Its great that this product is free - all kudos to those responsible.... ...but when you look at the 4 currently available plugins ranging in price from $6 to $20 each I think it could get expensive after all. Morph loader, Align Ace, D-Form and the Program Organiser seem like things you might have expected to be a part of the core program. How much are full on plugins like better redering, procedual texture "trees", cloth simulation and hair/fur going to cost!? Clearly they intend making their money from models and plugins. Could be more expensive than Poser in the long run - the Poser update at least.

That could be true if you plan on buying every plugin made, but consider how easy it is to use and fast render engine, and it dosent stress out my computer to use it like Poser does. That alone is worth this free application.

Attached Link: http://mythologic.info

Sorry..what's the Program Organiser? It's slipped beneath my radar. I have the Primitive, Power Pose and D-Former plugins. I'm learning to love DS. :)

Its a morph organiser, it lets you put a figures morphs into seperate groups that can be opened and closed to make working with figure easier. For example all morphs that effect the mouth can be grouped under something like "Mouth"( or any other name you choose), eyes under "Eyes", etc.

For DAZStudio to keep people hooked I think it will have to eventually provide much better rendering options. If you spend money on models, clothing packs, props, environments etc (which is what most users seem to do) you are going to want impressive final images. It has some positive interface aspects that make Poser look and feel "clunky" (- floating palettes with drop shadows - its so "90's"!) I guess my point is that plugins are a great way to expand functionality. Of course you don't have to get every one made but if just a handful of major plugins end up costing more than Poser or even its update then maybe its counter productive. Don't get me wrong I want DAZStudio to succeed - just wondering what the future direction really is. It looks like plugins but they could do the Vue thing - have basic and pro versions. Or basic and pro plugins? - is that what Align Ace "Regular" means?

I can buy a LOT of plug-ins before I get anywhere close to spending as much on D|S as I would for P6. I wouldn't have paid for Power Pose, since I don't use IK. The nice thing is, you can pick and choose which features you want and keep the cost down that way. You also start with a great free program and can add a bit at a time, rather than laying a big chunk out of your budget at one shot for something that has alot of features you may never use. As far as rendering quality, I can do far better in less time with 3Delight than I've ever done with Firefly. I do all of my promo renders in D|S.

I think D|S is a very good starting point for someone wanting to get into 3D, you can quickly compose a scene, and render a high quality picture out. The fact that plugins cost more, etc. will only IMHO sort the wheat from the chaff. As people who want to get serious will have to invest money and/or time to get more proffesional or personalized results. Some of the best artwork I've seen is from people working with very limited resources, but with an amazing in-depth knowledge of the application, a curious tinkering attitude and a out of the box thinking. I do like the application a lot, I wish poser had some of the same intuitive interface. I've been using poser for ages now, and although I am familiar with it, why couldn't it have the mouse wheel zoom in and out as in D|S? Render time to me is a bit relative (pun intended) if you want to do a really nice image, you don't mind the wait. I know of artist using renderers that take weeks to do one image. Again it goes back to how serious you are about the work you do, this is coming from a hobbyist that wishes was doing this for a living, because I just don't have enough time to get into it properly.

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-'I curse the day my curiosity led me to investigate the strange stain inside
the atomic acelerator chamber'-
The Nuked Bug

Nuked bug I think you hit the nail on the head - I want the power of Poser with a cleaner more intuitive interface. Poser should be worried after all. I agree also about the capacity of some to achieve great results with limited resources - wish I was one of them!! BTW PickersAngel the update special from earlier versions of Poser starts at only $99. According to the specs it won't run too well on my current computer otherwiae I'd probably do it. Saving for a new machine instead of spending money on software at this stage.

I sort of agree that some plug-ins could have been part of the base program, but there are a few other things to consider. Align Ace - It does something that poser can't do at all, so paying for it isn't so bad. PowerPose - Far superior to poser's IK, so again, you're getting your money's worth. Morph Loader - I think this could be part of the app. It's a basic function, although not everyone would use. Parameters Organizer (nor program organizer) - P6 has the same function and does exactly the same thing. But what we have to remember here is that DAZ have sunk over 2 years of development time into DS and they're giving it away for nothing. Obviously they want to get some sort of return on it. I doubt if plug-in sales will ever pay for the time spent on DS, but it's a start. Here's another thing (Pure speculation, this one). Who said the plug-ins were finished? If there are upgrades later on (presumably included in the original cost), the plug-ins become even more valuable for the price paid. All in all, I think the user gets a pretty good deal. I have poser 4, 5 and 6. I paid a total of around 800 euros for the 3 apps, and I've never even opened the animation timeline in my life. In P5/6, I've only briefly glanced at the hair/face rooms, and I never use the setup room. At least with DS, I get a choice of what to buy. mac

All good points maclean. Perhaps the thing to do at this point or sometime in the near future is to start a new thread and ask DS users what functions they would like to see dveloped as plugins. Perhaps someone at DAZ reads this stuff - maybe they would like to survey the users.

There's already a Plugin Wishlist thread at the DAZ forums and the development team is probably more likely to look there.

DAZ seems to listen better to their customers than some companies. I like the fact that the program is free because it encourages many new people to check 3d out. I don't own poser and w/o D|S wouldn't be buying their content. So I think that is where they are hoping to expand really. I do understand the whole plugin issue tho...it is a battle with all graphic programs tho. They enhance the program, but many other issues get opened up by having addons. Cost only being one of them.

No need to think outside the box....
    Just make it invisible.