Almost done: Help Needed!!!

Lali's Bits is working 100% for the most recent updated versions of Poser, but to get it working for some of the older ones I need to make a simple workaround! having tried DAZ's EXP system I now see what needs to be done.

This concerns the Poser version for now. The DAZ verison will be similar but will need more work.

I need a simple python script that inserts a string into an existing pz2, making a new version and makes a backup of the original pz2. It should be initiated by a readScript inside a INJ pz2.

That's all, very very simple. PM me or email me for the details. I'll pay!! Or get Lali's Bits for free...?
I could do it myself but I'll take forever to figure out the python syntax and associated variables etc...

Ok off to bed, be back in 8 hours

Another quick update

I have a very very clean and neatly working version running now. In a way it is good that we've got these delays because testers are revealing little issues here and there. that is very good because I some people expect this to become the standard for a while... which scares the shit out of me O.o ... so we'll see about that.

Anyway, you'll have total control over your default V4 deformers and the whole Lali Bits system. I have ignored groups for the bodyparts cuz its just too much of a pain in the ass to sort out. 

The main body will contain all the groups and Ken is still working out a solution for it. As far as we can tell its actually working! But if its not Poser randomness delaying us, then its the bacteria over in the US that has caught a hold of Ken. I believe he's getting better so I hope I can get this drama over with before the end of the month.

In the meanwhile, while I wait for that, I've decided to start preparing for the next comic called "the Gentlemen's Club". It will be the first Lali Lite, which is basically a shorter comic, but with more emphasis on interaction, foreplay and sex, mostly with full page renders. Starring will be Lali, Julie, a couple of M4's and perhaps also Laila (not sure about the last one). You can see some test renders over at Renderotica or Art of Darkness.

For now, bear with me. In the end, you'll have months, even years of pleasure of a PROPERLY working Lali Bits for all your V4s :) I hope... hehe...

Quick Update

Hey fans, 3D artists, 

Due to the magnitude and complexity of Lali's Bits, and the unsupported and inconsistent concept of the pz2 file format, I do not dare make any estimates or promises anymore. All I can say is Ken and I are doing our best with what we can find. 

We're actually finished, in a way. Testers are saying its perfect, provided you have the latest of the latest updates for Poser 9 and Pro. But we cannot give an injection that completely kills all your groups. So it can be done tomorrow, or over a week... I just don't know what Poser / pz2 is going to come up with next for us to have to sort out. One thing I can say is: I am sick to death of it and wanna get going on some new comics. So I want it out the door just as quick as you :) so we are thinking up some very inventive workarounds.

Thank you to all the testers for helping to isolate issues; thank you to all the people at the DAZ 3D, RuntimeDNA and ShareCG Forums for their tips; and that you my fans for your support and patience!

cheers!
E.

to back my opinion of the pz2 format, and not to sound like just a bag of hot air: I have discovered a number of issues that make pz2 very had to work with. I'll name two: One issue would be when I accidentally add an obselete FBM name somewhere, or even a reference to a non-existing morph, the injection process for some reason attributes the wrong morphs to it, which is completely strange because it shows that Poser doesn't double check if the names actually correspond. Apparently they work with load order or something (bad programming IMO). This gets very difficult when you have 150+ morphs and zillions of interconnected dependencies. These errors have found their way into the injection and it takes time to iron these out. 

Another issue is how the group injection doesn't follow suit with the rest of the injection style. Generally pz2 replaces (or adds) anything you put in the code, provided it is the same hierarchical structure as the figure being injected. But with groups that doesn't work, even though the structure is exactly the same. Beyond the element "Groups" its end of story and everything gets replaced. Only with the latest updates of Poser Pro and Poser 9 did they bother to sort that out. 

A third issue is that the only specification of the CR2 format is an unofficial one owned by some Japanese dude (who does nice work mind you). How the fuck is that possible when injections are big business? I maintain I find it strange that they do not provide more support for making injections, especially since half of the figure content is supplied as an injection! And as far as I know, injections have been around for quite a while.

Think about this, forget Lali's Bits for a moment: imagine you're a Poser artist, and you have your custom figures saved in your library, but then you think of some very cool JCM system. So you create it, program it in a clean figure until it is perfect. And you do this all in Poser. Ok now you're happy and you wanna apply it to all your custom figures. How the hell do you do that in Poser? You need to resort to 3rd party software to do it... and that's just half the work. Is that allowable for a $500 application?

I tend to compare it to Microsoft Word, where you can cut and paste anything you want, and export whatever format you wish of the things that you create within Word, whether it may be the text you type, the formatting, the templates, the preferences, headers, etc... everything that Word touches is accessible and more importantly, it supports everything that is programmatically involved with it. Poser does not have this accessibility for a key part of its capabilities, and it makes no sense to me that you need 3rd party software to deal with something you create in Poser, 3rd party software which will always be a few steps behind.  Am I the only one to find that strange?  If you have an application called Pro, I'd expect it to be up there with Photoshop CS6, 3D Studio MAX, Microsoft Word. That's how I would run a development team.

Yes I am a rebel :) I even made posters and movies for the political opposition parties here when we were trying to oust our dictator in the country I live in. I also managed to initiate a organisation the software development of the Geological Survey I worked at within a year of working there as a junior! So yeah, Smith Micro isn't going to get mercy from me haha... especially if they dare to call their product 'Pro'.

Perverts Unite!

While Ken and I are busy unfucking the world of pz2, injections and PoserPython, you can also contribute:

Phone Smith Micro and say the following:

"FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUCK" 

(breathe) 

"YYYYYOOOOUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!"

And thank them for their time.

Thanks to all you testers helping us to figure out WTF is going on!!! The issues are like stated below. Groups. You don't want Lali's Bits to fuck with your group structure, especially if you have like a kazillion morphs loaded already. Next to that, you want your Lali Bits to work for all the babes in your scene, and pose not conflicts. Plus, undeleted morphs seem to confuse Poser... and the list goes on...

Like Lali's biggest fan says: ONWARD!!!

And the snake tempts...

Ken and I are going into Python coding now... lord help us 

O_o

Appending Groupnodes to an already existing Groupnode structure?

Appending Groupnodes to an already existing Groupnode structure?

Question: In Poser, is it possible to add an extra morph groupnode hierarchy to an already existing hierarchy in a Figure (V4 DAZ) through a pz2 injection? (during runtime obviously)

for example:

original:

Code:

groups
{
    groupNode Head
    {
       ParamNode Smile
    }
}

in the pz2 injection:

Code:

    groupNode Customgroup
    {
       ParamNode OpenMouth
    }

after injection:

Code:

groups
{
    groupNode Head
    {
       ParamNode Smile
    }

    groupNode Customgroup
    {
       ParamNode OpenMouth
    }
}

I am making an Injection and right now its is working fine, except with some users it entirely replaces the original V4 group structure (including Morph++ groups), which is very impractical. But with other users it just gets appended.

There's no clear evidence to say that it is a version issue, perhaps it might be an update issue? It doesn't work with my Poser Pro 2012 but it does work with a friend's 2012, it sometimes works with 2010 and doesn't work with 2008... why is this?

 

Crashing into a wall: Groups and GroupNodes

It was too good to be true.

Poser coding is like handling a bar of soap, without instructions. Everything on Lali's Bits is working very well, except now on different machines it kicks out all the DAZ groups and lumps all your Morph++ stuff under the "Other" groupNode. Reloading Morphs++ has no effect thereafter. Other machines work fine. Its not a Poser Version issue apparently because while it does work on one Poser 2012, it doesn't work on the other, and the same with Poser 2010... 

We're all looking into this mystery... its amazing how vague Poser files are put together. I cannot find the logic at all. Any tips?

I'm going to be quiet until everything is sorted out. Poser seems to have other plans for Lali's Bits.

later on: OMG! I type in "customize poser groupnode" in google and my blog is like 6 items down. Am I the only one doing this shit?? haha

off to bed, try again tomorrow.

Progress Report: waiting... and a Lite version

Hey, while I'm waiting for a response from my testers (I guess America is sleeping now) I've been sniffing around and picked up comments that some people are scared of the magnitude of Lali's Bits and that it would bog their system down.

Soooo I was contemplating quickly making an optional Lite version (next to the regular version). It would be a very crude effort where I just delete shit from the PMD and remove some FBM entries (I am seriously not going to bother with the CR2 - which is not that big). Hopefully that would work. So I'd just keep the very very essentials, like the bend morphs, opening morphs and some of the core vagina shapes.

Let's see if that would work...

Progress Report: tomorrow final verdict & WM questions

Tomorrow I'm going to send around one last email to my testers for a final definitive verdict, and then its done. In the meanwhile, check out Texboy's render with the test version of Lali's Bits.

Lali's Bits @ Art of Darkness

You'll probably need to register, but its worth it I think. Seems like an interesting site!

So, while I've been biting my nails and shivering nervously due to the wait, I've made a few concept renders for future comics. Check them on Rotica. 

BTW, for DAZ users, seems like its a version issue. Older versions of DAZ didn't support Poser-made dependencies (thank you Matthacker & Zev0). But even in the latest DAZ there are some small oddities, though far less than in the older ones. We're almost there!!!

Now I am expecting a PILE of emails after the release, not due to errors, but due to things like this, compatibility, material issues. So for the instruction manual, I'm going to add as many tips, suggestions, guidelines, troubleshooting scenarios, that I can think of. One of the things I'll try to cover is how to combine this with other Automatic Fixes and / or Weight Mapped versions of V4 (about which I'm suddenly getting piles of emails haha). Now I have fuck all experience in WM (like 2 minutes) but I roughly know the deal. It should be easy to deal with.

Although Lali's Bits is comparatively easy to use and get nice renders out of, the possibilities are endless and you have to be quite alert to oversee all the options. Sometimes I also forget about a certain parameter and accidentally remake it and then later realise I already made it! So I really, REALLY, want to emphasize that when it comes out, RTFM!!!!! because then it will me a lot more fun for you.


PS: I just read that Lali's Bits is apparently quite large. And to think that Lali's Bits is just a selection of the actual Lali System. I just checked. The most recent Lali System in my runtime is 273Mb! If its too big, I suggest removing the morphs that you don't need. Maybe I need to make a LB Lite?

Quote from Texboy @ Art of Darkness: "plus, there are about a zillion morphs controlling other things, such as thighs, breasts, bunghole.... V4 ballooned up to 175 MB.... the possibilities are endless for a skilled technician and dial-twister!"

Progress Report: F5 will soon give results :)

The new and improved POSER version has gone for (hopefully) a final round of testing. Some of the changes made were due to suggestions from testers and some were already in the planning. Changes made are as follows:

The Injection:

• reinstated missing morph correction "RandomOffsetNeutralizer"
• renamed "Sexy Bitch Preset" to "Sexy Chick Preset"
• linked original magnet deformers and V4 JCMs to "Remove Whole System" dial.
• added some new morphs to the vagina prop, grouped under "Crazies".
• removed Poser Pro and Poser 9 version dependencies on prop material
• Poser Pro and Poser 9 version SSS prop material thus now optional
• fixed the 'Open Mouth' dependencies
• fixed Pussy Open 'sides' adjustment

The package:

• Added Customized Icons
• Added PNG texture template for bits region (this might not make it through testing due to copyright issues)

Still to be done:

• Customer's Instruction Manual

Worries:

• copyright issues with the texture. I've done my best to reduce it to what I can remember as being my own texture.
• version issues. the materials have been dealt with, pz2, pp2 headers have been checked... but not entirely sure if all version issues are gone now.
• REM option: sorry but the INJ was hard enough. The system provides an option to remove it dynamically.

DAZ issues:

• DAZ testers are coming up with differing results. The one says it works perfectly, the other says its completely distorted
• converting it to an 'unbinarized' CR2 seems to help, but even then the results are unreliable.
• Zev0's version seems most stable (proudly south african haha) is being a great help in trying to figure out what the difference is.
• Therefore, no clue about when the DAZ version will be ready :(

However, if the tests are all positive about the Poser version, then I suppose its ready for sale... !! whoaa!

Below are the icons and the file structure.

If you want the Tester's Manual to have a sneak peak, email me, I'll send it to you. 

Title it: Requesting Lali Bits test Manual

Giga Pussies, DP and hope for DAZ users

While I was busy making some additional morphs for the pussy prop, Zev0 from South Africa comes along and says, oh but its working fine in DAZ. So we're busy testing his version now and trying to figure out what's so different.

In the meanwhile I've seen that not only DAZ is being a wanker, but Poser too. If you save the thing to a complete CR2, Poser liberally kicks out a few morphs and dependencies. No fucking clue why... will try to fix that before we release it. Otherwise it will have to be an update. My God these programs are a fucking nightmare when you really need to get down and dirty. You're right Nakedfunn.

So now the good news: here's are some renders of a pussy morph (crazy labia) and some double penetration attempts. I made about ten new morphs that adjust the labia size, add a urethra (pee hole), adjust the clit size, ruffle and crumple variations on the labia. Below you can see one or two examples. The big pussy is a combo of different morphs.

The DP attempt will show you what I could squeeze out of (or into) Lali's Bits. Its not made for it, but you can get quite a decent result if you don't go too crazy on the penetration size. Since the pussy opens up to the rear (due to the pelvic bone being in front) the anus gets squashed and so you have to play around with the anal morphs to make it fit nicely. As you can see it is possible.

Below is also a comparison of the old V4 ass and the new Lali's Bits ass. Quite a dramatic change huh?

Ok that's it for now. cheers
PS: texture of the V4 is not included, but the system works with pretty much all textures, depending on how well the seams work in that area. I think this texture is Emma or something.

Progress Report: Poser 1, DAZ 0. Poser is a go.

The tests from our Poser testers are very positive with minor suggestions to change certain things like names etc. So Poser is set to go. The tests from DAZ are just weird. Unfortunately our DAZ testers are not getting any consistent results. One brave fella converted the PMD to CR2 but then I need to re-rig the whole of Lali's Bits. I told him I'd rather shoot myself. I converted the whole thing like Zev0 did, but now it seems like it only works in my Poser...

So I'm afraid DAZ users are going to have to wait a bit while we sort this out. We have a number of options open to us, but we just don't know exactly why each different DAZ user gets different results. One says it works fine, the other says only some of it works, and yet another one says its completely distorted.

So as it seems now, the Poser version will be released earlier than the DAZ version. I hope that's ok because I don't wanna keep people waiting for any longer than necessary (sorry sorry sorry). So I am now off to do the final details for the Poser version, and off to the shop it goes :)

Oh and I'll post a few renders from the tests and the new morphs in the pussy prop.

Stay tuned.

And Nakedfunn, are you still pressing F5 in the 'naughty bits' section? haha

Progress Report: testing testing 1, 2, 3...

Ok so the first results are in. DAZ users, unite. Seems like you have a problem. PMDs not supported by DAZ. Talk to HZR from Affect3D. Anyone out there that wants to take this bitch on?


Correction thanks to Zev0 (another south african): "It does work in Daz. Had to just resave it [in poser] with external binaries off."

But how do we get it in CR2 form without getting into legal trouble with DAZ? The only way out would be to add all the morph data in the INJ pz2. Is anyone willing to do that? I cannot cover the cost of your therapist afterwards, but I can make a deal with you...

For the rest, its in testing right now. I hope I've included everything because its just MASSIVE! A daz user dared to take it on without the instructions. He's now crying in the corner in an embryo position. Poor man. 

One major big fucking note to everyone, and for fuck sake read this: there are heroes in this world. Some are called Ken. While I am struggling with the mounting workload called Lali's Fucking Bits, with 150+ morphs, interconnected, JCM'med, with generic fucking names that you have to skillfully make sure it all gets renamed properly, a MILLION braces zoning in and out of your vague code where even PhilC says something like: its too BIG!!... along comes this gentle buddha of a being called Ken and says hey, can I help? I say, hey, sure. I send him my shit. He sorts it out......

The dude sorts it out.

... fuck me sideways and call me twinkletoes on steroids WTF???? Dude just sorts it out. His backgroud? C#. 

There's this statue, of this Naval Hero, called Admiral Nelson. Knock that shit down and put Ken up there please. 

So anyway, major Kudos to him, the world is a better place now. And to all that say: oh hurry up... please go and buy Xameva's Automatic Fix. its finished, ready, sizzling, available... they worked hard on it. But that's all safely in the past :) Or even better!: buy zBrush, make it yourself... all 150+ morphs... Who knows, maybe you're even faster than me ;) to speed up your progress, read the whole of fucking zBrush Central!!! yippeee! btw: if all doesn't go to plan, phone Smith Micro, the makers of the ($500 professional) program that you set it all up in. I'm sure they'll help you ease the pain of making an INJ file! ;) whii... In the meanwhile, try not to die of a lightning strike, diesel fumes (filling the generator because some electricity pole fell over during a violent storm last night), or of a blue screen, or of stress... ok? Guys, seriously, Lali's Bits is not a joke ok? Its taking long for a reason. (not directed at you happy nakedfunn, naughty texboy, or sexy caramel, smooth target1, and all those other amazing fans with love, support, perversion, selfless compassion and some sense of the inhumanity called pz2... hehe)

Ok, that's it for now. Let's hear it from the testers.

EMAIL ME if you want a copy of the testers manual! (or if you have free space on your server to host it so that others can download it)

Thanks!
E.

Lali Bits ready for testing

Just sent an email to my testers. If I agreed with you to test, email me! I'm quite sure I forgot someone... and don't pull my fucking leg, I will double check for emails :D

In the meanwhile I'm going to make an instruction manual. Keep an eye out for renders.

Major kudos to Ken the man that made this all possible.

Progress Report: where'd my pussy go?

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Lali's Bits: Suggestions!

Hey peeps,

Lali's Bits are back in my hands now because poor Ken is sick as a dog. He's done heroic work and now I'm going to add a few lines of code here and there and then send it off to the testers.

In the meanwhile, YOU (yes you) can place some suggestions, wants, wishes, etc, concerning Lali's Bits. Chances are they've been covered already, or asked already, like large labia or double penetration options. Since LB's is in an already quite advanced stage, possibilities to change will be limited. Despite that, perhaps it can be supplied as an update, or different package. For example, someone asked for large capacity oral morphs, that would be a separate Injection package, but different labia shapes would probably be an update (if I'll ever get round to it).

Let's hear it.

PS: I've done my best to track down all emails and messages sent over Christmas and New Years, but if I've forgotten yours, please send me again!

In the meanwhile...

... while Ken and I are slaving away at her Bits, Lali seems to have found a leak in the FIS webcam chat service at renderotica... naughty naughty...

Blog updated

Ok, made some quick updates on the pages here, especially the FAQ and Lali's bits pages.

Progress Report: i's and t's

As the title says, Ken and I (well Ken mostly) are doing some of the finishing touches. Ken renamed all the Master Parameters to avoid any conflict with other Poser injections and is mopping up my scruffy work (also that of Smith Micro). We're just correcting some small errors we found and then it should be ready.... whooaa... I hope... unless a meteorite falls on earth?

Keep an eye on this blog because once this bitch goes for testing, and returns, you might want to make suggestions or requests. I recently got a request for overtly large labia and I'm going to try and honour that one. 

In the meanwhile I've also started making some props for the first Lali Lite... a drumset... haha

Lali... or Lali's Bits

Hm, I'm getting a tad worried here. I just wanna make sure we're all on the same page: I sometimes get the impression from certain comments (not only yours nakedfunn) that people are expecting the actual Lali character in their runtimes, like the Lali in the comics. 

Sorry, nope... just her pussy and tits etc...

So: Lali's Bits are... well, her bits. So you can inject it into your own V4 babe and make her do what Lali can do:

1. bending, spreading legs
2. vaginal intercourse
3. anal intercourse
4. vaginal, vulva shapes
5. boob shapes
6. two Lali smiles
7. and a few more things

Maybe, maybe, maybe in future, if I can speed up the injection-making process (because this is just terrible) I'll release an update, and a 'Lali Type' V4 figure. But that's after a few comics.

Hope all is clear :)

Progress Report: surprises

So the situation is as follows: while I was recovering from a year of non-stop Lali (not that that is such a bad thing) hero Ken solved some issues, almost accidentally.

1. prop loads once now (not twice)
2. and therefore the indescribable peaks and errors disappeared
3. group compatibility seems to work for him but not for me so that's one of the last things we're trying to sort out.
4. there are some odd parameter overlaps that seem to have crept into Lali's Bits so we're also trying to figure out if that's just bad coding or bad Smith Micro.

The group issue might seem like a minor thing, but when your making comics or whatever professionally, the last thing you want is some INJ to fuck up your initial grouping (thus part of your workflow).

Not promising anything but it seems we've made the necessary breakthroughs. I didn't expect it to be such a drama though. The problem is 1. Lali's Bits is MASSIVE and there's a lot that can go wrong in making the pz2, especially in trying to avoid compatibility issues with other morph sets that use similar channels. We're trying to prepare it so that even the novice user can have fun with it, and that's quite a mission. And 2. there's a prop attached. Most pz2 editors don't support that. But despite all that, we might actually have solved all of it. 

Off to test the fuck out of it :D

Back in action

Survived the holidays on the beach, my liver hates me now. Had a funny trip back home. Got hammered in the passenger's seat (had half a crate to myself) and pissed out of the window of a moving car. Then the car packed up and we had to clean the diesel filter with whisky. It worked haha. 

So anyway, my gear's all set up. Doing some commissions and at the same time testing the improved version of Lali's Bits Injection sorted out by a hero by the name of Ken. Still trying to decipher the last couple of issues and then hopefully enter a quick testing phase. 

Hope everyone has had good times!

Back to work baby!

E.