What is the deal with all the damaged/defaced warehouses, etc.?
Cybersox
Posts: 9,078
As the title said, what is the deal with so many PAs making products that only come in damaged/defaced/destroyed versions? Lately there seem to be a lot more items that I would have bought if they had come in with a new/active use state version included, but have ended up passing on because I'm tired of having to create new textures and rebuild sections of products whose prices are already escalating by the month. I mean, is there really a need for there to be nearly a dozen abandoned warehouses with partial ceilings, shattered floors and plants inside them in the DAZ store alone (double that number if one adds in Rendos catalog)? If so, why are the three that I keep going back to use the three that are sold in working order and actually set up with stocked inventory? (And that's made worse by the fact that two of those came from the same vendor, Ironman13, while the other set, from Stonemason, isn't set up for Iray.) The latest briar under my bonnet is Lantio's new atrium set, which has a great design but appears to only come covered in a faux-Logan's Run plantgrowth version. I realize that dystopian is considered cool with the gaming crowd, but just because you can cover every surface with grime and graffitti, the end effect is that it makes it far more identifiable and therefore less versatile. And don't let me even get started on all the vendors who've taken to working their name into the product in highly annoying fashion...
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Watching movies and reading novels, I've tried to think of some other set ideas than the ones in this store, Rendo, and Kitbash3D, and I'm stumped. I think that's our problem.
Maybe it's difficult to skirt the middle and give us a slightly worn version. Games are predictively programming young minds to expect a dystopia, and games are the latest source of story fodder and formation zeitgeist. If you're playing cool games that are set in dystopia or watching m.ovies that are repeatedly using disused warehouses as sets (due to the offshoring of the industries that used them), then why wouldn't you imitate an idea that is working?
Having said that, I totally agree. I used to complain about the lack of modern gas stations until Bituka3D gave us an upscale version (albeit with corny self-promotion that needed to be replaced) and Muze gave us Urban Gas (which fits well with Urban Sprawl 2 The Big City, although some geometry editor finnagling is necessary to get it perfect). Seems that the dark overlords want to make all gas stations a thing of the past.
Stonemason's pre-Iray The Warehouse does such a great job providing the right amount of grunge as well as a fully realized interior and exterior, and a simple Uber Iray conversion sets everything except the emissives exactly as desired---odd that Stonemason's pre-Iray sets are still instantly more believable than much that has come afterwards. Armed with a few extras from ironman/Fugazi/insert-name, The Warehouse has given gangsters a place to pick up stolen goods and teamsters a place to strike (plus Stonemason gives us a nice overhead bridge in the distance---shown below---that can be used as a main prop for highway renders).
there are lots of warehouses to be had beyond DAZ studio or Poser content though
many free, they seem to be popular just depends on how easy the obj is to import with textures
@xyer0: Awesome render, love especially the lighting!
@mding Thanks! If memory serves, other than a couple of character lights, that's mostly Skies of iRadiance.
Wishlisted, won't make my renders as good as yours though, but such information is very useful - thankyou!
If I was a PA and making 3D barbie dolls paid the bills, then I would have no reason to get off the trail I am on, even if it was to please the vocal minority in the forums.
...maybe one of the reasons the art world seems to become less and less divertive?
There would always be complaints. Forum is on the internet.
Hear, hear!
It's important to step outside one's cultural milleiu to tap into different aesthetics. Solarpunk was mentioned in these forums a while back. As an atlernative to cyberpunk/dystopian tropes, I think its a rich source of inspiration that can be tapped. See this -- No More Cyberpunk: Why There Should Be More Video Games With Solarpunk Settings.
Cheers!
Smile while the sun shines.
It won't be long before AI starts designing models for DAZ, and the PAs will face the same music that artists are feeling.
Once AI takes over we'll be innundated with zillionz of nearly identical, perfect models, perfect textures, perfect rigging, and no packaging omissions. All produced by one person, soon to be replaced by an AI.
Now, if they could just do something about the servers.
I wouldn't be too sure any of it will be perfect. If the product is based on training from existing products, it will have the same issues as existing products plus issues introduced by the AI as AI is actually a moron only capable of recombining whatever was fed to it, devoid of any creative spark or aesthetic sense. Also, carbon footprint of training the ai, cost of training the ai, copyright issues associated with ai, etc
There are many many sci-fi corridors in the store.
Thanks for the link. I've heard of Solarpunk, but I never really looked into it. Now, thanks to you, @csaa, I have a much clearer idea of its meaning. One practical issue for Solarpunk is the ecologically disastrous tech of solar panels. But we deal in fantasy.
Speaking of AI: There was a city in Canaan called Ai; its name meant "a ruin, a heap." That's the purpose, method, & goal of AI.
This I don't get it. What percentage of Sci-Fi movies are set between two rooms? I just don't get it. That being said, I checked my library and I have an embarrassing number of them.
I think a fun conversation would be "What percent of your library would you have never purchased if you had the hindsight you have now?" For me, probably at least 30% (mostly characters).
A lot. The generally feature people walking between places or running away from something.
I do have a use for a good abanded factory etc etc etc BUT I do wish that any graffiti were decals so that they can be removed and not part of the texture many a purchase skipped on that issue.
Exactly. It seems to make little commercial sense for a PA to build an item that has a wide range of potential uses like a warehouse (which could also be an airplane hanger, a movie soundstage or the base for a factory or supermarket, etc.) and then to intentionally cripple that potential by covering it with details and/or damage that can only be removed or covered over with great effort. This is not to say that there isn't a market for items in used/damaged condition, but it's definitely a case where an undamaged or only moderately worn product would seem to be far more likely to sell due to it's wider versatility, so why NOT include a clean version? In the case of things like grafitti, the creators also seem to forget that not every artist using DAZ assets is setting their renders in current times or in areas where graffitti is common.... which seems really weird, given how many of the responsible PAs are actually based overseas. As I noted above, despite all of the warehouses in the store, there are three products that I keep falling back on again and again when I need a warehouse like structure, and when I need more than that, I'm generally inclined to pass up most of the DAZ product and buy items from vendors at another store, even when the overall modeling isn't up to the same standards.
Er... but isn't everything that DAZ makes basically either a 3D Barbie or a 3D Barbie accessory? ;) Of course, how many people are aware that Barbie is actually a straight knock-off of a German gag sex toy? https://www.messynessychic.com/2016/01/29/meet-lilli-the-high-end-german-call-girl-who-became-americas-iconic-barbie-doll/
And a frustratingly much smaller number of matching sci-fi rooms for those hallways to lead into. ;/
Yeah there is a definite lack of sci-fi toilets.
Perhaps DAZ astro and cosmonauts just step outside and do their business via catherers and escape valves? If not, there really needs to be some adult diapers in the store.
I worked for 24 years in a variety of military warehouses, a tank repair facility from WWII, a German warehouse pre-WWII, and not very often were they modern and shiny. I collect warehouses in 3D for some odd reason. One of the last was that tank repair facility, with a small room off to the side for parts, and asbestos flaking off on us.
https://www.daz3d.com/old-warehouse-room
ttps://www.daz3d.com/the-old-warehouse
https://www.daz3d.com/workshop
https://www.daz3d.com/old-industrial-interior
https://www.daz3d.com/old-industrial-hallway
https://www.daz3d.com/industrial-interior-modular-kit-1
https://www.daz3d.com/empty-industrial-interior
https://www.daz3d.com/x-bit-future-space-transmission-warehouse
The last one is a science fiction one that has bits and pieces to put together.
This is no longer sold at DAZ: "Warehouse Building with Items"
I recommend shaders.
Mary
Unused indie game assets, game needed 2, modeler did 5. We're blessed with 3? LOL
They're probably fun to make. While I know that I wouldn't have any use for a 60-year-old wood plank shed that's half caved in and overrun by blackberry bushes, or a boat dock that's literally falling apart, when we went to La Conner I was trying to take pictures of them and thinking, "Wow, I'd love to make a model of this!" Functional sheds and docks are not something I would usually have much interest in making. :P
The trend is towards realism.... urban decay. Have you had a good look at our cities recently?
We're planning on starting the gentrification of old DAZ3D warehouse assets next year.
this is probably not going to sound very constructive, but hate how daz PAs just regurgitate the same environment that has already been done to death WITHOUT EVEN IMPROVING IT.
It would be one thing if the quality was better, but usually it's even worse.
Wish they would just pool resources to make one thing that's actually usable rather than 5 half baked environs with pixelated textures and random pipes and electrical boxes placed without thought. Use references people!