The How Much Does A Kilo of Chocolate Weigh Complaint Thread

Jaderail

Kyoto Kid said:

...there is (was) a resource however in a thread that Jay NOLA put up last year which though the help of community members (including myself) kept people informed about content updates. It is still there, but with the change to DIM .zips, there are no longer version numbers attached to content installers so with newly DL'd content (say in the last couple months), it's difficult to tell if I have the updated version or not because there are no numbers to compare anymore. in the past, myself, as well as other "long timers" here, remember getting update notices form Daz via email. Why did that stop?I'm not fully in the LOOP as to why it stopped but my guess is because the Content database had grown so large the Sever use to Data mine the user base and send e-mails to only those who bought the files was not possible on the new format of the site. We just got the Purchased Flag in the store, that is a flag needed to e-mail update notices as they did before.

Kyoto Kid said:

There have been two updates of the DIM since it's introduction and so far, none of them get my username right. I use my notebook to download with, the same one I sign into the store and the forums with everyday. I have no issues there, I don't have to create a new login every time I sign on, so the DIM shouldn't have an issue with this, yet it does.As has been stated in other threads for a unknown reason SOME e-mail providers fail in the DIM. You could use a different mail provider for DAZ3D, send that new Addy to Richard Hast or AdamR and then see if that fixes the error.
I know that the DIM won't be able to handle actually installing to my setup, but when I can't even get it to start up properly, let alone DL anything that can be transferred intact to my workstation (which has no Net link) it becomes rather frustrating. Now it seems it is almost required for doing what we used to be able to do just as well if not better without it.

DIM is not required, and will never be required, it simply offers better options than not using it. DL'ing and Hand installing the ZIP files will always be a option.
Without the road map of a good readme,(and considering how Daz has set studio up these days) it is confusing to figure out where things need to go just by looking at the folder structure in the zip as there are files in the Daz/DSON/trx (what have you) installers that apparently go into a Runtime folder, (which on my setup is in my S3A "Poser" Runtime so Poser Pro and Carrara can access it) even though it isn't a .dpc/.pos installer. In the old days, everything went into the Programme Files/Daz/Content/Runtime, none of this Public Documents stuff, none of the My Library stuff. Simple, elegant and straightforward. It really doesn't need to be this "over-teched".We as users have always been required to KNOW where files need to be installed. If not then installing content from Rendo or ShareGC would never have been an option. So if you use DSON (only needed if your working in Poser with DAZ3D only content) Then you need to learn where it should go. Would you install Ron's Brushes in DAZ Studio and expect them to work? Of course not, they are made for PaintShop and other 2D programs. We all must learn as we go. Tech moves ahead and we must move ahead with it. If not we will be in a all APP world because that's all we know how to do. Install and use. I'm not that far gone yet.

kyoto kid

...I'm going to go by numbers.

#1: Most likely the handing issue is related to ills experienced in the switch of site software. There are many features we originally had available that apparently have yet to be implemented or no longer can since May of 2012. The Content database before then was already fairly large as this was only thirteen months ago. I would suspect the database on Daz's largest competitor is also rather huge, yet they have still been able to send notifications.

#2: I am not about to change email providers from one that has worked perfectly fine for me for the last seven years. I am sure others who use the DIM also have this as their primary email service as it is one of the most popular ones on the Net so I don't think that is at fault.

#3 Yes, that is the option I always intended to go with. When the announcement was made that Daz was switching to .zip installers I actually welcomed it, for my experience with this format from other sources was extremely good and I never had a broken path, content that went to the wrong location, or "non content" folders ending up in the content runtime tree in the content tab as occasionally happened with the .exe packages. At the time I expected them to be just like those from other vendors which included the usual licence.txt and readme.txt files. I had no idea at the time Daz was also considering an "all in one" download/install/content" management utility., or moving all content information an exclusively online source (which is even more of a pain for those who have a slow connection).

#4. I have found readmesto be very helpful in installing, particularly for content that had both Daz and Poser components. One of the most complex of these was Fema Su.which had several .zip installers that included components for both apps. The accompanying readme files were very explicit, easy to follow, and I can say helped me get it right the first time. One has to remember not all of us are that "DB savvy", particularly with the "extra layers" Daz has introduced in the structure of 4.x, and sometimes need a little help now and then.

I really like 4.6. I have to agree it is probably the best and most stable version of the Studio application I have seen since I started in this over five years ago. It is the other changes that have occurred over the last several months that for myself are ruining that experience, and making question whether I want to keep purchasing anything more at the store here. I shudder to think what it will take to manually install something huge like Stefan's forthcoming Urban Sprawl 3, an updated Genesis Starter Essentials, or a plugin like Reality 3?

...and when in bleedin' heck are they going to finally fix this blasted redirect to the account page bug when one clicks Preview or Submit Post? This is getting really really annoying.

M F M

"Staff room"...

... I really need to stop playing and get with the modelling >_< (ref elsewhere, but related to this staff set).

kyoto kid

...hopefully it doesn't get infected. ; )

M F M

Hey Ps1 (or KK, if you've purchased it already) - that 747-400 from a few pages ago - what's the "basic interior" look like?

Jaderail

Kyoto Kid said:

One has to remember not all of us are that "DB savvy", particularly with the "extra layers" Daz has introduced in the structure of 4.x, and sometimes need a little help now and then.

I really like 4.6. I have to agree it is probably the best and most stable version of the Studio application I have seen since I started in this over five years ago. It is the other changes that have occurred over the last several months that for myself are ruining that experience, and making question whether I want to keep purchasing anything more at the store here. I shudder to think what it will take to manually install something huge like Stefan's forthcoming Urban Sprawl 3, an updated Genesis Starter Essentials, or a plugin like Reality 3?

...and when in bleedin' heck are they going to finally fix this blasted redirect to the account page bug when one clicks Preview or Submit Post? This is getting really really annoying.

I'll Nod at all of it but this. Nothing has changed Structure wise from DS2/DS3 to DS4.6. NOT one thing has been added EXCEPT we now get items in DATA format instead of DAZ Studio saving them in Data format as we load them. My DS2/DS3 folders LOOK just like my DS4.6 folder. You still install to ONE BASE folder just like in DS2 or DS3 and it all works because its put in the right place. And in Win7 all I gotta do is Open Content Copy all, open My DAZ 3D Library and PASTE, then Merge. Boom I'm done. I fail to see whats different? Poser zips' open copy Runtime, open DS3 Content folder, paste, merge, boom I'm done. Same as before just different file types provided now.
All Plugins will still be Exe's, just the DIM can handle program files now (exe) and Carrara and Bryce file installs as well. That was the DIM update. And I not got a clue way you get drop outs all the time. I'm on all day with out drops to Account page unless the Cloud fails.

Rezca

If you mean getting sent to the My Dashboard thingy upon hitting Post Reply or whatnot, that's happened to me twice this week.

... But I'm almost always logged out anyway (Don't post as often as I used to...) so it doesn't have the chance to do so to me as often anymore. Back when I made dozens of posts a day... I used to get sent to the My Account page dozens of times a day =/

Even now, when I make a post or go back to edit a post I hold my breath upon submitting it (AFTER I copy and paste my entered text) since there's a good chance I won't see the thread next but my account, and that the edited text will be *poof* ^^;

IceScribe

Kyoto Kid said:

IceScribe said:

Complaint: I am actually feeling a bit chilly today! Last night got down to 66F after suffering for 3 days at 97F at night. Well, actually, not a real complaint. I like it cooler. Our poor a/cs are fading away. I get tired of the fans, it's like being stuck on a 1940s propeller airplaine winging over the Atlantic. Whr Whr Whr. My laptop gets so hot from the ambient temps I am reluctant to render when it's so hot. So today I might work on a render for a contest. I don't win, but at least I try.

Hubby bought smoked salmon chunk and Lucky Buddha beer for my lunch. This beer is Chinese, and is wheat based, I think. It is not skunky at all. He likes beer, or rather ale that is the opposite, very dark and very skunky-or is that hops? His cooling bevie of choice for the moment is "Arrogant B****D Ale". My beer comes in a bottle in the shape of Ho-tei, his has a label of a gargoyle. I always prefer to drink from the bottle, so this works, I can rub Ho Tei for luck. Hubby prefers in a glass, but I think the beer warms up and goes flat too fast.

..."skunk beer" isn't because of a lot of hops are used (like in an Indian Pale Ale for example), it's because it was handled and stored incorrectly. The term is called "Light Struck" and it has to do with being exposed to ultraviolet light which alters the characteristic of the hops casing the molecules to be split and bond with sulfur thus creating the "skunky" taste. It often occurs in beer that is kept in brightly lit (often with fluorescent lights which are higher on the UV spectrum than incandescent). Beer in Green or clear bottles is the most susceptible to this but even brews in the traditional brown bottles is not immune.

There are some beers like Pilsners" and some of the better crafted lagers (not the industrial swill made here in the States) which actually are brewed with a slight sulfur character which is created by particular strains of Lager Yeast rather than the hops. This actually gives the beer it's unique "crisp" character.

Your husband using a glass is actually the proper way to enjoy an ale or beer because it is a less "concentrated" experience than drinking form a bottle (or, urgh, can). Also, the type of glass used has a bit of bearing on the quality of the taste and is not just for show. For example, the classic tapered "Pilsner" styled glass enhances the "volatiles" (basically reducing the concentration effect) when the beer is poured into it and is thus very appropriate for that style of brewing as well as some lagers. Belgian brews are best served in a wide stemmed glass (such as as Goblet, Tulip, or oversize wineglass) which again promotes the Volatiles while allowing the "bouquet" to become part of the experience (many of the finest Belgian ales are brewed with fruit as well).

Oh, and never never drink a traditional Belgian ale straight from the bottle unless you want an unpleasant experience afterwards as they often have a bit of yeast sediment in the bottom of the bottle. This keeps the ale "live" when in the bottle.

@Kyoto Kid
Thanks! You have given me some good insight into beer tasting. Like so many terms, skunky I guess gets tossed around and the meaning lost. But it's that sulfur element that gets to me. And here's a complaint: Yep, our market which is the closest, keeps all their beers in a well-lit fluorescent cooler. My favorite brew was Fischer's Amber but suddenly it stopped being imported. We couldn't get it at the most posh liquor store anymore. My hubby got a Belgian ale, can't recall what it was with a very nice smoky pear trace but it was gone when he went back to get more. I don't like the India Pale Ales at all. I choose to drink from the cold bottle cuz I like the vapours that come out of the long neck, and the glasses are at ambient temperature, about 86F. I'll suggest the goblet type glass to my hubby, I think he will like it as you recommend for the Belgians. Neither of us were much of beer drinkers so we are tasting our way through a different set per 6pack. This summer heat wave inspired us because it's too darn hot to do anything, and the iced tea and such were getting old, and we are living on basically no-stove sandwiches. Nice ones, but they need a little washing down

kyoto kid

Jaderail said:

Kyoto Kid said:

One has to remember not all of us are that "DB savvy", particularly with the "extra layers" Daz has introduced in the structure of 4.x, and sometimes need a little help now and then.

I really like 4.6. I have to agree it is probably the best and most stable version of the Studio application I have seen since I started in this over five years ago. It is the other changes that have occurred over the last several months that for myself are ruining that experience, and making question whether I want to keep purchasing anything more at the store here. I shudder to think what it will take to manually install something huge like Stefan's forthcoming Urban Sprawl 3, an updated Genesis Starter Essentials, or a plugin like Reality 3?

...and when in bleedin' heck are they going to finally fix this blasted redirect to the account page bug when one clicks Preview or Submit Post? This is getting really really annoying.

I'll Nod at all of it but this. Nothing has changed Structure wise from DS2/DS3 to DS4.6. NOT one thing has been added EXCEPT we now get items in DATA format instead of DAZ Studio saving them in Data format as we load them. My DS2/DS3 folders LOOK just like my DS4.6 folder. You still install to ONE BASE folder just like in DS2 or DS3 and it all works because its put in the right place. And in Win7 all I gotta do is Open Content Copy all, open My DAZ 3D Library and PASTE, then Merge. Boom I'm done. I fail to see whats different? Poser zips' open copy Runtime, open DS3 Content folder, paste, merge, boom I'm done. Same as before just different file types provided now.
All Plugins will still be Exe's, just the DIM can handle program files now (exe) and Carrara and Bryce file installs as well. That was the DIM update. And I not got a clue way you get drop outs all the time. I'm on all day with out drops to Account page unless the Cloud fails.
...before 3.x, all content installed just to the Programme Files/Daz/Content/Runtime folders, there was nothing that went to the Documents folder, nice and simple. That was an "innovation" (and I use the term very loosely) that first appeared with version 3.

As I have a custom setup on a different drive than the app, I can't just extract to the base folder. I drag and drop each component separately so they go where I want them. I've been doing this for a while (before 4.6) and never had a broken path. With the .exes as I mentioned elsewhere, I would simply install to a temp folder then open the readme, to make sure if there were any unusual places a certain component needed to go, and I would put it there. Otherwise it was simple as most things still followed the classic Poser runtime structure...

...until 4.0.

For anything specifically Genesis related I just let the .exe install it as I wasn't about to mess with a structure I never dealt with as I heard all Genesis content had to be in a specific parent folder or something like that. furthermore my Genesis content was but a very small portion of what I had. For everything else I would just use my normal S.O.P. and install to my custom setups built off the old Poser runtime. When I accidentally let an installer send something to the app (\the Serengeti environment "playset"), I got broken paths for several of the parts and it wouldn't load properly. I uninstalled then used my normal routine and everything is fine.

Now with everything a DIM.zip I run into issues. The .dpc files are still a no brainer, as I know where those go, but the Daz/Genesis ones forget it as I have no readme to go by since they are no longer included. I looked at the folder setup and see confusing things like some stuff that looks like it goes into the Runtime folder, and other stuff to the "My Library" (stupid name by the way) folder.

Had Daz not migrated all the HTML Readmes to their servers, I might have been able to figure out how this stuff is set up. The workstation is completely offline so when I click on the View Readme box, I get a Server not Found error. To make matters worse, they are reformatting all the original readmes for the product information page which as I mentioned is not only a real pain to use, but most product files are woefully incomplete or totally missing. This should never have occurred until this resource was fully up and running and had various means to search for a specific product than the incredibly cumbersome routine I outlined in another post.

This most likely is just a logistical error on Daz's part, however, until it is totally completed, it pretty much makes use of the automated installer to appear to be almost a necessity rather than choice.

Jaderail

Kyoto Kid said:

...before 3.x, all content installed just to the Programme Files/Daz/Content/Runtime folders, there was nothing that went to the Documents folder, nice and simple. That was an "innovation" (and I use the term very loosely) that first appeared with version 3.DAZ3D had nothing to do with Program Files location becoming a Protected Area of the Hard Drive, that was ALL MicroSoft-in-th-head. The location HAD to be moved so the Content Data saves could still be done. BLAME the folks that need blaming not DAZ3D.
As I have a custom setup on a different drive than the app, I can't just extract to the base folder. I drag and drop each component separately so they go where I want them. I've been doing this for a while (before 4.6) and never had a broken path. With the .exes as I mentioned elsewhere, I would simply install to a temp folder then open the readme, to make sure if there were any unusual places a certain component needed to go, and I would put it there. Otherwise it was simple as most things still followed the classic Poser runtime structure... ...until 4.0. For anything specifically Genesis related I just let the .exe install it as I wasn't about to mess with a structure I never dealt with as I heard all Genesis content had to be in a specific parent folder or something like that. furthermore my Genesis content was but a very small portion of what I had. For everything else I would just use my normal S.O.P. and install to my custom setups built off the old Poser runtime. When I accidentally let an installer send something to the app (\the Serengeti environment "playset"), I got broken paths for several of the parts and it wouldn't load properly. I uninstalled then used my normal routine and everything is fine. Now with everything a DIM.zip I run into issues. The .dpc files are still a no brainer, as I know where those go, but the Daz/Genesis ones forget it as I have no readme to go by since they are no longer included. I looked at the folder setup and see confusing things like some stuff that looks like it goes into the Runtime folder, and other stuff to the "My Library" (stupid name by the way) folder.

I only know this KK if you open a folder and it does not say Runtime first that stuff goes in the DS content... Data/Poses/Materials anything not in the a Runtime. RUNTIME and Below goes in the TOP listed Poser runtime folder Daz studio reads in the paths. Still easy to me.

kyoto kid

...but which "Runtime" for I also see one in the 4.6 Library folder setup as well?

The Poser Runtime I use is off my S3A 64 install (which I still use for plugins and content that is not compatible with 4.6).

This is one of the reasons I find it confusing. Carrara reads my S3A Content/Runtime structure just fine, it sees nothing in the 4.6 Library one.

ps1borg

M F M said:

Hey Ps1 (or KK, if you've purchased it already) - that 747-400 from a few pages ago - what's the "basic interior" look like?

nothing :o) THis 737 model has an interior http://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/airliner-b737-800-with-cockpit/97670

Mistara

M F M said:

"Staff room"...

... I really need to stop playing and get with the modelling >_< (ref elsewhere, but related to this staff set).

tee heee staff room

ps1borg

Rezca said:

If you mean getting sent to the My Dashboard thingy upon hitting Post Reply or whatnot, that's happened to me twice this week.

... But I'm almost always logged out anyway (Don't post as often as I used to...) so it doesn't have the chance to do so to me as often anymore. Back when I made dozens of posts a day... I used to get sent to the My Account page dozens of times a day =/

Even now, when I make a post or go back to edit a post I hold my breath upon submitting it (AFTER I copy and paste my entered text) since there's a good chance I won't see the thread next but my account, and that the edited text will be *poof* ^^;

Safari seems to handle the caching issues a little better, at least I"m not chronically bounced, only sometimes :o)

Mistara

ugghitty hi humids

went for our walk early this morning.

still feeling wiped out from the walk home yesterday, was feeling goosebumps by the end of the trail. all to save the 10buck cab fare.

ready to watch Starship troopers 2 today. Johnny is a lootenant already. Can't feel fondness for characters in these movies, not at the ko rate for this genre.

wanna play with Aiko today. (eye-ee-koh?) doan know if my compy can play a dvd while it's busy rendering. only dual core.

oops, i meant Rico is lootenant.

had johnny sokko on my brain.

and Rico sends me back to the Copacabana. his name was rico, he wasn't a showgirl

Mistara

ps1borg said:

Rezca said:

If you mean getting sent to the My Dashboard thingy upon hitting Post Reply or whatnot, that's happened to me twice this week.

... But I'm almost always logged out anyway (Don't post as often as I used to...) so it doesn't have the chance to do so to me as often anymore. Back when I made dozens of posts a day... I used to get sent to the My Account page dozens of times a day =/

Even now, when I make a post or go back to edit a post I hold my breath upon submitting it (AFTER I copy and paste my entered text) since there's a good chance I won't see the thread next but my account, and that the edited text will be *poof* ^^;

Safari seems to handle the caching issues a little better, at least I"m not chronically bounced, only sometimes :o)

Safari +++ yayy

Rezca

I've got Opera as my backup browser in case something goes wrong, but I'm too attached to FireFox to leave it for long ^^

*snuggles the firefox* X3

Mistara

i'm surprised Vicki hasn't thrown her back out with all those twisting to see what's behind her poses

trying to pose A3 in the biguana saddle. :D

? dragon-fox http://www.etsy.com/listing/100503604/no-5-soft-dragon-fox-plush-fluffy

ps1borg

Pirate Hamster teh cuteh :o)

Mistara

hamster costumes = labor of love :)

one more lol blitz

Mistara

doh, off to a sloe start this weekend. almost 11 already.

Woolyloach

M F M said:

"Staff room"...

... I really need to stop playing and get with the modelling >_< (ref elsewhere, but related to this staff set).

More staff than you can shake a staff at! (neener)

Woolyloach

9:55am in lovely Austin, TX. - getting my first cuppa and frying up some breakfast sausage!

Back into renders today, playing with lighting and camera angles. Will also be doing some writing on Olaf and his chicken issues (heh) so maybe an Olaf drop before I go to bed!

Definitely need a quad-core render box if I'm going to be going this in a meaningful fashion. I might save up and have a small form factor machine built, get an external monitor and keyboard, and just buy a new monitor and keyboard if I have to move a long distance., This lappy would become my bedside system and the tablet PC would be my Kindle/PDF/email machine. But I have to buckle down and start saving up!!!

Animal Planet and the Travel Channel tonight, I think! (smile)

Need to think about Olaf, and the shield-maiden.. M4 and V4? Genesis? Do I have the right clothes, axes, swords, shields? I have lots of impractical armor but I don't see the shield-maiden putting up with that...

Woolyloach

Ah, first complaint of the day!

"Post Rely" - need to log in - click "Log in" - account page shows up - back to post a reply - need to log in WTF OMG ARGH! Log OUT, log IN, NOW it works! (very angry face)

Magneto is evil and CloudFake or whomever is supposedly supporting this site is lame beyond words. AND STILL NO EMOTES!

*rant rant rant rant*

starionwolf

wanted to go to Washington, D.C. today. radio said that the heat index will be around 100 degrees F. wow

guess i'll stay home and work on my 2D drawings instead.

Sfariah D

I want a kitten

Woolyloach

Render, render, render - much more dramatic camera angle, but the lighting is fighting (lol)!

Grilled chicken Caesar salad for lunch! But the BBQ truck was off catering so no bbq for me.. (cry cry cry)

Time to check out the Fog/Haze cameras!

Rareth

Grumbles at Google for changing the hoops I must go through to post Jpegs to my Blog(s).
Yes I use IE, No I don't want to change to some other browser.. I'm getting older and rather set in my ways.

sandmanmax

Is this where I get to whimper and sob (and maybe get some sympathy) because my new super-duper rendering machine has a fried motherboard and I'm trying to rebuild my old pc and the only backup i have for the c: drive is from Dec and even if it it works, my content drive is at the repair shop with my new rig?

What if i admitted i fried the mobo? At least that's what the repair guy says but it was blue-screening before i tried to put the new heatsink on. And what if all he does is replace the mobo and it still blue-screens?

Can I cry now?

Jaderail

Fried PC of any type is no fun, accidental fried is better than Just fried for no known reason. Blue Screen of Death is always a bad sign, so I doubt you fried it. Hope you get a fully working PC back soonly.