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a big I agree with these two posts
@mada .. I believe you've been here since day 1 pretty much? Do you remember when Dan Farr and Chris Creek were in the forums quite often? The PAs were very active in the forums as well? They were trying to grow a business, they saw the opportunity in this fairly new 3D graphics community, and especially more so in the hobbyist realm. It was a community back then and it held that for quite a few years.
"Customer" interaction was appreciated and listened to.
What's interesting, and pointed out, this thread has taken off a bit, There are some others that have grown huge legs where there are 2 or even three restarts, such as the Ultrascenery threads.
The question that needs to be asked, what is it about those threads, and similar, that create posts over the long haul? USC has direct conversation with the creators. It is a dynamic product. There is a future to it. Users are excited about its next add or the next version.
When DAZ says DAZ Studio 5 is about to come out, and then it basically dies on the vine, or at least seems that way, you lose interest. Discussed into the ground are the problems with the site itself, the store, gallery, forums, search functions. Just today, if you go back, I have a duplicate post where the forum just hung, so I hit submit again, and 2 posts happened.
Anyway, as a very longtime customer of DAZ, I just want things to succeed. I want the ability to discuss with staff, developers, PAs, and so forth. Right now it seems we are here and they are there, somewhere behind a curtain. I always feel good whenI see a DAZ avatar or a PA in the discussions. Post on peoples.
It does get confusing or difficult sometimes, for sure. For example, at the moment *this* thread has 185 comments, but only *1* view.
I posted a new thread in the Maya bridge forum on Sunday, October 15th and so far I've had no comments and "1" view... or possible more views but with no one answering? I can't tell. After months of playing "Upload a Post Roulette" just to see if I could upload a screenshot or two in an effort to help out someone having a problem in DAZ Studio and not "winning" for a couple of days, I tend to just give up. I know that seems to be fixed now, but it's an example of how the forums – even when positive – can be discouraging.
From our fingers to Daz eyes.... Emogi's please in the forumzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!! At least the artwork posts. :) (fingers crossed)
I figured out something a while ago that, while not quite auto-fit clones, takes advantage of DS's morph transfer in a similar way, and I've been misusing that ability ever since.
It's not 100% - some things just don't like being morphed that much, some things wouldn't work with centaur physiology, but particularly with some Blender work to clean things up or mofify them, I can get a lot of things to work.
Something like this piece abusing Lyoness's new Druid Charms bundle needed me to cut some parts out and restitch two copies of it together.
Gallery Link
If I'm behaving myself, I should cut tail holes in most things, but it's not that vital. This was the very first experiment with it, and the results aren't too bad even without that:
Gallery Link
Although if I'm putting enough focus on the butt, I'll probably put the effort in. (And unless I changed course somewhere, I think the fishnets in this one are converted from your recent Nocturne set / expansion )
Gallery Link
I get a lot of questions about how they get dressed. Maybe one day I'll render an answer that's something other than "don't care, it's funny".
I'd say VDB (and the upcoming emissive VDB that's in the beta but not yet the main release) is not trivial. I also find tools like "Iray Visible to Primary Rays" and the like, while seemingly minor, very useful.
But then, I don't really consider Daz/Tafi to be a software company - they're a marketplace, and to some extent that means they have the problem that they need to try to not their vendors' toes. Lots of features I'd ask for as default have been released as products by the likes of Alvin Bemar and ManFriday, and - as far as I know - the vendors didn't want to sell their work to Daz. These could however be considered additions to the program, albeit paid ones. (And short of completely open-source applications, there's not a lot of programs these days that just hand out every latest update for free - it's all subscription models, or before that "Oh, you want that feature? You'll need to buy this year's version").
I think it's fair to say that art creation falls into a spectrum between those who want the journey, and those who want the destination.
Daz has for a long time been a fair way towards the "destination" side of that spectrum, given they're a business of premade assets. So they've probably scooped up a lot of people who wanted that convenience.
However, they're still not quite that mythical "make art button" in the same way as algorithmically-generated images are. That's a new offering, further towards the "destination" end of the spectrum. With a few keystrokes, you too can have a picture of George Washington in a skateboard battle with Fozzy Bear... no, not Fozzy Bear dressed as George Washington... no, not George Washington surfing on Fozzy Bear... no, not... you know, I'm not sure this thing entirely understands what I'm asking for.
I think Daz still has the niche of people who actually want the journey and - at least for now - those who want the control. Because at present, the ML images are kind of a one-armed-bandit. Pull the lever, try to see how many of the things you asked for it actually gets right. Perhaps refine the prompt if it keeps getting it wrong, see if that gets you closer. But with my own experimentation with Stable Diffusion, I've often had to go through hundreds of iterations to get something close to what I want, and even then it usually needs fixes.
Prompt interpretation getting better will naturally draw in more people who are "give me art now", but it'll take the rug out from people who are trying to set themselves up as prompt engineers as more and more people can get the results they want.
Well, it's certainly my take that the forum would benefit from positive interactions that act as inspiration, rather than everyone telling each other why they won't be buying the latest product.
One of the things about Forums is the poor search function. I generally make my query Google. I'm not a frequent poster, and sometimes my posts are not responded to.
In my opinion, G9 is a dream to work on over G8, and I liked G8 a lot. Once I got G9 to work on, I had a G8 project half done (CC Puck and CC Pixie), and I had an absolute tantrum not wanting to finish it XD I mainly do characters and props, so folks that do clothing may have a different opinion (though I have done some clothing work with 9 and it is SO much easier to deal with because of the new templates and utilities built into the figure). A pose maker I work closely with is of a similar mindset as well. The first project she did with G9 in it, she made the mistake of doing the G9 poses and expressions first, then when she went to make the matching G8 ones, she was very grumpy about it. I'd also accepted a commission for G8 after I'd gotten G9, and I basically powered my way through it in a weekend because I didn't want to work on G8 so badly at that point XD And I am a serial procrastinator generally. For that though, I was just, "I'mma eat this frog and get it over with!"
That said, G9 doesn't really take any less time to work on, but the time spent is MUCH less frustrating for me. I love the idea of the unified base, and I think they did a really good job of addressing the issues that made Genesis 1 not work in that regard.
I enjoy looking through the few PA appreciation threads I've found in the forums. Participating in this thread, I thought a post that lists all the PA appreciation threads in one place would help us track them down more easily and maybe create more engagement with them as well. I only found a few. If anyone knows of more PA appreciation threads, drop a link to it in https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/654931/a-list-of-pa-appreciation-threads
And while we're at it, anyone want to create the Mada appreciation thread? barbult or Matt_Castle or anybody, feel free to go ahead, and set it in motion!
And anyone for setting up a ChangelingChick appreciation thread?
At times these appreciation threads might slow down to a halt, but having a list of links to them can help us resurrect them again when something new comes out from that PA or we discover some hidden gem in our runtime!
I agree... so I'm responding :) Happy to mee'cha IceScribe!
DS 5 was pre-advanced as it was thought to be needed to adderss an issue with the upcoming Mac update. That proved not to be the case so the team is able to give the work the attention it deserves (some of which we have already seen in subsequent DS4 updates). It is a small development team, though - if they had to post, or edit posts by others, about what is being done and then field all the follow up questions it would impact on their ability to get the work done.
I think I should be front of the line to sign in two cents for that one :D
Dunno about that. I know at least a few people that started a "Please stop showing us ads for Hole Hair!!" threads though XD
There are, clearly, negative views of products and promotions posted through the full forum.. We remove posts for breaking the ToS in one way or another, both pro- and anti-Daz/products, not for what they say. All views and comments are very welcome as long as they are civilly written and within the scope of the ToS. Negative comments are just as important as positive and both are equally needed to put together a full picture. No one should feel you have to be quiet about issues you are having or experiencing, so if you are having to say please feel free to post them, but it does not need to be said in every thread.
Tks frank, I know and you're right!
I have huge appreciation for both of those PAs.
I've always been very thankful for all of the PAs. Without their hard work, I wouldn't have had as much fun as I have the last 20+ years. I'm especially impressed having witnessed much of the grief they deal with from time to time, yet still find enough strength of spirit to soldier on and make more magic for us.
-- Walt Sterdan
I stumbled over another Mada product in my library - Jungle Girl for Genesis 2 Female. It autofit to a morphed G9 just fine and looks good, I think.
Oh no! xD Well, I must confess that promo image for it is painfully? etched into my brain...
Hahaha. Well, I would just post some sexy renders of CC Jack and they should come around.. 
The minute I wrote that, I thought, why not just load up CC Jack and render something and derail the thread further...
For sure, it fits and looks fine! Also like your character's face and expression, sweet and serene.
THIS!
Working with all these 3D assets is a collaborative effort I feel, like with photography and film making. We rely on models/actors, sets, costumes etc. to visualize our ideas. The work by the PAs makes it possible for us to bring these ideas to life, and hopefully our work showcases theirs.
I know there's always more stuff everyone wants to see being made to fill a need, but overall I've felt pretty spoiled by the breadth of choice. After the shock of realizing how much I've amassed when I look at my library, my next thought is usually along the lines of...
"Look at this stuff, isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collection complete? Wouldn't you think I'm the girl, the girl who has everything?"
XD
It's magic. So yup, I too am very very grateful to the PAs for all their work!
Oh hello there! XD Nicely done! This right here is my favorite part of making 3D stuff. I'm way more tech than artist, so I love making stuff that other people can make pretty stuff with.
I've matured in the past 20 years. I don't feel the need to spread my thoughts all over the forums. My creative energies have dimmed since I admit to being overwhelmed by so many things.
I don't have the energy or desire to spend too much time reading through lengthy posts or threads. I lost steam by the time I skimmed through the first page. And there are 7 pages of responses so far I miss the comradery, but in so many ways I wonder if I even fit with the rest of you.
These forums are clicky, for one. It's also frustrating when someone posts a legitimate question, whether you're the poster or just observing, and you see it get outright ignored by most and then intentionally derailed by others. It feels bad, and it doesn't make people want to participate. I realize not everybody will have the answer to something, but when some silly sarcastic response gets 20 comments and the actual topic doesn't even get a second read it creates an unwelcoming environment for new people.
Of course, there's other factors at play, as general interaction is down everywhere, but let's not pretend that this particular forum is really just the same people making jokes and going around in circles with each other at the expense of often ignoring the main point of the post. There's just so much BS that gets posted here that nobody wants to sift through it to try to get some help.
That all sounds negative, but it's just my perspecitve and it is what it is. People need a place to vent and joke around, too, so it's OK that this is what that is, it just also means that we can't be surprised when useage continues to slowly fade away.
This. I see this happen so often.
I have also seen it the other way round as well, where the OP poses a question, then one or more people reply with helpful, and sometimes long answers. After that total silence from the OP, not even a simple acknowledgement that it helped their issue, or even a civil thank you. That makes the people replying wondering why they bothered.
AGREED!
Of course, yes, this will be the case sometimes, just like side conversations. Sometimes people treat forums like some kind of help desk and dump their issues, then dip out when they get their answer. Those individuals don't exactly contribute to a "healthy" forum, either, but I just take a little bit bigger of an issue with the (seemingly) intentional sabatoge of so many valid questions. Questions where we could have some topical conversation around a certain point, instead of always shooting off in some weird direction that is offputting to the group of people interested in the origional topic.
I guess I think of it this way... if a user does a "post and run", and just throws his issues up there with no thought to come back, it doesn't mean that valid conversation still can't be had around the topic. This is impossible, however, if some sarcastic comment derails the whole thing. Again, just my opinion. I can only speak for why I, myself, haven't been able to get engaged much here.
I only really posted here because the origional point brought up in this post is a good one, and in my opinion worth analyzing. Again, I know I sound negative, but this is only from the perspective of someone more interested in the software than making new internet friends, so it could be that it just isn't the right place for me. Overall, this is one of the few 3D-product centered "communitities" with much interaction at all, so it's far from dead or even bad.
"Don't worry about things you have no control over." My lot, grandchildren, daughters and wife, hear that from me all the time. If I got upset from being on here I wouldn't be here. I have come through IRC, News Groups and forums over the years and some that weren't moderated you took your sanity in your own hands by posting anything. You answer a question and don't get a response then move on, or did you answer it so you got praise for your insight? Someone posts in a thread that you don't like? Move on and ignore that thread. Someone tries to start an argument with you or questions an answer you gave, ignore them and let them argue with themselves, they soon get bored :) I sometimes wonder what kind of life some people lead in real life outside of the internet
Hi, LlolaLane nice to meet you, too.
Wow, I totally misread your username XD I strongly agree with this right here though.
I agree with both of you. In fairness, I've asked questions when notifications were broken and didn't realize there were replies until I went looking. It was after a long hiatus and I was unaware of the issues with the forums. A newcomer who wasn't getting notifications may simply have assumed there were no replies. Not everyone comes to the forums regularly. Some people only come to ask questions when they need help.
The other thing I haven't seen mentioned (perhaps I missed it), is that the longtimers are older now and may have different lives from when they started this hobby/profession. Longtimers may have been single when they got into this hobby, but now are married with kids that take up their time. I was in my 30s when I started this hobby. Now I have grandchildren that I spend a lot of time with. Some people may have limited time because they are now caregivers to elderly parents or a sick partner, or they may have debilitating health issues that limit their "good" days. Some people lost their jobs and can't afford this hobby anymore. Some people spent time on home renovations or repairs. Etc., etc. There is a whole other life outside of these forums and outside of the internet. It's not just what happens in here that keeps people away.
Thanks... (I'm smilin') ;)