~DUF Prop Converter~

Since DSON has stopped working somewhere on late Poser 11 times, I could no longer load props and hair from DAZ Studio 4, and that had become a burden to me, limiting the assets I could use in Poser. So I decided to bite the bullet and research how much work would it to be to convert:

• DSF Geometries to OBJ format.
• DUF Props/Figures to Poser PP2 format.
• DUF Material presets to Poser MC6 format.

I have split the project into these 3 modules, each with their own challenges. When I've got each of them working, I had them all combined into a single script - the DUF Prop Converter.

Here are the main features:

The script operates in 3 different modes:

1. Load DUF Prop: Loads a DUF prop or figure into your Poser scene as a PP2 prop.
2. Save DUF Prop: Converts a DUF Prop or figure to PP2 format, and saves it directly to the selected Poser runtime as a prop. Includes thumbnail. The DSF geometry is converted to OBJ, stored at the Geometries folder, and the PP2 is linked to it. All texture files are linked back to their original locations in the DAZ Studio Runtime folder to save disk space and avoid duplications. This requires you to link the DAZ Studio Runtime folder as an external runtime in Poser, which only needs to be done once.
3. Load DUF Material: Once you have your prop loaded into Poser, you can now drag & drop DUF Material presets over the drop area in the script to apply them directly in Poser using this mode. Materials are incompatible between Poser and DS, so the conversion happens at texture map level.

The operation is very simple, using drag & drop. Just locate the desired prop or figure using your file browser, and drop it over the drop area. In "Load DUF Prop" mode, this will convert and load the prop or figure to your Poser scene, with option to Auto-Parent it to the currently selected actor. For example, if you select the figure's head, enable Auto-Parent on the script, and drop a hair piece over it, the hair will load into Poser already parented to the figure's head. The DSF geometry is converted to OBJ (adjusted to Poser scale), and the DUF prop or figure is converted to PP2 format. Both files are placed into a specific folder (see manual for more details), and can be moved elsewhere. In this mode, no PNG thumbnail is generated, and the OBJ needs to be in the same folder as the PP2 file to work.

When the "Save DUF Prop" mode is selected, dragging a DUF prop or figure will prompt you for a location in your library to save it as a PP2 prop file. This will convert the DSF geometry to OBJ (adjusted to Poser scale), and store it at the Geometries folder in your selected Poser runtime, convert the DUF prop into PP2, and store it at your selected location in the Poser library, and finally copy the PNG thumbnail to that location, matching the Poser name conventions. When doing this, you have 2 extra options. You can Auto-Load the prop to your Poser scene, and also optionally Auto-Parent it to the currently selected actor. All this happens with a single drag & drop action, so everything happens automatically.

The last operation mode is "Load DUF Material". In this mode, first select the prop in Poser, and then drag & drop a DUF Material preset, and it will be converted to Poser MC6 format, and then applied to the selected prop in your scene. As we know, DS4 materials are incompatible with Poser, so the conversion only happens at texture maps level. The generated MC6 file is placed at a specific folder (see manual for more details), and can be moved elsewhere, like into your Poser Materials library. Texture maps are linked back to their original locations in the DS4 Runtime folders to avoid duplications and save disk space. For this to work, you first need to link the DS4 Runtime folder as an external runtime in Poser, so all DS textures can be shared with Poser. See manual for more details on this.

With a tiny interface, and simple drag & drop operation, this script performs complex file conversions, automating every part of the process. It is now finally possible to bring all those props and hair from DAZ Studio 4 to Poser, to include material presets. You do NOT need DAZ Studio 4 to be installed to use this script, and it does NOT use any parts of DSON to function. Everything was coded from scratch, and is self-sufficient to perform all operations on its own.

If you have enjoyed converting DUF poses to Poser with my last script, this one will allow bringing even more contents from DAZ Studio 4 to your Poser scenes with very little effort. As opposed to DSON, every prop and material is converted to native Poser format, so they don't affect Poser performance. However, props or figures with heavy (high-poly) geometry may take a few minutes to convert to OBJ, so please be patient. For regular props and hair, the process takes only a couple of seconds, from conversion to loading them into your scene, or storing them to your library.

The script has been submitted to Renderosity, and is awaiting QAV. Depending how fast this goes, the script might be available at my store as soon as early next week. In the meanwhile, I will make a video demonstration to show all you can do with it, and how easy it is to use it.

I'll be keeping an eye on this one Ken. 

Thanks, Miss B! ^___^

Oh, this is fabulous.  Nice  going Ken!  :-) 

Thanks Rich! I am having a lot of fun with it, and I hope people find it as useful as it has been to me. ^____^

So HERE is the video demonstration I have promised, showing how to use the script with real world-examples, explaining all the operation modes and extra options. Just click this LINK.

Looking forward to all of these :)

Renderosity QAV has approved the product, and it is now on its way to hit the store. Any time now. :)

  Good news Ken.

Good news! The script is now available here ---> LINK.

That didn't take long at all. 

In my cart! 

Wow! Spectacular!

I hope an update will include morphs. Also, any chance an update will allow for the choice between PoserSurface root node and PhysicalSurface root node? And if the latter, mat joins of it to any of the prop's existing PBR textures?

@VedaDalsette Thanks for the suggestions! I would like to add support for morphs as well, but first I have to find out how. That will need some research. A DUF morph loader could become a product on its own right. The current material converter currently only supports 3Delight materials. If a PBR material is used, some of its maps will be lost in translation. I will look into this to see if there is a way to support both 3DL and Iray materials. In either cases, the script can only build a basic shader we can use as a starting point. Considering DS materials are utterly incompatible with Poser, that's better than nothing. :)

Thanks, Ken. I only suggested the PBR root, because in some of the products I used your converter on, there were lots of PBR texture maps that came with the products in the Daz runtime folder. I wouldn't know if this is the case with most Daz products, but, IIRC (I'm on another computer right now), they were there in FG Messy Apartment, Chinatown, Nuclear Shelter, and Old Manhattan Apartment. It was really helpful that your texture maps were joined already at diffuse, but I still had to go into each mat and change the root nodes before adding the other texture maps.

Good luck with the morph converter research!