Do you jump on the latest characters or do you hold out?
Drogo Nazhur
Posts: 1,156
in The Commons
It takes me a long time to embrace the latest Genesis. I didn't start buying G3 until it was out almost a year because I had a lot of money invested in G2. The same for G8. I didn't want to move to G8 because I finally started using G3. Now I am having the same issue with 8.1
I'm just curious if other buyers act like I do or if I'm the only oddball here.
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Comments
I use characters from G2 all the way to G8.1.Sometimes all in the same scene.
Not uncommon at all for me to have a V6,V7, and V8/8.1 all in the same scene.
I really don't care what version they are.All I care about it what they are wearing, or can wear.
Usually hair and clothes, sometimes poses if I don't feel like doing the pose manually.
I wouldn't abandon older characters/content just because of a new one.A little shader work and it all works in iray, or whatever render engine one wants to use.
If I had more V4 content; I'd most likely be using her more.
G8.1 isn't a new character, everything* you have for G8 works for G8.1
*in order to get G8 expressions working on G8.1 will require removal of the dummy files in G8.1 morphs, which are tere for the sole purpose of disabling G8 expressions from working.
It wasn't hard for me with G8 since G3 skins, clothing, hair, and poses worked out of the box pretty well on G8, and I still go back and forth between G8 and G3 regularly. 8.1 took a bit longer since it meant moving to a new version of DS, something I am way more wary about ( I am still on 4.16). When I did I started a dedicated 8.1 runtime and anything with 8.1 in the title goes there. Now I am to a point where I focus on 8.1 since G8 clothing, hair and even skin works well on her, although I am trying to stick with actual 8.1 PBR skin which is hard to do since PAs label their products for 8.1, but many times still include non 8.1 UVmaps (should be labeled 8 and not 8.1 IMO)
How do you get all the G8 characters and morphs to work with G8.1? When I load G8.1 NONE of the parameter sliders show up for the hundreds of characters and morphs I've been using with G8. Do the GenX conversions I've done work with G8.1? Is there a tutorial for removing the dummy files?
Thanks
Which version of DS are you using?
G8.1 needs DS 4.15 or newer to read the G8 morphs
I use genesis 8 and 8.1
I don't care for the look of the older figures.
I haven't had to make that choice yet, since I started using DS in the G8 era. I use 8.1, but not exclusively, or even primarily. When a truly new figure comes out, I'm sure I'll use it, but I'll still have a massive catalog of G8 content to use until the new figure can fully meet my needs.
On the occasion I still use V4 and M4 or even Aiko. There is a use and options with each that come in handy for many different situations. It's good to keep an open playing field.
I tend to stick with the ones that were available when I was initally active.
I have V3 which I use a bit (a hang over from when I was rendering in 2004-6, and wanting to get the most from my investment) and G8 (from when I re-started in 2019). I have one or two G8.1 characters, but in all honesty at the range I tend to render at, the 'improved expressions' of G8.1 make little practical difference. I do get G3 characters, but transfer them over to G8. When I was rendering in 2004-6 V4 came out, but as it killed my system, I never really went very far with it.
Regards,
Richard
I use mostly G8 or G8.1 for my main characters, but I also have a few earlier charaters that get used in the background (due to old outfits) from time to time.
I find my interest in G8/8.1 waning rapidly, and return to G3 more and more often. Occasionally, I convert a G3 to G8, to wear some outfit, but it also happens that I convert an outfit to G3 instead. It doesn't matter much in eventual output, the base features are more or less identical, but, aesthetically, I generally prefer the G3 figures and wouldn't care if G8 and 8.1 had never happened, there's not much to miss.
Bare in mind that the newest figures (and characters) are designed to work all the newest features in d/s, and as such will give much better results than older ones.
That's true, if your render needs those features. Subtlety of expression is lost when the whole figure amounts to 1/3 the image height or [say] 200 pixels for the face. Under those conditions there is little lost by not taking advantage of the latest characters.
Where you do miss out by not using the latest base figure is on the extreme close-up portrait. And if that's what you do regularly, it's a distinct advantage to keep up to the second on the characters.
Regards,
Richard
Generally I start using a new figure consistently once it has what, for me, is a decent range of content. This usually includes
A good set of poses and expressions
A decent rang of clothing
Hopefully a PA set of shaders like Altern8 or the like that improves on the default
A decent range of characters and hairs.
I've been much slower to adopt Genesis 8.1 than past figures partially because of how it is being sold. In the past we'd get Pro packs with a good range of content and often the Pro packs would have a banner that either gave a discount on it or other related content. 8.1 has moved away from that to smaller content packs that have less useful stuff in them so I've only been picking up minor stuff here and there from the 8.1 line.
But that comes at a cost. I can render a secen with five G3 characters but if I try that with G8, everything freezes. Three G8 is pretty much the limit
I started buying G8.1 but prefer G8. The G8.1 models make my 1080ti go right to CPU and I hate the new PBR shaders. I feel like I can’t really buy in to new products anymore with just a 1080ti.
To me, most of the characters have a similar look. I think I have an idea of who the vendor is by the characters when they are released, so I'll wait on those if I ever purchase them. HOWEVEVER, once in a blue moon we get some really nice looking characters that are just so different and beautiful. When that happens, I pull out my credit card as fast as I can. I don't care if it even cost around $40.I guess an example for me would be Coral 8.1 (I didn't buy Vicky 8.1, so for me its different), Kiko 8.1, and Shirley Lee just to name a few.
I buy usually 1 - 3 months after release but I only buy about 1 out of 20 or more characters, excepting characters from RawArt, Joe Quick, 3DU, and other non-realistic genres.
I used to really buy up g8.1 figures but I'm finding the new daz releases are lackluster for g8.1 I relied heavily on the base figures for genetics and content and since daz store has changed its method of marketing we're getting non characters and content in with the base figures and I'm just not getting what I need. I also don't find the new male figure bases to be that good, or useful for imparting genetics with the exception of Torment. The art station buyouts are kinda disappointing , and the store pas are producing better products, but the sheer lack of content for men and g8.1 males is worse than ever, and so I don't think g8.1 seems to be taking off that well for the guys.
I'd have to second and third this comment. The GM8.1 line so far hasn't really nabbed me at all, except with, of course, the likes of Torment...which I believed was going to be a taster of things to come, and was quite hyped about it, but IMHO it never came to pass for me personally......yet? I think I own most of the GM8 male line, with the exception of a few that I thought were substandard. Many of them were instabuys..not so with the 8.1s. The latest one that I was really impressed with was Matthias by the master, Fred Winkler. I understand that stores take new direction, and that's fine...so I suppose I really do hold out these days and am relectant to buy, but not because I want to hold fast to g8m particularly, but more that I am not imressed by the offerings thus far.
Agreed, switching to 8 was a first day thing as textures worked.