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Apple has set itself outside the rest of the computer world with its decisions in recent years. Now Apple wants you to abandon all the Apple software you've bought over the years, and start over.
They do this with some regularity. I count four in the last two decades.
OS9 to OSX
PowerPC to Intel
32-bit phaseout
Intel to Apple Silicon
As a longtime Mac user (Poser 1 to now), if the software maker was wise enough to foloow their instructions to follow the instructions that they were given years ago to make sure their application is 64 bit, doesn't use any deprecated technologies, and doesn't rely on hardware thatcan be deprecated then they should all run fine in Rosetta 2. Pretty much all the major players from Microsoft, Adobe, etc... have either a version that runs reasonably well in Rosetta 2 or they have a version or prototype of an Apple Silicon version of their software that customers can get as a free upgrade. Daz Studio is a bit different since it is a) somewhat niche, b) requires some derecated frameworks and libraries to avoid breaking plugins, and is tied to Nvidia which has historically had bad relations to Apple (the web can provide the rich history of missed deadlines, underpowered cards, and the eventual more profitable mobile graphics and data mining for Nvidia and the more profitable and efficient ability to control their own graphics for Apple). 8-9 months is a pretty reasonable time to prepare users for an update that will render some plugins obsolete.
I remember when Rosetta v 1 was abandoned. It was a shock. I think the longest Rosetta 2 will work is 2 years..... Maybe you shouldn't count on that either. Yes, apps like DAZ Studio are a problem because of the way they work....
The Rosettas are not meant to be permanent solutions though the less wise software companies seem to treat them that way instead of using them as a stopgap while they work on native software. I have no problem with them being useless in two years; I have a problem with companies ignoring ample warnings to migrate to current versions. Software and hardware must evolve.
My understanding of the situation is, they updated the software the Mac uses. And even though the new Mac system looks like the old one, it's completely different on the inside. And apps depend on that stuff on the inside. So all of the apps that worked on the old one will have to be redone to work on the new one. Most serious companies will quickly update their apps for the new Mac system but we're talking about DAZ here. So your only options are
1. find a way to get your computer back on the old system or
2. get a separate computer just for DAZ Studio
3. Find a way to make your computer run Windows alongside the Mac system (dual boot)
I think if you can afford it then the second option would be easiest because then you don't have to have all your other apps running on the old Mac system just because DAZ Studio needs it. And if your new DAZ computer is a Windows machine (which would probably be the lowest cost option) then you could also experiment with a bunch of software you normally wouldn't use.
If you'd rather try to revert your Mac computer back to the old system then I suppose that would be the lowest cost option, and all your other apps would probably still work. But you'd need somebody here who knows how to do that. And there are probably people here who know. I personally wouldn't want to go back to old software just because one company won't update one app.
The dual booting thing might be the best of both worlds. But it requires doing a lot of tethnical things and if you do it wrong, I suppose you could wipe out your whole computer. But if you get it right, that would probably be the best option out of the three because it would be lower cost than buying a new computer and you don't have to take your Mac back to the old software. And it probably won't actually wipe out the computer.
I really believe it's important to do your homework when contemplating a new computer or operating system. Several threads here in the DAZ forums say that DAZ Studio won't work with Big Sur. One only needs to do a cursory search for that information. Unfortanetly people who use the new M1 computers and/or Big Sur have to wait several months for a new DAZ version.
I've had my say. I don't wish to provoke any arguments. I'm done here.
This isn't over.
It is very disappointing that software for which we pay a lot to get content is not only behind the curve but is quite willfully ignoring its customers.
The computer world does not (shock) sit still, things change, for all platforms,all the time. All developers, especially if they have account holders, have a responsibility to keep up - or drop out. In either event, customer communication is very important, just to shrug and say 'maybe' when people have paid in over the years and have projects in development is very poor customer service.
Some sort of meaningful comment from Daz would be appreciated.
</rant>
If you go to /Applications/DAZ 3D/DAZStudio4 64-bit/plugins in the macOS sheell and type
otool -L *.dylib
you can see the libraires required for that plugin.
So libstdc++.6 is used by almost everything because its the core functionality for everything written in C++ (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/16858243/what-functions-does-libstdc-so-provide if you want to dig deeper).
/usr/lib/libstdc++.6.dylib (compatibility version 7.0.0, current version 7.9.0)
Apple deprecated this like 4 years ago, when Xcode8 came out (current one is 12, one release per year lately), so DAZ had 4 years to prepare if they cared about their customers using Macs. It stopped being even available for developers with xcode 10:
Building with libstdc++ was deprecated with Xcode 8 and is not supported in Xcode 10 when targeting iOS. C++ projects must now migrate to libc++ and are recommended to set a deployment target of macOS 10.9 or later, or iOS 7 or later. Besides changing the C++ Standard Library build setting, developers should audit hard-coded linker flags and target dependencies to remove references to libstdc++ (including -lstdc++, -lstdc++.6.0.9, libstdc++.6.0.9.tbd, and libstdc++.6.0.9.dylib). Project dependencies such as static archives that were built against libstdc++ will also need to be rebuilt against libc++.
(from xcode 10 release notes, available for free at their developer site).
a) Daz Studio is built on Qt - Daz has been working on moving to a new version of Qt for some time (see all the threads on UI scaling, which also requires an update).
b) updating this will break the binary compatibility of plug-ins, some of which will certainly not be updated to work with a new version, so it is going to have a strong negative impact on many users on both Mac and Windows platforms.
Not having a version of DS that is ready for Big Sur is not evidence of Daz' lack of concern.
One nice move of DAZ would be to make Filament available on Macs. It would show some dedication to the platform. I am aware that this is extra work, as OpenGL in the version required by the current Studio Filament implementation is not available on Macs. But Filament itself is available also on Metal.
I'm confused... I thought that DS won't even run on current Mac OS? How could they make Filament work without DS working? Can you just DS as only a render engine?
If your suggesting why not put in development time and money into making changes on older Mac OS's, then I think the answer seems obvious. I can't imagine it being beneficial for them to do that. The people already using Macs are already using it, and potential new Mac users will obviously be dissuaded by the fact that they'd have to downgrade their OS to even run DS.
I hate to say it, but no company caters to everyone and it just seems that DAZ isn't super worried about their Mac segment. I'm sure everyone has an opinion, but actions speak and if it were a priority for them we'd have heard that...
Studio is working on Catalina (macOS 10.15) but not on BigSur (macOS 11), Filament is a Google render engine (https://google.github.io/filament/Filament.md.html) that works also on macOS - as a stand-alone render engine. It has not (yet) been integrated into DAZ Studio to work on macOS, though.
I suppose the BEST way for DAZ Studio would be to be render-engine agnostic. But that would require a lot of work, esp. with regard to materials and shaders. At the time when DAZ decided for Iray, it provided - undoubtly - the best rendering results. But it was limited on Nvida GPU's. Other render engines are now superior to Iray, both regrading render quality and especially speed, e.g Octane. But they require a completely different setup regarding materials and shaders. DAZ has already provided some way to switch render engines, e.g. with Filament or with an Octane material set offered for free in November. I would really appreciate if they continue with that - especially, since Studio seems to be aiming to support both still image renders and animations. Iray is a nightmare and resource hog for the later.
The DAZ busniess model is selling content. Studio is the reason why they sell content. So, keeping Studio up to date is essentialy to keeping the business model alive. This is different to Poser, wehere you have to pay for the software. DAZ Studio is free. That's what I have thought when I first installed it. But you have the urge to buy content (especially the rellay good looking one), and that is what DAZ is getting the revenue from. Its a bit like a fremium game.
The Mac user community is not that small on DAZ, and that is why they still continue developing Studio for macOS. Its like having a second entrance to your well-equipped store, inviting (Mac) users to enter and shop.
Daz is sticking it's toe into being "all things to all people" by integrating Filament and making Octane more viable, but being render-engine agnostic (how would that even work?) isn't the way to go. Daz attempts to provide a consistent platform for content creators who sell their work at the Daz store, so that they don't have to guess at what kind of materials to provide, and to provide a consistent experience for users, provided that they have reasonably recent hardware. All of these things together make the stuff Daz sells more affordable for users.
It's too bad that Mac users have to wait until the Big Sur update, but Macs haven't been the best choice for Daz Studio users for a few years now.
Support for dylib was marked depricated many, many years ago by Apple as part of their normal C library sweeping. It's not unusual for older libraries to be removed after a long warning time, this happens on all operating systems. Big Sur per se didn't break Daz3D, it was that the dylib libraries were finally removed during the upgrade. Remember that the old Intel Macs stopped working too, not just the new M1 speed demons.
You guys do realize that Studio 4.11.0383 works with Big Sur. So its not line Studio doesnt work. It may present a key to getting the new version working also.
Really? Well, that kinds sucks.
Last month I thought they were saying it woudln't run on Big Sur until mid-2021, so I actually bought an older laptop than I wanted because I didn't want to loose months of rendering time on it.
-- Walt Sterdan
That means I could run my DS4.9 on a new M1?
He mentioned 4.11.0383, so I would guess "no" to 4.9.
-- Walt
Four dot nine is older than four dot eleven
Has anyone managed to find a location to download the mac 4.11 version? I'm falling way behind in productivity and my 1,000s-$-Runtime has been idling too long now.. :-(
Google does not seem to be my friend on this one...
You will have to contact Daz support and ask them for a copy, there's no other option to download it legally.
I filed a support ticket, but got this back:
4–6 weeks... roughly the same time frame they expect Daz3S Studio to be fixed for Big Sur. (Just kidding – I know my maths. The fix willl be there sooner than a respons from support :-D )
I am surprised that 4.11 is reproted to be working in Big Sur anyway.
There are some quirks but it does open and render.
I'm more than happy to test-drive it for you (if you have an installation image for me..)!
Works with Crossover 20, but the CMS database is not starting because runs as Administrator, not a normal user. I'm not able to fix it. A shame because works very well and rendering fast the same as the Mac version. Anyone else tried? I posted previously in this thread before with screenshots.
Running from an administrator account shouldn't be an issue. Is UAC on in the Windows session?
I will check ASAP, thanks