Okay, I have used both and am noticing some interesting differences between the two in areas I would not expect there to be differences. Am curious to hear other folks observations and thoughts on the subject.

I know that Pro Pack has some (I assume) nice plug in features - I say that as I don't have 3dmax or any of these other programs so I don't know if they are great or not.

What I have noted, and what I am interested in finding out, is the apparant differences between the two programs in things that would seem the same, like cameras, lights, and rendering images for example. Maybe it's me, but I have gotten some strange results with lights and camera presets made in Poser 4 and used in Pro Pack. Also, I have made scenes in Pro Pack, saved them as pz3 opened them in Poser 4 and rendered the pics again and they do not turn out the same. Has anyone else noted similar things?

Reason I ask is I find myself doing things in Pro Pack, thinking I can carry them over to Poser 4 to set up for wider distrubution to free stuff and am running into one discrepency after another between the two programs.

Another example (and not necessarily a bad thing, but a bother none-the-less in some instances) is Pro Pack tends to make new objects out of old ones that are altered and saved to the Library. Just recently I spent a good deal of time and effort with the material tool editor isolating the polygons for Mikes beard so that I could add a new material setting. But when I moved the Cr2 to test it in Poser 4 (thinking that I only needed to have the original blMilman.obj installed) I got a prompt that the bearded.obj etc. needed could not be found. That's when I found out that Pro Pack had made a new object of the Cr2 I had modified and had stuck the obj in the library folder.

Okay, no biggie, I can just copy/include the obj for use in Poser 4 - but why? Why make a new object and take up more hard disk/library space just because I want to add a beard material setting to one of my Michael Cr2? I made up a new bearded Mike Cr2 in Poser 4, saved the figure to the library, and it uses the default blmilman.obj. This verson of the Cr2 I can open it in Pro Pack or Poser 4 and use it without having to worry about installing a new object file. Ofcourse, if I save the cr2 I made in Poser 4 in Pro Pack, it makes up a new Obj and sticks it in the library folder with the Cr2.

I don't know, maybe there are good reasons for some of this but if so, I am missing understanding some of it. Anyhow, those are some of my observations. If any of you have some thoughts you'd care to share on the subject I'd love to hear them.

Rob

I hadn't really noticed much difference when I installed my PP as I was still a newbe, but I have had a million problems since adding the patch. I had to finally delete all and reinstall. I still have problems various items in the library that appear fine there, but don't appear in the rendering, ie props and clothing. I have reinstalled those items and still nothing so they are just teases of what I could have if I could figure out how to make them come up.(they are on the menu under the render, just don't show) With all the hours spent reinstalling (actually twice) I just am not in the mood to do it again. I really don't like that patch.

The only difference I've come up against is that magnet settings don't save in the Pro Pack. Essentially, you have to finish modifying your figure, spawn your morph, and save to your library before you exit out of the PP. Otherwise, it resets all the magnets back to the default setting and unless you wrote down all your settings, you have to start over. -darlisa