Importing old Poser props to DAZ Studio - is it possible?
Hello.
I started to work in DAZ few days ago, so beare with me please.
I'd like to know (my main question) if there's a way to import and above all - USE in DAZ3D things made for Poser (old props made in 2013).
For the first question I found solution (at least I think I have imported stuff to DAZ - some clothes)
Unfortunately from that point things are getting confusing for me...
The props I found and imported to DAZ were made for Poser - Victoria 4 model...
Is it universal type of model used in a past in both programs or completly different figure apart from genesis used now in DAZ?
Does the problem I have with the props (the are not loaded into scene) is caused by the fact I don't have proper model in my DAZ instance (or scene) for this prop? After dobuble click clothes don't load into the scene (nothing happens).
Is there any way to convert these props (Poser Victoria 4 to newer figure like G3 or G8) and if its possible what steps should I take, what kind of additional soft should I use?
Comments
The same Victoria 4 was, and still is, used for Poser and DAZ Studio. Most Poser format products can be used directly in Studio without the need to manually import them (Poser products started to diverge at some point, but I do not know what makes the distinction. It is pretty safe to say .cr2, .pp2, .pz2 and some .mc6 files are okay, but most .pmd, and all .mt5 will not load in Studio), but they do install to a different part of the Content Library. In the Content Directory Manager, make sure you have both DAZ Studio Formats and Poser Formats configured. If you install everything in the same place, then the path for each one will be the same.
Studio can automatically import from the Poser Formats area without any intervention on your part when using the Millennium Generations 1-4 figures and their associated clothing, materials, props, etc. Getting them to work with Genesis-level figures will require a little more effort. Auto-fit will handle simple figures (standard skeleton rigging) with little trouble, but it isn't always perfect. Any fancy items with extra bones will lose that functonality when using Auto-fit.
Each generation has the previous generation's projection templates, but to skip more than one or go backwards, there are products that provide clones of figures for a particular generation of Genesis. There's Victoria 4 for Genesis 2, SY Victoria 4 And Michael 4 Clones For Genesis 8, and pretty much any product with the word Clone in it.
There are a number of products that attempt to make the transfer easier. Much has been written about them, but to start, here are some things to look for:
Ultra Templates (for various Genesis versions)
Fit Control (also for various Genesis versions)
Wear Them All (for Genesis 3)
Ultimate Clothing Fixer
Eventually, products that can convert (avoiding Auto-Fit) clothing, hair and props were made to transfer between Genesis generations, not just from Victoria 4. Look for products from Riversoft Art and Sickleyield, like RSSY Clothing Converter from Victoria 4 to Genesis 8 Female (there's one for Michael 4, too) among several others. Results may vary.
Then there is always the manual approach (with which I am not really familiar) where you have more control over the results, but will take more time.
Thank you for your deteailed explanation... You wrote a lot :-) Some things are now clear. I got to the point where I use clothes imported from Poser on Victoria 4 (in DAZ)... BUT the prop doesn't look like as it should Instead of armor I got something like a catsuit (problem with textures?) How can I fix it?
Older Poser products tend to be quite glossy and reflective in Studio. They will default to the 3DL shader unless you explicitly convert them to Iray. Studio can convert to Iray materials on-the-fly, but doesn't always do the best job. Assuming 3Delight for now, try dialing up (counter-intuitively) the Glossiness, dial down the Specular Strength and check out the Reflection Strength. To get real reflections, remove the fake reflection bitmap if there is one. Bump strength needs to be about 100 times of that in Poser, so crank the Positive/Negative limits up to +/-1.0 and adjust the amounts to get the surface detail you want. Similarly for Displacement, limits to +/-1.0 and adjust the amount, if used.
Iray is a different beast altogether, but basics would still apply. There are many more adjustments possible, and will take some time to become familiar with them.
As long as your model geometry imports into Daz at all, you can locate missing textures from your Poser runtime. Reassign them in the surface properties tab.
Most of the time you will have to redo materials by hand because Poser mats imported into Daz always default to glossy 3dlight plastic. So, one way or another you will be editing the surface tab. Automatic conversions to Iray, be it scripted converters from Daz store or the default Iray uber shader, will require manual tweaking anyway.