Considerations for upgrading to 4.23

paulawp (marahzen)

Hello. I considered hijacking Starkdog's recent thread on the subject, but as it involved a specific issue and is reasonably marked "Solved" I figured I would start my own.

I am on 4.22 right now, which - with one spectacular exception*  - is working great for me. However, there is starting to be an accumulation of 4.23+ specific features and eventually I need to address the topic of upgrading. I get staying on old versions if you have specific hardware or software compatibility situations which prevent upgrading, but I don't have those reasons, and I'm not going to be "that" person clinging to an old version yelling at clouds just because I won't upgrade. Many people are now using 4.23 without obvious issues. I waited a while for the dust to settle and maybe now is the time to consider it. (*Ultrascenery has 4.22 issues, which I won't dwell on here. That has been discussed to death in the Ultrascenery thread.)

Cutting to the chase, I'm seeking advice from those who have navigated through any complications involved in upgrading their release Daz installation to 4.23 so I can plan to prevent or be ready to work around issues that others are running into.

Just in the interest of safety, how would one either have multiple versions installed or roll back to an earlier version? (I downloaded the 4.22 upgrade install file at the time and kept it in a backup folder - hoping that's what I would need.)

Richard Haseltine

Assuming you install with DIM, you want backups of - at least - the Daz Studio zips and the Daz "own-brand" plug-ins as those need to match. If you do need to roll back, place them in the DIM Downloads folder, start DIM, and choose to Work Offline - you should then see, and be able to use, the 4.22.x.x installers in the ready To Install tab. Another option is just to try the beta, though you will then need to import or redo your content directory and UI settings

http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/scripting/api_reference/samples/general_ui/copy_ui_from_channel/start
http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/scripting/api_reference/samples/file_io/save_mapped_paths/start

Silver Dolphin

Im no expert but backup everything. If things go sideways and it always does just use the backup. Waiting a reasonable amount of time is not crazy, it is good practice. Daz uses its own users to beta test everything LOL. So waiting untill all the bleeding edge users find all the faults is not being too carefull it is just a good practice with 3D software. The same goes for hardware, some people have to have the very latest but it is always too overpriced and the difference in render time is not worth the money. Just wait till it is affordable for you budget. Enough of my ranting LOL.

If you lose everything dont panic just make it a reason to learn something else like Blender or some other 3D package. Good Luck

barbult

The 4.23 Beta is far ahead of the 4.23 General Release. I'd say use the 4.23 Betas, updating it as each one comes out, until Daz finally release it as a General Release. If you are satisfied with the 4.23 Beta, then your risk of updating the General Release at that time is minimal, because you have already tested it. 4.23.1.40 is not giving me trouble.

Richard Haseltine

Silver Dolphin said:

Im no expert but backup everything. If things go sideways and it always does just use the backup. Waiting a reasonable amount of time is not crazy, it is good practice. Daz uses its own users to beta test everything LOL. So waiting untill all the bleeding edge users find all the faults is not being too carefull it is just a good practice with 3D software. The same goes for hardware, some people have to have the very latest but it is always too overpriced and the difference in render time is not worth the money. Just wait till it is affordable for you budget. Enough of my ranting LOL.

https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/940998/#Comment_940998 explains what DS betas are

If you lose everything dont panic just make it a reason to learn something else like Blender or some other 3D package. Good Luck

Silver Dolphin

Maybe, Im not understanding something>> but letting out beta software to general users is so they can find the bugs. Maybe I'm wrong LOL

If you are a hobbiest then you can live with beta, if you are using this to make a living playing with beta is probably not a good idea, but what do I know right?

I never said I was an expert and I only responded because at the time of the marazhen post no one had responed. Just was giving an opinion. No hard feeling.

Richard Haseltine

Silver Dolphin said:

Maybe, Im not understanding something>> but letting out beta software to general users is so they can find the bugs. Maybe I'm wrong LOL

If you are a hobbiest then you can live with beta, if you are using this to make a living playing with beta is probably not a good idea, but what do I know right?

I never said I was an expert and I only responded because at the time of the marazhen post no one had responed. Just was giving an opinion. No hard feeling.

The beta is distinct from the general release, use the one that suits you.

Valiska

I was running the 4.23 beta until I had to get a new computer. The new menu is irritating. But I didn't have any significant problems with the 4.23b installation that 4.21 doesn't also have.

savagestug

You can simply copy your complete current Daz program folders to a backup location (DS will even run as normal from the new location). Then upgrade your original install to whatever new version you want to try. If you have issues with the new version, continue working in the pervious version that worked for you while any new bugs get sorted out.

I personally had no issues new with 4.23