Studio 4.8 and 4.9

druc

Hi,

I prefer to use Studio 4.8 and haven't downloaded or installed 4.9 as I am affraid if I install 4.9 I won't be able to use 4.8 anymore. Can I have both 4.8 and 4.9 installed on my PC and choose which version I want to use, depending on the content I want at the time?

 

outrider42

You have to install them on different drives, otherwise I believe it will overwrite it.

But there is another option, the beta. The beta will never overwrite the full version and can run on the same drive and everything. The beta is 4.11, and you may as well use it over 4.9. I assume you are using Iray.

I can tell you from my experience that there are some changes to how Iray works between 4.8 and 4.9. While every version changes a bit, the difference between 4.8 and 4.9 is the largest and most noticeable. One change is a glitch fix to SSS, but the thing is that some PA's created their models with that glitch not knowing it was a glitch. So by fixing the glitch it sort of breaks these models. Well, break is a strong word, but the skin on these models looks totally different than they did in 4.8. There are not a lot of models effected by this, but the ones that are are pretty drastic. They will look very dark. Some PA's updated their models for 4.9+, some did not.  This is not a very easy adjustment to make as it took me a lot of trial and error to get something close to how they looked in 4.8. 

Other changes effect how strong the HDRI light is, and how harsh it casts shadows. If I recall right it got softer. So if you have some scenes that rely on HDRI for light they may look different. You can adjust for this. However I like this change over over all, and I like how it handles direct light as well.

Another thing, if you upgrade to Pascal GPUs, they will not work on 4.8 at all. So you would be pretty much forced to update. The newest GPUs, Turing, will only work in the Daz 4.11 beta. 

I would get the beta. You have nothing to lose trying it, and it has more features that 4.9 lacks, like dforce and denoising. I personally think denoising is a huge deal and well worth checking out.

druc

Thank you Outrider42.

One of the things I do use is 3delight render engine. I was never happy with the results I was getting when I tried Iray. Too grainy and took too long.

I have several drives, so installing on a different drive isn't an issue. Does 4.11 beta version still have 3Delight as an optional render engine?

Leana

Yes, 3DL is still there.

outrider42

Then the new Iray denoiser in 4.11 might be to your liking. No more grain. The render still might take a while if your machine is low spec, though.

3DL has not been changed to my knowledge, so the things I mentioned wont apply. As a a 3DL user I don't think there are many changes you would fear going forward. There are a few recent products that add new features to 3DL which may be of great use to you. I do not know if these will run on 4.8. You have IBL came out earlier this year, and awesurface just released a commercial product.

https://www.daz3d.com/aweshading-kit-10-for-daz-studio

https://www.daz3d.com/ibl-master-for-daz-studio

The biggest change for you may be dforce, as it is useful regardless of what engine you use. Other improvements include how adjusting rigging to shape works much better on the eyes. You'll notice this if you create your own morphs or use certain free characters or Facegen. There are other quality of life improvements to look forward to.