Can someone explain to me exactly what a G2 figure is, how it differs from the standard version, and what are the advantages of using them?

Thanks.

The G2 figures are the 'second generation' of the E Frontier/Content Paradise figure range, comprising of James, Koji, Kelvin and Simon (for the boys), and Jessi, Miki, and Sydney (for the girls), with, I understand, another female figure on her way at some point to act as Kelvin's opposite. The central idea behind them is that each gender shares a body mesh, whilst the heads are different. This means that clothes can be shared between characters more easily (so why there are clothes being specifically sold as being 'for Miki 2' is beyond me). The mesh and joint parameters are different from the original figures, and so clothes and texture which fitted the original characters will not work on new ones - much the same as V3's textures won't work on V4.

There are no real 'advantages' to using them over the original figures, or over any other figures, really - it's all a matter of personla preference, and whatever figure helps you get the job done. Of course, as with the older generation DAZ figures, new products soon stop being sold for the 'obsolete' figure range, and so there is a certain need to keep with the curve if you want to maintain your Poser addictin.

Hope that covers most of what you were asking,

JonTheCelt

EDIT Good grief. I just looked at my little thing to the left, and realised this is my 555th post! I didn't think I'd been that chatty!

Happy 555th post jonthecelt!!  ;)

Quote - The G2 figures are the 'second generation' of the E Frontier/Content Paradise figure range, comprising of James, Koji, Kelvin and Simon (for the boys), and Jessi, Miki, and Sydney (for the girls), with, I understand, another female figure on her way at some point to act as Kelvin's opposite. The central idea behind them is that each gender shares a body mesh, whilst the heads are different. This means that clothes can be shared between characters more easily (so why there are clothes being specifically sold as being 'for Miki 2' is beyond me). The mesh and joint parameters are different from the original figures, and so clothes and texture which fitted the original characters will not work on new ones - much the same as V3's textures won't work on V4.

There are no real 'advantages' to using them over the original figures, or over any other figures, really - it's all a matter of personla preference, and whatever figure helps you get the job done. Of course, as with the older generation DAZ figures, new products soon stop being sold for the 'obsolete' figure range, and so there is a certain need to keep with the curve if you want to maintain your Poser addictin.

Hope that covers most of what you were asking,

JonTheCelt

EDIT Good grief. I just looked at my little thing to the left, and realised this is my 555th post! I didn't think I'd been that chatty!

One correction, I do not believe that Miki2.0 is a G2 Female. She has her own body and head.

Jonthecelt, Mariner, thanks very much for the information.

OT: JontheCelt:
I was a Morcambe and Wise fan back in the late 70's.  I remember watching their show in syndication when I lived in Phoenix.  The one routine I remember vividly was when Morcambe did a ventriloquist act with a 10 ft. dummy.  Almost choked laughing.

It would appear you are right, Mariner... Miki 2.0 is not a G2 figure as I had assumed. This does, however, beg the question - does this mean that EF/CP are abandoning the single-body concept of G2, and going back to completely original figures in each case? I always saw Miki as the counterpart to Koji, in the same way that James and Jessi, Simon and Sydny, and Kelvin and the new figure seem to be.

Why was the decision made to make Miki a completely standalone figure? Any ideas, anyone?

JonTheCelt (reluctant to post now, 'cos 556 does'nt look as pretty as 555!)

I think they wanted Miki to retain her "Petite" size being an Asian based figure and having her share the G2 Body would have made her just as tall as everyone else.  Kinda their way of remaining true to her asian origins. Miki 2.0's body is still shaped and sized the same as Miki 1, or close enough that they look the same side by side. She's just regrouped and supposedly better jointed now.

One thing I like about the g2 figures, is that they use magnets for deformations instead of morph targets, so if you model clothing for them, you dont need to do zillions of different morph targets for your clothings.

Actually, Miki2 and JessiG2 are becoming my favs.

Miki2 would be my favourite female character too now. Sydney is very nice as well. Miki 2 does bend better than Miki 1. But still no materials for lips?!? Koji and Kelvin g2 look more like a real male than M3, but still not as good as Apollo. The bad thing is that while they share all the bodies, you still have to buy morph packs for the heads separetly. Sydneys headmorphs wont work with Jessi, but bodymorphs do. Allso there really isn't much stuff for Jessi. I haven't even found a good character pack for her. :(
Anyone know if there is a glamorous Jessi g2? I've been browsing Content Paradise and haven't found her.

" ...much the same as V3's textures won't work on V4."
Guess again.
DPH

Miki was developed as Miki1020, i.e. to mark 10 years of Poser and 20 of Shade.   She was meant as a Japanese figure, since the existing Poser figures didn't do Oriental features very convincingly at all, although she is pretty versatile.   She was also made quite slight of stature, which has, of course, prompted a few controversies, with some people assuming that short=adolescent.    Since Miki was designed for a special occasion, Miki 2 is a bit of a paradox, but, as paradoxes go, I can think of a lot worse.   Miki 2 is analogous to the G2 figures, in being a "second generation" version and does, I assume, incorporate many of the same ideas and concepts that went into the G2 men and women, without having any specific geometry in common, just as Terai Yuki 2 was, I believe, the original "second generation" e-frontier figure, but also shares no geometry with either Miki 2 or G2.

Doing a second generation of Jessi did seem quite brave, since the original was so strange (although ideal for titles such as "Jessi Gives the Cave Bear a Fright", "Jessi Discovers Fire" and "Jessi Makes a Nice Set of Hand-axes Out of a Flint Nodule").   G2 Jessi is a transformation.   I tend to use Sydney more, but that's probably because I made Sydney my default character and I'm lazy.   Miki 2, though, is the best female character there is.

Quote - ... quite slight of stature, which has, of course, prompted a few controversies, with some people assuming that short=adolescent. 

Actually, the issue wasn't "short=adolescent," it was "breasts smaller than beachballs=adolescent." Miki 1.0 has a chest you might actually see under a typical human female's T-shirt. That problem is fixed in M 2.0 though. I believe she even comes with "inflate-a-breast" morphs that replicate the hard plastic look of silicone so common in the Safeway lines these days. Bowling balls in your bra? Everybody's wearin' 'em!

M

Quote - " ...much the same as V3's textures won't work on V4."
Guess again.
DPH

Ok, Davivd, perhaps I should rephrase - much as V3's textures won't work on the native V4 model.

JonTheCelt