Solved ~ Skin Shading Bundle Major Problem
Prince Wao
Posts: 373
Yesterday I purchased the Skin Shading Bundle for probably far future use as I have little disk space left and it was going for 40% off, but I didn't realise that it taking me 4 attempts to buy via PayPal was the Universe telling me to avoid it! Here's what happened:
I installed all 3 parts of it via DIM, intending to uninstall it all once I'd had a look at it, so I first loaded an old GF2 Iray character subset just to test it out. All I did was change a colour in the top section of the interface - it's now uninstalled so I can't be clearer than that - then reading the 1st part of the PDF instructions I realised I'd need to spend a long time on it to figure it all out, so not having time then I closed the subset without saving anything and then uninstalled all 3 parts of it via DIM.
A couple of hours later I loaded a years old G2F 3DL character subset to see if I could improve on the face morphing and all was okay; but I then closed that subset without needing to save it, and I loaded another G2F 3DL character subset which I began working on only about a month ago, but to my total surprise I got the Missing Files window come up, the Missing Files being the now uninstalled Skin Shading Bundle which I didn't even have when creating the 3DL - NOT Iray - subset. Having gone through the "skip" and "stop asking" process when ignoring the Missing Files window the character loaded but her face was now a totally different colour, while her body was blank black! I was baffled as to why I got the Missing Files Window when the subset had nothing to do with the Skin Shading Bundle, was created weeks before installing it and wasn't even an Iray subset, so I next spent hours loading scenes and subsets from years ago to recent times and what I found was this:
Anything I've created pre the 2nd half of 2021 loads and works fine, but everything from the 2nd half of 2021, 3DL and Iray, throws up the Missing Files window, which is always the Skin Shading Bundle and either some or all characters have fracked up skins: 3DL characters have different colour faces and blank black bodies, while Iray characters have blank black faces and bodies! That's left me being unable to use oodles of subsets and scenes. Stop Press: I just loaded 2 Iray character subsets from early 2020, one with 1 character and one with 3. The one with 3 loads perfectly - all 3 different skins are as they should be - but the just earlier subset of 1 character loads with the skin black.
Obviously when I uninstalled the Skin Shading Bundle it's left lots of trace links behind, but how come it's contaminated so many 3DL scenes and subsets when the product is only for Iray? Also, what's the fix, if any?
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Comments
Which skin shading bundle?
edit: I assume this one
https://www.daz3d.com/skin-shading-bundle
Yes. That's the one.
That one is just a settings manager. I've had it for years. It doesn't add or remove maps.
It can save settings for you in a text file and can also save LIE settings.
It doesn't have an autoload feature that I know of, so one must load a settings preset manually through the skin manager itself.
What you are experiencing sounds more like missing LIE overlays to me.
Or could also be that old 3DL bug that made the shader turn all white.
I think we were just reappling the 3DL shader and that would fix it.
It's been a long time so I don't recall that one exactly.
You log file might have some info on what is going on...
Help>Troubleshooting>view log file
All the log file tells me is that it all went to frack when I uninstalled the SSB (Skin Shader Bundle). There's only 3 solutions that I can think of: (1) Reinstall the SSB and hope all the unrelated scenes and subset characters get their base skins back, but as the SSB will still have links to all Genesis generations it works on and is somehow affecting all [except those in very old scenes and subsets] I don't think that'll work. (2) Somehow get rid of all of the left behind links to the characters it's affecting, though I'd have no clue how to go about that. Or (3) Buy a new PC/LT specifically for Daz work with 2TB space, which has has been on the cards for over a year as I've in the past had to uninstall over 1,000 assets to free up space, as that way everything gets reinstalled afresh - though I'd now be nervouse of even using the SSB!
I'm trying to reproduce your problem, but so far I've not been able to do so.
From what I understand you simply installed ran it once on a single character canceled out and didn't save your preset then maps went missing from characters in scenes you've not loaded and never ran the script on.
I can't think of any thing that would cause that.
Windows maybe because the filesytem is nearly full and there is not enough free space.
SSD that needs trimmed.
HDD that needs defragged.
Without getting to see the actual errors and the log showing it I'm at a bit of a loss.
Sorry, I won't be of much help.
I'm not sure that maps went missing as it looks more like they were overwritten by SSB - and across at least half of my 3DL scenes and subsets [circa 500ish in total] as everything 3DL I've loaded to test has different colour skins on most or all of the characters. In one susbet I loaded today the character had her head a light tan colour, then her pelvis area down to her upper thighs a very dark brown [it looks like 128 64 64] while the rest of her body is a blank black [as opposed white which I've often had when skin shaders have been lost]. I was able to reapply the origial skin base mat and render it perfectly, then later on reloading the subset all was fine again - no Missing Files window came up - and it again rendered perfectly. So as said, it looks to me that skins have been overwritten, not vanished. I've no doubt I could go through all of the affected files and reinstate the base mats, but it seems to be all 3DL scenes and subsets post mid 2021 have been affected, while it now looks like all Iray scenes and subsets have been affected, based on discovering 2 from early 2020 being the same, while 2020 and earlier 3DL scenes and subsets work fine. My guess is that it could have something to do Daz Studio being updated circa mid 2021, so anything created prior to that date is unaffected. Tomorrow I'll take a screeshot of another subset with the same issue, plus I'll copy the log file, but the latter doesn't seem to show anyting wrong, and what comes up when the Missing Files window opens is that it can't find the uninstalled skin builder, which has nothing to to do with the subset.
This product helps you adjust the settings for the surfaces.
Then allows you to save a text file with those settings so you can apply them again to the same or different characters that have either the iray uber shader, or the new PBRSkin shader applied to them.
Very handy to have when you work out a set of shader settings you like and want to use it without altering the maps.
It doesn't do anything with the maps other than change the gamma if you run that part of the script on a selected character.
I've used this script off and on since 2018 and haven't seen anything like this.
You've got something going on, but I really don't think it has anything to do with this particular script.
What version of Studio is this happening on, and is it mac or PC?
would you mind attaching the logfile to your post, if possible.
Preferably right after the error occurs.
edit: also, what are you PC specs.
How much RAM does it have and what GPU does it have?
I decided to do it now to get it out of the way!
The 393 Page Log File starts (or ends) on Page 1 with this:
2023-01-16 12:29:38.857 [WARNING] :: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\shapes\dzfacetmesh.cpp(7954): Index out of range in DzFacetMesh::getNormal()
2023-01-16 12:29:38.883 [WARNING] :: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\shapes\dzfacetmesh.cpp(7954): Index out of range in DzFacetMesh::getNormal()
2023-01-16 12:29:39.412 [INFO] :: Creating property aliases...
2023-01-16 12:29:39.433 [INFO] :: Creating sum stage formulas...
2023-01-16 12:29:39.434 [WARNING] :: ..\..\..\..\..\src\sdksource\fileinput\dzassetdaz.cpp(6969): Formula target property not
Following this are just oodles of pages of "Found", etc, but at the other end of the log these come up quite a few times:
stdin:450: WARNING: 'calculatenormal' function may have unexpected results since 'Pbp' in parameter number 1 is defined in a varying condition
stdin:463: WARNING: 'calculatenormal' function may have unexpected results since 'Pbp' in parameter number 1 is defined in a varying condition
Then there's quite a lot like this:
2023-01-16 19:03:28.978 [WARNING] :: Could not resolve: /Runtime/Textures/DSZV/SkinBuilder/Eyes/Real/Realreflec0.jpg
2023-01-16 19:03:28.978 [WARNING] :: Could not resolve: /Runtime/Textures/DSZV/SkinBuilder/Skin/limbs white.jpg
2023-01-16 19:03:28.978 [WARNING] :: Could not resolve: /Runtime/Textures/DSZV/SkinBuilder/Skin/face light.jpg
2023-01-16 19:03:28.978 [WARNING] :: Could not resolve: /Runtime/textures/DSZV/SkinBuilder/Skin/MouthS.jpg
2023-01-16 19:03:28.978 [WARNING] :: Could not resolve: /Runtime/textures/DSZV/SkinBuilder/Skin/MouthB.jpg
2023-01-16 19:03:28.978 [WARNING] :: Could not resolve: /Runtime/textures/DSZV/SkinBuilder/Skin/Limbs N.jpg
2023-01-16 19:03:28.978 [WARNING] :: Could not resolve: /Runtime/Textures/DSZV/SkinBuilder/Eyelash/Eyelash_1.jpg
2023-01-16 19:03:28.978 [WARNING] :: Could not resolve: /Runtime/Textures/DSZV/SkinBuilder/Eyes/Real/RealIris0.jpg
2023-01-16 19:03:28.978 [WARNING] :: Could not resolve: /Runtime/Textures/DSZV/SkinBuilder/Skin/torso white.jpg
There are also notes about Iray limits, but this is a 3DL subset. I can't find anything else that's wrong, but it is a long file!
I'm trying to upload the screenshot, but it doesn't see to be working!
ok, skin builder is a different product.
So that answers alot of questions.
You'll need to go though te initial setup of that product so you can properly save the skins you build with it.
If you choose to use the default folder where the skins from the Daz store are kept it can overwrite them if you used the same names.
This makes alot more sense now.
If that's what has happened, you'll need to reinstall the characters that had thier skins overwritten.
--
Could not resolve: /Runtime/Textures/DSZV/SkinBuilder
Have you looked to see if that fodler and file are actaully there.
I'm guessing it isn't hence the error.
The long log file can be emptied out and saved blank.
Open the logfile with notepad
Click anywhere on it and press CTRL+A to select all of the text in it.
Press DEL to clear it.
Now press CTRL+S to resave it empty.
Now it should be much easier to find recent and more importantly more relevant info when you run Studio again.
I'm pretty sure whats happened here is you've used skin builder to make custom skins for your characters, then saved your scenes.
Then when you uninstalled Skin Builder it removed the folder that had your customs skins saved in.
So when you load up your scenens that had the custom skins DS can't find them. You get a list of missing textures and maps and DS gives you the "blank" or black skins.
If you no longer want to use the Skin Builder custom skins...
Load the scene with the problem, apply new skin to effected character then save your scene.
Thanks for all of your help above as I'd never have solved the problem without your feedback. However, it turns out that the problem was a simple one made through an embarrasingly simple error: When I unistalled the SSB I in error also uninstalled Skin Builder as in DIM it was right next to the SSB Tutorials and thus I thought it was the same thing!
I'm going to have a little cry now. 
