Upgrade to DAZ Studio 4.5 today

I’ve let writing about the DAZ Studio 4.6 upgrade slip a bit longer than I would have liked. Instead of writing or working on any number of other relatively pressing projects I’ve been spending time getting my blog to play nice with Google and attempting to squeeze a little more speed out of my WordPress configuration while making as few drastic changes as possible (no one likes a slow site), but let me not get distracted with the technicalities of self hosted blogging.

So, back to the matter at hand. DAZ 3D have just launched DAZ Studio 4.6 (still free), and what a beauty of a point release it is. For sometime the team at DAZ has been working on implementing a host of new features into DAZ Studio, with features like Pixar’s game changing OpenSubdiv having kept beta testers entertained for some time now.

DAZ Studio 4.6 features Highlights

1. Subsurface Shader base by Age of Armour (will take a bit of experimentation to get realistic human SSS)
2. CMS updated to Valentina 5, apparently fixing crashes (esp for Mac users)
3. Updated 3Delight render engine to 10.0.125 (not the most current, but lots of goodies since last update)
4. Support for TriAx to TriAx AutoFit
5. Support for OpenSubdiv subdivision algorithms; Catmark, Bilinear, Loop; adds support for edge and/or vertex weights/creasing
6. Support for Ptex (no UV unwrapping/seams!)
7. Support for independent UV set selection on Geometry Shells
8. Support for Gamma Correction
9. Support for Surface Selection Sets
10. Spot Render to  new window (handy for fixing up those bits you don’t like in an otherwise good render)
11. Support for Hierarchical Pose Presets
12. Improvements to various CCT tools/actions.

Undoubtedly these are great advancements for Studio. Just taking a look at Ptex and OpenSubdiv in action, if you don’t already have a good idea of what they are, you can glimpse the huge possibilities for rapid and experimental content creation and customisation. The base for Studio 5 has been put down, and I really can’t wait to see what they have planned. DS has come a long, long way since its first release back in 2005. See the DAZ Studio 4.6 announcement thread for more details and all the gossip.

DAZ Studio 4.6 compatibility and plugins

I’ve heard some anecdotal accounts that 4.6 is having some issues with Windows 8, but is working well on many previous Windows versions, and is even reportedly working well on OSX, which is great news for users that have been having a streak of compatibility issues with DAZ 3D programs.

As there were no changes to the SDK all plugins should be working as normal, and I’ve heard of no major incompatibilities.

Sneak Peek Weekend – Platinum Club For Everyone

To keep the action going DAZ 3D have thrown open the Platinum Club to all who come to grace the store. The Sneak Peek Weekend sale has big savings in the continuing tradition of DAZ 3D’s Store.  So, that means $1.99 items for everyone, access to the value catalogue, 30% off DAZ Originals, and 30% discounts on annual Platinum Club memberships. For those of us that are already PC members the deal is rounded off with a 30% discount on Premier Artist products, on top of 46% off selected items such as:

Luxus

Garibaldi Express Hair System

Look At My Hair

Genesis Generation X2

Still don’t have DAZ Studio? Get it now.

Hopefully I’ll have some time to test out some of the new features and have something more substantial on the features specifically, but until then happy renderings.