Forum: Poser - OFFICIAL


Subject: M4~WM and Kids4~WM Project at PoserPlace: Home of Phantom3D

lkendall opened this issue on Feb 10, 2012 · 60 posts


lkendall posted Fri, 10 February 2012 at 10:14 AM

> Announcement: > > M4~WM and K4~WM for Poser 9 and Poser Pro 2012 are now back on the agenda at PoserPlace. V4~WM has been very well received by the Poser Community. In considering the various projects on the schedule, as well as the interests of Poser users in general, we have decided to move the re-rigging and weight-mapping of M4 and K4 toward the front of the line. This will fill the need for both a weight-mapped male figure, and a weight-mapped child figure for Poser 9 and Poser Pro 2012. These figures, like V4.2, already have a large amount of support in content, poses, morphs, and textures, and so do not suffer the problems of newly introduced figures that have no established support. They will also benefit the community of vendors and content creators who already have products for M4 and K4 and are still developing for these figures. > > Please Keep in Mind: > > There are already several projects that must be finished in order to move on to M4~WM and K4~WM. At this present time, Phantom3D is finishing an update for V4~WM. I am sure that you all realize that there is no more effective beta-test than the initial release of a figure. What we cannot find in beta, the larger Poser Community will quickly discover, and report. He hopes to complete this in a few days. > > The PoserPlace Crew is completing a clothes conversion utility to apply weight-maps to clothing already available for V4.2 (and Antonia~Standard). This started as a project to make a simple utility, but has evolved into a Python application that will be able to handle most clothing and a lot of props. This does not duplicate the function of Wardrobe Wizard and Cross Dresser, and will not convert content between figures, but will inject weight-maps into non-weight-mapped clothing for V4.2 and Antonia~Standard. Along the way it has been generalized so that the utility will be able to do the same for other figures as they are weight-mapped. At the same time this project has helped improve the process used to distribute weight-maps for figures such as V4.2 and M4. In the case of legacy figures, content already created can be updated by users, and for vendors, content created for legacy figures can also (more easily) be distributed for their weight-mapped counterparts. > > There is an ongoing project to weight-map the Sidney legacy figure from a past version of Poser. This may proceed more slowly in order to accommodate the effort required to undertake the M4 and K4 project. The rigging and weight-map tutorials by Phantom3d will also take a backseat to the needs of this project. > > Considerations: > > From the beginning we asked DAZ3D to spell out their requirements on the distribution of weight-maps for their figures. Under the terms of their conditions, none of their original data can be distributed. This means that the figures must be completely re-rigged with an original rig. Even the endpoints of bones, and joint-centers must be independently developed, and weight-maps converted from the present joints cannot be used as a starting point for making distributable weight-maps. So, M4 and K4 must be completely re-rigged, and the weight-maps must be completely original. Only the new rig and weight/bulge-maps can be distributed, and these must be injected into a CR2 already installed in a Poser Runtime directory. > > As you can imagine, this takes a lot of work. But, V4~WM is a proof of concept both for distribution, and for successfully re-rigging and weight-mapping a legacy figure. With M4 and K4, a lot of the work has already been done on V4~WM. So, while the project cannot be finished overnight, it should not take nearly as long to complete. We are absolutely committed to abiding by the stipulations set out by DAZ3D. > > A further consideration complicates the task. The mesh must remain unchanged. V4.2, M4 and K4 were not created to support weight-maps. In order to make sure that existing morphs and content will still work with M4~WM and K4~WM their meshes and vertex orders must be maintained. A mesh designed for weight-maps would produce superior results as newer figures will demonstrate, but the limitation cannot be helped under the circumstances. Regardless, M4~WM and K4~WM will have the same superior performance in Poser 9 and Poser Pro 2012 that V4~WM has demonstrated. > > The Project: > > Phantom3D will do the preliminary work on the rig and weight-maps. It will take him a week or two to get this done (I hope he takes as much time as he needs). There will be some refinement work done by the PoserPlace Crew, and then they will begin initial beta-testing. To be as efficient as possible, this work will need to be carried out with some privacy. There will be ongoing information posted at PoserPlace in our general forums. I will try to make sure, as time allows, to keep information updated here as well. > > An Invitation: > > We expect this project to stimulate some interest in the Poser Community, maybe more so than the V4~WM project, because of her success. We are particularly interested in the comments, suggestions, and concerns of our friends here at Renderosity. > > Among the things that can be done to help us, we are interested in problems with the M4 and K4 figures that can be addressed through the rig, weight-maps, and bulge-maps. These figures have problems in bending, posing, and morphing that the process of updating might be able to address. The more we know, the better job we can do. Phantom3D is an accomplished artist/sculptor, and we now have in our crew professional expertise in anatomy and physiology, along with many other talents and skills. We hope to greatly improve the realism of these figures. > > It is helpful to us if as many people as possible in the world-wide Poser Community are informed about our work and progress. It is okay to spread the news, and point people to PoserPlace. When the time comes for distribution, this will be all the more important. We hope that the development of M4~WM and K4~WM will stimulate interest in renewed support and new content for the Generation 4 figures and their weight-mapped counter-parts. We also hope that when they are available that the artists here will use them in P9/PP2012 renders to demonstrate what can be done with these figures. > > At some point we might need a wider group of people for testing and other work. All the people here are welcome to sign on at PoserPlace, look around, and participate as you are able and are needed. We want to extend that invitation to everyone here at Renderosity. > > A similar invitation will be extended elsewhere. I hope you will forgive me in reusing most of this missive, so that I do not have to rewrite it for elsewhere. > > Provisos: > > We do not have many rules, but these things are important. PoserPlace is a website dedicated to developing and distributing the best possible Poser enabled figures, content, and scripts. It is our purpose to advance Poser, and make its rich set of features more accessible to the Poser Community. We are not interested in discussions and debates that distract from these objectives. Arguments over applications and businesses are not accommodated. Distractions and trolling will be transferred to the Dungeons or deleted. > > From those who want to participate, we expect civility and mutual respect. We are a diverse and eclectic gathering of people. We prize our diversity and differences, and expect tolerance, and mutual consideration. Those who cannot get along will not be allowed to stay. We could not have accomplished what we have done, in the short time we have been together, without this ethic. > > Phantom3D is the website owner, and PoserPlace is his home. He has generously welcomed us there, and contributed to the entire Poser Community with his efforts. His decisions are final. He has earned our respect, and facilitated our work. We have had very few problems under his administration of PoserPlace. > > And So: > > We would love to hear from you. Your contribution to the conversation is valued. Don’t be strangers. > > lmk > >

Probably edited for spelling, grammer, punctuation, or typos.