Will we be forced to use DAZ Connect?!
Ron Knights
Posts: 1,805
The latest announcement about the new version of DAZ Studio leaves me puzzled and worried. We can only get Katsu via DAZ Connect?! I was totally confused by the entire ad, and everything they say about Studio 4.9.2 and DAZ Connect. I skimmed through the FAQ, and that doesn't help at all. There are way too many old stickies that really don't appear relevant any more.
I've struggled to use DAZ Studio since DIM was created. I just can not navigate through the total lack of organization. I've always believed you should strive to do the best you can. DAZ, sadly, refuses to acknowledge the problem let alone fix it.
I actually deleted all the stuff I had that used DIM. I kept only one Runtime, the one that I've used for the past 13+ years of manual installs. Now DAZ comes out with products that you can only get through Connect. You've just made it harder for me to enjoy Making Art.
Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
7533 S Center View Ct #4664
West Jordan, UT 84084
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2025 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
No, you will not be forced to use Connect except for Connect-only products, and if those are Connect-only because of encryption then they should become available through DIM or manual download after twelve months.
Both DIM and Connect are attempts to deal with content organisation, but of course any system of organisation is not going to work for everyone - fortunately it is simple to create links for manual organisation (even of encrypted content - drag and drop from Smart Content or in the latest version right-click on a folder or item in the Daz Connect virtual folder in the Content Library and use the commands to create links to the seelcted folder or a whole tree of folders) or to create your own category structure.
DAZ IS forcing us to use Connect. It's very simple. You have a sale, but those who don't use Connect can't get the Connect-only product. You discriminate against DIM users or users who install Manually.
DIM & Connect do NOT deal with organization. They totally ignore the need to organize. Installed content is scattered all about.
Daz Connect actually helps with organization. Each product is installed in to it's own directory so they don't all mash together. If you want to sort your files on your hard drive Daz Connect will let you generate link files that you can move about as you like while still allowing the real files to be upgraded/uninstalled without messing your organization up.
Well, that sounds promising.
*shrug* I'll stick to diy-organising. I don't see how Connect helps in any way with that. Creating a bunch of extra files just for the privilege of moving your content around? Nope.
I'll see if any of the connect-items interest me when they eventually turn up in Fast Grab after their year is up. And if not...
DAZ_Rawb, not everyone agrees that the current Connect organization is best for "their" workflow. Being able to move content around and re-organize it (and editing .DUF files if needed to support the new structure) can be more efficient. More complicated to set up, yes......but many users WANT that flexibility. Using special sales and encrypted items as 'carrots' to try to force people to use Connect only shows that its adoption rate is considerably poorer than expected (at least among those who were users prior to Connect.)
Other software developers have tried this kind of stuff, and it rarely is good for the company. It's the same MS 'we know what is best for you, so just learn to like it' attitude. DAZ is at least maintaining DIM and existing content directory structures alongside DAZ Connect, so I give you all kudos for that. It shows DAZ is willing to work with their customers, and that is good.
I
The advantage of the connect organizing is that you can shuffle the "link" files around any way you want and you will still be able to update your products without having to manually unzip and re-shuffle files. Additionally you will get the plus of using a faster download mechanism and only needing to download just the updated files when a product update comes down.
Big question to all who are against the 'link' files...do you use the Windows Start Menu (or it's Win8+ replacement)?
This is the same concept.
mjc, there is no good comparison between DAZ Connect and Windows. Besides, I am a Mac User!
The current offer says we can buy a featured new release, and get Katsu for Lee 7 for $2. But it is only offered via Connect.
DAZ, you have lost two sales. I won't buy a featured product if I can't get the $2 price on Katsu. I insist on having the same deal as everyone else.
I will NEVER buy a Connect-only product.
DOUBLE POST MODS PLEASE DELETE
No need, as I already have my own directories set up where I want, independent of the C drive's default installs (Save for system files naturally) But yeah, I understand the concept, but I am totally against my content folder/runtime mandating that I login to use my content and/or mandating Daz's chaotic directories for the products I spent my money on, never mind the fact that I cannot im/export Connect-infected products for the other DAZ or any other 3D programs! (Cararra/Bryce)
I whole heartedly agree, as I like organizing my folders and consolidating them in ONE folder/drive/directory, not strewn all over the C drive (Both My documents/Public/My Library/content folders!) It's all in one place, and no, I will not purchase a connect only product, (Save for DAZ Originals a year after the connect infection wears off!) as I rely mostly on PA's for my purchases Anyway!
You can still export encrypted stuff out as .obj .fbx etc encrypted .dufs cannot be natively read in other programs currently (not that bryce could read them anyway)
Thanks for the info, though I already use objs for Max, Bryce, vue and the like, so no real difference there, (Dae/FBX never worked for me Anyway) however, Cararra uses duf files do not they? Plus, would that give Luxus and Reality problems?
Still, the issue of not being able to consolidate my content folder is frustrating as even within the default content folder we have shaders/shader presets/shader mixer, etc...I have everything consolidated under presets, and all My library folders and strewn content folders under "! TZO_DAZ Content" which resides on a separate drive than my Daz Studio install!
You can still do that, even if you use Connect you do not have to have it use the default location.
Ok, I'll give it a try, thanks for the confirmation!
+1
Right...Gave it a go, and...No, just no. I was using Daz Studio offline, and I wanted to use a hair piece, and it mandated that I log online to use it, I have thousands of items, and I will not rely on the internet for access to things already bought, downloaded and installed on my machine...
Forget it, no way will I spend one red cent on a Daz-Connect infected item! Now if I had google fiber, well; then there is no issue whatsoever, but as it stands I am locked with ConCaste...
And you are so wrong on that...simply because I was speaking about 1 thing. The Start Menu shorcuts being link files to the actual files, that are left alone, if you decide to move the links around, recategorize them, etc. And OSX and Linux do the same thing! And in that instance, Studio IS behaving the same. Plus, it's probably something most folks are somewhat familiar with...
And you should not need to be connected/online to use already installed items...
Sorry this is BS! Daz is offering some products with a DRM System. I dont like DRM generally but i belive this is probably the fairest DRM sytem ever created.
You can choose not to buy this products in the first year b/c you dislike DRM so much or you dont want use Connect at all, even for those products (Manual, Dim and Connect can coexist very nicely)
But this has nothing to do with beeing discriminated! Its just your personal consumer choice.
DAZ and th PAs are free to decide under which conditions they offer their goods. If this conditions are not met by customers willingness to buy, they will react. Thats just good 'ol capitalism at work...
But to be honest, seeing that products like Allesandro's Elephants end up on piracy sites in less than 2 hours after release I think more and more PAs should seriously consider going the DAZ Connect Way
You are aware, that this statment has nothing to do with reality.
1) you can install and use connect items without going online using the connect offline installers.
2) connect does exactly nothing with stuff you did not installed via connect.
I agree that Daz's implementation of a DRM system is better than others I've seen. I also agree that Daz is currently not forcing us to use Connect Only; they have in the past stated DIM will be phased out if its popularity drops. So its continued popularity depends on their customers.
However... It is still a DRM system, so no I will not purchase DRM only products. I'm not even interested in trying them for free.
Those PAs that do decide to try it out, will decide if the loss of sales to existing Daz customers brings in a corresponding increase in those using stolen products. Other's that use DRM suggests it doesn't.
Was the hair one that was installed via DIM or one that was not yet installed at all? If the former then something has gone wrong with the database or with the CMS itself, what security software are you using on which OS? If the latter then you can simply install the hair via DIM as usual and you won't get the prompt to install via Connect.
I have 70 or so separate install folders... broken in to categories I find useful to handle 3000 items...
-----
10 genesis, 11 humanoid, 12 hair etc 21 clothes
---
when I tell 4.9 to scan the drive (they're on a dedicated drive) will it handle that?
will daz connect install to that drive? can I tell it where to install the files so that cars are with cars... deco is with deco ...
gothic with gothic etc?
---
I get paronoid about systems that "keep track for me" years ago I spent hours naming and createing categories in iphoto or such and then it crashed and all the little links were gone...
but when I sort the items into distinct folders ... they are where I put them ...
I've actually move the daz data drive through a couple machine upgrades.
You mean to search for runtime folders, or to scan known directories for new content? AFAIK neither of those functions have changed.
You can set the location for Connect in Content Directory Manager -- you can only have one location at a time, but if the locations are listed as Daz Studio Format Content Folders then they'll still work if you change the location.
The Daz Connect system is actually a very intelligent move from a tech support perspective. And with the new ability to create the link files it should make manual organization much easier. By having a set structure for each product that the end user does not modify, it means that everyone's product are correctly installed. In the past, the number one issue for new users getting started was how to install content. So more new users become less imtimidated about using Daz Studio. Since a lot of PAs were customers first, a higher adoption rate means more tallent comming in and staying. The other big advantage of using this system is when it comes to product updates, the system only downloads the updated files instead of the whole package again. So if a product has 3 files updated that are only a few MB each but the product as a whole is over 100MB, you are not wasting bandwidth and time redownloading the entire thing. Also, the update occurs completely in the background automatically and will not affect the link files we create. This also means we do not have to reorganize the entire package again after the update. Is this system perfect, no but it is effective.
Please note, as someone who does organize content his own way in a single library, I can see both sides of this. However, I currently have sitting on my hard drive about 500 Daz product installers and about the same in freebies just sitting there waiting to be organized. Why have I not done so? Because I just dont have the time. While my method of organizaition works for me, having to sit there and organize it all is not really something I want to do especially when I have more important things to do.
As for the encryption, if everyone who has complained against the ecrypted products idea was a PA here or else where, you would change your mind when you keep seeing your own products appear on pirated sites. The encryption is not a perfect solution but its still a good one. Its simular to Steampowered for games. You install Daz Studio on one of your computers, tell it to connect to Daz3D and login, then it looks at your account and lets you choose what you install. Once your done you can disconnect from the net and use your content no differently then before.
are y'all upset because,
you organize files so that you know where to find them faster and you can't?
is that not what the catagorizing feature is for?
I found it much easier to let the install go in its default path on the dedicated SSD that I have set for my files and then catagorize them within Daz studio
also the search works really well too!
the only problem I forsee is those who have limited or no Internet this is where manual installing is needed
I used to have very limited internet and had enough bandwidth to order what I wanted and have Daz burn it onto a CD. this was the only way I could do it.
I don't categorize things. I put them where I can find them.
I love the catagorizing feature I am able to find what I am looking for in less than half the time it would take for me to drill down to the files location. in most cases I can't remember if it was a Figure or a prop and that is where the catagory comes in handy. whether is is a Figure prop or material is is in the catagory I set it to. so all my Sci-fi material is in my Sci-fi catagory and subcatagorized from that point. also the same item I have in the Sci-fi catagory may also be in my vechicles catagory as well without having to move files around.
It only takes me one or two clicks to find anything I want.