In preparation of the forth coming Vue 6i, I’ve been re-entering the 3d forum world. Not much has changed. Same arguments, same faces, same crazy conjectures.
Feels like home.
But I am a little disturbed as well. In the world of low-end to mid-range 3d goodness Poser has long been a fast contender. It has not been allowed to stew without support. It has evolved, changed and IMNSHO just gotten better.
Others don’t agree. For the lay user, it’s gotten harder. They don’t like knowing how to use a more advanced render engine or having to learn how to use shaders. In some respects the “Push Button, Make Art” mentality is well earned. The biggest detractors to the software complain that it isn’t easy as 1-2-3. Being forced to read a manual is a chore for these people.
Poser 6 has a small learning curve. The interface is clunky but program itself has grown. For those of us that do not have the skills to model the human body, it is a boon that lets up step stone up the 3d ladder.
When E-Frontier (then Curious Labs) made the first steps to updated Poser they were vilified, mostly by those that lacked the capacity for change and patients. Those of us willing to learn were rewarded. For those unwilling to learn they have been shafted into a new pipeline.
Enter DAZ Studio. When DAZ, a Poser Content provider, decided to follow the above naysayers, they dropped their support for newer versions of Poser. They still provide content, for Poser 4 (that is two and 1/2 versions behind), and allow content to be made available by 3rd Party Brokers. However, their content is geared now to their own 3d posing package called DAZ Studio.
All well and good. Many of the slap-nekkid-figure-in-a-scene-and-render-crowd jumped on the DAZ bandwagon. It has basic, Poser 4 support, and many Poser 4 features. However, it acts very differently than Poser and has less than half of the capability. I’ve seen many an argument in which the DAZ cheerleader proclaims that they use Studio because the don’t like dealing with things that act like higher end applications.
I don’t suffer continued ignorance. If you just want an easy poser that you can beef up later in a painting app or other software, fine. But, if you just want cookie cutter paper doll images admit to what you’re doing and drop the attitude.
But back to that point thingy. There are now two low to mid range pipelines for the hobbyist or even professional to follow. DAZ has acquired Carrara (low end landscape, modeling), Hexegon (modeling), and Bryce (landscape). They have begun integrating DAZ Studio and Bryce into one app with plans to merge Carrara and Bryce. I cannot speak for the Carrara/Hexgon set, but for the Bryce set which has continuously wanted Bryce-Poser integration, this is a blow. You can import basic Poser scenes into Bryce via DAZ Studio but only if you don’t want any of the major Poser features to be included. Bryce has been sitting for over five years with only one major and one minor update. It has fallen behind other landscape creation apps past the point of comparison. Now, in the hands of DAZ, it will at least hit version 6 with only a few additions to the content set, a little bit of HDRI compatibility, and a lot integration with DAZ Studio. At it’s peak, Bryce was a $400 app. Currently, it is free from DAZ until September 6th, 2006. But for the new version, we are still under the dreadful DAZ SOON™ which means anytime with next 3-5 years. For a minor update, it is not worth the wait.
On the other side of reality we have the Poser, Shade (modeler), Vue (landscape) pipeline. Not only do these app boast full poser integration (or will when Vue 6 comes out at the end of September), but they are constantly being updated, expanded and made available to the high-end app set. Shade comes to use from Japan where it is one of the leading modeling apps. Vue is held by E-On software, who heard the cry of integration and complied. All three renderers support HRDI, IBL and other global options. They support animation. They support each other. Vue 6i can populate scenes with whole forests, which can be painted on. It supports poser shaders and posing with the app. Head to websites because I can’t put it all here.
The bottom line is that we have two separate directions here. Up and Down. I don’t think the two will ever meet again. If you want a fast, point and shoot pipeline that you can play with for a very low price, head over to DAZ. If you want to play with higher end mojo which, with a little learning you can do the amazing, head over to e-Frontier/E-On.
Never the twain shall meet…well except you still need poser to make characters for DAZ Studio. D’oh.
Related posts: