SubDragon Expansion - Can't load because missing files?
Rezca
Posts: 3,393
[SubDragon Expansion - Can't load because missing files?] Also, funnily enough neither the SubDragon base nor the Expansion will show up in DAZ Studio's Install list, but that's a different topic.
So I downloaded these manually off my Product Library and installed them. I found the INJ options never actually did anything though, so checked the ReadMe file and it had this to say:
"In order for this product to properly load, you must run the Update Subdragon .BAT file. The shortcut is normally found on your desktop."
I can say that no such file was ever created, and no file exists in either of the products zip archives or when installing through the Install Manager. The SubDragon specifically refuses to install via IM at all, giving me an "Install Failed!" message every time I try.
So what can I do here? Is the SubDragon Expansion unusable in the current time or is there a way around this? If I can get the morphs into OBJ form that'd be enough, since then I could use those with Cinema 4D's Pose Morph as a geometry target.
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That is referring to the Poser version of the figure, using the ExP system for morph expansions. The version included with Daz Studio is in native Daz Studio format, so doesn't support the ExP system. You could manually add the channels, I suppose, and then try running the injection poses to add the deltas - I've no idea if that woudl work, and it would be fiddly.
Hm, that's unfortunate. :(
What channels do you mean and how would one go about doing that manually? Sadly all this is not something I've had experience with so I know nothing about how Poser/DS functions under the hood if you will.
Thanks for taking the time to respond!
You wo8ld have to extract the channel details (the morph names, esentially, and their links to other morphs) from the suplied PZ2 files, then you would have to right-click in the Parameters pane>Edit Mode, then right-click>Create New Property, name it to match (and ideally give it the same label), then check the option to create it as an empty morph. Then you would almost certainly need to ad the ERC links between properties (e.g. for JCMs to correct bends when morpsha re applied) using the parameters and Property Hierarchy panes. As I said, it would be a fiddle to do and I'm not certain it would work anyway.
The Studio-native LE version is in Genesis Starter Essentials, and doesn't have its own installer. Which Subdragon are you trying to install? Do you have the Poser version of Subdragon (full and/or LE)? I believe you need both to get full functionality (the full version refers to the LE). I don't know if injecting the morphs into a Studio-native figure will do anything.
The "Update Subdragon.bat" is a leftover reference from the days of the .exe. installers. I remember them from early days of V4 and M4. It would run the file in "Runtime\Libraries\!DAZ" to generate all the necessary files. For the SubDragon it is "DzCreateExPFiles-SDrgn.bat".
It's just the one supplied by the Product Library, I don't know if that makes it Poser or DS Native.
Neither the SubDragon nor the SubDragon LE show up in DAZ Studio's 'Install' tab or 'Smart Content' tab for me so I had to manually download it from the website then install it myself.
I didn't think installing the LE version made a difference, but after doing so the SubDragon disappeared from D|S's in-app library entirely and all the pose/prop/etc content relating to it became empty ? files that'd do nothing when clicked on - everything was still in the Windows Explorer directories though. If it makes any difference when I was installing the LE I selected "Skip" when Windows asked me if I wanted to overwrite files of the same name, files which were created by the full SubDragon so I thought it wouldn't be good to overwrite them with a different version.
The .bat files is not related to isntallation method, just format - we don't usually need it in Daz Studio because the PowerLoader does the job on loading the figure, but if that was not isntalled then the batch file would have to be run after adding an ExP expansion.
Ah, download the PowerLoader too then? I'm not terribly familiar with the modern D|S processes since the last I used it heavily was way back in 1.8 ~ 2.0 days
My understanding is that ExP-based products cannot be installed with Connect (inside Studio), so the initialization will not work due to the way the folders are arranged (not the same as a DIM or manual installation).
You mention that you used DIM at one point. That will be the way to go to get the SubDragon installed. (BTW, that one in your Product Library SKU:6415 is the full Poser version). Uninstall SubDragon products that were installed with Connect, they will be useless anyway. There is a flag in DIM that can hide Connect-installed products, so they should show up again in DIM.
Maybe the full Poser version needs the Poser version of the Subdragon LE to install. It's been a while, and there are no references on either product page that says so, but you have it, so try it. When installing, you should get the UAC prompt (User Access Control) to allow DIM to run an external program (it's for that batch file, perfectly normal). Accept and it should install properly.
I tried to install the SubDragon through the DIM and it'd only say "Installation Failed!" when I tried.
Is DAZ Connect the Smart Content pane? If so, then I haven't been able to install anything relating to the SubDragon trhough that since DAZ Studio for whatever reason will not show them in the Install or Smart Content panes and so I've had to download them myself from the website. If I do a search for 'dragon' in DAZ Studio it'll pull up the Dragon 3, Millennium Dragon, and whatnot but nothing for the SubDragon. Search for SubDragon and it'll say nothing was found. If Connect is a separate program though, I've never actually used it.
DAZ Connect is accessed from the Smart Content Pane, but the Smart Content is constructed from metadata, no matter where it comes from, Connect, DIM, or DAZ Central. Manual installs don't trigger the metadata import, so it won't show up there.
In DIM, uninstall those SubDragon files. If you copied them in manually, they might still be left behind, so go in and delete any remaining traces from the file system. I tried installing the SubDragon after uninstalling both the full and LE versions. Installing the full SubDragon did not generate any errors, but it would not load (could not find the control directory, Power Loader empty). I installed the Poser LE version and the Power Loader came up with everything available.
I'll give that a try when I get back to my computer with my 3D stuff on it, thanks!
Uninstalled all of it, did some sweeps to make double sure... But the SubDragon and SubDragon LE won't install. The files download, and then it'll start installing but then stop at 97% and say "Install failed!" and aborts the process :/
Check your DIM Log and DIM Helper Log for any error messages (DIM -> Gear icon upper right corner -> Show Log.../Show Helper Log...). Latest entries are at the end.
Looks like it's complaining about the Bump files.
Could just be a corrupt archive. Test it to see if that is true, or just delete it, and download another copy.
I've deleted and redownloaded multiple times, always fails because of the Bump file :( But, the archive itself works and no problem with the bump map, when I navigate to where the temporary files are stored and open it there. So I don't know what's up with that.
That said, the expansion injections still don't work, and the DzCreateExPFiles files don't seem to do anything? Once I installed the Power Loader files though I can't load the SubDragon at all. It just gives me a "Critical Error! The "SubDragon" support folder could not be found" message if I try and load it.
Can't say what's up with the file and why it fails on install. Could be protection on an existing file? If the installation doesn't complete, it won't run the initialization, but that can be done manually or with the Power Loader. At least make sure all the files are in place.
I get that second "Critical Error" if the SubDragon LE (Poser version) is not installed, but everything works properly once it is installed.