and I am happy to help anyone else wanting to do so; especially those that know more about using VWD in DS (which would be everyone on this forum...lol). Waiting patiently for the new user guide..... Looks like I'll just have to do pictures of bald, naked women for now............or, similarly (?)... dinosaurs.......Yay.... They say that insanity and genius are often the same thing.........well, I've got the insanity bit down, so......

Oh believe me, I know the power of VWD; but I also know how slow I am to understand certain concepts (perhaps that's why I was a good teacher, according to most of the kids I taught; I could understand why they couldn't and so I'd try as many different ways to explain it that I could think of - even letting kids that did understand have a go at explaining in their own way). And with a recorded IQ of 196 (on par with Einstein, apparently) - so much for IQ tests (all they show is how good you are at taking IQ tests..............lol). Rather than fill 5 - 10 pages of this forum thread with people trying to explain (for which I am grateful - the people on this forum are great), I'll wait for the new user guide and work from there - it will give me a sound base from where to start and will help me to understand when I need others' help. Thanks again for the effort, guys & gals............. But, don't forget - anyone wanting to write a tutorial; I'm at your disposal (but hope not to be disposed of.........).

Thanks, Writers Block, but I'm going to wait (somewhat patiently) for the new user guide to come out and slowly work through it and then (hopefully) I'll know how to do the things some of you far more knowledgeable guys are suggesting. If you want to write a tutorial about what you are suggesting, I am happy to give you a hand to set it out and make it clear so anyone can follow it (and I'll learn new tricks also) - as I mentioned in my last post. Even with a newly re-written user guide, we can use clearly written tutorials for us beginners and those coming in, brand new to the software........ Just a thought. I know most artists dread writing a tutorial but it makes any software so much more accessible to new and beginner users alike; which is why I'm offering to help anyone brave enough to give it a go............ No pressure, of course; we all have our own busy lives and simply may not have the time. Thanks again for your suggestion; I've added it to my "learn how to do" list..............

Arrgghhh.... My brain is starting to hurt. I am starting to think it may be wise to wait until Gerald has released the new user guide............ DaremoK3 - I went to the thread you indicated, but there is so much information on that one page (probably starting on previous pages) that I really can't work out what it is that I am looking for... Also, whilst I am posting again, it has become quite obvious to me that there are quite a few "new" people who are far more knowledgeable than I when it comes to using VWD (them's the breaks when you have a crappy, unhealthy, genetically fudged body and you spend more time in and out of hospital and at home recuperating from this issue and that issue, etc, yada, yada, yada.... did I mention yada?). But to get to the point; knowledgeable people that want to create written tutorials for VWD and don't know how/where to start - I am offering to help you to create a tutorial/s that will be clear and easy to understand. I was a high school teacher for 25 odd years and writing tutorials is second nature for me (I actually write myself tutorials once I have developed a workflow I am happy with; in any given program I use).... I think there are some good video tutorials available but actual written tutorials - I have yet to see one. People all learn in different ways; some by watching/following a video tute, some by following a PDF tutorial, some by trial and error; or even a combination of any of these (and many other ways I have not mentioned)... I personally would love to be able to contribute to this forum and VWD in general. I'll be honest with you, DaremoK3, most of what you wrote in advice to me I have no idea what you mean and I'm sure I'm not alone. Lastly; to all members posting in the VWD forums, I would ask that if there is an issue you ask for, and receive, help with and there end up being quite a few posts back and forth [Like what we read on the second and third page of this thread between Marble and Smaker1], that you please provide feedback to the forum. By this, I mean - there is nothing worse than reading several pages in a thread the ends with the person who had asked for help no longer responding once their problem is solved, OR responding back with something like, "Oh, I think I've just worked it out - thanks." ANYONE reading a thread like that would pull their hair out (that's why I'm bald) as the "lesson" is incomplete. It's like watching a thrilling movie with the last 5 minutes missing at the end. I hope that makes sense. Please feel free to ask if I've waffled on again and said nothing.......... Personally, I copy and pasted the entire tutorial that Smaker1 and Marble wrote on pages 2 & 3. I did a bit of editing and now I have a tutorial teaching me how to sim a dress for a seated character................. In case anyone is wondering why I would offer to help others to write tutorials; what's in it for me? I get to learn from others more knowledgeable at the same time I'm helping them; that's the great thing about teaching - it's often difficult to work out who's the student and who's the teacher.............. OK, waffling done.

@DaremoK3 "VWD is only a 32 bit software, and is not even LAA (Large Address Aware), nor can it be rectified as such with LAA software (as Hexagon could to reduce crashing). So, you are not even using above 2 Gigs ever... end of story. If we could LAA VWD we could use up to 4 Gigs of RAM max." Well, that explains why I couldn't get the LAA to work for VWD. It's funny though, that, being only 32-bit, when I run a sim, my RAM usage jumps up to 7 or 8 gig (but the CPU is doing the main job running around 70 - 75%; multithreading its li'l heart out....). @Smaker1, I understand what you are saying, but when there are multiple collision objects and you validate your character object as "THE" collision object; does VWD still keep the other collision objects "in mind"? I noticed that when you added multiple collision objects and you validated your character object as the main collision object, once in the Scene viewer, the other collision items are visible, so I guess VWD must keep the other collision objects "in mind" (sorry, I can't think of a more appropriate term)............

Yeah, it would be cool if you could have a look at the quiver but the quiver isn't part of the 'cloth'. The skirt I'm using is from the Daemon outfit, but the top is from the Evil Shadow outfit and the quiver is from the "Elven Weapon Bundle" by Polish. I tend to dress my characters in bits and pieces from numerous clothes packages as it makes it feel at least a bit more my creation; I also then re-texture everything to match............ The collision I was referring to is when you first set up your simulation; Click on "Host List" and select Genesis # Female (in my case) and click on the collision button twice; then, if that's the only collision object, you would go on to select your cloth or hair (depending on the sim); but if there are more collision objects (like a top and quiver when simulating hair), you need to select them also, one-by-one and click twice on the collision button - only then can you go on to select your hair object (in my case) and click on the hair button once or twice (dependent on whether you changed any of the parameters). As you go through this process, you will get a popup asking you to Validate your collision object (so you only get to choose one object). My question is, what's the point of selecting more than one collision object when you're going to have to choose only one later on in the sim set up? I hope that makes more sense. If not, watch Biscuits' video, "Static Hair Simulation VWD Cloth & Hair" (the second video - not the one showing a workaround for another issue); at approx 1:25, she mentions adding the dress as a second collision object and at approx. 6:25, the "Validate" button pops up..............

I know I can cheat; hell, I may nor even have much of the skirt showing in my final image (dependent on framing which I sometimes do very late in the process); but I'm back to giving VWD more time for learning whilst I also create what I want to create. To be honest, I'm more interested in what it can do for hair (although I often repaint that in the final anyway............). But it's all with the goal of learning more. Oh, btw, I only do still images - I have zero interest in animation (although I am often amazed at what others can create in animations in all sorts of software - I'm just not interested in doing it myself. That being said, sometimes I know that I will need to do dynamic simulations (not too sure about what situation does/doesn't demand a dynamic sim, however). I even sometimes use the Poser cloth room to pose the wing membranes of any of Swidhelm's dragon models (his are THE best - absolutely craps on DAZ Dragon 3; and probably 4, 5 & 6) - doing cloth sims for the wing membranes gives really great results.... Anyway, I'm rambling again (don't I always). Whilst I'm posting, I have a 2-part question. Currently, I'm doing a hair sim and there is more than one collision object. I know I can add more to the list by selecting and hitting the collision button twice (same as for the character); but if you do that, you always get the popup where you have to verify the collision object anyway - so what's the point of selecting more than one collision object when you end up being able to select only one collision object later on in the simulation setup? The second part of the question:- the character has a quiver parented to her upper chest (it's located on her back) but it doesn't even show up in the Host List. Is there anything you can do in this situation (other than set up the pose so you can't see the quiver/hair intersections in the final render)?

I've been using rigidify to stiffen the fabric parts in an attempt to give it a leather look. So do I need to nail to collision AND rigidify or only rigidify? I think I need to watch Biscuits' videos again....................

OK, looks like I'm double posting again; but it's to ask a different, simulation related, question. I have attached an image to show my problem; despite nailing certain parts of the Daemon skirt to G3F (collision), I'm finding some of the nailed parts still moving and distorting in the process. I am thinking it's due to the fact that nailed parts very close to G3F are nailed nice and solidly, but other parts (that I don't want to move at all) that are slightly further away from G3F are still being slightly effected by the simulation. The attached screencap shows 2 renders; one which shows the entire skirt in its post-simulation stage; the other where I deleted all the geometry of the skirt, except for the skirt front/back panels and added a new, unsimulated Daemon skirt with only the skirt front/back panels' geometry deleted (so as to bypass the problem but also to show the difference in certain parts that have become distorted, albeit only slightly). So my question is, how can I make sure certain parts a bit further away from the collision object (in this case, G3F) remain unaffected (ie. fully nailed) by the simulation?

@Gerald, does that mean the documentation written by WimVDB and the latest version of VWD is ready for us all or is "a new version" not the one you want to release to everyone (ie. an "interim" version, if you will)? I'm sure everyone is keen for new documentation and a VWD update. I just thought I'd ask what others also, may be thinking/wondering. I'm not trying to "incite a riot" or anything (lol), just askin'............ Just for the record; I appreciate all that you do and am content to wait until you are happy with what is to be released to "the general public".

@Smaker; "After a few month and some tries and errors, I have now a list of workflows to cover most of the cases I have today. "

OK, hand them over; me want.................... ;) AND more seriously, I have to agree with you regarding what you just said to Marbles; it is frustrating and, at times, downright depressing. But I think Marbles is doing the right thing; leave it for now and come back to it in a few months. That's what I did and now there's more information around than there was before - in a few months there will be even more. In a year, with more refinement, bug fixes, etc - it will only get better and Gerald seems like a very determined guy; I really don't think he'll chuck it in (like so many content providers do........). One thing that has stuck in my mind, Marbles - you mentioned that you had 4 threads ("My Multithread reads 4 by default") - I have 16; could this be an issue (anyone who knows something about hyperthreading CPU's)? What do other people have? Sorry, I'm just thinking out loud and thought I'd ask because even my "really old general-purpose" PC runs 8.............. Last thing, for Marbles; as you know, VWD came out for Poser first and there is a 26 page post in the Poser forum discussing the plugin/program. You may find it interesting to see the struggling that some of the "now-experts" had when they first started (you can even read all about my lack of Poser skills...lol that starts on page 10). Link - https://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/?thread_id=2891120 Cheers [I've spent too much time reading the forums and now it's time for bed - guess I'll sim the skirt tomorrow.....]

Bugger! Marble, you are having the worst luck! I have NEVER cleared any cache (guess I should learn how to), I use DAZ Studio (I started using VWD in Poser just so I could use the program - this was before the bridges were created) and I can recall only ever having had one crash. Have you used the Task Manager to see if you are running out of RAM or CPU (ie. at 100% - though many rendering programs also run at the full 100%; so it's not a definite "this is the problem", but it may give you some more info..........)? I understand your giving up (for now); wait and see what the next release brings (like an updated user guide)............ All the best.

Smaker1, Regarding the dress sim I'm playing with, I'm doing 3 sims because each of the sashes in the dress are physically separate pieces and show up separately in the host list. I've gotten some advice from Gerald (via email) and was already working with the settings he recommended (so I was happy about that); so far, the separate sashes have been done to my satisfaction (ie. the sashes aren't just a pile on the ground, so I'm happy...lol) and I have yet to play with the front and back pieces of the main skirt. As for the kneeling part; all I meant was that the skirt would be colliding with the floor as well as G3F. It shouldn't be a problem but as I haven't yet had a successful simulation that I could use in a finished artwork, I am still very much learning (but getting there)............! I've attached a few screencaps; I hope [only using the camera headlamp - no lighting done yet], so you can see where I'm at. I think I will need to "pose" the skirt panels so that they are above the floor, rather than sticking through it, before setting up a sim, but I can do that using the rotate for each piece (for a brand new piece of clothing for G3F, I am amazed that there are virtually no posing morphs other than moving the pieces slightly left or right -basically only standing poses. DAZ 3D should be more stringent in their vetting of content for sale - especially in a pro bundle)....

Sashes draped - time to sim the skirt.png

I don't know why, but one image was uploaded as a link; the other as the actual image but untitled ["Looking at the right sash"]

As I am currently stuck myself with a simulation of a skirt, I thought I may as well ask here. The skirt in question is Daemon skirt for G3F and there are three separate pieces that each requires it's own sim; the main skirt (which is pretty much a rectangle of cloth at the front and another at the back) as well as a left and right sash. http://www.daz3d.com/daemon-outfit-for-genesis-3-female-s I am wanting the skirt to appear stiffer, like leather whereas the sim make it look more like silk or polyester. How can I make the material simulate as being thicker/stiffer? I'm thinking I need to play with the rigidity setting but I have no idea where to start. Oh, and just to make it more interesting (aka. difficult), the sashes are too short to collide with the floor but the main skirt will as my pose for G3F is kneeling on one knee. Suggestions, magical incantations, recipes, anything else that may help - all welcome....................;)

I 'spoke' with Gerald yesterday [ie. email] and he said that there was a new user guide {written by wimvdb so the translation from French to English isn't just "Googleised"} and also a new version of VWD coming "soon" (we all know that word can be so subjective - but I imagine it'll be within the month or so).... When that is released, perhaps you can have another go then....... BTW, do you have any CPU/RAM monitoring software? - even just using the inbuilt Task Manager (I assume you're on a PC as I don't think VWD is available for MAC] Performance tab may give you some extra info; perhaps you're running out of RAM, although I think you mentioned you had 32GB of RAM(?), which is the same as me as well as SickleYield, I believe......... Just another thought. Ultimately, as you mention; us hobbyists do this for fun and when it's no longer fun - go onto something else; at least for a while (I jump back and forth between 5 or so different softwares for my art - ultimately hoping to be good enough at each to be able to use all of them in a workflow to create my art. And then learn some more...).

One thing I forgot to mention; Gerald, watching the video you made for Marble, I can hear your frustration in narrating in English. However, I can also tell you, that for 95% of the time, I can understand fully what you are talking about. No, your English isn't perfect; but it is quite understandable and the more tutorials you create in English, the happier I will be (and I'm sure I speak for many others here also) and the better your English will become. To me, for whom English is my only language, your English-narrated tutorial is 100 times more useful than any of your French-narrated ones [no offense intended towards those lucky enough to have a second language in French]. Gerald, please know that your English is quite good enough for narrating video tutorials and the more you produce, the better!