odf - that does sound like a very good solution.  and i've still been following everything, just quietly. ;D.

ok, let me say 3 things, just to clarify:

1. i'm not sure if i was clear, but just in case i wasn't, i didn't mean UV islands.  i meant zones.  like how you have about 7 different UV zones for version 4 DAZ figures, but about 2 to 5 or 6 material zones per UV zone (or map, or whatever you want to call it).  since about every single material for V4 and M4 ignores the material zone to go by the UV zone, and only a miniscule amount of them take advantage of actual zones, it would make more sense to design for the general usage than the very rare usage.

2. VSS and Shader Spider make the whole task easier, but not as easy as not having to deal with zones that are almost always given the same material.

3. i'm totally for sections that need to exist.  hard edges should mean a new zone.  separate pieces should mean a new zone.  if they're already on their own UV zone or island, then it's not a big deal because new materials are necessary for most usages.  the actual usage is key.  you're talking a very different use pattern.  lots of people use different materials for zippers, buttons, ribbons, belts, etc.  conversely, in about a decade or so of using Poser i literally have never once used a different material on the lips than the face.  i don't think i even have any mat poses like that, except maybe some no texture defaults.

i have hundreds of "characters" in my runtimes, both free and bought.   and a few material collections i've made myself.   combined, that's a whole lot of time wasted applying the same material to multiple zones.  i've had tools to help with that, as i'm sure some of the creators have.  some of those tools, like Shader Spider and VSS, have broken in part (no clue why), but they're still very useful.  but why make them so necessary? 

in the time it would take me (personally) to figure out how to make VSS work with an Antonia with zones like V4's, i could have made lip, nipple, glove, body suit and stocking masks.  and then i could use any of those masks to generate other masks, like lace and other patterns.

really, the only reason for random zones, like the A3 "knee" zone, is to try to guess at what people will try to do to make clothes out of a figure's skin.  it's bad usability to guess, or even look at what people say they want,  when you have vast amounts of actual user data like the Rendo galleries and store.