WWIII in a Tokyo Cemetery

A Town Where You Heh is becoming more and more… complicated. Throughout the last two chapters, Yuzuki and Haruto went out to Kazama’s grave. It has been one year since his tragic death, and the events that likely accelerated it. Haruto has always felt he had sucked whatever hope Kanzama had left by actively seeking Yuzuki, at a time when he needed his friends. Haruto had also befriended Kanzama, and has always said when is 100% he will make his pro bike racing debut. He also wanted Haruto to be his first sponsor, hence the sticker “Reserved for Krishima’s Restaurant” on his helmet.

But the time came when Kazama died. Yuzuki, also feeling some degree of guilt, asked Haruto not to see him again. But as you have known by now, that has changed. Now, on the one year anniversary of Kanzam’s death, they are now out to pay respects. Haruto made for him his favorite meal to leave in front of his tombstone – fried eggs. But almost a minute into their visit, two specters from Haruto’s past came.

Kiyomi, one of Kazama’s friends who always had a beef with Yuzuki for convincing Kanzama to not take the surgery that would have saved his life, was there to pay respects. With her was Asuka, another one of Kanzama’s many friends who just happened to be Haruto’s ex! One would think that when these two came it was going to be World War III with the anger that Kiyomi has built up is finally going to get out of her system. The fireworks have already begun when Takashi came and informed his girlfriend that he had found what she was looking for. He began to berate his friend Haruto for trying to hit on Kiyomi (is he really out of touch with what’s going on around him?) Had it not been for Asuka’s intervention, Kiyomi would have done some serious damage to Haruto. She was already grasping his neck. This should be a clear sign to him that even though they are here for the same reasons, the scars are far from being healed.

Something Other Than Anime – Free DAZ Studio 4 Pro!

Now, I am not sure you heard the news or not, but DAZ announced that DAZ Studio 4 Pro, Hexagon 2.5, and Bryce 7 Pro will be FREE  all February long! (yep, you heard me – all 29 days!)  For newbies coming into the 3d art game, this is a BIG FRACKING DEAL! If you go to the announcement thread over at the DAZ Forums, there is excitement, and there is a fair share of resentment. Let me be really clear – I appreciate the sacrifice that the early adopters (those who paid for the full DS4 Pro or the DS4 Pro upgrade at full price, which at last check was under $430 for the full program,) made in making this free for the rest of us! The thread became another battleground for the App Wars! I case you did not know what the App Wars are, read the following post that I did last November entitled “DAZ Vs Poser: Why is There A War Anyway?” 

During my four-month history into the world of 3D art, I have seen the same comparison in every single forum related to 3D art. It makes me wondering. And the hostility contunues to rise…

Not too long ago, Victoria 5, the latest edition of the most widely used 3d model on planet Earth, was released. I was browsing through DAZ’s YouTube channel and saw this comment:

I am a working in Poser only, and I always will. You go ahead and try to jew out Poser from the market, but you are disrespecting your own clients while doing so. Making V5 a DazStudio-only figure was a slap in thousands of artists’ faces. But you go ahead and do as you please. Only remember – an empty place doesn’t remain empty forever. You’re not the only creative ones, and your Victoria will not always be the one and only option.

Now this sort of thing ticks me off a little bit. After doing my research, I found out that this war has been brewing for a long time. Poser, like DAZ Studio, is a entry-level 3d art application. But the learning curve for Poser is somewhat steep. If you don’t know what you are doing, chances are you are going to screw something up. Most people use DAZ Studio in order to prepare themselves for Poser, but most simply use both side-by-side. Although this is an old war, it has flared up with the announcement of DAZ’s Genesis figure, to which Victoria 5 is powered on. The cries start almost immediately, asking DAZ to make Genesis Poser supported. Currently Genesis is not supported in Poser, but DAZ is changing all that. They have created a CR2 exporter which makes Genesis somewhat supported in Poser. Most Poser users are satisfied, but there are some who not, and a small bit who are not up-to-date, like the poster of the comment above. I have been in the scene long enough to keep up to date with every single innovation. So I found some words to say and posted the following:

Your whining should be directed towards Smith Micro. Now, I am not defending anything or anyone, but if you look at the DAZ Forums, they have an CR2 exporters which makes it possible for Poser users to use Genesis. V5 is powered by Genesis, and several third-party CR3 exporters are in the works. As someone who is breaking into 3D art, it angers me that Poser fanpersons come to this channel an spew their venom. Do your research before bashing anyone.

Why is there even a DAZ vs. Poser anyway? Poser contains free models to work around with, but Victoria is the most popular. For every 20 3D pictures, almost all has Victoria in some fashion. Maybe I am not in this scene long enough to understand anything. But even when I am here long enough, I still won’t get that there is a war brewing on in the 3d scene.

Ready To Be THScrewed?