Daz Studio 5 development update

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  • I haven't read the whole thread, but do we know yet what features of DS 5 will be for everyone, and which will be exclusively subscription-based?

    I'm also not entirely sure while I'd want to move on from DS 4 when all of my tooling and interoperability with other apps is already set up for that.

    Maybe tighter integration with Unreal Engine would make me want to use DS 5 for an intermediary, but that's only if it's not subscription-only functionality.

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 101,235

    We don't yet know what features will be uniquely added to DS 5 (all of the 4.2x feature additions are part of the work on DS 5).

  • inquireinquire Posts: 2,213
    edited October 18

    As a fellow Mac user, I completely agree with Lee. Also, when this news was first announced, it sounded like Apple and Daz had worked together to come up with a method for making DAZ Studio run On the Apple Silicon M chips. I'm wondering if that Was true. Perhaps it's just that Apple worked out another emulation model called Rosetta. It really should be called Rosetta 2 Because there was a Rosetta 1 In the past. I remember when Apple switched from one kind of chip to another. I was happy, running some apps, including Apple apps in Rosetta 1. I thought that would just go on forever. But then in another OS version, Apple dropped Rosetta 1. I thought there would be a way for me to re-buy the Apple apps at a reasonable cost, or that Apple would just allow me to download a version of the Apple apps that would run natively in the new OS. But no, I had to pay full price for any Apple apps that I already had in order to get a version that would run in the new OS. One of those apps was Final Cut. That's an expensive app. I just did not re-buy it. 
    The point of all of this is that I think Apple will drop Rosetta 2 At some point. I have a friend who works in Silicon Valley at a software developing company, though not Apple. He tells me that he thinks that Apple will drop Rosetta 2 Soon. So anyone who is running DAZ Studio In Rosetta 2 Maybe unable to run That app If there is no version Of it that will run natively on the M Chips. So I really hope that a version of DAZ Studio That will run natively will be released very soon. I Also am holding off on buying DAZ Products and DAZ Memberships because I don't want to be hurt as I was before when Rosetta Was dropped.

    I'm composing this in speech to text on my iPhone 15+. I don't know why it's putting in so many unnecessary capitalizations.

    Post edited by inquire on
  • TesseractSpaceTesseractSpace Posts: 1,407
    edited October 18

    Richard Haseltine said:

    We don't yet know what features will be uniquely added to DS 5 (all of the 4.2x feature additions are part of the work on DS 5).

    But if everything has to be redone and recompiled for version 5, does that mean that some features in v4.2 might end up being changed enough to consider them 'new' and thus eligible to be put under subscription? After all, some of the current subscription plugins had only very minor modification (a change in tab location) and that was considered enough to make them so different from the original they were reclassified as subscription. 

    How usable will 5.0 be without a subscription? 

    Post edited by TesseractSpace on
  • WolfwoodWolfwood Posts: 779

    TesseractSpace said:

    Richard Haseltine said:

    We don't yet know what features will be uniquely added to DS 5 (all of the 4.2x feature additions are part of the work on DS 5).

    But if everything has to be redone and recompiled for version 5, does that mean that some features in v4.2 might end up being changed enough to consider them 'new' and thus eligible to be put under subscription? After all, some of the current subscription plugins had only very minor modification (a change in tab location) and that was considered enough to make them so different from the original they were reclassified as subscription. 

    How usable will 5.0 be without a subscription? 

    Is supose it will be decently usable, retaining most current free features. But if they want to double down on the subscription instead of admiting defeat we are likely to loose a lot of potential plugins. Ultrascenery2, decimator, everything that is already Daz Original can disapear from store already(no need for 5.x) and be added as sub exclusive. And since 5.X will render all plugins and most (if not all) scripts from 4.X not usable, non subscribers will not even have first gen alternatives (like the original Manfriday products). And it does not matter what they say now about bringing 4.X features to 5.X, there is no guarantee they will be available without subscription with or without improvements.

    So our best hope is current premier model is changed.

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 101,235

    TesseractSpace said:

    Richard Haseltine said:

    We don't yet know what features will be uniquely added to DS 5 (all of the 4.2x feature additions are part of the work on DS 5).

    But if everything has to be redone and recompiled for version 5, does that mean that some features in v4.2 might end up being changed enough to consider them 'new' and thus eligible to be put under subscription? After all, some of the current subscription plugins had only very minor modification (a change in tab location) and that was considered enough to make them so different from the original they were reclassified as subscription. 

    The Premier plug-ins were not part of the free base, they were commercial offerings which daz bought out. Daz has said that tools and features will not be removed from the free base to move them to premier, needing to tweak them for DS 5 would not make them different tools. Beyiond that we simply do not have enough information to make even a badly-educated guess at what DS 5 will offer.

    How usable will 5.0 be without a subscription? 

  • NathNath Posts: 2,826

    Wolfwood said:

    TesseractSpace said:

    Richard Haseltine said:

    We don't yet know what features will be uniquely added to DS 5 (all of the 4.2x feature additions are part of the work on DS 5).

    But if everything has to be redone and recompiled for version 5, does that mean that some features in v4.2 might end up being changed enough to consider them 'new' and thus eligible to be put under subscription? After all, some of the current subscription plugins had only very minor modification (a change in tab location) and that was considered enough to make them so different from the original they were reclassified as subscription. 

    How usable will 5.0 be without a subscription? 

    Is supose it will be decently usable, retaining most current free features. But if they want to double down on the subscription instead of admiting defeat we are likely to loose a lot of potential plugins. Ultrascenery2, decimator, everything that is already Daz Original can disapear from store already(no need for 5.x) and be added as sub exclusive. And since 5.X will render all plugins and most (if not all) scripts from 4.X not usable, non subscribers will not even have first gen alternatives (like the original Manfriday products). And it does not matter what they say now about bringing 4.X features to 5.X, there is no guarantee they will be available without subscription with or without improvements.

    So our best hope is current premier model is changed.

    And hanging on to your older installation files. 

  • wsterdanwsterdan Posts: 2,349

    Richard Haseltine said:

    Beyiond that we simply do not have enough information to make even a badly-educated guess at what DS 5 will offer.

    Nonsense! We've been making badly-educated gueess for years with even less information!

    wink 

  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,142

    Has DAZ 3D published a list of broken plugins once DAZ 5 is released?

  • HavosHavos Posts: 5,371

    When (or if) DS 5 is released, I would imagine DAZ would be keen for as many as possible of it's users to move to 5.0, as it makes selling new content to them easier. As such I would be surprised if they hid all the decent DS 4 tools currently available for free, behind some paywall. I suspect this would seriously stunt the growth of the new version.

    Naturally they can do what they want for 5.0, but it makes little business sense to only make it of interest to just a slice of their customers.

  • HavosHavos Posts: 5,371

    nonesuch00 said:

    Has DAZ 3D published a list of broken plugins once DAZ 5 is released?

    They don't need to, all plug-ins will be broken until recompiled to work under DS 5.

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 101,235

    Havos said:

    nonesuch00 said:

    Has DAZ 3D published a list of broken plugins once DAZ 5 is released?

    They don't need to, all plug-ins will be broken until recompiled to work under DS 5.

    as, probably, will be the case for some scripts. Plug-ins are the .dll/.dylib products that have separate versions (or at least separate installers) for Mac and Windows, 32 bit and 64 bit.

  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,142

    Havos said:

    nonesuch00 said:

    Has DAZ 3D published a list of broken plugins once DAZ 5 is released?

    They don't need to, all plug-ins will be broken until recompiled to work under DS 5.

    That's not really accurate. It's like saying DAZ Studio is broken because the developers changed the code and haven't compiled the code yet.

    The plugins are recompiled with each DS 4.x public beta and general release already, so to say they are broken after each release isn't really flying. Some plugins haven't their original developers around to update while others get broke by big changes in QT, Windows, and MacOS APIs that can't be fixed. I think LInux too, eventually.

  • ImagoImago Posts: 5,175

    Havos said:

    They don't need to, all plug-ins will be broken until recompiled to work under DS 5.

    It would be nice for us users if they created a sort of "bridge" between the two versions of QT and make the old plugins work on DAZ Studio 5.

  • HavosHavos Posts: 5,371

    nonesuch00 said:

    Havos said:

    nonesuch00 said:

    Has DAZ 3D published a list of broken plugins once DAZ 5 is released?

    They don't need to, all plug-ins will be broken until recompiled to work under DS 5.

    That's not really accurate. It's like saying DAZ Studio is broken because the developers changed the code and haven't compiled the code yet.

    The plugins are recompiled with each DS 4.x public beta and general release already, so to say they are broken after each release isn't really flying. Some plugins haven't their original developers around to update while others get broke by big changes in QT, Windows, and MacOS APIs that can't be fixed. I think LInux too, eventually.

    That is only true with a handful of DAZ's own plugins, for example Decimator. For PA plug-ins DAZ does not have access to the original source code, so it could not recompile them even if it wanted to. 

    With all the SDK changes that come with 5.0 it is likely most, or maybe even all, plug-ins will need some source code changes in addition to being recompiled. Naturally only the PAs owning the source code can do this. Since some of those PAs are sadly no longer with us, those plug-ins at least will never be made to work with 5.0.

  • Could I mention an analogy. Linux users can run DS despite it being for a different OS by the use of WINE. It must be less difficult to create an extension lead with the correct sockets for earlier plugins to work in DS than something like WINE which acts as a complete OS plugin replacement. WINE has shown it's possible, what then is needed is the will to do it. Regards, Richard.
  • inquireinquire Posts: 2,213
    edited October 19

    Yes, but I think that as an OS changes, the emulation mode has to change also. For example, I think this is the case with Apple's  Rosetta 2. I suspect that's why Rosetta 2 Will not be kept up indefinitely. So it's more work to keep updating the emulation as the basic app changes, and as the OS that you're going to run the app in also changes. If you have to update the emulation mode, that's a third product that needs to change. I'm not a techie, but I think that's why DAZ Would not want to go with an additional emulation product.

    Post edited by inquire on
  • If you build an interface between your current program and plugins designed for your previous program, it means you have control of the both important ends of the process & the OS shouldn't interfere there. I think it's more a matter of will & effort rather than the process not being possible. I have some programming experience, but I'm not a pro and this would be beyond me, so could be [very] wrong. Just don't think I am in this case.

    Regards,

    Richard

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 101,235

    richardandtracy said:

    If you build an interface between your current program and plugins designed for your previous program, it means you have control of the both important ends of the process & the OS shouldn't interfere there. I think it's more a matter of will & effort rather than the process not being possible. I have some programming experience, but I'm not a pro and this would be beyond me, so could be [very] wrong. Just don't think I am in this case.

    Regards,

    Richard

    I don't know how possible it would be in principle, but I suspect that the performance would - at least in many cases - be abysmal.

  • TesseractSpaceTesseractSpace Posts: 1,407

    Richard Haseltine said:

    richardandtracy said:

    If you build an interface between your current program and plugins designed for your previous program, it means you have control of the both important ends of the process & the OS shouldn't interfere there. I think it's more a matter of will & effort rather than the process not being possible. I have some programming experience, but I'm not a pro and this would be beyond me, so could be [very] wrong. Just don't think I am in this case.

    Regards,

    Richard

    I don't know how possible it would be in principle, but I suspect that the performance would - at least in many cases - be abysmal.

    True, but for some plugins abysmal performance would be better than none at all. 

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 101,235

    TesseractSpace said:

    Richard Haseltine said:

    richardandtracy said:

    If you build an interface between your current program and plugins designed for your previous program, it means you have control of the both important ends of the process & the OS shouldn't interfere there. I think it's more a matter of will & effort rather than the process not being possible. I have some programming experience, but I'm not a pro and this would be beyond me, so could be [very] wrong. Just don't think I am in this case.

    Regards,

    Richard

    I don't know how possible it would be in principle, but I suspect that the performance would - at least in many cases - be abysmal.

    True, but for some plugins abysmal performance would be better than none at all. 

    Daz studio 4 will continue to be available, though how importable DS5 scenes will be - especially if using any putative Genesis 10 (or later) that uses its new features - we can't guess.

  • TesseractSpaceTesseractSpace Posts: 1,407

    Previous versions aren't usually left available without asking support to supply them, at least from what I've seen. Is this being handled differently?

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 101,235

    TesseractSpace said:

    Previous versions aren't usually left available without asking support to supply them, at least from what I've seen. Is this being handled differently?

    That is true for minor version updates (4.x to 4.x+1) but not for major versions (3.x.x.x to 4.x.x.x to whatever the enxt version is called)

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