Daz Studio 5 development update

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  • DAZ_RawbDAZ_Rawb Posts: 817

    margrave said:

    Hylas said:

    Excited to see what improvements the new version will bring!

    I don´t want to speculate since there is no point to that but I imagine it might be some major stuff! Otherwise they´d just be calling it 4.16, right?

    Sounds like this will potentially break some stuff I hold dear. GenX, XTransfer, Fluidos, Mesh Grabber, Scene Optimizer, Ultra Scatter, Instancify... (to be honest I don´t know what the difference between a script and a plug-in is.) So I reeeeally hope that we can keep using version 4 without problems and possibly receive support for a looooong time. I like what I´m reading so far.

    I think the numbering is based off what version of QT they're using. The recent release notes by rbtwiz say they're moving to an improved version of QT, which I assume is QT5.

    Unfortunately QtScript, which Daz's scripting is based off, isn't supported by Qt anymore, hence the impending plugin-o-opcalypse.

    The change in the scripting engine from Qt4 to Qt5/6 is part of what is making this take so long. As a simplified explination pretty much any code that allowed scripts to talk to it needed an update. Both how the objects memory was being handled and how it actually connected to the scripting engine needed an update. Thanks to that developer you mentioned being really good at getting things exposed to scripting means that a lot of code needed to be tweaked and updated even if it wasn't getting any change in functionality. If Daz Studio never allowed for 3rd party plugins or scripts this would have been a pretty quick and easy update but we understand that there are a lot of smart people out there that can bring a lot of extra functionality to Daz Studio so this is the price to pay. I think the trade-off is worth it.

     

    For plugins however (you can tell the difference because plugins have separate packages for Windows and Mac whereas scripts just have a single package for both) the change in the core library means that they wont connect to the application correctly so at a minimum will have to be recompiled but more than likely will have to go through some more intensive changes to be more compatible with how the new core operates. 

  • margravemargrave Posts: 1,822

    DAZ_Rawb said:

    margrave said:

    Hylas said:

    Excited to see what improvements the new version will bring!

    I don´t want to speculate since there is no point to that but I imagine it might be some major stuff! Otherwise they´d just be calling it 4.16, right?

    Sounds like this will potentially break some stuff I hold dear. GenX, XTransfer, Fluidos, Mesh Grabber, Scene Optimizer, Ultra Scatter, Instancify... (to be honest I don´t know what the difference between a script and a plug-in is.) So I reeeeally hope that we can keep using version 4 without problems and possibly receive support for a looooong time. I like what I´m reading so far.

    I think the numbering is based off what version of QT they're using. The recent release notes by rbtwiz say they're moving to an improved version of QT, which I assume is QT5.

    Unfortunately QtScript, which Daz's scripting is based off, isn't supported by Qt anymore, hence the impending plugin-o-opcalypse.

    The change in the scripting engine from Qt4 to Qt5/6 is part of what is making this take so long. As a simplified explination pretty much any code that allowed scripts to talk to it needed an update. Both how the objects memory was being handled and how it actually connected to the scripting engine needed an update. Thanks to that developer you mentioned being really good at getting things exposed to scripting means that a lot of code needed to be tweaked and updated even if it wasn't getting any change in functionality. If Daz Studio never allowed for 3rd party plugins or scripts this would have been a pretty quick and easy update but we understand that there are a lot of smart people out there that can bring a lot of extra functionality to Daz Studio so this is the price to pay. I think the trade-off is worth it.

     

    For plugins however (you can tell the difference because plugins have separate packages for Windows and Mac whereas scripts just have a single package for both) the change in the core library means that they wont connect to the application correctly so at a minimum will have to be recompiled but more than likely will have to go through some more intensive changes to be more compatible with how the new core operates. 

    I figured it was something like that.

    Will the updated framework mean a faster and more responsive UI too? I've been presuming the lag around figure loading and dragging limbs in the viewport was related to Qt4.

  • namffuaknamffuak Posts: 4,146

    kyoto kid said:

    PerttiA said:

    richardandtracy said:

    If I can make a plea for continued Win 7 support I'd like to make it. Or at least don't put in something un-necessary to break Win 7 support. There are still a number of Win 7 machines with a reasonable life left and sufficient grunt to cope with what can currently be thrown at them, and can probably cope with future stuff adequately for a few years. Shortening their useful lives would be a shame.

    Same plea for continued Windows 7 support and/or adding Linux to supported operating systems. 

    ...+1 particularly for Linux. Love to dodge the whole W10/11 issue altogether. 

    To continue full support for Windows 7 Daz will need to mark Studio 4.5 functionally stable and not upgrade Iray for it when Iray requires a driver upddate that is not available for Windows 7. Nvidia has annouced that Windows 7 driver support will end in October; we should still be able to run newer versions of Iray on Studio 4.5 after that, but only in CPU mode. In a way I expect this announcement was triggered by Nvidia's decision.

    So I expct that sometime in the October through December timeframe Daz will state that Studio 4 is functionally stable with no more development planned and Studio 5 is the new supported version. We'll be able to run Studio 4 and 5 on the same machine, just as we can run Studio 3 currently.

    @DAZ_Rawb - feel free to slap me down if needed - I'm basing this on similar events back in my mainfrae support days.

  • Are we finally getting Soft Body Physics? :( 

  • AbyssalErosAbyssalEros Posts: 289

    Have I missed something?
    Where is the greatness in this?
    MacSupport? Really?
    Is that ALL that is DAZ 5?

  • SeraSera Posts: 1,675

    AbyssalEros said:

    Have I missed something?
    Where is the greatness in this?
    MacSupport? Really?
    Is that ALL that is DAZ 5?

    Rawb did say there would be other features added, he just didn't specify what: "- Features and enhancements will be rolling in through the rest of the year."

  • wsterdanwsterdan Posts: 2,346
    edited July 2021

    DAZ_Rawb said:

    Hi everyone. Drum roll please...

    As Director of Technology for Daz 3D, I wanted to give you some big news.  The Daz Studio team has been hard at work on a massive foundation change for Daz Studio that will be released as Daz Studio 5! Our project has been the #1 priority for the team for quite some time now, and it's almost done. Since we know how important getting a Mac version of Daz Studio is to all of you, we are switching up our release plans (from our normal releases) to get you a look at the upcoming Daz Studio 5 as soon as possible.

    Thanks very, very much for the official update, it's much appreciated. I understand how huge this task is, and I look forward to testing the pre-Beta once it's available.

    -- Walt Sterdan 

    Post edited by wsterdan on
  • DripDrip Posts: 1,191

    While I do not expect DS5 to be radically different in capabilities from DS4 initially (apart from the breakage of many old plugins, but that might not just be a drawback, but even a necessity for moving forward), I do hope it includes at least the groundwork for several features we've been hoping for for ages. Like, softbody physics, light modeling options, tools to edit normals mapping/smoothing, and maybe even built-in paint features. Oh, and maybe also a slight UI overhaul.

    I do think it's a good decision to keep DS4 available. Not only because DS5 will still be in beta, but also because of the loss of many plugins. We know several very popular plugins won't ever get updated, for example, because their creators aren't with us anymore. So yeah, many people will switch back and forth between DS4 and DS5 for a long time.

  • benniewoodellbenniewoodell Posts: 1,969

    usahawansufi6c2 said:

    Are we finally getting Soft Body Physics? :( 

    And proper IK? Fingers crossed laugh 

    I'm looking forward to seeing what Daz 5 looks like and thanks for the coupon! Going to poke around my wishlist and see what to snag! 

  • PetraPetra Posts: 1,154

    So other than that it will work on a Mac with Iray and filament, there is nothing new for PC Daz Studio Users?

     

  • wsterdanwsterdan Posts: 2,346

    certaintree38 said:

    AbyssalEros said:

    Have I missed something?
    Where is the greatness in this?
    MacSupport? Really?
    Is that ALL that is DAZ 5?

    Rawb did say there would be other features added, he just didn't specify what: "- Features and enhancements will be rolling in through the rest of the year."

    I agree; just updating the entire software package to use the newer Qt libraries is absolutely huge, I imagine they want to get that done and the program stable before adding too many huge changes to it (if they added them to 4.5, they'd have to be upgraded to v5 and if they didn't have v5 stable, I imagine developing something huge to a program that was in the middle of a major rewrite would be an exercise in tremendous frustration, kind of like nailing Jello to a tree). Get the foundation solid, then build all the cool new stuff. Building for the future by building a strong base.

    -- Walt Sterdan 

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 100,897

    Petra said:

    So other than that it will work on a Mac with Iray and filament, there is nothing new for PC Daz Studio Users?

    Initially, no - overhauling the framework has to come first, I would suspect even for the Windows version without the Mac issue, but Rawb ddi clearly say that actual new features would follow.

  • GreymomGreymom Posts: 1,113

    Thanks Daz_RAWb and Richard for the updates!

    So....will the DS5 main program be able to use more than one CPU core?

  • SnowSultanSnowSultan Posts: 3,596

    I'm glad the 5% or so of Mac users here will be happy to hear this news, but you could have told us Studio 5 will have a new splash screen and it would have been a more exciting annoucement than this.   ;)    Thank you for the coupon though.  :)

  • GreymomGreymom Posts: 1,113

    Just a request, when DS and IRAY will no longer support Maxwell GPU's for rendering, could we get some kind of hard-to-miss advance warning?

    Many users are kind of stuck with that GPU generation due to budgets and/or the lack of availability of RTX cards.

    Also, very much appreciate that DS 4 will still be available for download for a while, in part due the the issue above!

    Thanks also for the coupon!

  • hjakehjake Posts: 894
    edited July 2021

    DAZ_Rawb said:

    Hi everyone. Drum roll please...

    As Director of Technology for Daz 3D, I wanted to give you some big news.  The Daz Studio team has been hard at work on a massive foundation change for Daz Studio that will be released as Daz Studio 5! Our project has been the #1 priority for the team for quite some time now, and it's almost done. Since we know how important getting a Mac version of Daz Studio is to all of you, we are switching up our release plans (from our normal releases) to get you a look at the upcoming Daz Studio 5 as soon as possible.

    Details of the upcoming Daz Studio 5 early-access Pre-Beta:
    - Release timing for this early-access preview is coming soon, at the very end of this month (July) or sometime next month (August).
    - This will be a pre-beta release. Normally we wait until the software is completely finished before releasing it.
    - Major Update will be Daz Studio release running for Macs, no other major features in the Pre-Beta.
    - All Plugins and some scripts will be broken. The SDK won't be available with this first release, but will be following it up at a later date. Some other less used features won't work at launch, but will be coming online throughout the year.
    - This release will work on at least x86 Macs (with both Filament and Iray). We are still investigating if this initial early-access release will run either natively or through emulation on M1 macs, but M1 support will come during the continued development of Daz Studio 5.
    - It will install into a new location, so you can run it along your current Daz Studio (release/beta) without problems.

    As for the final Daz Studio 5 release:
    - The timeline for this is to have it out near the very end of this year.
    - Features and enhancements will be rolling in through the rest of the year.
    - Anyone who has Daz Studio 4 in their account will be able to keep it. You'll be able to continue to download and use it for the foreseeable future.

    I hope everyone is just as excited about Daz Studio 5 as we are.

    DAZ_Rawb, could you please have DAZ prepare a list of all the DAZ products (scripts/plug-ins), with their product ID, that will not be compatible with DS5 (even if they might be updated at some undetermined future date)? This should be something that can be completed in the beta phase since the compatibility issues are due to QT4 vs QT5 and not bug free DS5.

    Post edited by hjake on
  • MistaraMistara Posts: 38,675

    CARRARA NINE??

     

    give us general rigging support!!!!!!!

  • Does this mean if dForce is acting up on the current version of DS,it's safe to say I can't get it fixed on my new pc? ughies lol

  • hjakehjake Posts: 894
    edited July 2021

    richardandtracy said:

    If I can make a plea for continued Win 7 support I'd like to make it. Or at least don't put in something un-necessary to break Win 7 support. There are still a number of Win 7 machines with a reasonable life left and sufficient grunt to cope with what can currently be thrown at them, and can probably cope with future stuff adequately for a few years. Shortening their useful lives would be a shame.

    Time to move to windows 13 with a bold new taskbar and a lemony fresh scent. I promise it will be the last windows ever. Trust me.  angry

    Post edited by hjake on
  • margravemargrave Posts: 1,822

    hjake said:

    richardandtracy said:

    If I can make a plea for continued Win 7 support I'd like to make it. Or at least don't put in something un-necessary to break Win 7 support. There are still a number of Win 7 machines with a reasonable life left and sufficient grunt to cope with what can currently be thrown at them, and can probably cope with future stuff adequately for a few years. Shortening their useful lives would be a shame.

    Time to move to windows 13 with a bold new taskbar and a lemony fresh scent. I promise it will be the last windows ever. Trust me.  angry

     I don't understand why they still call it Windows. It's always broken and it constantly allows stuff you don't want to get into your computer.

  • hjakehjake Posts: 894
    edited July 2021

    margrave said:

    hjake said:

    richardandtracy said:

    If I can make a plea for continued Win 7 support I'd like to make it. Or at least don't put in something un-necessary to break Win 7 support. There are still a number of Win 7 machines with a reasonable life left and sufficient grunt to cope with what can currently be thrown at them, and can probably cope with future stuff adequately for a few years. Shortening their useful lives would be a shame.

    Time to move to windows 13 with a bold new taskbar and a lemony fresh scent. I promise it will be the last windows ever. Trust me.  angry

     I don't understand why they still call it Windows. It's always broken and it constantly allows stuff you don't want to get into your computer.

    That's their interpretation of Open Windows  ..... rofl

    Post edited by hjake on
  • MistaraMistara Posts: 38,675

    i remember windows 3.1.  never a 1,2 or 3.0

    i remember a stephanie petite 3.0

  • Catherine3678abCatherine3678ab Posts: 8,341

    Thank you for the news and the coupon. I hope the new SDK will have good instructions that "even I" can fanthom how to write new plugins. Please and thank you.

     

     

     

  • StorypilotStorypilot Posts: 1,675

    Thank you so much for this update. 

    I'm sure for the PC users, this may not feel like much yet, but lack of big sur support has been an impediment here for over half a year, and Mac users like me have been desperate for any solution to get up and running again (or upgrade machines that we are holding back only for DS). I'm very grateful to have an expedited option coming soon, even if it isn't entirely ready for prime time. 

    And we can all celebrate together when new features, whatever they may be, eventually materialize. 

  • MistaraMistara Posts: 38,675

    i could be happier for you if carrara were updated to use general rigging.

    there are several talented plugin developers hanging out, mebbe hire one of them to help???

    we've been left hanging since genesis 3.  

    Carrararella, the forgotten step child

  • namffuaknamffuak Posts: 4,146

    Mystiara said:

    i remember windows 3.1.  never a 1,2 or 3.0

    i remember a stephanie petite 3.0

    One of my co-workers experimented with windows 2 - pretty much a gui layer on top of DOS. 3.0 was better, but not by much. Windows 3.1 was pretty much the first viable version.

  • IvyIvy Posts: 7,165

     

    Hmmm. This kind of sounds like when the upgrade from daz3a went to daz 4.  some content will load fine . 95% of the scripts will be broken, most older texture maps and daz4 scenes files will need to be redone or discarded.

    Here are my questions

    1)   Will Daz5 still read. DUF, ? or support pz3 like daz4?

    2)  will there be a offer for downloads of older version of daz 4 such as 4.11 or  4.12 ?

    3) will the Daz bridges to blender still work?

    4) Will GoZ still work or a new zbrush bridge for us zbrush users?

    5) Will the animate2 timeline still work in the new daz 5? and the .GFA scripts for aniblock? 

    I'm going to try to stay positive, Because I really am hoping for improvements in the animation & gaming area. maybe a particles & physics.  But if this means a completely new investment ifor new daz5 content just to make it work.  I might not be so quick  to jump into it.       

  • Mustakettu85Mustakettu85 Posts: 2,933
    DAZ_Rawb said:

    Hi everyone. Drum roll please...

    Details of the upcoming Daz Studio 5 early-access Pre-Beta:
    ....Filament and Iray...

    Could you please share if the built-in 3Delight version is going to be eventually updated to the final RSL build of 12.5.8 (from 2017, not 2015 as the build currently bundled)?

    DAZ_Rawb said:

    - Anyone who has Daz Studio 4 in their account will be able to keep it. You'll be able to continue to download and use it for the foreseeable future.

    Time to back up installers in case one plans to live beyond "foreseeable", I see.
  • UHFUHF Posts: 512

    Can you tell us what the general features will be, and what you're aiming for?  I've heard that there are UI upgrades to bring things forward a decade or so.. but is there anything else? 

    Will IRay get less clunky, and allow a live Iray preview where we can roll the HDRI background around like Octane already does.

    Will DAZ memory use become more efficient? 

    Are you looking into Genesis 8 loading times?

  • AllenArtAllenArt Posts: 7,169

    Mystiara said:

    i remember windows 3.1.  never a 1,2 or 3.0

    i remember a stephanie petite 3.0

    There was a Stephanie (1). No 2 though. 

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