Let me say, first, that texture maps are not that difficult to make. Now I may be a little non-objective on that because I work with Photoshop professionally. And, I am not against people selling things they have made. If you create some sort of funky creature like the ones in the Renderosity store, then by all means sell it. What I don't understand is why some people would think that a texture map they created is above anything that's in the Free Stuff. My applauds go out to people who post their textures in the Free Stuff. These are intelligent people because they understand that it's just a texture map. In response to Ikyoto, when you said, "Sounds like you just want everything for free. If you can't afford it, learn to make your own." Yes, I do want a texture map for free! That was the point of the message! I do make my own, but it would be a lot easier for me if I could use some of the ones other people make. As for John Galt, "Last I checked, this country was built upon it." You are correct. "This country" (and I appreciate your vagueness) is based on capitalism, but last I checked, the Internet was not. The Internet is based on Communism. Isn't that the point of Napster, Warez, Go-zilla, Newtella, and thousands of others, including the Renderosity Free Stuff. We Internet folk don't want to pay for anything, and that includes texture maps. Personally, I think this is really stupid to argue this point over something as ridiculous as a texture map, but I felt the need to restate my message because I'm hoping maybe I can find some thoughtful dialog and not heated emotions, which is what I mostly got last time. P.S. Preach on Casamerica! You're damn right. But don't even get me started on China.

reply in Complaint & Debate forum... IMHO thats where this thread should be :-)

I know this sounds like "Take it outside buddy!" but that's really not what I (or, I suspect cooler) intended. Your theories are perplexing and I would be curious to see how this plays out. However, this sort of philosophical debate really would play better in C&D. I suspect several people are biting their tongues and showing admirable restraint in not replying here. I think you'll find a much more lively dialog in the replies over there. (...but I wouldn't suggest it if you're not pretty thick skinned. The gloves are off over there)

Blau, I have to PARTIALLY agree with you - in general, most textures (and 99% of the ones I've done...) aren't "unique" or "detailed" enough to merit sales. However, I have seen some photorealistic textures that obviously took a lot of time and effort to compile; if they were sold in collections of like textures for a reasonable price, I'd see no problem with selling them. Selling one texture, thrown together in fifteen minutes and usable on only one model as-is would be (is?) silly, but selling a set of related, highly detailed ones makes perfect sense to me.

Oh, and as for the 'net being communistic - where the &(&( do you get THAT? 1) The internet was originally proposed to link Universities, but was built to link the Military. Without the (admittedly Socialistic) ideas of the "intellegensia" the internet wouldn't even have been dreamed of. Without the (captilistic, even Imperialistic) intervention of the military and the US and (IIRC) Swiss governments, the internet wouldn't have existed. It's a hybrid effort, dedicated to the "free" exchange of knowledge. 2) Communism, the ultimate optimistic theory, states: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." What you're saying has nothing to do with ability OR need, just want and greed - captilistic concepts, if I ever heard any... Freedom is the "God" of the internet; the commune is the god of Communism. I fail to see any similarity there...

I agree with blau that tex maps are kind of a given. I can't believe that Zygote will sell you a new model and not include one tex map with it. I also find it hard to believe that some of the stuff you can d/l in freestuff is 3dsmax export with no tex map and not even uvmapped to be "ready out of the box". The Grand High Master of Textures, Tlaubach, always gave his stuff up for free, and I think that should set the tone for the entire market. Not to suggest we should all be spoiled babies, but Morphs and Tex's have always been readily available and free. Now, a well-crafted model that is damned useful most of the time is worth money. Especially since the software it takes to make them is so expensive, and the ability to use them even harder to come by. Some annoying person is going to tell me that Photoshop is also expensive, and takes time to learn. Okay, mr or mrs annoying, touche', but even a newbie can manipulate existing textures in photo-progs. -Darth