EClark1894 posted at 6:09AM Sat, 30 November 2019 - #4367467

Hmm, just wondering. Aside from the non-kill switch thingie, what would Studio offer you that you can't get from Poser? I ask because if the kill switch were the only thing, why are you spending money on Poser anyway?

Earl, I'm answering a question that was asked by you early on; I haven't read all of this thread yet. I really like Poser. I had my eye on it starting with Poser 3, bought my first version at 5 and really started getting into it when 7 came out with a joint package with Shade. It seemed like a match made in heaven - a modeling program, a character program, and access to stores that sell quality 3d Models at affordable prices (Shade at the time was very smart and put out a book with a CLEAR tutorial. They had you make a table and a vase and a few other useful items. Following that step-by step I was able to model a lot of things quickly and they also had import/export support for Poser Figures - I have Lightwave now and wish there was a clearer more useful tutorial for some practical items rather than their dumb overly simplified truck.). I tried DAZ at the time, but it was a clunky second rate program compared to Curious Lab's Poser, which also had multiple books written about it. In the intervening years Smith Micro purchased Poser, but really didn't know what to do with it. I met with their team once when the company was giving presentations in Manhattan and tried to explain it to them. But they treated Poser and the Store like it was a standard piece of Oracle software, not like part of the artist community that it is. They didn't get that artists think a bit differently than your standard coders. To their credit Smith Micro didn't just shut it down and I'm hoping that Renderosity turns out to be a good partner for the software now.

In short, there will be a learning curve for DAZ. I'm semi-resigned that things will probably go that way here and I will become a Dazaholic. I know a good chunk of Poser without thinking and in my spare time have been having fun. Fun ceases when I get the kill switch message and I have to spend a day or two getting the thing up and running. Obviously not a full day in directed hours, but in RT by the time you send a help message, by the time someone gets around to answering, by the time you answer their questions... you get the idea.

I really feel that the key to the game here in a business sense is marketshare. Using Poser software as the camera versus film; the razor blade versus the shaver. One thing Daz is doing that Rendo has not is make use of their full library. Rendo obsoletes things and puts them on clearance. But this whole thing is still new. Someone that hasn't seen the early characters is still happy to use them because they are simpler and take less effort to render. When you're starting how important is weight mapping anyway.

I'm writing too much, but hopefully you see that I really want this to succeed and I really, really believe the kill switch for this particular business at this time is a bad idea that takes a lot of company time figuring out how to do policing rather than developing the software. For a $250 program upgrade I'd be willing to lease for $25 a month for 10 months until I "own." Or put down $50 or $100 and pay the balance on time. Also, if I stop, I should be able to pick up without penalty until the software is 'paid off". You see, $250 is not a lot for one item. But that $250 in a budget means it has to come out of character purchases or other software upgrades that might be more important for day-to-day life.