I was just reading up on Smith Micro's site, specifically, this page:
www.smithmicro.com/about/news-press-detail.aspx

I was reading about the the Dependant Parameters Tool
(By the way, kudos to them for spelling the adjective form of the word "Dependent" correctly.)

[quote]
Dependant Parameters Tool - A new tool that allows artists to create, modify and edit parameters within the scene. Complex interactions can be created, such as full-and partial-body morphs, advanced body controls and parameter-controlled scene assets
[/quote]

I don't think I've read anything yet here about anyone using it.
Is the above to say that you can do something like JCM or ERC, or... PMS, IOU, NRA...whatever the terms are... with it?
Such as, using, say, an eye moving parameter to control the motion of the eyelids, like the Millenium4 people have?
If so, Do such alterations create new dials and save save with a figure .cr2, or only with the scene?
Better yet, does it work on any cr2, or only the Poser 8 ...err, humanoids?

What all can be done with it? Can you do something like, say, have a light increase or decrease in intensity the closer it gets to a figure, or farther away from a specific point?

Any information from anyone using this would be appreciated, as Smith Micro doesn't seem to have deemed it worthy enough to elaborate on.

It works very much like ERC coding. There are no extra dials for you to play with, everything happens underneath it all in code.
I'm not sure we all really know yet to what extent it can play out to. I've been using it to assist in rigging clothing and armor.
For instance: I am creating a double shoulder holster set for Alyson and I have the shoulder holsters hanging kind of loose at the sides of the chest. With dependant parameters I can make the hanging holsters swing to and fro as the collar/chest area moves...very natural looking and easy to do.
No more coding for junkies.
Of course, we still will code just because it's fun!

Thank you for that, DarkEdge. Sounds intriguing.

You can also use it to control how a JCM behaves, with the graph. You can keep a JCM from fully implementing until the end of a bend cycle or anywhere in between. You can assign  morphs to work as JCMs  or joints to work as JCJ's  You could for instance train a body handle in the breast to lift the breast with the arm, and at the same time tell it when to lift slowly and when to lift more quickly, and how much.

I think I read in the manual about being able to control lights with it but I dont know about intensity.   

Thank you, stepson.

The description for the Dependant Parameters Tool does however say, "A new tool that allows artists to create, modify and edit parameters within the scene..."

So I'm wondering what scene elements are included, and the extent. Obviously it's been confirmed it works for characters, but I'm wondering how far it can be pushed, how much it can do with lights, cameras, props and so on, not just figures or conforming figures.

But speaking of which, could I bend a figure's neck forward and have a morph on the hair kick in, where it makes the hair go forward too? Meaning, I have morph on a hair object that causes it to fall forward more naturally when the figure bends its neck forward. Can the tool activate that hair morph when the neck is bent?

Quote - So I'm wondering what scene elements are included, and the extent.

anything controlled by a parameter dial in the scene.

for example i set up a dial in M3's head to bend M3's head forward, morph his hair and lower the intensity of a light.

it might be important to note that this does not modify the bend dial to add the other parameters. It will create a new dial

in this case the bend dial has not been turned but the master dial has bent the head 32 degrees.
I could dial the bend back up 10 degrees and the top number would be 22 degrees and the bottom number -10

Quote - Thank you, stepson.

The description for the Dependant Parameters Tool does however say, "A new tool that allows artists to create, modify and edit parameters within the scene..."

So I'm wondering what scene elements are included, and the extent. Obviously it's been confirmed it works for characters, but I'm wondering how far it can be pushed, how much it can do with lights, cameras, props and so on, not just figures or conforming figures.

But speaking of which, could I bend a figure's neck forward and have a morph on the hair kick in, where it makes the hair go forward too? Meaning, I have morph on a hair object that causes it to fall forward more naturally when the figure bends its neck forward. Can the tool activate that hair morph when the neck is bent?

The reference manual includes an example of creating a dial that adjusts the intensity of three lights in the scene at the same time.  So yes, lights can be controlled. You can also do something like create a light switch prop and turn lights on and off when the light switch is toggled. As for the hair, you can probably do that as well. 

Though I haven't tried the D.P. tool on everything yet, I suspect the list of things that it can NOT do is shorter than the list of things that it can. It's probably my most favorite new feature.

Thanks for the info, Tyger and Deecey. That's the type of stuff I was after. :-)

Looking good. I'm really surprised this tool was barely mentioned, as it seems like it could be one of the best things to happen to Poser yet.

i saved the above figure with hair into the library and inserted it into a new scene.

it retained the master dial and controlled the head and hair.

It did not retain the light control in the dial.

oh, and i have created master dials in figures, saved it to the library and opened it in Poser 7.

after the obligitory "this was created in a newer version of poser" message it came in and the master dial worked perfectly.

Quote - Thanks for the info, Tyger and Deecey. That's the type of stuff I was after. :-)

Looking good. I'm really surprised this tool was barely mentioned, as it seems like it could be one of the best things to happen to Poser yet.

I whole heartedly agree, I was up dancin in my socks when i read about the new DP and rigging. I know you likely have as many ideas for its use as I do. I think just these simple little tools are going to change poser content forever and for the better.

:)

A big downside with the new dependent parameters feature is that it is only based on animation-style keyframes, and is not something very friendly to modify by editing to CR2 since the values are figured with spline math, rather than with simple addition or other arithmetic options.  If you've never set up ERC controls before, it's a useful option, but if you were already comfortable with setting up ERC controls, the new feature is more trouble than it's really worth imo.

Something about lights, I found their behavior with remote controls to be extremely erratic.  It may have to do with the way I was using them (parented to a master figure, with the dials consolidated on the figure) but I eventually gave up because I couldn't get the controls to be reliable.  This isn't anything wrong with Deecey's example provided in the manual, it seems to be something specific to lights and how they are handled and adjusted internally.

I am pretty sure that this feature can only be used with parameter values that appear on the Parameter Dials tab, and not with other properties (like e.g. Crease Angle or a light's Shadow Min Bias or Shadow Blur Radius properties).  Haven't tested it in all combinations though.

Here's a link to my Poser blog, with a link to a video tutorial from Semidieu on using the Dependent Parameter feature on a new Master Parameter. Just to be clear, any parameter can be transformed into a parm that drives other parms with the pop-up arrow to the right of the parameter. Select "edit dependencies" and the Dependent Parameter Editing Tool will pop-up and let you link that selected parm to other parms on the object or in the scene.

http://poser8.smithmicro.com/cgi-bin/blosxom.cgi/2009/08/20#Semidieu_DepParm

Steve Cooper
Poser Product Manager

DP is not new.  It was new in P7, only the built-in tool is new in P8.

I've been using it in figures for a couple of years, and find it tremendously
useful for all sorts of complex motions: windshield wipers, foldout furniture,
lights, gearshifts, record-changing turntables .... anything that requires either
a curve or a series of motions.  Some of those things could be done with old
ERC, but they were far more complex and hard to write, debug and read.

In P7 you can use my script

http://ockhamsbungalow.com/Python/ERCbuilder8.zip

or Ajax has a DP feature in his EasyPose program.

Or you can write DP keys manually just as easily as old ERC, once you
grok the syntax.

Just as with old ERC, it only works on things you can adjust in the middle of
an animation.  Crease angle and joint parms are out because they're static.
Material parms (set to Animated) are definitely in.

Quote -
DP is not new.  It was new in P7, only the built-in tool is new in P8.

Ah, interesting. Thank you much, ockham, for the info and the script. I'll have to give that a whirl.

So why do they call it a new feature if it's not a new feature? ;-)

Hasn't all that ERC stuff been possible for a long time, far before Poser 7?

Quote - So why do they call it a new feature if it's not a new feature?

because you couldn't make them inside poser. The new feature is the editor.

It is like MAT pose files. they have bee around for a while, but were not a "feature" of poser until P6.

Quote - Hasn't all that ERC stuff been possible for a long time, far before Poser 7?

according to this page

http://www.rbtwhiz.com/rbtwhiz_ERC.html

it was (like MAT pose files) discovered and developed by users.

Quote - Just to be clear, any parameter can be transformed into a parm that drives other parms with the pop-up arrow to the right of the parameter. Select "edit dependencies" and the Dependent Parameter Editing Tool will pop-up and let you link that selected parm to other parms on the object or in the scene.

cool, i had not noticed that.

guess i should read the instructions :-P

Quote - DP is not new.  It was new in P7, only the built-in tool is new in P8.

Poser 8 not only introduces the editing tool for creating dependent parameter value keys, it also introduces spline interpolation between keys (simply click to add a third key on the linear path between two keys and then drag it up or down), plus the interface indicates all driven parms' natural value and driven value.

The spline isn't really new, because you could set up a spline via keyframing
in the old setup. 

But the double numbering is a great new feature.   Will make designing and
debugging ERC a whole lot easier.  Previously we were flying blind, with no
way to tell for sure where a motion came from.

Quote - The spline isn't really new, because you could set up a spline via keyframing
in the old setup. 

But the double numbering is a great new feature.   Will make designing and
debugging ERC a whole lot easier.  Previously we were flying blind, with no
way to tell for sure where a motion came from.

Just in case these sublties were missed, in each dependent parameters' pop-up, we now display all the Master parms that drive that dep parm, and selecting from the Masters pop-up list will automatically switch to the actor for the Master. And if you click on the new Master-driven parm icon to the right of each Master parm, the Dependency Editor for that Master parm will open.