Confused about Freak 4 / M4 installation
I'm confused about how to install figures like Michael 4 and Freak 4 correctly in DAZ Studio and Poser. As in, what files are needed and where they're supposed to go.
I've had Poser 6 [previously 4] on my old [2003-era] Mac since 2005ish, and try to keep it updated with the major DAZ humans. I use it occasionally for planning out artwork, but haven't used it [or that computer] much in awhile. I know that the installation process has changed a lot since DAZ has been focusing on DAZ Studio rather than Poser. I never got on with DAZ Studio but the Genesis figures seem impressive.
I know I'm behind the times in terms of technology - I'm planning to buy a new computer soon.
I installed Michael 4 into Poser 6 a long time ago, and I don't think I ever got his morphs working. They're all disabled and I'm not sure what I did wrong. Unless I have to buy the morphs separately and never did or something.
I just bought The Freak 4 finally and ran the Mac installer. The main DPC installer doesn't even run on my 2003-era Mac. I click it and nothing happens. The other installers work.
I ran it on my little Netbook instead and it runs, but says the required file has NOT been found and it will exit now. I really need to get The Freak 4 running, so I installed the new Daz Studio and put as many Michael 4 and Daz character files as I could find from Poser into my DAZ Studio library.
DAZ Studio doesn't seem to recognize most of what I put in there, and neither does the installer, which still won't install. I can't load Michael 4 or install The Freak.
So where do these files go? Not sure I still have a Michael 4 installer. Maybe on some disc somewhere.
Comments
Most of the Michael 4 morphs are in the Morphs++ set. However, I think you should have a spandex morph and the expression morphs even if you have only the base figure.
As the Freak 4 is just a morph et for Michael 4 the installer has to be pointed to the content location used for Michael 4 (that is, the folder that holds the Runtime folder. As far as I recall Poser 6 does need the figures in the application folder - Poser 7 was the first version, at least on Windows, that would work with external libraries (without hand-editing the files); DAZ Studio can be pointed to the Poser 6 folder as a Poser content directory so that you don't have to install the content twice.
I need more info than that ...
Okay, so I have the base M4 figure with no morphs. I do remember seeing expression morphs for M4, never tried to load them.
EDIT: I loaded Michael 4 base figure in Daz Studio from my Poser install. It kept asking for files like m4chestgrps.pz2 which I don't seem to have on this comp anyway.
I get confused over where these !DAZ and Deltas and various folders are actually supposed to be but I assume they installed correctly for Poser anyway.
I have, as I said, copied my Michael 4 and other DAZ files to this little Netbook in several different places, including in a DAZ Studio library folder and a fake "Poser 6/Runtime" folder. But no matter which directory I point it to, the Freak 4 refuses to install. Probably because I'm missing certain files or they're not in the right place, since I'm only faking having Poser on this comp.
The DSB etc files, I guess those are DAZ Studio files ...
I've copied over my Poser install to work on this Netbook, along with the MIchael 4 and some other DAZ figures.
The Freak 4 will still not install into my Runtime. I looked it up and read someone saying that Michael 4 was updated right before the Freak 4 was released to "fix this problem?" And that maybe The Freak 4 isn't even compatible with some versions of Poser?
The missing files like m4chestgrps.pz2 mean you haven't run the updater, or at least not the right one if you have multiple installations on the same machine (always something to avoid). Go to the folder you installed to, or the active folder, and then to \Runtime\libraries\!DAZ. Double-click DzCreateExPFiles-m4.command. That should generate the files that load the morph information into Poser (and into DS, if you don't have the .dsb file alongside the .cr2).
Freak 4 works to an extent in Poser - you need to use the NoScale version though, as Poser didn't do single-axis scaling of individual body parts the way it was needed for the scaling version. I can't recall how the Michael 4 updates went - if this is an old download it may be worth resetting your order from your Itemised order History to make sure you have the current installers for both M4 and the Freak 4. The product page doesn't list any requirements beyond the base Michael 4, for Freak 4.
I've reset my Itemized Order History on M4 and redownloaded him. I didn't know I could do that. The download was from 2008 originally.
I'll see if it helps to reinstall him.
RESOLVED I think. I reinstalled Michael 4 and it now told me to initialize the character and run a command-line updater. Once this was done The Freak 4 installed.