Is renpy good to use with Daz3d?

[Frooty]

I'm going to be creating my first visual novel and i'm just trying to make sure i'm making the right moves. So i plan on using Daz3d because of all of the content and HD models, plus the physics are pretty amazing. But i don't want to buy a bunch of assets just to find out that it's not going to work out right.

So pretty much what are the pros and cons?

[gas]

Renpy can't render 3d scenes internally, so you must use pregenerated renderings as static images.
Once rendered, such images are correct as any other, so it's just a matter on how good you are in rendering (lights, camera, materials and shaders).

I used a bit Daz3d for some prototype, posing figures is nice and the engine got some good shader by default (and many others freely available). I hate a bit the interface and how hard is to add new contents out of the official channel, just personal tastes.
And well... forget about modifying the given models, it's more of a posing app than a 3d modeler.
It's surely a good entry level product if you don't want to shape your own models (something probably out of reach for many users).

[Frooty]

Renpy can't render 3d scenes internally, so you must use pregenerated renderings as static images.
Once rendered, such images are correct as any other, so it's just a matter on how good you are in rendering (lights, camera, materials and shaders).

I used a bit Daz3d for some prototype, posing figures is nice and the engine got some good shader by default (and many others freely available). I hate a bit the interface and how hard is to add new contents out of the official channel, just personal tastes.
And well... forget about modifying the given models, it's more of a posing app than a 3d modeler.
It's surely a good entry level product if you don't want to shape your own models (something probably out of reach for many users).

Is there anything else that is as realistic as Daz3d with the HD models like genesis 8 and the clothing physics? Perhaps with more physics? I think i've played a unity VN before and it had pretty realistic models.. but from my memory no physics.

[ComputerArt.Club]

Poser is an alternative to Daz3D that according to this forum thread has hair and clothing physics. It is paid software from the get go.

Alternatively you could find a character model for Blender (or follow a tutorial to build your own) and do everything you need there.

The more control and power you have, the more complex things become. Blender is an amazing and free program, but there is a learning curve.

[rames44]

You can easily use Daz Studio to produce images that will work just fine with Ren’py. (I do it a lot.)

For those not familiar with it, Daz Studio (Daz3d.com) is a free 3D rendering package that can produce 2d stills and animations from supported 3D models. It’s kind of the successor to Poser.

[GNVE]

There are a lot of Ren'Py games that use Daz3D as a base. This is both a good and a bad thing. The good thing is that a lot of assets are being developed for Daz. The downside is that it makes it hard for you to differentiate your game from countless others as the visual style is similar.
It can be done with time and money however. If you are not opposed to adult content you could check out the my first game where the scene is based on (among others) this set but with little touches I could still make it feel distinctive from every other game that uses this set (In my second and third game I have a lot more assets and can go all-out with custom sets. See my Christmas wallpaper as an example where you'd be hard pressed to find where the assets came from exactly.

As someone who cannot draw or design 3D assets from scratch myself I think Daz3D is a great solution. It is relatively easy to learn the basics to get a basic game out there. I think the UI could be a lot better though. Making a set can take over a week for me for something I could throw together in The Sims in under an hour or Planet Coaster in a couple of hours. It is nice to have ultimate control over every object in the scene and I want that control but it would have been nice if I could do the rough placements with an UI that was from this millennium.

Calling the software free is a bit misleading in my opinion because if you want to do anything interesting you are going to have to spend money on assets. For your first game I'd recommend doing as little of that as possible. Do a one set story with just two characters. IF you find out you are not cut out for game development (with Daz or otherwise) you at least know you haven't spent too much money on it.

Rendering with Daz can take a long time (currently anywhere from 2 minutes per image to over a day for a really complex scene. On average about 1 - 2 hours) so make sure your PC is up to the task. If you want to use Iray (and generally you want that) you'll need an Nvidea graphics card. I currently use a 2070 and 1070 in my PC.

Don't be too impressed by the physics of dForce. I was but in day to day use I don't often use it. (it can easily take 30 minutes to run the simulation and might have to be done several times experimentally to get the look you want.) Don't get me wrong, it has it's place and I do use it but not as much as I would have thought when starting out.



If you plan on buying assets from the Daz3D store here is a buyers guide:

• NEVER buy at sticker price. Everything will be discounted heavily at times. Usually sooner than you think
• Buy at sticker price if you reaaaaaallllly need the asset to continue (but seriously do you?)
• Buy gift cards if they are discounted. (highest discount I've seen is 40% off but usual is 20% or 30%)
• The PC+ membership is worth it in my opinion.
• The Pro bundles are generally worth it in my opinion (at $26,- or less that is or if they are new I'm willing to pay up to $40 bucks but only if I get a lot of free items I want as well)

as for what characters to buy:

• The older the tech the more often it is discounted (or even free for Gen1 or Gen 2 stuff).
• The older the tech the easier it is to render (generally).
• The older the tech the worse it looks (obviously) but good looks can't hide a bad story.
• I decided to buy Gen8 (the newest) exclusively as my reasoning was "If I have to start expanding my asset library might as well do it with the newest tech which can be used the longest." Whether that was the right decision? I still don't know but I'm happy with it. But Gen3 is still really good and usable Below Gen3 the characters become a bit meh (including V4-V7).

as for what to buy otherwise:

• Generally I make sure the asset has iRay shaders (if applicable). (Not an absolute rule but it means the asset is new enough and doesn't look out of place).
• When buying poses I really like the stuff made by Zeddicuss as his stuff is generally everyday poses and well crafted. (a lot of other poses are more intended for the catwalk or photography).
• I use a lot of shaders Just by changing the fabric of a shirt (or woodgrain of a table or whatever) you get a unique product and can change the entire feel of a scene (and thus stand out with your game).
• You'll want a few morphs to customize your characters. The ones by Zev0 are quite decent.
• for sets I like to make sure it has items I can use or mix with other scenes but that is just me I guess. As stated I like having unique sets for my games. (I haven't kept a list of what asset is used in what game but some popular sets are used in literally dozens of games).

btw the recommendations I made are because I use those assets myself, really like them and think they are a good quality (and good value if heavily discounted ) I have no stake in you buying them or not.

[rames44]

Good review, GNVE.