For customers experiencing problems with our RedSpec TGX tailored OctaneRender shaders for Belle 6 a
Dear customers,
we have been notified of a problem occuring with our recently released RedSpec TGX tailored OctaneRender shaders for Belle 6.
We investigated and were already able to pinpoint and fix the problem at hand, which was related to a faulty installer binary.
There is however a manual workaround, so if you are experiencing similar problems like the one attached below please use the following easy steps to fix the error.
Please create a subfolder called “daz3d_belle” in your C:\Program Files\RedSpecTGX
afterwards please move the files: Belle6Face_sss.jpg, Belle6Limbs_sss.jpg, Belle6Mouth_sss.jpg and Belle6Torso_sss.jpg as well as the “dazstudio” folder containing the DAZ Studio.duf file into that freshly created “daz3d_belle” folder.
This should solve the problem.
We already submitted updated installers to DAZ3D. You can re-download and rei-install the shaders once they have been greenlight by QA.
Sorry for the inconvenience this might have caused, and thank you for you purchase.
For all inquiries you can contact us directly through sales"at"redspec-sss"dot"com
Kind regards and Happy Rendering!
Team RedSpec
Comments
edited and removed by user
Dear linvanchene,
thanks for you feedback and your questions.
Believe me when I say: As much as we would have liked to support the DAZ / DIM eco system, it was just simply not possible with the complexity that our skin shader has.
The RedSpecTGX skin shader materials are far from what DAZ Studio is capable of creating, even when using something like the UberEnvironment.
From what we can see on that promo page (we don't own it ourselves) is that all the materials used in that Tropical Island product are created using DAZ Studio. They are fairly basic materials that translate well into the OctaneRender plugin, which of course makes it really simple to come up with presets that can be loaded inside DAZ Studio and are then converted automatically by the plug-in.
This bring me back to my initial introduction, creating our skin shaders inside DAZ studio is simply impossible, which is why we aren't able to support installing / working with our shaders in the exact same way as that artist is doing it.
As in regard to the installation folder: That's a more simple answer - we needed to find a file folder that exists on everybodies PC into which the SSS maps could be installed. C:\Program Files is such a folder. Hence the (admittedly unfortunate) forced installation path. Contrary to what you claim in your post - diffuse, bump and opacity map paths are not relative in the plug-ins we're developing shaders for - believe me here, we've been developing this stuff from the very get go when the DAZ Studio plug-in was still very much in its infant steps. We've exchanged countless private messages with the authors, because we had the exact same concerns as you are voicing them here.
To answer your final question - which pretty much sums up the problem as a whole - although the OctaneRender plug-ins seem like they're forged together with their host applications petty solidly, they will always remain a completely different sort of beast, working in the background to make everything you do in DAZ or Poser look as similiar in Octane as possible - it's essentially constantly translating from the host application to Octane.
Although this post won't necessarily change anything when working with our shaders, I hope I could give you some insight and therefore understanding for what and how we are doing stuff, and why some things have to be exactly like they are at the moment.
I'm definitely not saying that this might not change in the future - Octane and all the plug-ins are constantly evolving - and so is RedSpec :)
We would be happy to see you working and enjoying our shaders as they are - if that doesn't seem to go well with your workflow, we are of course willing at any time to provide you with a refund.
Thanks again and Happy Rendering!
Noel
As much as I might like to buy something like this, I fear with my set up, Octane and DAZ studio both on my E drive it would just be more hastle than it is worth.
Also not wishing to use Belle or Brodie.
A preset that could be put in my saved presets with placeholders for texture maps I might use,
I am at moment I am just fiddling around cluelessly in node editor making my own and modifying database shaders but certainly if you worked with a skin PA and found an easier way to distribute I would buy presets, lazy as I am paying others to do all the tedious work is always a preffered choice.
Hello wendycatz
it is actually far from being a hastle at all.
The shader can be set up comfortably within 4 minutes of your time.
Also: If you want to move the shader preset files to a more convenient location it is absolutely fine to do so.
Only the support maps need to stay in our folder on C:\
I'll invite all of you to join our group at deviantart redspecsss.deviantart.com to see for yourself how easy it really is and how gorgeous the results are.
Kind regards
Noel
We also decided to record a brief video tutorial for our DAZ3D Studio OctaneRender plug-in customers showing how you can apply the shaders.
This video shows our RedSpec TGX tailored for Genesis 2 Female shaders, but the procedure applies also to the Belle 6 and Brodie 6 shaders once they were updated by DAZ3D.
Video Tutorial
Kind regards and Happy Rendering!
Noel
Hello everybody,
the updated files are now live!
Please re-download your shader products though your user accounts product library. There will now be a .duf-preset-file compatible with 2.1 in the zips as well.
Please also let us know, if this fixed your problems.
Kind regards and Happy Rendering
Noel
I am lucky because I never had a problem with my purchase of Belle 6 I used it in DAZ 4.7 and in Photoshop CS5. All went well see the attached image.
I purchased the "RedSpec TGX Tailored Octane Shaders for Belle 6" for $13.99 from the DAZ Store. I Loaded it up in DAZ Studio 4.7 and it didn't work.
I was so upset. Later on I found out that in order for this plug-In to work; I would have to also purchase the OctaneRender Standalone from www.otoy.com
for $467.46. I just can't afford this now I wish I had never purchase the plug-in from daz now.
If it was purchased within the past 30 days you can return it.
yes sadly your shaders are not for 1.2 which I own and use and until the 2 upgrade supports animation and saving scenes with shaders I am in no hurry to buy it, if I buy beta plugins I at least want stable builds.
Maybe a 1.2 version for V4 UV's on Genesis or Genesis2F would find its way into my cart as the main UV I personally use and am pretty certain most do followed by M4 closely because for all DAZ's multiple UV madness those two the widest supported in skins by a landslide.
Belle or others never gonna hit my cart!
As you can probably understand, we have no influence on plug-in or software pricing from other companies.
So if it didn't work out for you because you didn't own Standalone, then I'm sorry to hear that, but we of course explicitly state it in the system requirements on the store page.
We'd be of course more than happy to offer you a refund.
Kind regards
Noel
That is correct, we had to drop support for 1.2 because it didn't support the templating function which we're using in the G2F or M4F versions of our shaders, so you can apply them over any character based on those UVs.
Believe me, if it would have been possible to include 1.2 in our supported plug-in list, we would have done so
But as you already mentioned, the UV madness we (and other vendors) have to deal with, sometimes forces us to make decisions we're definitely not happy with.
Dear Noel
Yes you did state that in your system requirement store, I do not blame DAZ, it is my fault
for not reading it. I don't want a refund. I would like to know, however if I purchase the new
Reality 4 - DAZ Studio Edition from the DAZ Store, will I have to purchase any other program
to make my renders work besides using DAZ 4.7?
PLEASE ADVISE THANKS
clay
Softimage, this is an Octane specific shader, Reality uses different shaders as does DAZ studio 3Delight render
DAZ studio 4.7 is the program
a render engine is built in it called 3Delight
Octane plugin enables you to use Octane renderer a standalone render engine through the DAZ studio interface
Reality is a plugin that does the same thing for Luxrender another standalone render engine
a shader is engine specific, Poser materials for example do not work in DAZ studio and Carrara has different shaders too.
So unless you have Octane render standalone and the latest DAZ studio plugin for it please ask for a refund.
I must extoll the virties of Octane render in spite of its expensive price as it is the only way I could ever render animations via the DAZ studio interface.
Otherwise I use Carrara or export to iClone as the inbuilt 3Delight render engine is incredibly slow for animation, Luxrender is just as slow if not slower although like Octane unbiased that is using light in a realistic way physically.
wendycatz pretty much explained it all here.
Our shaders won't work with Reality 4.
To answer your question though - yes, if you purchase Reality 4, you won't be needing anything else BUT DAZ Studio to start rendering.
If also the rendering times will be much longer compared to OctaneRender.
Not quite correct, with Reality you will also need Luxrender, http://www.luxrender.net/en_GB/index
Of course - my bad.
That's a free download, however :)
I just purchase LuxRender and Reality 4 and I am having serious problems finding Reality 4 in daz 4.; moreover, I don't even know where my Lux loaded to? I have no idea where it ? I will just read the user manual. I think I should just upgrade and just buy a $3,000 3d program and I won't have to go through all this crazyness!
or maybe read the details of what you are buying
ask in the Reality thread about Luxrender and Reality
is quite a separate thing to Octane and the redSpecs shaders
not meaning to sound rude it is just that even if you bought 3DsMax you could not use Lightwave or Modo stuff with it out the box
you need to read requirements on products and plugins before you buy
fortunately DAZ has a 30 return, many other places do not so something to bear in mind before parting with cash