Need some help installing an item from Renderosity.
S_Monger
Posts: 48
I bought an item from Renderosity, thought I installed it right (I use Daz 4.12), but when I try to use them (This pair of shoes: (/bcs/lysithea-shoes---for-genesis-8-and-victoria-8/136677/) they appear as textureless blocks. The poses that came with the shoes also do not show up in my library properly. I am not sure if I missed something, intalled them incorrectly or if they just don't work properly.
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It comes with a detailed Readme [also available on the product page] which indicates where all the files should be planted.
There are 3 files you need to download and extract. Did you miss one?
I downloaded all the proper files. looked at the Readme It said to unzip the the files into the content library. I did that, it still won't work properly. I dunno, I feel like I am missing something.
First of, if you're using another folder you need to tell Daz Studio that it exist.
And if you look in the content folder where you put the files, can you then see that these files follow the same structure as the other content? You might accidently have copied to the wrong level in the folder so it has an extra folder inside the folder.
Did you extract it directly to your content directory? My guess would be that there's an extra top-level folder in the zip which should be removed, like a "my library" folder.
Can you show us the content of the zip and where you installed it?
Here is what I do with zip files from Rendo, and it couldn't be more simple. This is in Windows.
While I don't own those shoes, which have been around since last year, I've bought many items from the artists who created them and have never had issues, so I doubt that there's anything wrong with the zip files.
I often also use Content Package Assist, available at Daz, so that I can install and uninstall using DIM, but that's personal preference, and not essential. There's a new product Content Wizard from RiverSoft that makes installation easy, and also generates Smart Content, but I haven't tried it yet.
It's three zip files One containts "people, documentation, data" folders, the second is "runtime, documentation" and the third is templates.
I unzipped them directly to the content folder, I tried creating their own named folders in content. I also tried unzipping them directly to my library. Nothing seems to work.
If you look at some of the actual files in the zip folder, can you then find the same files in your content directory, following the same structure as the other files there?
So the data folder for that item is directly inside your content directory?
Yeah. A lot of the files how up as blank. At one point they showed up as empty squares with an ! in them. As frustrating as this is (I've had little sleep as of late, due to high anxiety causing insomnia) my comprehension skills are not entirely at their best.
It is, yes. I feel like I am over complicating things some how.
This is the "comprehensive" insallation instructions from the readme file, btw. "INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Unzip into your Daz Studio Content directory. Make sure "use folder names" option is checked."
Empty square with a ! usually means the files are not where smart content expects them
That's the usual instructions with Rendo products. Looking at the product readme that should have worked.
I am deleting the files from Daz and trying yet again with a different installation. I really can't figure out what I am doing wrong.
I have attached an example of a zip folder.
In that you need to copy the highlighted folders to your content folder, which for default Daz content is 'My DAZ 3D Library' so these folders, e.g. Runtime gets merged with the existing Runtime.
I have it partially working now. The shoes and morphs work, but not the mats. It's a start at any rate.
Edit: I am still getting runtime errors for the textures. The shoes are there, the morphs work, but the texture maps just won't fuction like they should.
The Runtime folder is essentially the texture folder. And if there are no mats it sounds as you haven't got copied that folder correctly.
In the zip file find which subfolder it tries to install, and check in your Runtime folder in your content library if it is there.
I Iray mats copy over, the main folder with the jpeg mats just refuse to show up, even when I directly added them to the proper folder. I am at a loss, I am also waiting to hear back from Renderosity and possibly the artist who made the shoes. So we'll see.
The folder with the texture maps is not supposed to show up in content library, what is supposed to show up is a directory with material presets. According to the readme they should be under \People\Genesis 8 Female\Clothing\LysitheaG8\IrayMaterials\ in content library tab
Right, they do show up there (in IrayMaterials). But when I click on a mat to apply it, I get the runtime error: Following Files could not be found
runtime/textures/stzham/lysithea/lysithea_01bump.jpg
runtime/textures/stzham/lysithea/lysithea_01diffuseblack.jpg
runtime/textures/stzham/lysithea/lysithea_01diffusemix1.jpg
runtime/textures/stzham/lysithea/lysithea_01displace.jpg
runtime/textures/stzham/lysithea/lysithea_02bump.jpg
runtime/textures/stzham/lysithea/lysithea_02diffusemix1.jpg
runtime/textures/stzham/lysithea/lysithea_02displace2.jpg
runtime/textures/stzham/lysithea/lysithea_01bump.jpg
runtime/textures/stzham/lysithea/lysithea_01diffuseblack.jpg
runtime/textures/stzham/lysithea/lysithea_01diffusemix1.jpg
runtime/textures/stzham/lysithea/lysithea_01displace.jpg
runtime/textures/stzham/lysithea/lysithea_02bump.jpg
runtime/textures/stzham/lysithea/lysithea_02diffusemix1.jpg
runtime/textures/stzham/lysithea/lysithea_02displace2.jpg
The runtime directory from the product zip should be directly in your DS content directory, like the data directory. Is it there? (You saud you moved the folder with the jpg)
You said there was a zip file with a Runtime folder. If you browse through that folder, can you then find the missing files, you have listed above.
If you can then go to your content folder and look under runtime/textures. Is there there a subfolder named /stzham/lysithea?
I copied the runtime directory, so technically it's in both areas. If it doesn't read one, it should have read the other. I think...
Yeah, the folder/sub folder is there. I have played musical folders with this all day. I still don't quite get what I am doing wrong here. Each time I think I have the folders in the right place, something else doesn't work.
Edit: I did it! Woo Hoo! I am not entirely sure how I did it,but the textures work now.
Great news, glad it works now :)
So you have an understanding of what happens... inside My DAZ Library is a content folder and a data folder (a more direct way of installing content), but there is also a runtime folder (content doesn't have to be stored here but a lot of the non-DAZ content files from Rendo and other places seem to expect this arrangement). I don't know the history of this, but maybe the runtime folder in this location is a legacy arrangement?
Inside this, you will find a variety of folders, but the ones that are used most often by non-DAZ content providers seem to be the geometries, Libraries (especially the Character subdirectory), Textures, and Templates directories.
You can manually move your unzipped files to each of the directories (I did this for the first few so I could learn how the directories were organized) but it's easier to just copy all of them at the same time into your content or runtime library. If you put it in the upper-level directory, it will retain the file hierarchies or create folders, as needed, if they don't already exist.
For those who are using Macs, you can hold down the Alt key while you drag the folder and it will let you merge the directories rather than copying over them and will alert you if there are other files or directories with the same name.
Duplication of file names is always possible when you are combining DAZ content with other content, so it's important to merge with exisitng folders rather than overwriting them. Also, if it alerts you to two objects with the same name (this happens a lot with off-DAZ content), you can change the filename before moving all the folders/files, but make sure you change the names of any other directly related files or it won't be able to find them.
Content from non-DAZ sites often lack thumbnails, which means you won't see the thumbnails in your content search even if the asset is installed. You can use DS Import and search for the filename, or you can generate the thumbnail yourself. I'm still learning DS, so I don't know if one of the merchant resource tools facilitates the creation of this thumbnail in the right size and place, but if someone knows, it would be helpful to hear how to do it.
More or less. The Runtime structure comes from Poser initially.
I think Daz decided to keep the texture maps in the Runtime structure for their own format so that when you had content with both Poser and DS versions you could use both without having to install the maps twice.
Note that this is something that trips up a lot of people. My DAZ Library is your content folder. When installation instructions say "content folder", they don't mean "a folder named Content", it's "the folder containing your content files". The name of the content folder is whatever DAZ|Studio's Content Directory Manager settings say it is. What you describe is a content folder inside a content folder, known as "nested content folders", and will cause you problems eventually if not sooner.
The good news is, there's an easy fix; move the folders in your "inside" content folder one level up to the "outside" content folder, merging with the folders and files already there. Then check your Content Directory Manager settings to make sure you don't have both folders defined — this is what causes the problem, D|S can't tell the difference between the two locations, and can lose track of files.
Thank you, Kitty.