Is daz3d the most common tool for creating images and animations in adult games?

[joecoe]

As I play adult games I notice that the style of graphics, mainly characters, in scenes in many games is similar.
Examples are Farmer's dream, No more secrets, college life.
Does most of them use Daz3d or even the same models for characters?

 

[W22N]

Yes. Scenes / characters are hard as fuck to make from scratch so people who do sell the licenses for their assets and devs buy / pirate them

 

[Gomly1980]

Anyone can learn Daz3d but not everyone can draw.

I can set up renders in Daz but I have no skill with art whatsoever.

Devs can hire artists but they are expensive while it's cheaper to use Daz and a few free assets and grab some cheap/pirate ones.

It would cost me nothing but a few hours of render time to set a scene with Daz but it would cost me between £50 and £300 for 1 scene from an artist.

Considering most devs barely make a few hundred to a couple of thousand a month on Patreon that doesn't leave much money to pay for artists so Daz is both a cheap and easy solution for everyone.

It's also why you see the exact same characters popping up in games.

 

[baneini]

Daz models are kinda like Unity how it goes hand in hand with trashy cash grab games on steam. People see it and go "hmm maybe I should skip this one".
Theres severe lack of good 2d western games.

 

[GuyFreely]

Daz models are kinda like Unity how it goes hand in hand with trashy cash grab games on steam. People see it and go "hmm maybe I should skip this one".
Theres severe lack of good 2d western games.

It's a tool set, plain and simple. Does using Daz mean a game is terrible? No. Are terrible games made with Daz? Sure. I understand what you mean when you see a game made in Unity on Steam. At the same time, there are plenty of good Unity games. Also, I've played absolutely terrible AAA games that have custom engines and budgets in the millions. You seem to think drawn 2D art will somehow make a game better, but I've seen tons of terrible 2D games. A lot of 2D art is mediocre at best. Even when the game has good art, the game itself can still be boring and crappy.

Basically, I don't think you can assert that a game is good or bad based on the tools used.

 

[Gomly1980]

Daz models are kinda like Unity how it goes hand in hand with trashy cash grab games on steam. People see it and go "hmm maybe I should skip this one".
Theres severe lack of good 2d western games.

You hand over roughly 10k to every dev wanting to make a game and they can commission an artist to do the 2d for them.

There is a lack of good 2d western games because, as we keep repeating, artists are expensive.

 

[kinrean]

first of all you should understand what kind of program daz is, daz can't make model, daz using model that people make in other program (i haven't use daz for very long so they may change it)
daz is more like a render program, and people sell their model for people who can't make model to but/use.

as you say there is so many game render the same image , because they use the same render .(i don't know what daz render are, if other program use the same render it will look almost the same.)

but in real life there is alot of 3d program that most need year of skill and understand to be able to use.
i have to learn 3d program for year to make good model,for me i don't use daz any more because there is no point for me,so most people who use daz don't know how to make a model.
so why game you see make by daz look bad, because they lack alot of skill.
and alot people forget that good game are like art, so when they can't even make art, how can they make a good game.

 

[OhWee]

One nice thing about Daz is that the base program is free. AND, while most people opt to buy models (myself included), there is a fair amount of free stuff out there for Daz. A number of Poser models will work with Daz Studio, and you can often import .objs as well (generally static props/models that don't have moving parts).

Other model formats can sometimes work, and there are online model format conversion sites where you can attempt to convert other formats to .obj or whatever. Model format conversion is very hit or miss, but I've had a few successes...

And, while most people opt to use the Iray rendering engine with Daz, it is possible to change how the basic render looks, using various methods (which can be a bit involved). Say if you wanted a more 'cartooney/anime' look, or a 'storybook' look. I've even seen some renders that look very close to 'hand drawn'. But there's a learning curve when you are trying to set up and render a style that isn't close the 'baseline' Daz renders.

So yeah, the fact that Daz can work with other model formats is kind of a big thing. Sure, other, fairly expensive programs may be more powerful, but if you are just looking to tell a story, yeah that's why a number of people here use Daz.

There's also Honey Select, whatever TheKlub19 render engine is, and other options, but it's that 'volume' of free stuff that makes it attractive to beginners. Plus the library of 'paid' items is pretty vast at this point, and covers probably all genres if you know where to look.

Also, this being a bucaneer site and all, well there are a fair number of Daz assets in another part of this forum, if you are looking to acquire them on the downlow...

Sure there are other programs you can use to build character models from scratch (Blender is free), but most people would rather tell their story, not spend hours/days/weeks trying to build a character from scratch...

 

[kinrean]

There's also Honey Select, whatever TheKlub19 render engine is, and other options, but it's that 'volume' of free stuff that makes it attractive to beginners. Plus the library of 'paid' items is pretty vast at this point, and covers probably all genres if you know where to look.

Sure there are other programs you can use to build character models from scratch (Blender is free), but most people would rather tell their story, not spend hours/days/weeks trying to build a character from scratch...

i think when you say it attractive to beginners, is a bit off.
i think it attractive people who want to take the easy way. by that i do not mean is a wrong way , i just mean is a easy way.
learning how to use daz , only help you to understand in 3d of rendering , but it does not help you to learn any thing of model,texture and animation (although you can do animation in daz, but i don't really think that you can really learn how to make animation with daz)

so for people who really want to learn 3d, daz is not a good place to start.

and if people want to tell their story, why not just make a novel ? my guess why they don't do that is because their writing skill is not up there too.

in the end what i try to say, when you take the easy way, you need to see that you still have alot of thing to learn ,to make better thing you have to keep learning, and the goal in life should always be better then your old self.

 

[OhWee]

i think when you say it attractive to beginners, is a bit off.
i think it attractive people who want to take the easy way. by that i do not mean is a wrong way , i just mean is a easy way.
learning how to use daz , only help you to understand in 3d of rendering , but it does not help you to learn any thing of model,texture and animation (although you can do animation in daz, but i don't really think that you can really learn how to make animation with daz)

so for people who really want to learn 3d, daz is not a good place to start.

and if people want to tell their story, why not just make a novel ? my guess why they don't do that is because their writing skill is not up there too.

in the end what i try to say, when you take the easy way, you need to see that you still have alot of thing to learn ,to make better thing you have to keep learning, and the goal in life should always be better then your old self.

I should clarify one point. When I say 'attractive to beginners', I mean 'attractive to beginning storytellers' as well as beginning modelers. And don't sell the program short, I've seen some killer renders from Daz artists, as well as some spectacular 'hand-made' environments.

Remember that a large number of people that design visual novels and games using Renpy, RPGMaker, etc. are using existing tools/engines, not designing entirely new game engines. They just have an idea for an interactive story that they want to share, and don't want to get bogged down for years trying to figure out how to do things from scratch. They aren't looking to design AAA gaming titles - if they were, well there are college courses for that.

You are looking at it from the design perspective, but remember that most adult game creators here just have a story that they want to tell in a visual format. Lazy? Maybe, but life is short. Different people have different goals with this hobby. A number of people in adult gaming aren't looking to be full time game designers.

Sure, they could just make a text adventure, but text adventures are so 1980s... most people like to have pictures in their visual novels, and adult games, both on the designer side and on the player side.

Now as to the quality of their game designs, well that's a subject of another thread, but remember that this is a bucaneer forum, where you have some people offering free games, and other people looking for free games to download. Others are of course monetizing their games via Patreon, etc. If you are expecting AAA quality out of games being offered for free... yeah you're gonna be disappointed most of the time.

BTW, Animate can be used to make long animation sequences in Daz. There are easier tools to use for animation, but Animate can do a lot of things if you are willing to take the time to set up the sequences. 'Full' Animate requires an additional (purchased) plugin, though, otherwise some functionality will be missing.

Finally, Daz is as flexible as you choose to make it. Not everyone wants to design a character model from scratch, but even then, there are a bajillion face and body morphs for the Genesis series characters to allow people a LOT of customization options. Plus, they can also pick up Blender, etc. to build a custom character model, then rig said model inside of Daz. Plus there's Hexagon, which Daz3D now offers for free, which allows you to build and modify models. It's a bit of a blunt instrument, but I do get use out of Hexagon as well as Daz. The nice thing about Hexagon is the bridge utility, which allows you to export stuff directly from Daz, and import (back) into Daz when you are done working in Hexagon.

Some people prefer Poser, or move on to other programs such as 3DS Max, but there ARE people that design characters entirely within Daz. Not everyone is cut out for hard core game design, and many are not looking to make a game design career out of their hobby. Some are just enjoying it as a casual hobby.

Not to mention having real lives they need to stay focused on when not rendering Daz stuff...

 

[MaxCarna]

I believe that there is a lot of "talented" around, that tried to reinvent the wheel and ended up with an abandoned project behind or end up never doing anything. It take some humble, the best step to take is the one that lead you to next step.

For me it's clear that the best tool to begin is the one that the most users are using. You find much more study material around, more foruns, more users willing to help, to teach. Content generate content, will be also more third party products, customized items, scripts, tutorials and so on.

The aspect that make the bigger difference in a scene is lighting, even with the basic items from DAZ, you can apply advanced light settings, study them. The angle is also important. If you become an expert in lighting and angle, create an unique model will be a detail. You can create a large set of objects using patience and primitives. You can edit any texture/surface, even moddifing the base .png, can use any HDRI images for sets...

Beyond that, there are dozens of add-ons for DAZ with high complexity: Anagenesis, Reality, Genetica Studio, Iray Skin Manager, among others. Each one will require some days for study and give a boost in the scene quality. If you mastered all of that, which it will take a long time, you can use the adjacent tools: Hexagon already mentioned by OhWee, Bryce for scenarios, Carrara that was with 95% off one of these days.

But objectively answering the question: yes, most of the games here look like Daz3d, from v4 to v8 models, free characters or the ones in the "most popular" section. Maybe some V4 were made with Poser, the company that create Daz3d used to make models for Poser.

 

[Volta]

As someone who plays around in Daz at a hobby level i can say that if you keep your resource pool reasonable and are willing to compromise on variety Daz is relatively cheap, which of course is attractive to first time devs. It's got a learning curve but it's not maya or blender by any means, also it isn't too hard to get OK renders, good renders take a lot longer to learn, using Iray isn't that different from learning photography, easy to just take a few snaps but to get something really good takes practise.

As for saying that Daz means a game is going to be sub par, well i can point you at DoD, Milf City, LLTP among countless others, Daz is a tool, how good the workman happens to be is far more important, it's like giving a paintbrush to an ordinary Joe or a Pro artist, same tools, results may vary.

Good 2D art is great, bad 2D art is horrendous, it's no different with Daz, just learning Daz is more accessible than learning 2D art, oddly.

 

[OhWee]

(snip)

and you talk about text adventures are so 1980s , i don't really know where that come from, but i guess that now day people writing/reading skill is so low , that they must need image to help them to understand.

Because you said this in your previous post:

(snip)

and if people want to tell their story, why not just make a novel ? my guess why they don't do that is because their writing skill is not up there too.self.

Keep in mind that most 'games' around here are really just interactive visual novels. You know, like those 'choose your path' books that were also popular back in the day.

In fact, RenPy is designed specifically for interactive visual novels. Here's the description from RenPy.org:

What is Ren'Py?
Ren'Py is a visual novel engine – used by thousands of creators from around the world – that helps you use words, images, and sounds to tell interactive stories that run on computers and mobile devices. These can be both visual novels and life simulation games. The easy to learn script language allows anyone to efficiently write large visual novels, while its Python scripting is enough for complex simulation games.

This is why I think the game tag is overused here, as a lot of the threads under the F95 Forum Games section are really just interactive novels. But the staff likes it that way, so changing the name of that forum section to 'Games and Interactive Novels' probably isn't gonna happen.

But when you look at it in that context, i.e. people telling interactive stories, then using tools like Daz Studio, Honey Select, Etc. makes a lot more sense. It's an artistic choice, and not all artists/authors are cut out to be, nor do they want to be, 3D model designers.

 

[bas]

Please keep it civil, which means no name-calling or personal insults.

 

[kinrean]

Because you said this in your previous post:



Keep in mind that most 'games' around here are really just interactive visual novels. You know, like those 'choose your path' books that were also popular back in the day.

In fact, RenPy is designed specifically for interactive visual novels. Here's the description from RenPy.org:


This is why I think the game tag is overused here, as a lot of the threads under the F95 Forum Games section are really just interactive novels. But the staff likes it that way, so changing the name of that forum section to 'Games and Interactive Novels' probably isn't gonna happen.

But when you look at it in that context, i.e. people telling interactive stories, then using tools like Daz Studio, Honey Select, Etc. makes a lot more sense. It's an artistic choice, and not all artists/authors are cut out to be, nor do they want to be, 3D model designers.

well i do agree with most what you say, most are just novels, and can't really count as game and i agree is just a artist choose to use program like daz and don't want to be a 3d model artist,

that is why i say is a easy way, taking what other had make and use it in their own way.
or you think that is not a easy way?