Hello,

It is Gérald who has come a long way.

A big problem with one eye made it impossible for me to use the computer.
I had complex retinal detachment which required silicone to be inserted into the eye for several months.
It limited my use of the computer to a few minutes.
Throughout this time, I wasn't sure if I could go back to writing VWD.

In short, now, even if everything is not perfect, I want to resume this project.

This expectation also made me think about what I want to do in 3D.
It also means that the future of VWD could be different.

This project depends a little on me but mostly depends on you.
Without your interest in the program, it will have no future.

The choice I made at the start of the project was probably not the right one.
I now think the program itself should focus on the calculation.
The new program will also have functions for creating and modifying clothes and hair.
The problem with the old VWD is that I tried to make it simulate elements whose mesh was not suitable for simulation at all.
This discredited VWD because there were many crashes that weren't necessarily related to the program itself.

The other problem of the program was to have to communicate with several applications which evolved regularly.
A better solution would have been to concentrate on the calculation part inside VWD and to develop independent gateways to communicate with other applications.
This solution would also have had the advantage of communicating with new applications without complicating the program itself.

To get started on this new project, I need to know what interest you might have in it.

Please tell me your opinion on this message. Thanks in advance.

      Gerald

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

Hello Gerald, it has been a long time !

Sorry to ear about your health troubles . Hope you it's behind you now. No fire ? not too hot this summer ? . 

After a big slowdown I'm trying to create again some new pictures (different topics, workflow,..) And, of course, with VWD inside for sure

A few weeks ago I decided to re-read the manual (back to school !) : I better understood some paramaters and of course found options I didn't used and see now what's their purpose. So again BRAVO. Dynamic simulation is complex but, for me, it's an investment to get better results .Now I must check the videos again.

Of course I want to continue to use VWD and will follow the next steps with pleasure . I will keep DS4 for VWD if DS5 is not compatible :-)

Best regards

Georges Delatour tribute (detail for the clothe) 

      Gerald

Oh, dear friend, I am sorry to hear about your health problems and toss a big old hug for you.  I suffer from Lupus SLE, so I greatly understand how problems with the body can impact one's ability to work on things we love.  So, with that in mind, thank you for working on this project.  Honestly--as far as dynamics programs go, VWD is the one to beat. Dforce often explodes, and iClone has way too much poke through.  I haven't found anything to match it for speed and efficiency, and I missed using it.  I would say if I could put in a request maybe offer ways to have both an automatic install and manual where I can put the files into folders myself.  I ask because the auto-installer rarely works for me, and I have to request manual files anyway. As for anything else, I can't find a way to make it any more perfect than it already is.

Smaker1 posted at 10:24 AM Sun, 21 August 2022 - #4443088

Hello Gerald, it has been a long time !

Sorry to ear about your health troubles . Hope you it's behind you now. No fire ? not too hot this summer ? . 

After a big slowdown I'm trying to create again some new pictures (different topics, workflow,..) And, of course, with VWD inside for sure

A few weeks ago I decided to re-read the manual (back to school !) : I better understood some paramaters and of course found options I didn't used and see now what's their purpose. So again BRAVO. Dynamic simulation is complex but, for me, it's an investment to get better results .Now I must check the videos again.

Of course I want to continue to use VWD and will follow the next steps with pleasure . I will keep DS4 for VWD if DS5 is not compatible :-)

Best regards

Georges Delatour tribute (detail for the clothe) 

Everything, like, everything he said.  And sincerely hope you are faring better everyday :-D

Bravo Gérald,

I was quite worried that the Covid event got the better of you, so seeing that you are 'well' and getting back on track from your eye malady is superb news!

Oddly, I'm having problems with my left eye that also hint of retina detachment issues. If we weren't continents apart, I'd think it was something in the water!

I'll connect with you in the background, but want you to know how happy I/we are to hear you are well. That VWD may take on a new life/direction is icing on the cake.

best,

VWD3D

--
Resources: https://www.virtualworlddynamics.net - https://www.patreon.com/VWD
Rendo PM: VWD3D or VirtualWorldDynamics or support@virtualworlddynamics.net
Current VWD Version:   Release: V2.2.924.6464 - 2019/12/12, 9:46am
Qualifier: Yes, I'm helping Gérald with VWD, Nooo, I'm not yet an expert on its use!

Hey--another asset--the ability to drape more than one item at a time and keep the textures in tact?

Sepiasiren posted at 9:31 PM Sun, 21 August 2022 - #4443114

Hey--another asset--the ability to drape more than one item at a time and keep the textures in tact?

Hello Sepiasiren , is this what you are looking for concerning tectures ? Manual page 106 fresh from my new reading :-) :

"Restore DAZ Mats+Animations (DAZ Studio only): Re-apply the original surface material settings and
animations to the imported and selected collision-item. If no specific items are imported and selected,
all of the xxxx_VWD items in the scene will have their materials and animations restored when you
press this button (if they are available in the VWD results cache/Exchange folder).
This fixes an issue that occurs in reloaded Daz Studio scenes, where the xxxx_VWD items lose their
surface materials and animations when the DAZ Studio scenes are reloaded."

Hello Smaker1,

The problems with my eye are not quite solved, the months of silicone have left me with a general blur and a very annoying hyper luminosity.

About the weather, no, no fire but 4 times above 40°C. It's very tiring! This heat is also an advantage of the south of France which is gradually becoming a handicap.

VWD has always lacked tutorials, now I want to do a lot with my still bad English.

Thank you for all the images you have shown and which you will certainly continue to show on the forum. It is always a pleasure to see such a perfect result achieved with the help of the program.

Hello Sepiasiren,

I'm sorry to hear that you also have a health problem.
I hope you can spend enough time doing what makes you so happy....3D.

Thank you very much for your compliments, I will try to be worthy of them.
As I told Smaker1, VWD needs tutorials, especially for its installation.

You will see that there will also be new features to discover.

What I'm asking you is a little time because I have to immerse myself again in the program and everything that revolves around it.

Hello Dan,

I will write to you very soon.

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

Hello Gerald and good to see you back, and that you're recovered/recovering/dealing with it.  As we get older, those seem to be the three categories more and more things fit into. :)

If a new version of VWD emerged that worked with Poser 12 and was capable of even MOST of what the original could do, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.  It is literally the only thing keeping me in Poser 11- I use the original VWD version in every render.  Yes, it crashes sometimes because reasons, at which point I "issue the challenge" as my viking heritage demands, restart, and carry on.

I wish you all good luck!

Hello cabled,

sorry for replying to you so late.

Personally, I haven't used Poser for a long time but I would be happy to satisfy you.

I never bought Poser 12 and it seemed to me that VWD worked with the new updates. Apparently, that's not the case.

Would you agree to help me in this process of updating the program.

I know I have the same problems with the latest versions of Daz Studio. In this case, the advantage of Daz Studio is that it's free... even if it's not that simple.

What amazes me is that I only use very simple functions.

Could you tell me when the program crashes.

Cordially.

       Gerald

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

Hi Gérald

It's good to hear from you again. So sorry to hear about your eye - Hoping for the best for you.

I still use VWD all the time (animations) and would be very sad to lose the capability we have now. 

I don't think I understand where you are saying you might take VWD in the future. I use Daz Studio but I am very happy manipulating meshes in Blender, either changing existing meshes or making new ones, so I don't think I want another program to do that!

I seem to be getting fewer crashes in VWD these days, (I don't know why), but that could still be improved.

For me, your English is absolutely fine. (But I hope my English is ok for you!)

Best regards

Hello fuqol217,

When I say that I want to modify VWD, it is at two levels:

 - on the one hand, I have interactions with the hosts (Daz Studio or Poser) on a very small part of the program and it is a sensitive part because the two applications evolve and sometimes do not have backward compatibility. I would like to offer the possibility of reading the files which will be used for the simulation directly in the interface.

 - on the other hand, I would like to offer the possibility of creating clothes and hair with the quality that will allow with certainty to have a quality simulation.

For me, the most important part to do now is to create a significant number of tutorials that will allow you to see and then understand the various functions of the program. I say see because the constraints related to the shape of the interface on the right part of the screen, require to concentrate the functions to a minimalist size.
Perhaps it is possible to think of redoing a different interface?

For all this, I will ask you all for a little patience because I have to immerse myself in the program again and my possibilities of working on the computer are for the moment modest but they are improving day by day.

Regarding your English, I would be slightly pretentious to criticize it in view of the state of mine. :-)

Thank you for your message.

      Gérald

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

Good to hear you're back and getting better. I also would be very interested of new version of VWD. My biggest problem of the current version is that 32-bit architecture, which limits it's use considerably, so I hope you'll make your next version 64-bit. Also 1 collision item limit is annoying, and errors and crashes are quire frequent, so hopefully next version is going to be more stable. Still even with all it's quirks and problems, I think VWD is one of the fastest cloth simulation to date and I still use it frequently. In my opinion it's strongest point is how you can "grab" the cloth and move it almost real time. I've never used Poser so I have no idea how good it is, but Daz Studio dForce magnets and stuff are nowhere near what VWD can do.

I was thinking that maybe for next version you could consider Blender and maybe even Unreal/Unity bridges to grow your audience. There's some cloth addons for Blender, but I still haven't found anything as good as VWD. I know most indie developers are not doing this just for the money, but making some extra surely wouldn't hurt. Also since Daz has made some effort to support bridges for Studio, you probably should contact them to get full support for your program.

I have to admit I'm quite curious what you mean by creating and modifying clothes and hair, but personally I wouldn't put too much effort for that at first. Stable and fast cloth simulation program hopefully is the first priority, and then later on you could add extra modules/addons for secondary tasks like simulating hair or creating/modifying items.

Anyways, good to hear you're back, and I wish you best of luck no matter what path you choose. I sincerely believe you have a great product in your hands that just needs some love to grow big, so hopefully you'll decide to make a new and better version of VWD.

Smaker1 posted at 7:59 AM Mon, 22 August 2022 - #4443125

Sepiasiren posted at 9:31 PM Sun, 21 August 2022 - #4443114

Hey--another asset--the ability to drape more than one item at a time and keep the textures in tact?

Hello Sepiasiren , is this what you are looking for concerning tectures ? Manual page 106 fresh from my new reading :-) :

"Restore DAZ Mats+Animations (DAZ Studio only): Re-apply the original surface material settings and
animations to the imported and selected collision-item. If no specific items are imported and selected,
all of the xxxx_VWD items in the scene will have their materials and animations restored when you
press this button (if they are available in the VWD results cache/Exchange folder).
This fixes an issue that occurs in reloaded Daz Studio scenes, where the xxxx_VWD items lose their
surface materials and animations when the DAZ Studio scenes are reloaded."

Oh hey--thanks for this Smaker1!  Oooo, I like that feature. Gonna have to play around with them--in the interim is it possible to get my hands on the old files to do a reinstall--since the DAZ upgrade my setup ain't working... you guys rawks so much!!!

Hello Sepiasiren,

I had not answered your question about the possibility of being able to simulate several elements at once.

In fact, this solution has been around forever. It is just necessary to check that this simulation will not generate instabilities.

Just import the objects to simulate on the character, hide the character and save these objects in an OBJ file with saving textures.

Then you can delete the objects and import the newly saved OBJ object.

The simulation can be carried out normally by activating the self-collision of course. Pay attention to the penetrations between the different objects at the start of the simulation.

I hope this solution will help you solve your problem.
Tell me if you have any problems with it.

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

 Hello Mendoman,

Thank you for all of your comments.
And thank you for your questions.

At the start of writing the program, I was particularly happy with the results of the simulations and I wanted to treasure the sources that made it possible to obtain these results.
I would say that it was a programming error that allowed me to create the few lines of source that allow running smooth simulations in a relatively short time.
GPU calculations also speed up simulation speed.

The program then evolved by including a large number of functions which made the interface more complex as I needed to solve new difficulties.

My pleasure was more to create algorithms than to simplify the program to make it accessible. It's probably a mistake but it was a choice I don't regret.

I'm coming to a point where I no longer want to spend the time that I previously spent on this project and yet, I would like this project to continue and I would like to participate in its evolution.
I also realize that what I like the most is seeing simulation results made with VWD rather than receiving money.

I will do as you say and contact different companies to set up this new project.
If people would be interested in working on this project, I am ready to provide them with everything that would be necessary for this work.

Here is something to think about for you and me.

    Gérald

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

VirtualWorldDynamics posted at 2:27 PM Wed, 7 September 2022 - #4444078

Hello Sepiasiren,

I had not answered your question about the possibility of being able to simulate several elements at once.

In fact, this solution has been around forever. It is just necessary to check that this simulation will not generate instabilities.

Just import the objects to simulate on the character, hide the character and save these objects in an OBJ file with saving textures.

Then you can delete the objects and import the newly saved OBJ object.

The simulation can be carried out normally by activating the self-collision of course. Pay attention to the penetrations between the different objects at the start of the simulation.

I hope this solution will help you solve your problem.
Tell me if you have any problems with it.

Hey--thank you--I haven't been able to use VWD sadly because the upgrades to DAZ have fried my earlier versions and I can't seem to find all my files to re-install both the bridge and the upgrades. Is there a way to possible get those files so I can re-install VWD once more???  I'd be forever in your debt :-)  A

Gerald, when I try to access my upgrade to try to reinstall I get this reading: Sorry! You have reached the download limit for your copy of VWD Cloth and Hair - Version 2 - Upgrade Version.

Oh, and before I forget--do we have settings 4 ponytails and updos like buns--that may be cool if we do not...?

So I tried re-installing again and got this error  and it crashed :-)

Hello Sepiasiren,

in the weekend, I will look at how to create a simple method of installing the program.

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

VirtualWorldDynamics posted at 1:49 PM Fri, 9 September 2022 - #4444190

Hello Sepiasiren,

in the weekend, I will look at how to create a simple method of installing the program.

I appreciate that--thank you, Gérald :-) *hugs* Alicia

Hello Sepiasiren,

I assume you have all the program files.
They separate into two categories:
  - the program itself composed of
    * VWDClothAndHair.exe, RestartVWD.exe and settings directories.
    These files can be in any directory.
  - The DAZ Studio files composed of the scripts:
    * Start VWD.dsa
    * Stop VWD.dsa
    * Reset path.dsa
    These files must be in a directory accessible from the Daz Studio interface.

The first line of the Start VWD.dsa script must correspond to the name of the directory where the VWDClothAndHair.exe file is located.
If the executable is in C:\VWD, the first line should be VWD_Base = "C:/VWD/"; . The quotation marks, the slashes and the semicolon are all necessary.

In the example corresponding to my installation, VWDClothAndHair.exe is in E:\VWD

Warning: in the script the "\" is replaced by "/".

I hope these explanations will be useful for a simple installation.

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

VirtualWorldDynamics posted at 5:04 PM Sun, 11 September 2022 - #4444324

Hello Sepiasiren,

I assume you have all the program files.
They separate into two categories:
  - the program itself composed of
    * VWDClothAndHair.exe, RestartVWD.exe and settings directories.
    These files can be in any directory.
  - The DAZ Studio files composed of the scripts:
    * Start VWD.dsa
    * Stop VWD.dsa
    * Reset path.dsa
    These files must be in a directory accessible from the Daz Studio interface.

The first line of the Start VWD.dsa script must correspond to the name of the directory where the VWDClothAndHair.exe file is located.
If the executable is in C:\VWD, the first line should be VWD_Base = "C:/VWD/"; . The quotation marks, the slashes and the semicolon are all necessary.

In the example corresponding to my installation, VWDClothAndHair.exe is in E:\VWD

Warning: in the script the "\" is replaced by "/".

I hope these explanations will be useful for a simple installation.

Hey,

Sadly, I don't have access to all the files, sadly--the last time I tried to download the folder, I got a message that said I had tried to download too many times and couldn't access the folders. It says: Sorry! You have reached the download limit for your copy of VWD Cloth and Hair - Version 2 - Upgrade Version.

Hello Sepiasiren,

I don't understand why you are receiving this message.
Personally, I have never included limits in the program.

I will send you the complete installation file as soon as possible.
I need to find the ZIP file corresponding to the latest version.
I found an old email that I used to communicate with you.
Can I use this email?

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

Hey! Sure, it is sepiasiren@yahoo.com  -- tysm :-)

VirtualWorldDynamics posted at 2:22 PM Tue, 13 September 2022 - #4444411

Hello Sepiasiren,

I don't understand why you are receiving this message.
Personally, I have never included limits in the program.

I will send you the complete installation file as soon as possible.
I need to find the ZIP file corresponding to the latest version.
I found an old email that I used to communicate with you.
Can I use this email?

Thank you, Gérald, yeah we spoke some years back--I don't mind sharing my email here-- it's sepiasiren@yahoo.com  TYSM

VirtualWorldDynamics posted at 2:22 PM Tue, 13 September 2022 - #4444411

Hello Sepiasiren,

I don't understand why you are receiving this message.
Personally, I have never included limits in the program.

I will send you the complete installation file as soon as possible.
I need to find the ZIP file corresponding to the latest version.
I found an old email that I used to communicate with you.
Can I use this email?

Hey it worked--all I can say is thank you -- now I need to go and rewatch tutorials to brush up. Hope you are well :-)

Hey--does anyone know where tutorials are on how to use the hair assistant--I forgot some of the parameters for that...

Bonjour Gerald,

I'm really happy to see you're back.

Very sorry for your sight problem. I "pray" it's going to continue to improve.

Sepiasiren,

I know I have a number of things to do to explain the program.

I ask you for a little time because I realize that I will need to immerse myself again in its functionning.

yvesab,

I replied to your message and will get back to you in a while. Thanks.

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

VirtualWorldDynamics posted at 12:19 PM Wed, 28 September 2022 - #4445404

Sepiasiren,

I know I have a number of things to do to explain the program.

I ask you for a little time because I realize that I will need to immerse myself again in its functionning.

yvesab,

I replied to your message and will get back to you in a while. Thanks.

Hey, absolutely no rush--I thank yo for what you have done so far. Take care of you first and foremost.

Hi there,

I realize that the most urgent work is to make the program compatible for its two hosts: Poser and Daz Studio.

The program is more and more directed towards Daz Studio... sorry for Poser users, but I will start by making it compatible with Daz.
I know the program is not working properly since version 4.14 of Daz Studio.
For the moment, I do not know exactly the problem which appeared since this version but I think that it is possible to use it with some changes of practices.
First, I'll try to show how to use the current version of VWD with the latest versions of Daz. Then I will modify the program to make it fully compatible.

VWD modifications for its use in Poser will come just next.

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

Hello.

I just wandered in here on impulse but I'm happy I did.

I was one of those who had to give up on the old version of VWD because of crashes. I really appreciated the help I had from the VWD developer(s) and other forum members but I never got it to work with DAZ Studio. Then dForce appeared and I bought Marvelous Designer so you might think that I am all set up for cloth simulation. Well, not quite.

I find dForce so very, very slow and the fact that the cloth cannot be manipulated during the simulation is a huge drawback. MD is very fast and the cloth can be pulled around during the simulation but I tend not to use it because it is distracting to have to export and work in another software and thne import back again. Also, I have to export the posed figure and the cloth is not cloth any more after the import - it is just an OBJ file so I can't adjust anything.

Something that would be my ideal solution might be a faster dForce which is at least a plugin for DAZ Studio. I have an RTX 3090 GPU and quite a powerful CPU so I have the hardware. If my wishlist helps with your decision, I am happy too. I am writing this while waiting for a dForce simulation in the other window on my PC.

Hello.

I just wandered in here on impulse but I'm happy I did.

I was one of those who had to give up on the old version of VWD because of crashes. I really appreciated the help I had from the VWD developer(s) and other forum members but I never got it to work with DAZ Studio. Then dForce appeared and I bought Marvelous Designer so you might think that I am all set up for cloth simulation. Well, not quite.

I find dForce so very, very slow and the fact that the cloth cannot be manipulated during the simulation is a huge drawback. MD is very fast and the cloth can be pulled around during the simulation but I tend not to use it because it is distracting to have to export and work in another software and thne import back again. Also, I have to export the posed figure and the cloth is not cloth any more after the import - it is just an OBJ file so I can't adjust anything.

Something that would be my ideal solution might be a faster dForce which is at least a plugin for DAZ Studio. I have an RTX 3090 GPU and quite a powerful CPU so I have the hardware. If my wishlist helps with your decision, I am happy too. I am writing this while waiting for a dForce simulation in the other window on my PC.

I hope your health is returning to normal and those problems are now behind you.

Sorry for the duplicate posts. I don't see a way to delete the first one.

VirtualWorldDynamics posted at 11:19 AM Sun, 2 October 2022 - #4445715

Hi there,

I realize that the most urgent work is to make the program compatible for its two hosts: Poser and Daz Studio.

The program is more and more directed towards Daz Studio... sorry for Poser users, but I will start by making it compatible with Daz.
I know the program is not working properly since version 4.14 of Daz Studio.
For the moment, I do not know exactly the problem which appeared since this version but I think that it is possible to use it with some changes of practices.
First, I'll try to show how to use the current version of VWD with the latest versions of Daz. Then I will modify the program to make it fully compatible.

VWD modifications for its use in Poser will come just next.

I'm surprised to hear VWD is not working properly since DS 4.14. I'm using it with DS 14.20 and I just did a static simulation and an animated simulation successfully. If anything, it seems a bit more robust than it used to. Maybe it's because I have learnt to do the simulation in a very simple scene, with simple or decimated cloth/hair, and then merge it with the rest of the scene afterwards. It does crash on me from time to time, so it would be nice if it were more robust, but it's still a wonderful tool.

Can you say specifically what is not working correctly since DS 4.14?

Many thanks!

"Me too " :

WWD works as usual with Daz Studio 4.20.0.17.

There's still a problem with shaders not staying on WWD items when I save a scene.

Hello,

for me it is a strange issue. I am getting this error/message:

"The file nom_objects.txt does not exist."

It seems like VWD does not "understand" that daz is running. V1 and V2 beta worked perfectly. Also, on my second pc VWD is running ok with daz 4.20.

I tried numerous install/uninstall of Daz studio, but nothing worked. I even did a restore on windows but still nothing. Is there a way to reset/restore settings and maybe solve this issue without formating my pc?

Hi all,

I have been (and expect to be) less involved in the 3D/VWD domain. Such is my life situation.

That said, I will fully support any of our customers in any way I can, including logistics, re-downloads, etc. Please contact me/us at the 'support@virtualworlddynamics.net' address for the most reliable response to anything that gets in the way of your acquiring or operating the VWD programs you've purchased! If we don't respond, let us know in here and we'll see if there's a logistic issue going on with the emails, etc.

I like the program, Gerald, and our wonderful users, and truly wish WVD had gotten more 'legs', as I still think it's modern-day magic, and that Gerald is a modern-day wizard.

Perhaps, per Gerald's above comments re: handing off some of the development to additional participants to keep VWD alive, we will see some new life injected into this wonderful little gem of a program. If anyone is interested, please contact Gerald directly, but know that everything that I know and all of the logistic resources I've managed (docs, website, patreon, domain, email, branding, etc. - everything but the code/program) will be made available, with the details to make it all useful, to anyone - at Gerald's request/approval. Until then, I'll keep doing so.

I've made a few wish-list requests to Gerald, but this thread seems to be a good place to re-post them:

 1) 64 bit - mostly for more memory when using today's meshes. I run out of memory all of the time nowadays, even with the clever tricks available within VWD.

 2) the ability to save and restore the selections (red-selected-vertices) that are used for most of the VWD mesh parameter settings. It would save me *hours* to be able to select very specific chunks of a cloth or hair mesh and simply save that meticulous work for a later session. None of the parameters - just the selection - red-dots - saved as a named file so that 10 days later I could open VWD and have those red-dots available again to try some new settings, etc. (yes, I know it can save a current setup with its parameters, but I don't want those parameters, I just want the selection, so I can try new parameters.)

Who knows where VWD goes next. Perhaps with Gerald's recovery and some new blood/energy in the system, this little community can bring a new life to a great little tool. I'm game!

Gerald, you promised an email a while back - it's been too long since I've heard from you. Maybe email is broken, and we're both wondering why the other isn't responding. Send me something and let me know (in these forums) if you don't get a response. I've sent many messages and have heard nothing back, so I am wondering what is happening.

best,

dan/VWD3d

--
Resources: https://www.virtualworlddynamics.net - https://www.patreon.com/VWD
Rendo PM: VWD3D or VirtualWorldDynamics or support@virtualworlddynamics.net
Current VWD Version:   Release: V2.2.924.6464 - 2019/12/12, 9:46am
Qualifier: Yes, I'm helping Gérald with VWD, Nooo, I'm not yet an expert on its use!

a techincal note:

In the last official release of VWD, I made some changes to the official VWD *start-up scripts* (and only those scripts)  that added some checks and warnings to the start-up process - to help verify and trouble-shoot the generally rough-edged initial installation process. I also encrypted them (from *.dsa to *.dse).

This may make the advice that Gerald posted above a bit confusing, as there is no way a user of the latest VWD version can read/or edit the start-up scripts in the way he describes above.

The start-up script source-code is (and has always been) available to Gerald, and the general operation of the core functions of the scripts are *exactly the same* as the original V1.x versions. I just added some start-up checks and messages to help users that were trying to get things working after the initial installation (mostly verifying the paths to the EXEs). To be honest, I still don't know if Gerald is/was aware of this detail, regardless my mentions, so please don't be confused - just ask if you have problems.

In addition, if you happen to have them, the original VWD version 1.x scripts should work with the current/latest version,if the paths in those scripts are set properly.

best,

dan/VWD3d (support@virtualworlddynamics.net)

--
Resources: https://www.virtualworlddynamics.net - https://www.patreon.com/VWD
Rendo PM: VWD3D or VirtualWorldDynamics or support@virtualworlddynamics.net
Current VWD Version:   Release: V2.2.924.6464 - 2019/12/12, 9:46am
Qualifier: Yes, I'm helping Gérald with VWD, Nooo, I'm not yet an expert on its use!

Hello,

I'm still on the move but I promise to answer all your questions as best as possible as soon as I get back, that is to say from next week.

Excuse me for this delay.

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

I don't have much to contribute to the discussion, but I STILL use VWD in Poser 11, mostly for hair. Over the years of working with the script, I've learned to adjust the model's pose so that the script isn't overwhelmed by excessive movement.  I like being able to take a conforming cloth prop and make it dynamic.  If I had my wish, I'd like to see a new version of VWD work in Poser 12, as this would greatly simplify my workflow. It would also be nice to be able clear simulations without closing the script.

And yes, the jiggle physics in P12 would be great!

;)

Here's a render I did this morning, using VWD on the 3D Age Honey halter top and Pallene Hair, with V4 and a dynamic skirt (done in Poser's cloth room). Isn't it lovely?

I wish you well!

PS: The nudity tag is for the benefit of the Modesty Police.

;)

Hello,

excuse me for the time I took to answer.

One issue that has been addressed in the past is the move to 64-bits.
I will again try to answer it precisely.
There are many recent clothes or hair that generate memory errors.
To solve this problem there is a solution... the passage in 64 bits which solves all the problems.
Unfortunately it's not that simple.
The meshes that generate these problems are either:
   - unnecessarily fine meshing
   - meshing having meshes with very different sizes.
These two types of meshing are not suitable for numerical simulation.
For me, the best solution is to correct these meshes to make them compatible.
Going to 64 bits would mean being able to simulate 100 million springs or more. This will be slow and probably unrealistic.

Prior to my eye problem, I had made many modifications to the program.
These modifications make it possible to create garments with a regular mesh size and an adjustable and precise UVMAP.
I also worked on generic clothing for Victoria 8 allowing to create almost all types of complex clothing.

At the level of the hair, I integrated into the program a method of generating hair based on extruded triangles allowing to obtain much more realistic simulations than the meshed bands because of their structure which makes it possible to easily control the rigidity of the locks of hair and especially to tie the locks together which makes the rendering much more realistic.
This hair can be subdivided using a powerful smoothing method in the case of static rendering.

All these functions work perfectly although there will certainly be improvements to be made.

This is where the current development of the program is.
Now my problem is whether my choices are compatible with your wishes.
If your wishes are to buy a piece of clothing or a hair and have a perfect simulation at the press of a button, I might as well stop right now. because I would have the impression of playing "Don Quixote" and fighting against windmills. I could never give you what you want.
If you want to obtain very good simulations by accepting to spend a little more time in order to obtain the best conditions which will allow a quality simulation, then I am ready to work with you.
I am also ready to work on a mesh correction program although this work is one of the hardest there is.

I know, and I've already said that the most important thing will be to make videos clearly explaining everything I'm trying to express now.
The association with Dan will find its best justification there because of a good distribution of tasks and my disastrous English.

Please give me your opinion!

Dan, I'll send you a long message tomorrow.
If you don't see it, tell me here after tomorrow.

anupaum, thank you for your image.

Friendly to all.

        Gérald

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

I appreciate the work you've already put into the script, Gérald, and I would like to encourage you. As it IS, I have to go through many steps in order to make hair work in VWD, and while clothing is easier, in both cases, tweaking and experimenting are necessary to optimize results.

I'm not sure how much of a market you can reach among Poser users, especially for people like me who are still using old figures, but I want to encourage you. The work that you've done has been very helpful to me.

Thank you!

:)

@VirtualWorldDynamics

Thank you for your explanation. After having failed to get VWD to work despite your generous help in the past I would love to have another try with your new developments. My question arising from your question is this: would the time taken be a one-off time-cost per garment or would it slow the whole process down for every simulation? I imagine you would create a new clothing mesh which could then be saved and simulated without the initial set-up process needing to be repeated, right? In that case I would have no problem.

My desire is for something that is better (and faster) than dForce. If that means mesh modification and saving alternative versions of clothing, then so be it so long as the actual simulation is quick, accurate and the cloth has the ability to be manipulated (pinned, dragged, etc.) during the simulation.

Hi all,

Glad to see the update from Gerald!

Marble - please send us a note at 'support@virtualworlddynamics.net' with respect to your specific issues. We've been getting really good results when we can dig in a bit deeper on user-specific issues.

I'm going to start a new thread for specific tech issues and notes, and will summarize our various on-line and off-line deep-dives there (when it makes sense), and the final results/lessons can be shared with everyone - without the noise. e.g. Some of the specific questions in this topic will be answered there. I might take some initiative and see if I can get the (empty) VWD F.A.Q. topic populated with some of our repeating patterns.

In any forum tpoic, when we actually get someone to talk to (!) to throw our questions out there, fast and furiously, heh. Perhaps a new 'tech' topic will become the goto place for issues, and maybe work better since that'll be its intention from the get-go.

more to come,

VWD3D/dan

--
Resources: https://www.virtualworlddynamics.net - https://www.patreon.com/VWD
Rendo PM: VWD3D or VirtualWorldDynamics or support@virtualworlddynamics.net
Current VWD Version:   Release: V2.2.924.6464 - 2019/12/12, 9:46am
Qualifier: Yes, I'm helping Gérald with VWD, Nooo, I'm not yet an expert on its use!

There are some work-arounds that I've needed to develop. The most important involves hair simulations, and animations in particular. I've learned to move the figure into the desired pose at frame 1, and allow 30 or so frames for the hair to "settle" before the animation begins.  It's also REALLY important that the figure doesn't move very far from the x,y and z axes of the initial pose. Otherwise, the hair tends to fly off . . . .

For Poser, the figure can't be a P12 version, and it MUST use traditional skinning, rather than unimesh. (I have separate figures in my runtime for this purpose.) Otherwise, the script will give error messages in French, or simply crash.

Having an updated video card is a real bonus. Simulations with the GPU are faster.

It would be really nice to have some kind of a guide that explains what each of the parameters actually does, especially for simulating hair. Sometimes I wish I understood how to make hair seem heavier and less prone to flying around, especially in animations.

:)

Hi Dan.

Unfortunately the sub-forum I posted to back then when I was getting help from Gerald and others seems to have been removed now. In the end, I was given a refund because none of us could fathom why my DAZ Studio was crashing when i tried to run VWD. In the spirit of fairness, I removed the plugin because I received the refund so I can't test it again as I don't have it. Not that I would have it now anyway because I had a hard drive failure recently and lost a lot of my DAZ Studio content including all my Renderosity purchases. I can re-download all those that are still under my account as purchased but obviously a refunded item will not be.

I'm quite excited to see there may be a new VWD cloth simulator coming because I have been complaining about dForce on the DAZ forums for a while. It is slow (even though I have an RTX 3090) and it is very limited (can't drag the cloth around during simulation). So if there is to be development I will definitely buy again when that software is released as I can't see DAZ doing much to improve dForce in the meantime.

Marble,

I'm glad you're interested in working with VWDClothAndHair again.
If you would like Dan or I to send you the current version of the program, let us know. With pleasure.
I remember we talked several times about the program.
I know the program needs improvement and your views and ideas are welcome.

Anupaum,

I also had hair that fly a little too much.
Normally, if the hair uses a wizard method, the spring generation helps to stiffen the mesh bands, obviously.
However, this generation also creates springs that allow the mesh bands to be linked together.
This method allows the hair to fly but in a more limited, more constrained way.
This makes the simulation more realistic.
The hair on which I worked allows to make realistic simulations like in the last videos that I posted on Youtube. Unfortunately over a year ago.
Regarding the explanation of each parameter, I completely agree with you. It is necessary to make videos on this subject.
The problem is that it takes a lot of time and it is almost impossible to make the most of this time.
Dan and I know perfectly well that it will always be impossible no matter how long or complicated.
It does not matter, it is just necessary to find the right compromise between pleasure and necessities.
Coming back to the videos, I'm sure they will be done but this work will take time.

I take advantage of this message to thank DAN who continued to work on all the essential parts that revolve around the program.

Thinking about it, I realize the immensity of the work to be done (apart from the work on the program itself).
I admit that I feel a bit overwhelmed by it all.
You really have to organize this work and break it down into simple parts
I thank you for your support and I hope that you will find in the program something to satisfy your pleasure of creating because that is the most important thing.

    Gérald

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

Hi Gérald

Yes, Dan did contact me via private message and I did respond a few days ago but he must be busy because I have not had a reply since. Yes, I am interested for a few reasons:

Maybe it will not crash with the later versions of DAZ Studio.

Maybe there have been developments I am not aware of.

Maybe you will develop it further into something that I can use instead of the dreadfully slow and inadequate dForce (I wish DAZ had come to you instead of going ahead with dForce).

Thank you for your generosity - much appreciated (as was all your help previously).

Is there any documentation available for using the hair assistant? (I can't find it in the manual.) The "flying hair strands" I'm getting during animations are driving me crazy. I can't get the hair to "settle," even if I crank the rigidify settings.

Sorry to seem impatient but has the interest died again? I responded to both Dan and Gerald after they were in contact but nothing since. If it is just a matter of being busy, then no problem. I just want to know if the whole subject is going dark again?

marble posted at 6:54 PM Tue, 1 November 2022 - #4448174

Sorry to seem impatient but has the interest died again? I responded to both Dan and Gerald after they were in contact but nothing since. If it is just a matter of being busy, then no problem. I just want to know if the whole subject is going dark again?

It's hard to know. I'm right in the middle of a major animation project and it would be REALLY helpful to fix the issue I'm having with the script.

Hi all,

Having just returned from a trip, I was pleased to find a great note from Gérald and a few other messages (marble, etc.) in my overflowing inbox.

Per Gérald, it looks like he is interested in integrating his existing (already done?) updates, and some new ideas into the existing VWD framework. I like this idea, since using the current framework ensures that updates are more likely to be fun for him, and therefore completed for us all. Changing everything (interface, simulations engine, etc.) is a *lot* of work, and much easier to avoid :)

I've been hearing Gérald's 'cry' for more videos, and ... although they don't really generate $ for the time invested, I think they are useful and greatly appreciated - and our work on VWD from here on out is likely to be for fun, renders (from you folks), and maybe some wine/beer money (we just aren't a big group here.. :), so I'm game for doing some new videos...

I got a request for a video on the hair assistant, and I want to do one about the tricks I use for fitting almost any fabric outfit on any figure.

Perhaps there are some other topics that scream for additional demonstration/detail - please let us know here, and we can see where it goes.

My thinking for the VWD future, as far as updates/upgrades, is to continue to sell the base version here at Rendo, and use that as the basis for small feature upgraders (as EXEs) that Gérald can create and we can then release over on Patreon for a coupla bucks a month, only billed on the months we actually release (we can pause billing on patreon - which I've been doing mostly). We can warn you folks as to when a release is real, and you can sub/unsub to 'buy it'. It may be a good way to release beta's and experiments too - and allow everyone to keep a working version available at any given time (just reinstall the base and your favorite working 'upgrader' version?). And you guys can "buy" Gérald a glass of wine via Patreon to thank him and support his passion.

I think VWD is magic, and am so glad that Gérald wants to brush it off and make it sparkle again. If he's willing, I can certainly help share more information on using the VWD magic.

If this sounds good to y'all, let us know - and of course, any other suggestions are welcomed as well.

(marble, check your PM & email - thanks for your patience - anapaum, per my email, I'll gather the parts for a hair assistant video asap)

best,

VWD3D / Dan

--
Resources: https://www.virtualworlddynamics.net - https://www.patreon.com/VWD
Rendo PM: VWD3D or VirtualWorldDynamics or support@virtualworlddynamics.net
Current VWD Version:   Release: V2.2.924.6464 - 2019/12/12, 9:46am
Qualifier: Yes, I'm helping Gérald with VWD, Nooo, I'm not yet an expert on its use!

Thanks Dan,

Yes I got your PM but no email as yet but looking forward to it.

As for your suggestions above - I'm one of those who absolutely detests subscriptions for software so I'd rather buy whatever you produce at a one-off price. I'm not too familiar with Patreon but it seems to be another way to sell by subscription so that does not appeal to me at all. My only experience with Patreon was for a VR game that the programmer kept promising would be developed quickly but after a year of subscriptions the promised developments were still some way off. They also argued that it was the cost of a beer per month but those costs add up quickly.

I'm right there with you, marble. I *refuse* to enter subscription agreements as a general rule.

A little trick that I've found with Patreon, is we can 'pause' the billing each month (but we have too, or it resets to the normal billing mode each month! oops)! So, we can have subscribers, but not enable billing until we actually produce something.

Of course the subscriber has to pick a monthly tier, and *trust* us not to bill unless we release something... But I like that model as it would result in a 'pay-only-when-results' sort of system, and as a safety-net (kind-of-a-hassle), any users can unsubscribe/re-subscribe if they don't wish to 'purchase' the current updates (we could publish the feature-list/release notes in advance).

The other angle might be to simply use gumroad or selz to offer/sell the upgraders at a minimal fee e.g. $5 per release? I suppose we can sell that way here at rendo too (I like the setup here), but I kind of like the user-discretion of being able to grab-and-go (one-off) with a gumroad(.com) and keep the price down. Maybe Gerald and others will have some additional ideas.

(and check your spam-trap email, marble. You should have a note)

best,

VWD3D / Dan

edits: clarification/wording

--
Resources: https://www.virtualworlddynamics.net - https://www.patreon.com/VWD
Rendo PM: VWD3D or VirtualWorldDynamics or support@virtualworlddynamics.net
Current VWD Version:   Release: V2.2.924.6464 - 2019/12/12, 9:46am
Qualifier: Yes, I'm helping Gérald with VWD, Nooo, I'm not yet an expert on its use!

I'm happy to hear that you're back, Dan. I've been using VWD for a LONG time, but I feel that by using Poser, I'm being left behind. The fact that I have to go back into P11 in order to do anything with the script illustrates my point. However, I can live with that if I can get the script to work as it should.

The flying hair is driving me crazy!

:)

Hey Dan,

Yep - it went to my spam box so I've marked it as "Not Spam" and anything further should be fine. I'll go through your email shortly, thank you.

As for Patreon, I'll see how it works out with your plan. I don't mind paying for updates as they happen but I want a way to know that what I've paid for - even if I stop at some point - will be taken into consideration in the price of the "official" release, whether that be at Renderosity or wherever. So if you sell for, say $35 and I have already paid $20 in updates, I should get a credit for that amount.

I'm not telling you how to do business, just saying what I would consider to be fair. Maybe I just don't understand how all this works though.

thanks for the perspectives marble, they mirror mine for the most part.

To everyone who has joined us on this journey so far, and in the future - things are changing - always.

The forces at work here have changed as per the Gerald's first post in this thread - we're (Gerald and I) changing business models and now we all get to decide: are we, as users, sponsoring, or buying... not the same thing.

I'm generally a buyer, and when I buy, I expect *all* rights and complete autonomy in the product. e.g. I no longer buy Poser because of it's 'phone-home' requirement. period... So, yeah, Patreon has that flavor.

But many folks are stoked for the VWD product, effort, and potential, and a small sponsorship motivator makes sense to them. And perhaps they simply want to, and have the resources to help in an easy and appreciated manner - I certainly can't code the way Gerald does, so I'll do some videos instead of money. And since there aren't many other ways to help in a project like this... a few bucks shared make both parties feel good - both as appreciators and as direct participants.

I subscribe to SparrowHawke-3Ds Carrara experiments for a couple of bucks a month, but have never (not yet) used any of the tools he's released. But I want him to keep working on it, and hope maybe I'll get to play with the tools someday. But it's OK if I don't - the risk is on me and I know that. And I can afford it right now. Not my usual thing - as I indicated above - I'm usually a buyer. go figure.

I'm of the mind that folks that want to simply show appreciation (beer money is my way of thinking of it :) some form of no-charge-until-release model is a decent hybrid option. $3 or $5 bucks per release, even if you don't need that particular new feature right now - not a bad deal - so it's back to how much is support, and how much is buying... Sure - if we do it that way, it can totally be gamed - i wait for 5 releases, subscribe, then get them all for $5... or I can subscribe over time and get them as they come, for 5 x $5 - or whatever. So, am I optimizing (maybe because I'm fixed income, etc.) or am I helping because I can - today - maybe not tomorrow, etc.

I believe both Gerald and I are now of the mind that the money isn't the point, but a bit of a treat from the crew here would be enjoyed as a beer and as a vote of confidence. With the size of this community, as real as the $$ are to everyone who has invested (and Gerald and I take that seriously) the economy-of-scale simply can't match the true market value of Gerald's brilliance. So... it becomes a labor of love and fun, and perhaps some ego :) I'm proud of what we have done so far, and I think Gerald is too,

I will also add that as I've moved through life, I'm much more *able* to give now, and I do. I didn't give so much before..., as the same level used to 'hurt' much more. I think we all know how that works, and perhaps our (Gerald and my) version of the Patreon model (or gumroad?) can accommodate both kinds of audiences for a win-win. As marble also indicated, I've had a couple of subscriptions that really turned out to be expensive and bad ideas, in spite of the good intentions involved.

much as I love 'free', I think Gerald deserves a good glass of wine while he's coding for us, and I think we can dig that out of our change jars! lol! Some more than others, but I think in this crew, everyone wants it to be a win and will do what they can.

Having both a 'buy' model, and a 'sponsor' model is the right goal, especially if they can be melded to the benefit of everyone involved. All ideas welcomed.

As far as sponsorship - If can, can. If not today, maybe after we win the Powerball 1.3 Billion!

Whatever we do, I hope it'll result in some good and clever VWD-driven renders that Gerald (and  the rest of us) can enjoy in these forums! That'll work too.

(i've tried to articulate this in a non-judgemental or preachy way that appreciates that we are all doing what we can, as best we can. apologies to anyone who reads this and 'hears' me differently.)

thanks for all thoughts,

vwd3d / dan

--
Resources: https://www.virtualworlddynamics.net - https://www.patreon.com/VWD
Rendo PM: VWD3D or VirtualWorldDynamics or support@virtualworlddynamics.net
Current VWD Version:   Release: V2.2.924.6464 - 2019/12/12, 9:46am
Qualifier: Yes, I'm helping Gérald with VWD, Nooo, I'm not yet an expert on its use!

Ok Dan, I see where you are going and it doesn't conflict too much with my own views. I appreciate that you are trying to be fair while reasonably asking for a little support. For people who can afford it, a few $$ per month is not a big deal. I am also on a fixed income but mine is a paltry State Pension which, where I live, is about enough to feed and house me and what I spend on my single hobby (this 3D stuff) is generally what I have saved from my food/heating budget. I'm not complaining: I live a nice life in a nice place and am better off than many in this world but I do have to be very careful. Thankfully my generous family helped with hardware costs so that I can enjoy this hobby so my home-built PC is no slouch.

As I said at the outset - I just want something that dForce is not: quick and versatile. I'd rather buy that as a product than subscribe piecemeal but I will start by re-installing the existing version and let you know how it works for me.

All good - I think in this community and context, I could have simplified that entire blurb with something like "folks in here will do what they can, and we'd like to make all options easy for everyone - us included - and we appreciate your confidence and support, regardless your situation". Or something...

per Gerald, even any cool renders are a gift. So are lessons learned (in here), and tips and tricks, and ... more cool renders!

all ideas still requested. (as are video/feature requests)

cheers,

vwd3d / Dan

(and FWIW, these are my opinions. Gerald may have different ideas, which are welcomed as they come. We've had a few notes about logistics, but this level of details is still pretty vague. stay tuned - Although I don't foresee radical differences in opinion, based on past chatter - He's the boss.)

--
Resources: https://www.virtualworlddynamics.net - https://www.patreon.com/VWD
Rendo PM: VWD3D or VirtualWorldDynamics or support@virtualworlddynamics.net
Current VWD Version:   Release: V2.2.924.6464 - 2019/12/12, 9:46am
Qualifier: Yes, I'm helping Gérald with VWD, Nooo, I'm not yet an expert on its use!

Hello,

I see we all have the same problems.

The work that I have done and that I will do on the program will never have the slightest return.
I don't do it for that, even if I would have liked it to help me live a little better.

If I'm taking too long to answer right now, it's because I have two problems:
   - A family problem that unfortunately takes up a lot of my time.
   - My eye that calls me to order when I work too long on the computer.

My dearest wish would be to make videos explaining the operation of all the functions of the program.
However, my English is not good enough to do this job in one go, and each video has to be redone several times, which takes a lot of time.
I am looking for a solution that would allow me to make these videos in French with English subtitles.
This solution isn't ideal, but I think it's the only one I can do before long.
If any of you know the solution to this problem, please let me know.

I apologize for any disappointment I may cause you, but I know I'm going to need time.

Thank you for your support.

       Gérald

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

Both of my sons are fluent in French. I wish they had time to help!

Gerald, did you get my last email message, where I specifically ask for your preferred video topics?

Anapaum has an active request - any other specific video requests from y'all?

The greatest value of having Gerald do the recording in his native French, is he actually knows the deepest secrets of VWD. I'm only as helpful as I can be, mostly learning through trial and error, which is expensive in time. (OF COURSE Gerald *always* answered my questions, but the language and time-zone made this impractical when up against our release deadline, so test/try I did).

I'm more a VWD user like the rest of the users here than I am of the deeper nuanced VWD details. I'd rather if Gerald had more time to code (vs videos), but the curse of being the creator is that you're also the only one who can describe your creation, heh.

Whatever path is best works for me.

best,

vwd3d / dan

--
Resources: https://www.virtualworlddynamics.net - https://www.patreon.com/VWD
Rendo PM: VWD3D or VirtualWorldDynamics or support@virtualworlddynamics.net
Current VWD Version:   Release: V2.2.924.6464 - 2019/12/12, 9:46am
Qualifier: Yes, I'm helping Gérald with VWD, Nooo, I'm not yet an expert on its use!

Even if the steps for the Hair Assistant were written in French for Poser, between my sons and a translating app, I could probably figure it out.

:)

Perhaps Gerald could record a video in French and supply some text (even Google Translation) so that you (Dan) could do a voice-over in English?

Failing that, I watch sub-titled movies a lot and have no problem following the action. What I really do not like are tutorials with a crappy music soundtrack and no commentry at all.

Good evening,

As I told you, I'm going through a little bit difficult time right now and it's complicated for me to answer quickly.

I've decided to make a number of explanatory videos.
In any case, I will give clear explanations that will allow you to understand how the program works.

Marble, I agree with you about the videos with music but without any explanation.... the best is not to do them, they are useless.
However, I saw the messages you had with Dan about your trials.
Please don't judge VWD with a mesh plane that falls on a sphere.
All the functions are optimized to work dynamically on a relatively complex scene.
By this I mean an animated character wearing a suit with a fairly fine and regular mesh (between 0.5 and 1 cm).
If you want to do this kind of tests, I can send you these elements.

Anupaum, if I have to do a lot of videos like I think, I think I should do them in French but I will try to offer help in English.
I'm glad you can get help with the translation.

Dan, I'll send you the videos for you to tell me what you think.
I hope we can find the right methods to bring the program back to life.

In any case, I ask you for a little patience.

I thank you all for your support.

     Gérald

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

Hi Gérald

Thank you and do not be concerned about taking your time. I would not like you to feel more pressure when you are already experiencing difficulties elsewhere.

I shall look forward to any videos you can produce.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by this: "... an animated character wearing a suit with a fairly fine and regular mesh (between 0.5 and 1 cm)." If I need to add dForce simulation to a conforming garment I usually apply the defaults and tweak just a few simple parameters - because I have no knowledge of the physics of cloth simulation. So all I am looking for is something to replace dForce that is faster and is able to manipulate the cloth as the simulation is running. That is what I believe your product can do.

What concerns me is that when I bought it previously it would crash regularly and you did try to help but we could not discover why it was crashing on my PC. Since then I have replaced most of the components of my PC but the version I tested with Dan still crashed almost immediately. I know that others use VWD regularly and it works for them but, sadly, I have these problems.

Hi Marble,

In fact, I would like to understand and solve your issues with the program.
My sentence was poorly worded.
My idea is to be able to do the same simulation you on your computer and me on mine.
It is for this reason that I proposed to send you a character animation and a garment.

If you wish, I can use a garment with which you had an error or even a crash.
Of course, I'm not asking you to send me a complete product sold here or at Daz3D.
Just send me the OBJ file without textures in the reference pose.

If you want I can use an animation for Genesis 2,3,or 8 that I made and could send you for testing.

Please tell me which is best for you.

       Gérald

____________________________________________

Follow me on Twitter : @VWDynamics

Watch demo videos on Youtube

HI Gérald

Yes I am ok with trying to use your character and garment so that we are both on the same page. If you could let me know what settings to use, etc. that would help.

Thanks again,

David.

Also posted in an another thread:  Oh NO!!!!   It was working so well and now Daz has done something to break VWD -- I got this last time I tried to work in it:  

Plugin failed to load!

Filename : 

C:/Program Files/DAZ 3D/DAZStudio4/plugins/VWDExchange_x32.dll

Name : 

VWDExchange_x32

Author : 

Unknown

Version : 

0.0.0.0

Reason : 

Library could not be loaded. File is not a valid DAZ Studio plug-in, or was made for a different version of DAZ Studio.

Unknown

If I need a new version I don't seem to have access to the files--I had the latest one V.2.2

So saaad now

Will it work in an older version of DAZ Studio?

I keep Poser 11 active primarily because I have to use it for VWD.

anupaum posted at 9:11 AM Fri, 30 December 2022 - #4452742

Will it work in an older version of DAZ Studio?

I keep Poser 11 active primarily because I have to use it for VWD.

Great idea!  I dunno--I haven't tried that--is there a place where I can download an older version?

I don't use DAZ Studio, so I don't know for certain.

Sepiasiren,

I'm fairly certain that DAZ 3d won't provide any way for you to get a previous version of Daz Studio.

If you have only just updated to the latest version it may be possible to find a recent system restore point on your PC and revert your system to that point in time.

In suggesting this, I seriously wish to stress that I don't want to be responsible for leading you into problems with your PC.

Restore Points can be accessed from Windows Control Panel (I only know this up to Win 8).  You might find that your most recent restore point was only a few days ago.  You will need to recall what has been installed on your PC since that date and judge what it would mean for your PC to go back to the date of that latest restore point.  Going back should undo any program, driver and Windows updates which have taken place since that date.

Therefore I would suggest a possible course of action for you:

1 Read up on Restore Points if you haven't looked into this before.  (apologies if I sound as though I'm an expert talking to a novice.  I'm no expert and you may well know much more than I do.)  A very quick search shows that there is a lot of info on what to do.

2  Make a Restore Point for your PC as it is now in case the whole thing goes wrong.

3  If you feel you can go ahead then revert the PC to your chosen restore point.  (If it isn't too recent then be wary of going too far back.  You may have installed or updated lots of stuff that would be lost).

If you do restore your PC then, after that is done, expect automatic driver updates etc to happen over again (but don't upgrade DAZ Studio!)

Once again, please assess for yourself whether this is of any use to you - I would hate to be the cause of further problems for you.

Grimhilda posted at 3:42 PM Sun, 1 January 2023 - #4452866

Sepiasiren,

I'm fairly certain that DAZ 3d won't provide any way for you to get a previous version of Daz Studio.

If you have only just updated to the latest version it may be possible to find a recent system restore point on your PC and revert your system to that point in time.

In suggesting this, I seriously wish to stress that I don't want to be responsible for leading you into problems with your PC.

Restore Points can be accessed from Windows Control Panel (I only know this up to Win 8).  You might find that your most recent restore point was only a few days ago.  You will need to recall what has been installed on your PC since that date and judge what it would mean for your PC to go back to the date of that latest restore point.  Going back should undo any program, driver and Windows updates which have taken place since that date.

Therefore I would suggest a possible course of action for you:

1 Read up on Restore Points if you haven't looked into this before.  (apologies if I sound as though I'm an expert talking to a novice.  I'm no expert and you may well know much more than I do.)  A very quick search shows that there is a lot of info on what to do.

2  Make a Restore Point for your PC as it is now in case the whole thing goes wrong.

3  If you feel you can go ahead then revert the PC to your chosen restore point.  (If it isn't too recent then be wary of going too far back.  You may have installed or updated lots of stuff that would be lost).

If you do restore your PC then, after that is done, expect automatic driver updates etc to happen over again (but don't upgrade DAZ Studio!)

Once again, please assess for yourself whether this is of any use to you - I would hate to be the cause of further problems for you.

Hey, it may be a shot given that I prefer VWD to Dforce for hair, thanks for the suggestion...  I will ask my techie hubby what the implications are. Appreciate your help.

anupaum posted at 8:58 AM Sat, 31 December 2022 - #4452816

I don't use DAZ Studio, so I don't know for certain.

Okay, thank you...

Sepiasiren

I'll apologise first: I haven't read back through all the history so I'm sorry if some of this has already been said, and I'm definitely not an expert in any of this and could be wrong...

I'm using VWD "v2.2" in DS 4.21.0.5 in Windows10 without any significant problems. (It falls over when I try to do impossible things with it, or if I have too many other applications open.) I think that you would be wasting your time and efforts to go back to an earlier version of DS.

In my list of plugins VWD appears as "VWD Cloth and Hair Bridge" (I checked this by disabling it, and it stopped working. Re-enabled it and it started working again).

I don't have "VWD exchange_x32" in my list of plugins because I'm using the 64 bit version.

I suggest you try removing the x32 file from your plugins folder as that seems to be upsetting DS.

Did you see Dan's video tutorial on installing? That's what I used for my installation. It's on youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-DvUNKDXdk

Hope that helps

marble posted at 3:27 PM Mon, 24 October 2022 - #4447475

Hi Gérald

Yes, Dan did contact me via private message and I did respond a few days ago but he must be busy because I have not had a reply since. Yes, I am interested for a few reasons:

Maybe it will not crash with the later versions of DAZ Studio.

Maybe there have been developments I am not aware of.

Maybe you will develop it further into something that I can use instead of the dreadfully slow and inadequate dForce (I wish DAZ had come to you instead of going ahead with dForce).

Thank you for your generosity - much appreciated (as was all your help previously).

DAZ recently updated the software so the DLL doesn't work and there are no older DAZ studio products to revert to...

I think I must be living in a parallel universe!

I'm using VWD "v2.2" in DS 4.21.0.5 in Windows10 without any significant problems.

I don't have an nvidia graphics card - Everything is done with CPU - but that wouldn't make any difference would it?

I've attempted to upload a crude gif as evidence! (All done with VWD on a basic walk animation)...

fuqol217 posted at 6:24 AM Thu, 9 February 2023 - #4455551

I think I must be living in a parallel universe!

I'm using VWD "v2.2" in DS 4.21.0.5 in Windows10 without any significant problems.

I don't have an nvidia graphics card - Everything is done with CPU - but that wouldn't make any difference would it?

I've attempted to upload a crude gif as evidence! (All done with VWD on a basic walk animation)...

Share with us unlucky souls how you are doing it-- for some reason my DLL  is not working - or at least that is what the crash report indicated - no attempt sot fix it has worked and I am bummed. The only dynamic hair that draped well in Daz without bursting or flying all over the head is Lindays and VWD opened up a vast world of choices that looked natural. I'd really like to get it working again.

Yep, I can get VWD to work partially using CPU but it crashes with GPU. I do hope development is resumed but Gérald has gone quiet again.

marble posted at 8:20 PM Fri, 10 February 2023 - #4455656

Yep, I can get VWD to work partially using CPU but it crashes with GPU. I do hope development is resumed but Gérald has gone quiet again.

That's interesting. I was working up to buying an nvidia graphics card. How "partially" is it working with CPU? If I select either "Intel core" or "Intel HD graphics" under "Use GPU" it doesn't crash but the cloth or hair simply doesn't deform - It only works ok when I use Multithread.

It doesn't sound like your failure is like Sepiasiren's - Which looked as if it might be related to having  "VWD exchange_x32" in the list of plugins (which I don't have in mine - attached).

Sepiasiren - I guess you don't get as far as being able to select CPU/GPU processing?

"How partial" is difficult because it is not consistent. I have had crashes using CPU too but I am pretty sure that I have *always* had a crash when using GPU. I have a version of VWD supplied for testing purposes and the pattern of crashing is similar to the version of VWD I bought way back when it was released. Sometimes I get an error on screen, other times DAZ Studio just closes without warning. I find it surprising that I have all these problems while others seem to have few to no issues. Since that initial purchase, I have updated all my hardware other than the desktop case and I have moved from Windows 10 to 11. I am clueless as to the cause of the instability.

My PC is quite beefy with a Ryzen 5 5600X CPU, NVidia GeForce RTX 3090 and 64 GB RAM. I have a mixture of SSD and M.2 NVMe drives (no HDD remain in my system).

The crashing with GPU simulations has to do with the video card you have installed. I had the same issue, but after upgrading to a GT Force RTX 3060, it works really well with the GPU.

anupaum posted at 6:31 PM Sat, 11 February 2023 - #4455710

The crashing with GPU simulations has to do with the video card you have installed. I had the same issue, but after upgrading to a GT Force RTX 3060, it works really well with the GPU.

As I said, I have an RTX 3090 which, I assume, uses the same drivers as your 3060.

Forgive me. I didn't understand.  The crashing seems odd then, as it's been rock-solid reliable for me.

Sorry if you already know this, but I've found that crashing is much less likely when following these working practices. (And I'm always using CPU):

- Restart the computer and don't have any other optional apps/programs running. (Although I don't think I've had to do this since starting using v2)

- Create the VWD sim with the scene stripped down to the minimum. IE just the figure and cloth/hair item involved in the sim. Merge with rest of scene afterwards.

- Have the figure and cloth/hair in base resolution for the sim.

- Simplify the clothing/hair with a decimator if it has a large mesh, and/or do the sim on one element at a time. EG shirt body and sleeves, or bangs and ponytail, separately. (I do this by having the elements as separate items (duplicate, delete part of mesh geometry in one, rest of mesh geometry in the other. Animate by Host where they join)).

- "Restore default parameters" in VWD, unless you are confident they are all how you want them!

- Exclude parts of the figure which are not involved in the sim using "no collide for current collision". EG Exclude all of body except head and shoulders for hair simulation.

- Use "Animated by host" on those parts of the mesh which are best kept the same as before the simulation.

I'm sure I saw a longer list than this somewhere in the past but I can't find it now!

Let me guess - You did all that and it still crashed!

fuqol217 posted at 6:11 AM Sun, 12 February 2023 - #4455723

Sorry if you already know this, but I've found that crashing is much less likely when following these working practices. (And I'm always using CPU):

...

Let me guess - You did all that and it still crashed!

I have, over time, had help from both Gerald and Dan and we have been unable to discover why I am getting these crashes. I have tried special scenes supplied to me for test purposes as well as a recent VWD version suppiled for the same reason. I have no doubt that my experience is not shared by everyone and it is very frustrating to be unable to pin down the source of the problem(s).

I do not have comparable problems running DAZ Studio in general - crashes are rare and I update quite regularly. Likewise my PC is stable and it is not used for much else beside DAZ Studio and Affinity Photo with a little tinkering in Blender. I don't play games or unduly stress the machine in any way.

That's a shame  - especially with such a high spec system. Makes me wonder whether I should stick with what I have rather than upgrading - Maybe hang on to what I have just for VWD simulations!

fuqol217 posted at 4:49 PM Mon, 13 February 2023 - #4455821

That's a shame  - especially with such a high spec system. Makes me wonder whether I should stick with what I have rather than upgrading - Maybe hang on to what I have just for VWD simulations!

I invested in the hardware because I am very impatient and long render times are a PITA. Even with the 3090 I am still wishing I had something faster but there was nothing faster at the time. Unfortunately, the high-spec hardware did little to improve dForce simulation times which is why I would dearly love to have a working VWD.

fuqol217 posted at 4:49 PM Mon, 13 February 2023 - #4455821

That's a shame  - especially with such a high spec system. Makes me wonder whether I should stick with what I have rather than upgrading - Maybe hang on to what I have just for VWD simulations!

I create animations for filmmaking, so I need a robust system and I am looking to get a new 4090 i.e., we all have differing needs and setups. As the above commenter stated--DAZ is stable otherwise--but I found once DAZ upgraded my VWD started crashing--it was working fine up until then, so none of what you suggested would work.  

marble posted at 7:13 PM Mon, 13 February 2023 - #4455839

fuqol217 posted at 4:49 PM Mon, 13 February 2023 - #4455821

That's a shame  - especially with such a high spec system. Makes me wonder whether I should stick with what I have rather than upgrading - Maybe hang on to what I have just for VWD simulations!

I invested in the hardware because I am very impatient and long render times are a PITA. Even with the 3090 I am still wishing I had something faster but there was nothing faster at the time. Unfortunately, the high-spec hardware did little to improve dForce simulation times which is why I would dearly love to have a working VWD.

I feel yah--some folks fail to take into account that people use DAz for a variety of purposes, and everyone's steups differ for a host of individual reasons. I take that into account because I have the ability to see beyond my own space and life, but that's just me I guess.  I wish SLI was still available--there are a few tutorials on YouTube that gives hints on how to speed the process up a bit more.  Hit me in my DMs and I can send you a few links I found...

Hi,

Everything worked perfectly before G9 came out, and since I installed the G9s, it doesn't work anymore.

VWD, never crashed or malfunctioned for several years. But now impossible to make a simulation.

Garments are not parented to the body.

So when I SHIFT + left click and I want to distort a garment. When I pull on the garment, for example, well, the garment follows the mouse and does not stay on the body.

Consequently, the simulation is useless, since it no longer collides with the body.

I don't know where the problem can come from. I sent several private messages to VWD, but never received a response.

The only thing that might cause VWD to stop working properly is that to install the AI tools, it installed a newer version of Python.

If someone can help me, because I can't do simulation with VWD.

VWD works perfectly, without errors or crashes, but the clothes are no longer parented to the body.

I have wondered if AI could assist in updating python scripts. I think you've brought up a good point.

:)

My 64 bit plugin isn't working, anytime I go over 1gb it crashes. Task Manager says its running as 32 bit.