Premier Questions

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  • TesseractSpaceTesseractSpace Posts: 1,406

    daveso said:

    Leana said:

    Mr_Fluffkin said:

    I hope the basic version of DS keeps all nessesary tools, but this all sounds absolutly terrible for what the future will bring. I was so excited when I saw the 25th birthday banner, but all I get from this announcement is "Milk the cow". I'm fine with spending money for models and I left a LOT of money at the Daz store, but at some point it's enough. It's a tragedy that after 25 years we suddenly have to pay €20 a month to continue to be able to use the basic software to its full extent. Happy Birthday...frown

    Nothing has been taken away from the free version. Paying for the Premier membership gives you access to extra tools which are currently paid-for plugins.

    what sucks is that the plugins are now marked inactive. I have the one that changes g2-g8 to g9 and it is inactive. They should at least give us the option of still purchasing at least but it appears they're trying to force us to but the premiere product.  

    Not buy, rent. We don't get to keep the nice plugins without a subscription. Which if they were running off servers like the AI character creator would be fine, but these run on our machines, no connection required except to verify the subscription. A distressing sign of how we can expect all new features to be, going forward.

  • Llola LaneLlola Lane Posts: 9,344

    paulawp (marahzen) said:

    Pixel8ted said:

    I'm thinking maybe based on what actually was paid....dinged for buying at steep discounts, maybe.

    That appears to be the pattern. I was offered one month, for my Daz+ membership that expires in December 2025. I know I extended my subscription the last couple of times with screaming sale deals - without looking back at receipts, I think under $20 for a year this last time. So there's the flip side of being a good bargain hunter.

    For now, I am sticking with my existing Daz+ subscription. I am at a stage in my content acquisition that the Daz+ tier offers enough value, for the money I have in it; I just don't need that much more stuff to make the much more pricey Premier tier justify itself. I think for a someone closer to starting out, with a lot of disposable income, it could be a good deal. But that's not me today. I already have all the stuff. 

    So long as the base product has a free perpetual license, as does the stufff bought at the Daz store (it sounds like the "works while you have a subscription" applies to premier-subscriber-only tools/plug-ins rather than stuff bought at the store) I have no hard feelings.

    But maybe it is a message that I probably should refocus on creating rather than acquiring.

    I agree... I spend waaaaaaay too much here at Daz... Need to start using some of what I bought :)  New Years Resolution time???  lol

  • savagestugsavagestug Posts: 172

    My mind is boggled as to how badly this rollout of Premiere was borked. Dropped as an overnight bombshell with no attempt at all to ease people into it.

  • xyer0xyer0 Posts: 5,937

    hjake said:

    ... Bottom-line DAZ will have to separate DAZ Studio from membership subscriptions (IMO) if they want paid DAZ Studio product adoption. It will take some time for them to figure this out. Look at all the ventures they have tried in the past 2 years. They are trying to figure out how to mainatain revenue growth as well as stay relavent with all the new software and technologies coming into the marketplace.

    I just think they have a terrible way of trying things out and it really hurts their reputation in the long run. I don't know if it is bad marketing or bad management, but the shareholders need to clean things up at DAZ. Desparate strategies never look good on a company.

    You don't have to pick one, unlike Plus and Premier. A one-month trial of Premier (with the option to revert to Plus if desired) would be the ideal intro policy. But Daz.

    Alienating customers is a popular business plan nowadays.

  • I was excited when I saw the anniversary banner, but this whole fiasco has me feeling dejected about the future direction that DAZ is moving in.

    • DAZ+ no longer can be purchased at a discount, and jumped from $70 annual MSRP to $120 annual MSRP
    • Manfriday Plugins that previously could be purchased for a nominal fee are now behind a subscription, with the likelihood that more useful plugins / features will get moved to subscription-only in the future.
    • They increased how long tokens are good for, but they reduced how much they discount things. They also seem to have restricted what qualifying purchases are that can earn tokens.

    I'm not interested in renting software or content. It might be time for me to do some extra backups and stop updating DAZ software. 

    There's more I could say, but I don't feel like saying it. I'm disappointed with DAZ. 

     

  • y3kmany3kman Posts: 797

    I'm probably in the minority but I already got decent value from my $20 premier subscription. The new sub tier is definitely aimed at newcomers and/or returning customers like me. I stopped using DAZ when they introduced Gen9  and this new tier gives me a quick way of building up my Genesis 9 library.

    Two free character bundles (Tara from the premier coupon, Lawrence from the $10 DO coupon)

    4 DAZ+ freebies (2 plants, pool, cargo vessel)

    2 tokens for spending zero YAY! That's a 13% extra discount for my next order.

    I still have the $10 PA coupon for a $25-purchase later.

     

    All in all, I'm happy with my $20 expense. I don't see myself renewing every month, though. I'll probably check out what they're offering before extending my sub. I could understand why most of you are mad especially those who have active DAZ+ subscriptions and with a large Gen9 library.

  • MasterstrokeMasterstroke Posts: 1,984
    edited October 8

    SnowSultan said:

    Honestly though, there really aren't any direct competitors with Studio. AI is too inconsistent, Reallusion is way too expensive and the content for the figures is much more limited than DAZ ones, Poser is OK if you don't mind taking your renders back to 2006 or so, and you're really not going to just quickly pick up Blender or Unreal as quickly as Studio and make comparable art, not to mention it is a pain in the neck to get materials and certain Studio features (like geoshells and HD morphs) over to them. I have tried a ton of these other options, and I keep coming back to the same conclusion: if you like using Studio now, you're almost certainly going to want to stay with Studio.

    You've nailed it, which is the core of the anger, here. A lot of people feel trapped, knowing there is nothing else like DS.
    Almost like blackmailing:
    Accept the premier fee or stay where you're at with DAZ Studio.
    Hint: Reallusion doesn't have geo-grafts.

    EDIT:
    DAZ needs more money?
    Well, we all do.
    Then charge me once for a Pro-Version, that I can keep till amagedon, 
    but do NOT go for subscription.
     

    Post edited by Masterstroke on
  • fred9803fred9803 Posts: 1,564

    savagestug said:

    My mind is boggled as to how badly this rollout of Premiere was borked.

    You just haven't been here long enough to see it happen ad infinitum. This is just Daz business as usual.... 

  • SnowSultanSnowSultan Posts: 3,596
    edited October 8

    DustRider said:

    Very true. DS is still the best for quality simple character work. However I have used Blender for quite a number of animations and model creation, so the curve wouldn't be quite as steep for me. I'd rather continue to use DS, but the fact that I can't fix my borked installation of the Beta, and the total lack of anyone at DAZ wanting to even talk about helping,me, leaves a pretty bad impression. In fact it has resulted in fewer purchases, and affected my personal opinion of the company in general.

     

    I've gone back and forth learning bits and pieces of Blender for a number of years now, and while there are things about it I just do not get (Z axis=up, using middle mouse button to rotate and pan, etc), it's not the most difficult program around. The problem really is that we want to use our DAZ content IN it. I've tried both bridges and I ended up spending more time cleaning up the messes they bring over than creating anything. I hope to eventually send an entire finished scene in Studio over as a static FBX and then setting the lighting and materials manually in Blender to see if it gives better rendered results than in Studio (I doubt it will be worth the effort though).

    I think the proof is in the fact that you very rarely see any really good Blender or Unreal renders that use DAZ products. It doesn't mean it can't be done of course, but it suggests that it's just too much trouble. DAZ content is made for DAZ Studio and it's best used in DAZ Studio, which is why a lot of this is frustrating.

    Post edited by SnowSultan on
  • I personally think that $10/month for a Daz+ membership is too expensive, and far to large a raise from the previous Daz+ price. Almost doubling the price without extra benefits? That is pretty harsh and feels unwarranted, not the least because of the feeling that prices for content also have been ticking up over the last years (haven't really done the work to prove that though). I already pretty much only buy products on sales because I find the non-sales prices generally too high.

    But then again, I need to calculate if, with the amount of stuff I buy, the DAZ+rebates are worth it at the new price point. The coupons rarely work for me, and much of the freebies is stuff I'd never buy. I doubt I'll be renewing DAZ+ at this price point, which means I'll probably be buying a lot less.

    $20/month for Premier I will not consider for the content rebates. The only thing that could entice me at this price point would be significant improvements to the DAZ Studio features - what is offered so far is just not anywhere near enough to justify $230 a year.

    • HD tools
    • Better dynamic clothing (e.g. interactive features as in marvelous designer, allowing for cloth that don't unrealistically stick to certain body parts)
    • strand hair tools
    • better HDRI and lighting tools
    • motion blur
    • a LIE editor that is fast and responsive
    • texture painting or even just "dirtyfication" shaders that allow to make scenes easily that don't look artifically clean

    .... some of these might entice me to spend that level of money, just as an example.

  • CybersoxCybersox Posts: 9,058

    Masterstroke said:


    EDIT:
    DAZ needs more money?
    Well, we all do.
    Then charge me once for a Pro-Version, that I can keep till amagedon, 
    but do NOT go for subscription.
     

    It would seem rather strange for a company that really needs to conserve money to be doing things like maintaining two separate sets of offices, one in Utah and one in Vancouver, and engaging in competitive practices like luring away half of their main competitors' suppliers in one massive swoop.      

  • mdingmding Posts: 1,243
    edited October 8

    Rod Wise Driggo said:

    Has this been asked:

    Apparently a lot of the "new" plugins in DAZ Studio Premier are from ManFriday and have been available earlier.

    I do have (the old) MeshGrabber for Mac but I was never able to get RenderQueue or dForce Companion as those are Windows only.

    Now: Is DAZ Studio Premier completely cross-platform with all the plugins or are Mac users missing out on something?

    @Rod Wise Driggo: I am on Win64 but this is what I get at DIM. Please also read the warning displayed for Mac Users (click to enlarge)

    Render Queue seems to exist only for Win64 at the moment.

    screen.png
    1920 x 812 - 272K
    Post edited by mding on
  • gfdamron1gfdamron1 Posts: 284

    I haven't found where it says that DS 4.23 is by subscription now; can someone share a link to the particulars? DS 4.23 is available for download in DIM, and it appears like a normal DS download. I'll stay with DS 4.22 for the foresable future as I have no issues with it, and I've barely scraped the surface of what it's capable of. I'm still interested in learning about DS 4.23, though.

  • LeanaLeana Posts: 11,720

    daveso said:

    Leana said:

    Mr_Fluffkin said:

    I hope the basic version of DS keeps all nessesary tools, but this all sounds absolutly terrible for what the future will bring. I was so excited when I saw the 25th birthday banner, but all I get from this announcement is "Milk the cow". I'm fine with spending money for models and I left a LOT of money at the Daz store, but at some point it's enough. It's a tragedy that after 25 years we suddenly have to pay €20 a month to continue to be able to use the basic software to its full extent. Happy Birthday...frown

    Nothing has been taken away from the free version. Paying for the Premier membership gives you access to extra tools which are currently paid-for plugins.

    what sucks is that the plugins are now marked inactive. I have the one that changes g2-g8 to g9 and it is inactive. They should at least give us the option of still purchasing at least but it appears they're trying to force us to but the premiere product.  

    If they were purchased by Daz it's not really surprising they're not sold as a PA item anymore. Now the question is whether they will be sold separately again as Daz Originals, or available only through the Premier subscription. I certainly hope they will become available separately.

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,057
    edited October 8

    Richard Haseltine said:

    kyoto kid said:

    Richard Haseltine said:

    You are getting what you paid for, if you remain as a + member - nothing is being taken away from you in that respect. The issue is trading in the unused portion of what you purchased for something better.

    ..OK, so what is the button that says "Auto-Renew" Plan under the Daz+ selection do?  Will that put me on the 9.99$ monthly instalments?

    Last night (well very early, early this morning) I thought there was a selection that said "Remain on Current Plan". Last thing any of us need right now is more confusion. 

    As far as I know it means that it will auto-renew (at $9.99) when that is due and not before.

    ..so If I don't click on the "auto renew", my current Daz+ account is good until July of next year. Not thrilled about laying out an extra 50$ for a full year of Daz+ membership on a neagre pension income when for the same benefits. 

    It also bothers me that "non Daz+/Daz Premium" members will now have to spend 15$ for each token instead of 10$.  This kind of marketing tends to chase customers away.

    Post edited by kyoto kid on
  • skybluerobskybluerob Posts: 11
    Since the revision, does anyone know where to go to get the free Daz+ monthly items now? I used to go to the old Daz+ store page and get them from there, but it's changed now. Thanks.
  • youri_zyouri_z Posts: 156

    I'm not as upset about the tiered membership or the subscription-based model. it was only a matter of time. Like many others, I have the plugins included with DAZ Studio Premier so that's not a draw (for now). But I like the discounts at the Premier tier and I'd certainly use them.

    What I'm more concerned with is the marketing of the Premier tier to those of us who have months of the Daz+ membership left. The offer we're getting (2 free months for me for a membership that ends in January 2026 = 15 months) seems to be based on what we paid for the membership. For me, I got a year for $25 or so. However, this doesn't take into account value. I have another 15 months of Daz+. That's 30 coupons for $6 off. That's 75 freebies. The values of 15 months of Daz+ far exceeds 2 months of Daz Premier. (Especially given that the free monthly Daz Bundle doesn't do me any good right now. I have 90% of them and parts of all the others.)

    I wonder why Daz didn't do what other subscription-based models do to incentivize customers to go for the higher tier.

    ** Why not offer Daz Premier for a discounted $9.99 per month for those 15 months I have remaining on my Daz+ membership? Then revert to $18.99 per month. I'd do that. I would even pay up front.

    Daz would still squeeze more money out of me and I wouldn't feel like I was losing value.

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 24,244
    edited October 8

    gfdamron1 said:

    I haven't found where it says that DS 4.23 is by subscription now; can someone share a link to the particulars? DS 4.23 is available for download in DIM, and it appears like a normal DS download. I'll stay with DS 4.22 for the foresable future as I have no issues with it, and I've barely scraped the surface of what it's capable of. I'm still interested in learning about DS 4.23, though.

    Daz Studio 4.23.0.1 is not subscription based. Only Daz+ and Premier membership are subscription at this point. A premier subscription gives you extra tools inside Daz Studio, though, for as long as you remain a subscriber. Maybe that is what they were referring to.

    Post edited by barbult on
  • LeanaLeana Posts: 11,720

    skybluerob said:

    Since the revision, does anyone know where to go to get the free Daz+ monthly items now? I used to go to the old Daz+ store page and get them from there, but it's changed now. Thanks.

    They get posted in this thread and the newsletter: https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/684066/the-weekly-daz-release-thread-part-v#latest

  • y3kmany3kman Posts: 797

    gfdamron1 said:

    I haven't found where it says that DS 4.23 is by subscription now; can someone share a link to the particulars? DS 4.23 is available for download in DIM, and it appears like a normal DS download. I'll stay with DS 4.22 for the foresable future as I have no issues with it, and I've barely scraped the surface of what it's capable of. I'm still interested in learning about DS 4.23, though.

    DAZ Studio 4.23.0.1 is still free for all users. Premier just gives you temporary access to several plug-ins. If you've read some of the replies, these plug-ins were previously avaliable for separate purchase but DAZ pulled them out and hid it behind a subscription.

  • Mr_FluffkinMr_Fluffkin Posts: 126
    edited October 8

    Has anyone figured out what the point "Optimize rendering performance with new render settings" means? What are these new render settings that only premier subscribers can use?

    Post edited by Mr_Fluffkin on
  • This situation has caused an uproar.

    I am joining the fray too.

    This is an ill conceived move.

    Not all people have the means to speand a lot of money for a Premier membership neither a Plus one.

    From $70 to $227.76 a year, that's way too much.

    The so called perks are not justified.

    A rethink must be done, stop this madness.

    If you go this path and not attend the needs of the users, many will abandon ship.

    And this move will prove to be disastrous.

    You must adhere to a balanced strategy, something that will not disadvantage the free and paid community.

    You owe the success of this to all Daz Studio users.

    Some free organizations, depend of the generous donations of the people and some business to strive and deliver good software, I do not have to mention what software is because there are many out there.

    Don't understimate the will of the users.

    This month was supposed to be of celebration for the 25 years of activity, is your fault you are ruining it.

    This is no time to alienate certain group of users.

    All of us, we want value from the products sold in the store.

    Sure, there are some that may be tagged cashed up and generate some dislike, but I find this approach rushed and totally unacceptable.

    Come to your senses and do something for the better.

  • CybersoxCybersox Posts: 9,058

    kyoto kid said:

    It also bothers me that "non Daz+/Daz Premium" members will now have to spend 15$ for each token instead of 10$.  This kind of marketing tends to chase customers away.

    Hey, it's not as if we're talking about a company that once managed to piss off half of the existing market in one fell swoop, forming a massive schizsm within the hobby that took years to begin to heal...  oh wait, we are talking about that company, aren't we?

  • skybluerobskybluerob Posts: 11
    Leana said:

    skybluerob said:

    Since the revision, does anyone know where to go to get the free Daz+ monthly items now? I used to go to the old Daz+ store page and get them from there, but it's changed now. Thanks.

    They get posted in this thread and the newsletter: https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/684066/the-weekly-daz-release-thread-part-v#latest

    Thank you. I don't use the forums very much but I'll bookmark that one.
  • MasterstrokeMasterstroke Posts: 1,984

    As a non premier subscriber, what are my benefits from getting DS 4.23?

  • CybersoxCybersox Posts: 9,058
    edited October 8

    And since it probably got lost in all of the above, I'd like to point out again that I WOULDN'T have a problem with paying the price DAZ wants for Premeir... IF it were to actually come with useful features that I don't already have access to and didn't look like something thrown together in thirty seconds.  Unfortunately, the only thing I see of note is the regurgitated version of Mesh Grabber 4, while the rest is the same old game of "here's a bunch of old stuff cheap" and some possibly new stuff of questionable use, origin, and quality that I won't actually own.  It feels not unlike a car leasing program that doesn't actually lease you a car... just a set of tires, a fancy radio, and some vinyl seatcovers, plus a book of coupons for discounts at Buckey's, Tim Horton's, and Earl Scheib..    

    Post edited by Cybersox on
  • HellcatF6FHellcatF6F Posts: 75

    Perpetual license for the cost of one year of Premier, and throw the HD tool into the package because the G9 mesh is too low of resolution to sculpt without it, and then it would be a worthwhile value.

  • WonderlandWonderland Posts: 6,881

    Leana said:

    Blood-PawWerewolf said:

    Wicked Whomp said:

    Blood-PawWerewolf said:

    Are all of the tools that are included already available on the DAZ Store? Or are they exclusive tools that the DAZ team made?

    Geometry Editor = Mesh Grabber
    Batch Rendering = Render Queue
    Both by ManFriday
    Simulation Manager = there's a few, one by ManFriday (so probably his), one by RiverSoft and probably a few others.

    The exporters? All are already available, free at that.

    So yes, everything shown so far is already available on the Daz store.

    yet what about the character converter tool? 

    Probably this one (also by ManFriday): https://www.daz3d.com/figure-converter-for-genesis-9

    And the pose conversion tool might be based on this: https://www.daz3d.com/pose-companion-for-genesis-9

    Those are now both removed from the store. I'm glad I already own most converters and plugin scripts. I hope they don't make future utilities exclusive to Premier or start removing all the ones in the store! 

  • UnseenUnseen Posts: 652

    Still no offer in my account, I am still a Base member. So no money spent on my side! And believe me, I generally spend a lot of money in the Daz store!

  • AndrewJJPAndrewJJP Posts: 711

    HellcatF6F said:

    Perpetual license for the cost of one year of Premier, and throw the HD tool into the package because the G9 mesh is too low of resolution to sculpt without it, and then it would be a worthwhile value.

    +1

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