Understanding the difference between 18.95 and 44.95 Figures
vijayasimhabr
Posts: 204
I am still in my early days of Daz, building up my asset collection. I have bought all the locations, props, clothes, hair, poses and HDRIs to suit my hobby. Now, its time to start buying the last (and usually the more expensive) set of items - Human Figures.
I have noticed that with Daz Originals, there appears to be two levels of quality figures. There is the 44.95 figures (like Victoria 8.1 or Jada 8.1) and there are figures like Evonne HD that are 18.95. I have spent hours poring over the descriptions and reading all the additional items. Despite my efforts, I must confess, the store descriptions are still not comprehensible to me. Every week, things get more clearer (as I gather more knowledge on forums and learn Daz) but I am still not there yet.
It is obvious that the higher priced figures are awesome looking in a general sense. But, I am interested to learn in more detail about the differences.
So, what am I gaining or losing when I buy or not buy the higher priced item versus the lowered priced item?
Note : I understand these items go on sale constantly, but, for the sake of discussion, keeping the price reference to their original selling price. I am only focused on 8.1 figures right now. Ignoring all 8.0 figures entirely out of this discussion.
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Comments
Historically, the "name & number" figures have served as a basis for a wide variety of figures, though that's becoming less and less true as Genesis 8 goes on, and is virtually nonexistent now with 8.1. They're generally seen as high quality figures, with some of their materials being highly renowned. Some of them also bring an influx of under-represented character types, which I certainly appreciate.
There is no real difference. It's all just marketing.
The prices of $44.95 characters (aka "core characters") are artificially inflated to make them seem more valuable and desirable.
Just to illustrate, I don't think anybody can argue that Tika 8 by Thorne is worth more than twice as much as Anakku, also by Thorne.
It's also worth mentioning that many non-core characters come with an HD morph while core characters usually have their HD morph sold separately for another whooping $39.95.
Compare: $84.9 for Mei Lin 8 and her HD versus $18.95 for Xia by Mousso including HD. If this seems ridiculous... well, it is.
Generally speaking, core characters tend to be particularly high quality... but there are so many exceptions in either direction.
For example, I'd argue that Penny 8 or Lucas 8 aren't particularly realistic or interesting characters... but they are core characters.
And there are characters like Novak by Faber Inc or Vernon by Mousso that are so high quality, they could easly be sold as core characters.
In any case, my advice is to just buy what looks good to you, regardless of whether the character is core or not. As you probably know by now, there's always some sale or other happening. With a little bit of patience you can get any character for $5-10, often even less, regardless of their original price. When deciding whether to buy a character at a certain discount, don't look at the % you're saving, look at the actual amount you're spending, and think about whether that's worth it for you.
Generally, the $44.95 characters (plus $39.95 for the HD Add-On) are the "core" characters because they form the core of Daz's product line. The theory is that they have a lot of work put into them, and then third-party content creators use them as a springboard for their own figures, which don't involve as much work.
For instance, Sanjay 8 is a core figure. After he was released, other content creators used him as a base for their own Indian figures:
You need the core figure for those to work (or, at least, you need the core figure for the morphs to work properly).
However, some PAs like bluejaunte and iSourceTextures base their figures on Genesis 8/8.1 directly. Ironically, they often have better HD morphs and textures than the core figures, despite being much cheaper.
Folks,
Thank you for your opinion. All of our opinion (combined) helped me out a lot today. I ended up buying a bunch of non-core characters today in that mega sale. I am still inexperienced with renders and still learning, but it's true. The low priced items seem to work just as well as the high priced items. To my 'beginner' Daz eyes, I am unable to see any difference.
Thank you @Gordig and @Hylas and @margrave . I have saved a few bucks today, thanks to you folks. In these pandemic times, every dollar saved is a dollar earned.
^ ... and that's the real magic of DAZ: making you feel like you're saving money when you're actually spending money
glad I could help, have fun with your new assets!
The numbered characters generally have a lot more joint controll morphs to futher improve the look of joints when posing.
A month ago, my wishlist was in triple digits. Now, it's down to single digit. My Daz journal reminds me that I have bought everything I need to buy (the figures were the last item on the shopping list), and I am not allowed to buy stuff anymore.
So, hopefully, my self restraint will hold, and I will listen to my own advice from the journal. Thank you for your caution about excessive buying, and for the fun related wish.