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Welcome to the Community Forums at HiveWire 3D! Please note that the user name you choose for our forum will be displayed to the public. Our store was closed as January 4, 2021. You can find HiveWire 3D and Lisa's Botanicals products, as well as many of our Contributing Artists, at Renderosity. This thread lists where many are now selling their products. Renderosity is generously putting products which were purchased at HiveWire 3D and are now sold at their store into customer accounts by gifting them. This is not an overnight process so please be patient, if you have already emailed them about this. If you have NOT emailed them, please see the 2nd post in this thread for instructions on what you need to do
Now I'm craving popcorn 
I've gotten hooked on Kettle Corn PopCorners. Only probably is, I like those single serving sizes, and my supermaket only carries the 5oz. size, so I have to watch that I don't eat the whole bag at once.
I've gotten hooked on Kettle Corn PopCorners. Only probably is, I like those single serving sizes, and my supermaket only carries the 5oz. size, so I have to watch that I don't eat the whole bag at once.
Gosh, me too! I would never miss it when I went to flea markets - they sold huge bags of it.
Miss B,so true. Some people are telling me my answers sounds sometimes rude. But in fact, this is not how I want to answer. But translate from my own language to English, sounds sometimes rude or ridiculous.
Ankie Linder
New-Bee
Aha!!! Now I understand ... I think Thanks
McGyver
Energetic
You could read anything I write, ten... maybe twelve times and it still won’t make sense... of course reading anything I’ve written, even once is not recommended... Stop reading this immediately!
McGyver
Energetic
The Great Kettle Corn War of 1872 was started over the refusal to agree whether the sweetness was better than the saltiness... Let us not forget the lessons of history.
Don't worry AG, as I don't think I've ever had to read any of your posts on this forum, or any other, more than once.Miss B,so true. Some people are telling me my answers sounds sometimes rude. But in fact, this is not how I want to answer. But translate from my own language to English, sounds sometimes rude or ridiculous.
I stand by that decision! Everybody should have the Pro version. They should never have split it like this. I think it was a wise decision from Rendo.
Hornet3d
Wise
Why? Before DAZ decided to give DS 4 away for free, there was always 2 or more versions. DS 3 had 2 versions, Standard and Advanced, and DS 4 initially had 3 versions, Standard, Advanced and Pro.
There are also other software, both 3D graphic and otherwise, that have more than one version. Not everyone can afford the Pro version, and often don't need it, so they don't feel they need that sort of expense. Yet they want to use the software, so there's always a scaled down version for less money. That's the nature of business.
I was reading the comments from people at the Rendo site concerning the transition, and there was indeed a number of people who think it would be the "natural" way if Poser would just magically support Genesis. Jen Blake stated the obvious, that it was up to the figure creator to determine what program their figures will be compatible with. That didn't seem to help at all, because people kept asking the same thing like it hasn't been answered at all. They either haven't read the answer, or it wasn't what they wanted to hear, which apparently justifies asking again.
I have also seen RAMWolff suggesting the incompatibility with Genesis was due to the rigging system being changed in DS, and therefore Poser should supposedly change it as well. The justification would be that "simple bone" (single map per joint) would be an industry standard. Well, it is indeed an industry standard for game models, NOT for the kind of quality posing we expect from Poser/DS. There is a reason why TriAx (3 maps per joint) was adopted in this market, and not that one. To us, TriAx is the industry standard. To the gaming industry it is "simple bone" because of technical limitations with real-time models, NOT because it is better. We don't have such limitations in Poser, so why should we sacrifice TriAx to comply with a limitation we don't have? That would make no sense.
However, it does make sense to DAZ, because they have been trying to get into the gaming industry for many years. I believe they first started investing on this by the time of DS 3, when they have introduced the CCT (Character Creator Toolkit), which later included a texture atlas creator, and also a mesh decimator. They started advertising on 3DCG magazines, catering for the gaming industry. More recently, DAZ has started their real-time content division, which I believe was called "Morph3D", which (I believe) is dedicated to real-time 3D avatars for use in the mobile industry.
That has coincided with the release of Genesis 3, which was completely redesigned to use a lower poly mesh, simplified topology, and simple-bone rigging. Those are requirements to fit the real-time gaming industry, just like the HiveWire3D figures that are now native in Reallusion's Character Creator 3 and iClone 7. The difference was that DAZ decided to convert all of their new figures into game models, while HW and Reallusion used a completely different approach that does not require sacrificing the Poser or DS versions of the HW figures. They all exist in respective native formats specific to the requirements of each platform.
I suppose it makes sense for DAZ to go the way they did because they [perhaps] want to reuse all DS contents in the mobile or gaming industry. It might be that they want to at least be able to share the contents between these real-time environments as Reallusion CC3 and iClone. Unfortunately for DAZ, Reallusion has only released CC3 many years later. Hivewire3D figures could take full advantage of CC3 to port their contents to a real-time 3D platform without compromises, while by the time DAZ had to make the hard decisions, this technology was not on the table, so they had to level the figures down by the lowest denominator. Maybe things would had been different for DAZ otherwise. It was a matter of bad timing.
The reason I am saying all of this is to try to explain WHY simple-bone used in G3 and G8 is NOT better than TriAx. It's a downgrade DAZ had to face to achieve their goals to get into real-time 3D environments with their figures by a time when Reallusion CC3 was not yet available. It's a restriction imposed by real-time environments, where simple-bone is the industry standard. Even Poser has an option to convert the skeleton to "Simple-bone" before exporting to FBX to comply with this standard.
So when people claim that simple-bone is an "industry standard", we have to put that into context. It is a standard for the gaming industry and general 3D real-time environments like game engines, CC3 and iClone. My point is that Poser and DS do NOT have such severe requirements because we don't work with real-time restrictions. Poser/DS are not game engines, so why should our figures have to comply with game model restrictions? TriAx is, and will always be better than simple-bone when it comes to figure posing in Poser and DS. It was designed specifically for use in these programs to provide the best posing quality.
In addition, Reallusion CC3 can convert ANY contents you may have for all the mainstream Poser/DS human figures from HW and DAZ, turning them into real-time models ready for use with all the textures and morphs - all this with just a few mouse clicks. I have posted some results here with Dawn, and it's just amazing. Chances are that DAZ [maybe] would never had dropped TriAx if CC3 had existed way back then when they had to make the hard decisions.
I think it helps to know why things are like they are in DS when making suggestions for Poser. For starters, SMS has claimed Genesis will never be compatible with Poser, and more recently Jen Blake (Renderosity) has claimed it will only happen when DAZ decides to make it so. In other words, it was never an option for the Poser team. Those asking Rendo to do it are asking the wrong people.
The reason would be that Poser didn't have a "Professional" version until somebody decided to call it so. My point is that Poser is definitely NOT for professionals, and [probably] will never be. This was one issue I had with SMS, trying to push Poser as the "ultimate animation tool for professionals", which is far from truth in many levels. This has caused them to escalate pricing to absurd levels that became incompatible with the actual hobbyist market it was supposed to represent. I remember Poser Pro being sold for as much as $599, which was close to the base version of Cinema4D. That was absurd and out of reality IMHO. I believe this might have been a reason for Poser to loose some of its public. Add to this the the standard version was said not to allow people to copy morphs from figure to clothing, as if that would be something only "professionals" would do. I did that in every scene I have ever rendered.
Having that said, it comes to no surprise that Rendo's first action was to reduce the price down to reality, and offer the Pro version to everyone. I think "Professional" doesn't suit any sides of the Poser market, and most people know that. This is what I meant when I said [many times] that SMS didn't know who the Poser public was. However, Rendo does, and their very first action makes all the sense in the world to me. It is something [I believe] SMS should had done long ago. This is a clear confirmation that Rendo does indeed know who we are, and is trying to restore Poser to what it actually is - a tool for low budget hobbyists.
Some may claim that SMS was advertising about Rooster Teeth having used Poser to create their RWBY animated series, which is true. However, they only used Poser for the first season. As soon as the 2nd season started, they had already switched to Autodesk Maya - a real "professional" tool. However, SMS kept advertising as if Poser were still being used professionally. That was rather short-lived, and I know why. Rooster Teeth had to go through all sorts of tricks and hacks to get the first season done with Poser, where Chuck Taylor has revealed some of them at one of the SMS webinars. What SMS was happy to advertise was instead real-world proof that Poser wasn't suited for professional work. I think it was very brave of them for trying, but in the end we have to face reality. Poser is not "Pro".
I have also seen RAMWolff suggesting the incompatibility with Genesis was due to the rigging system being changed in DS, and therefore Poser should supposedly change it as well. The justification would be that "simple bone" (single map per joint) would be an industry standard. Well, it is indeed an industry standard for game models, NOT for the kind of quality posing we expect from Poser/DS. There is a reason why TriAx (3 maps per joint) was adopted in this market, and not that one. To us, TriAx is the industry standard. To the gaming industry it is "simple bone" because of technical limitations with real-time models, NOT because it is better. We don't have such limitations in Poser, so why should we sacrifice TriAx to comply with a limitation we don't have? That would make no sense.
However, it does make sense to DAZ, because they have been trying to get into the gaming industry for many years. I believe they first started investing on this by the time of DS 3, when they have introduced the CCT (Character Creator Toolkit), which later included a texture atlas creator, and also a mesh decimator. They started advertising on 3DCG magazines, catering for the gaming industry. More recently, DAZ has started their real-time content division, which I believe was called "Morph3D", which (I believe) is dedicated to real-time 3D avatars for use in the mobile industry.
That has coincided with the release of Genesis 3, which was completely redesigned to use a lower poly mesh, simplified topology, and simple-bone rigging. Those are requirements to fit the real-time gaming industry, just like the HiveWire3D figures that are now native in Reallusion's Character Creator 3 and iClone 7. The difference was that DAZ decided to convert all of their new figures into game models, while HW and Reallusion used a completely different approach that does not require sacrificing the Poser or DS versions of the HW figures. They all exist in respective native formats specific to the requirements of each platform.
I suppose it makes sense for DAZ to go the way they did because they [perhaps] want to reuse all DS contents in the mobile or gaming industry. It might be that they want to at least be able to share the contents between these real-time environments as Reallusion CC3 and iClone. Unfortunately for DAZ, Reallusion has only released CC3 many years later. Hivewire3D figures could take full advantage of CC3 to port their contents to a real-time 3D platform without compromises, while by the time DAZ had to make the hard decisions, this technology was not on the table, so they had to level the figures down by the lowest denominator. Maybe things would had been different for DAZ otherwise. It was a matter of bad timing.
The reason I am saying all of this is to try to explain WHY simple-bone used in G3 and G8 is NOT better than TriAx. It's a downgrade DAZ had to face to achieve their goals to get into real-time 3D environments with their figures by a time when Reallusion CC3 was not yet available. It's a restriction imposed by real-time environments, where simple-bone is the industry standard. Even Poser has an option to convert the skeleton to "Simple-bone" before exporting to FBX to comply with this standard.
So when people claim that simple-bone is an "industry standard", we have to put that into context. It is a standard for the gaming industry and general 3D real-time environments like game engines, CC3 and iClone. My point is that Poser and DS do NOT have such severe requirements because we don't work with real-time restrictions. Poser/DS are not game engines, so why should our figures have to comply with game model restrictions? TriAx is, and will always be better than simple-bone when it comes to figure posing in Poser and DS. It was designed specifically for use in these programs to provide the best posing quality.
In addition, Reallusion CC3 can convert ANY contents you may have for all the mainstream Poser/DS human figures from HW and DAZ, turning them into real-time models ready for use with all the textures and morphs - all this with just a few mouse clicks. I have posted some results here with Dawn, and it's just amazing. Chances are that DAZ [maybe] would never had dropped TriAx if CC3 had existed way back then when they had to make the hard decisions.
I think it helps to know why things are like they are in DS when making suggestions for Poser. For starters, SMS has claimed Genesis will never be compatible with Poser, and more recently Jen Blake (Renderosity) has claimed it will only happen when DAZ decides to make it so. In other words, it was never an option for the Poser team. Those asking Rendo to do it are asking the wrong people.
The reason would be that Poser didn't have a "Professional" version until somebody decided to call it so. My point is that Poser is definitely NOT for professionals, and [probably] will never be. This was one issue I had with SMS, trying to push Poser as the "ultimate animation tool for professionals", which is far from truth in many levels. This has caused them to escalate pricing to absurd levels that became incompatible with the actual hobbyist market it was supposed to represent. I remember Poser Pro being sold for as much as $599, which was close to the base version of Cinema4D. That was absurd and out of reality IMHO. I believe this might have been a reason for Poser to loose some of its public. Add to this the the standard version was said not to allow people to copy morphs from figure to clothing, as if that would be something only "professionals" would do. I did that in every scene I have ever rendered.
Having that said, it comes to no surprise that Rendo's first action was to reduce the price down to reality, and offer the Pro version to everyone. I think "Professional" doesn't suit any sides of the Poser market, and most people know that. This is what I meant when I said [many times] that SMS didn't know who the Poser public was. However, Rendo does, and their very first action makes all the sense in the world to me. It is something [I believe] SMS should had done long ago. This is a clear confirmation that Rendo does indeed know who we are, and is trying to restore Poser to what it actually is - a tool for low budget hobbyists.
Some may claim that SMS was advertising about Rooster Teeth having used Poser to create their RWBY animated series, which is true. However, they only used Poser for the first season. As soon as the 2nd season started, they had already switched to Autodesk Maya - a real "professional" tool. However, SMS kept advertising as if Poser were still being used professionally. That was rather short-lived, and I know why. Rooster Teeth had to go through all sorts of tricks and hacks to get the first season done with Poser, where Chuck Taylor has revealed some of them at one of the SMS webinars. What SMS was happy to advertise was instead real-world proof that Poser wasn't suited for professional work. I think it was very brave of them for trying, but in the end we have to face reality. Poser is not "Pro".