Since so many people ask for it, and I've already done the V4 version, I have a zip up here with squished obj files to eliminate the ears on V3, V4 and M3.  Enjoy.

Many, many, many thanks for your efforts!

Quote - You're allowed to upload vertex data from the V4 figure? I was under the impression that's a no-no.

So long as there's no face information (i.e. its been properly squished) then there isn't a problem.

"squished"?
I take it you mean vertices with no facets. maybe I got bad information, but I asked once in the DAZ forum about this, because I wanted to upload some vertex-only MT's I made in and exported from LightWave as only vertex data. I was told it was not allowed, and had to be in the form of injections for the cr2 files.
Whatever that is, I don't know enough about how to do it, and wasn't interested enough after hearing that... too much work.

But, it seems to me, even points without polygons is still a copyright, and I assumed the answer made sense. After all, anyone with a half-decent modeling program could, theoretically, reproduce the object with only points, if they had the patience for it, with no need to own either V4 or Poser.

Quote - "squished"?
I take it you mean vertices with no facets.

Correct.

Quote - maybe I got bad information, but I asked once in the DAZ forum about this ...

Without knowing who gave you that information, I won't comment beyond saying that when INJections came into use, OBJ morphs were discouraged (probably because people regularly forget to squish them), but there are plenty of OBJ morphs available as freebies and occasionally for sale.

Quote - But, it seems to me, even points without polygons is still a copyright, and I assumed the answer made sense. After all, anyone with a half-decent modeling program could, theoretically, reproduce the object with only points, if they had the patience for it, with no need to own either V4 or Poser.

While true, somebody would have to be seriously deranged to get V4 that way.

Quote - "squished"?
I take it you mean vertices with no facets. maybe I got bad information, but I asked once in the DAZ forum about this, because I wanted to upload some vertex-only MT's I made in and exported from LightWave as only vertex data. I was told it was not allowed, and had to be in the form of injections for the cr2 files.

Actually, I just looked up that conversation: the answer wasn't that that it wasn't allowed, but that, with injections being available, other methods were encouraged (especially for DAZ|Studio owners who couldn't load morph targets without add-ons).

In any event, straight from the horse's mouth:

Quote - 2) All-new Custom Morphs: As with any product, you can create a new morph from scratch for Victoria 3 and distribute it as a vertex-only OBJ file. Once you have saved out the geometry for your morph, you can make it a vertex-only OBJ using a utility such as MorphMasher, or MorphSqueeze. This can also be done in a text editor by removing all of the lines other than those beginning with a "v". (As a result these "squished" OBJ files are much less memory-intensive and easier to distribute.) These morphs must be completely original to be distributed in this manner. See below for more information on new morphs that also involve DAZ created morphs.

Quote -

Quote - But, it seems to me, even points without polygons is still a copyright, and I assumed the answer made sense. After all, anyone with a half-decent modeling program could, theoretically, reproduce the object with only points, if they had the patience for it, with no need to own either V4 or Poser.

While true, somebody would have to be seriously deranged to get V4 that way.

Anyone with a half-decent modeling program could theoretically reproduce Victoria 4 from a sufficient number of renderings and preview images of the mesh as well.

Quote -
Anyone with a half-decent modeling program could theoretically reproduce Victoria 4 from a sufficient number of renderings and preview images of the mesh as well.

Well, true, but my point was that unlike an image of a mesh, the vertices themselves are the actual thing. Sort of like, I could build a house that looks like another house I like, but if I got an actual set of bleupreints for the other house, I'd be expected to pay for the rights to build it from those prints.

The article you linked to involved V3. I was asking about V4, as I was initially given the impression the rules had changed. I found the DAZ forum actual thread where I asked this on December 9, 2006:
http://forum.daz3d.com/viewtopic.php?p=719842&highlight=#719842
Nobody there said it was OK to outright upload body part vertices. The closest to it was "I don't think DAZ ever had any problems with encoded .obj morphs.", specifically mentioning the word encoded, implying that maybe they do have a problem with the actual geometry.

Now, in all honesty, I'm not trying to be contentious here. Your post here reminded me of this, and I thought maybe I've been misled. The reason I wanted to know is because I wanted to upload some morphs for V4, and I still would like to. The difference being now, over a year later, I have literally hundreds, which alot of people would probably like.
However, I had no interest whatsoever in encoding/injecting/whatever, and I still don't. I don't have the software for it, nor the time to learn it, but mostly, lack the interest. Shouldn't have to jump through hoops to put something out for free, but I don't want to take a chance that it's not OK for V4. Again, V4 I'm talking about here, not V3.

I did however, just find this:
daz.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/daz.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php
(FAQ question - What files can I legally distribute?)
Specifically regarding geometry they say this: **
"**Any OBJ file included with a product is proprietary data of the owner and cannot be distributed in any form without prior written consent from DAZ Productions"
Also, this: "f you have used someone else's work, in any way, shape, or form, then you must receive authorization from the original creator before distributing your files."

I'm still skeptical. I'd say there's a huge chance that the actual vertex data, which is, in fact a proprietary OBJ file in the strictest sense, is not allowed to be redistributed.

If the object owner allows a vertex only file then thats all OK. Sounds like a compromise for Daz Studio .

Thanks very much Keith.  I for one find this very useful. 

2/20/08

Thank you. I appreciate the gift.

LMK