Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
7533 S Center View Ct #4664
West Jordan, UT 84084
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2025 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
Yes, Geometry Sculptor is just a plug-in, that needs to be installed like any other, it hasn't changed the base application in a way that would break a previous version of the plug-in. I would doubt, however, that you could have more than one version installed at any time in any release channel.
@Nyghtfall3D, I do not have Premier and Meshgrabber 3 is still working for me in 4.23.
That being said, I would certainly back up any version you're currently using just to be on the safe side. I know 4.23 requires Nvidia drivers 537.13 or higher.
I am told that Geometry Sculptor, and the other ManFriday plug-ins purchased and released through Premier, have had their classes and settings (the modules of the coding) renamed to avoid conflicts with the original tools so at least with those it should be possible to have both the PA and the Daz versions installed; I don't know if that applies to successive versions of the PA plug-ins.
Long time ago i have paid for a Pro version of DAZStudio and after it had been free for all, So if DAZ will publish another Pro version i will stay with the version i have now , not so bad for my hobby use
I wouldn't begrudge DAZ the money for a paid version of Studio - after all, it's a really cool program, and a lot of work ks being put into it. And I would most probably buy it, and gladly so. But I would expect a manual in that case.
The subscription model, on the other hand, is just the same BS that almost all IT companies are trying to feed us now. Yeah, not eating / buying that. It's good for you but not for me.
If I recall correctly (I'm getting too old, "correctly" is no longer guaranteed) the "Pro" version's main difference was content creation tools; more importantly, though, it was a one-time purchase, not a monthlly fee.
All these badly implemented changes over the last year or so have completely taken the joy out of creating anything in DAZ anymore. It's just too much for me to keep up with.
It seems to me the new method means that the DAZ Studio public build will be debugged by Premier members as a perk and be MORE ready for general use afterwards.
As mentioned in this thread ( https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/719676/autosave#latest ), I am more concerned that plugins I purchased will be merged into DAZ Studio after being purchased by DAZ and will not be updated to match the new DAZ Studio version. I realize that I am not ultimately not losing the product I purchased. DAZ Studio, for the time being, will release the new integrated plugin to the public after a waiting period.
It annoys me that as a customer, who purchased the plugin through the DAZ store, I do not receive an email notifying me to remove my purchased plugin when I decide to upgrade to the new DAZ Studio version with the replacement plugin to avoid any issues. It feels like a big forget you to a customer.
I guess one good outcome from these lemony fresh improvements to membership at DAZ is that it has encourage me to focus more on Blender and Unreal/Unity which is a good thing. At this point, I am not likely to renew my DAZ+ membership in December.
I think Daz should cut the exclusive content and give more financial benefits to Premier. Just make it a strictly better version of Daz +-better discounts, coupons and tokens, except a bit more aggressive to compensate for no more Premier only content. Or reduce the cost.
There will always users who are unhappy with the fact some products will be behind a paywall. And while the money matters, sometimes it's also about the principal and the idea of having the peace of mind that you can continue to use that prodict, no matter what (barring any, ah, illegal actions, of course). And you just won't get those subscriptions from them.
Oh and I would like a Pro Version if it was a one time purchase and came with detailed tutorials and a manual for every little thing. That would be nice.
The new, Daz branded version has had the internal names changed so that it does not conflcit with the previous, PA, version.
never said it was a subscription
just pointed out when it was made free many were very angry having paid for it
having a subscription service solves that issie as people paid for the extra time they got to use it so if ever made free in future nobody feels robbed
I can no longer even afford the prices of the content, much less a monthly subscription to a program that's been free for years (because of the cost of the content). I don't "rent" software. My Daz+ will run out in April and I'll likely get off the nearly 30 year train ride (1996) I've had with Daz (even before it was Daz. When it was Zygote). All good things come to an end. I was young when I started and I'm old now, so it's on to other things...
You will be (and have been) missed. Thanks for the kindnesses.
That's very sweet, thank you. It's hard to imagine that my little bits of junk seem to be liked by quite a few people...LOL. I mostly just made them for myself, so why not share, right? But thanks. :)
There was a time, way back, when we were young, when such thinking was quite common. The golden age of sharing. Not any longer...
Be assured that many loved what you gave them. And remember that there is no need to buy anything new to enjoy using what you already have
To be clear, none of the Premier stuff is a thing that was formerly available free.
You may have made them for yourself, but they are so good that they're unmissable. Thank you for what you've done for everyone.
Regards,
Richard
Daz Studio is free-Premier has content that is not free outside of the subscription costs. It's completely optional.
To be clear, the premier stuff is built from stuff we could pay once to buy. Now we gotta pay over $200/yr subscription to rent it. So, no thanks.
I was addresing the specific implication that Premier has taken away free options (which it hasn't).
I dont blame Daz,everyone want you on a subscription, LOL. I can understand the mindset. Businesses want to make as much money as possible, but if the customer does not want to pay that becomes a problem. I solved my Adobe subscription problem by cutting the cord and went OpenSource. If this hobby becomes too much of a finacial burden I would suggest doing the same. I understand if this is for business then you need to pay but hobbyist's dont have large budgets for things that are too expense! Solution, time to get cheaper hobbies. Just my 2cents
But again, the bse Daz Studio has not lost (has in fact gained) features - the subscription covers additional features and content.
For now. The legitimate fear is that as soon as this is normalized, it gets taken up a notch, then again, then again, until it's entirely a subscription-based model like Adobe, and one day, no matter how old the version of Daz you happen to be using, you find your software locked until you subscribe, regardless of how many thousands you've spent on assets. It's not unreasonable to ask what the end game is and hold the company to it.
Even in such an extreme event the older versions would still work, as long as you backed them up. By all means, if Daz does go that route feel free to indulge in a gloating "Told ya so" session or ten - but I am pretty sure my fragile ego is safe from that indignity, at least.
That is a draconian extrapolation there, and I suspect it would be the death of Daz store. So I doubt that will happen. I also doubt Daz will explain their endgame. This odd another experiment and there is nothing to do but wait to see what happens.
Subscription based software is already a very common model across industries; Daz being one of the older ones who haven't embraced it. Premier isn't a subscription to pay for access, it offers additional products and discounts, with it being completely optional. Daz + existed for a long time, and still does. People need to take a step back about this-do what you can with the program as it isn't worth the stress and speculating as to whether Daz Studio is going to a subscription-only based model. There's no way they would tell us if they planned on it anyway, so if it's in the forefront of your mind, just step away from it.
Adobe is not really a good example here as they have (and had) a different business model. Even before they embraced subscription I am pretty sure they made the bulk of their money from software sales. I don't know if they sold content for their applications, but if so I suspect it was not the major revenue stream. DAZ on the other hand has always made the bulk of its money on content, even when they were selling their software. It makes more sense that the bulk of the functionality remains free to maintain the size of the user base and drive content sales.
Exactly right. If Daz went subscription based and the products stayed even near the same prices they are currently at, it would most likely crash. The revenue is made through the products more than anything else.
“Subscription based software is already a very common model across industries,” indeed, but not necessarily to anyone’s satisfaction save for the people taking the money for you subscription. Though for now it’s for the most part a tier for greater discounts for people who shop more and that part is cool, and is for people like me who prefer to keep Daz offline the only value added above Daz+. Premium Premier is also a great way to beta test within a stable Daz version, so also kudos for that. That means someone had their thinking caps on when they implemented this.
But the premier-only assets sneaked in there hints for the possibility for more later, like a trade-off for greater discounts on Daz Originals at the cost of them being premier-only, again “adding value” to their subscription model, let’s say a year down the line. A year or two after that, it wouldn’t be a stretch to pull all DOs behind the paywall; all purchased licenses remain honored, but past a certain date they would simply be a part of the subscription library akin to Netflix no longer for sale. A greater variety, but only while you pay. The model would change from a discount model to a rental model in subtle steps. It’s all a matter of getting you used to it in long stretches. That, in turn, opens it up to PA assets being included a batch at a time, with a Spotify-style royalty system on a per-use basis.
It might not be their intent right now, but the groundwork is there for a change in leadership or strategy to exploit. Luckily Tafi is a private company, or the use of the word “year” up there would be replaced with “quarter.”
“By all means, if Daz does go that route feel free to indulge in a gloating ‘Told ya so’ session or ten - but I am pretty sure my fragile ego is safe from that indignity, at least.” Partner, I don’t want to. I picked up this hobby during the pandemic, and it kicked off a creative wave I didn’t know I had in me. But my trust in the people above you is abysmal. :)
However they've also started releasing subscription based content. It would not be beyond the norms of the software industry for the software and 'Daz Original' content to become entirely subscription and still sell other items in the store. It'd be a very hostile act towards the customer base, but I'm not sure the ones making business decisions care as long as they can lock in enough subscribers.