• Normal Mapping support – is a resource-efficient technique to add the appearance of complexity and surface detail to 3D objects. This will allow you to transform object surfaces so that you can make them look more intricate than they are without the added overhead of polygonal detail. This saves time and adds flexibility to your rendered results.
• Distributable Content – is available with a set of four re-distributable 3D characters to help you save production time. This includes a male and female figure in both medium and low resolution. You can use these figures as starting points to create your own real-time 3D or game figures. When you are finished these can be exported via Poser Pro's export options including COLLADA for royalty-free use in your project.
• COLLADA export (Geometry and Textures only in Base version) – is a collaborative 3D data standard initially established by Sony Computer Entertainment America and is currently administered by the Khronos Group. The COLLADA import and export is used to assist with the integration of 3D character content and scene data into third party applications. Please note that there are some important notes to consider when working with COLLADA data that can be found on the Poser Pro site.
Poser Pro Full Version also adds:
• PoserFusion plug-ins – includes hosting plug-in licenses for Autodesk's 3ds Max and Maya, Maxon's CINIMA 4D. The plug-ins allow you to integrate Poser Pro scene files within these production applications. You simply pose and animate the characters, save the file, then load the scene into your host application.
• Unrestrictive Network Rendering – allows you to use unlimited computers/nodes to render your images
• Full COLLADA support – gives you unrestricted ability for import and export via COLLADA.
While, as I write this, the announcement is going out about the release of Poser Pro, I have had the opportunity to work with it a bit and my first impressions are wow, there are some really cool enhancements. I can see some major benefits to this level of program especially for those who are using this in professional production environments.
![Poser 7 3D Figure Design and Animation [OLD VERSION]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41p2TOHvJrL._SL120_.jpg)
Article comments
1 - Joe Befumo
Review of Smith Micro's Poser Pro
Well, at this juncture I've been working almost daily with this product, and thought it was high time I shared some of my impressions with other prospective customers/victims.
First of all, as a long-time software professional, I am quite aware of the complexities associated with 3D rendering, and the high demand on processing resources -- both memory and CPU. Even though I'm running a fairly capable machine (quad-core, 64-bit, 8Gig of ram, 2 - 1-terrabyte drives, Win XP-64, etc.), I am prepared to accept that complex 3D scene rendering will take some time. That said, what I DO NOT accept is the necessity for the program to outright refuse to render, or even LOAD some scenes, reporting "not enough memory to load texture map'! In software engineering terminology, this just indicates sloppy memory management. Even after researching the issues, tweaking the render settings, running a 3rd-party memory management utility -- the problem persists.
Perhaps even harder to excuse is the generally brittle nature of the package. It regularly becomes necessary to resort to ctl-alt-del, bring up the program manager, find the process, and use the "kill process tree" command to get rid of the hung application, and then start the whole process over from the start, often losing work in the process.
Then, of course, there are the incessant "An unexpected exception occurred: -50" messages. Once again, ctrl-alt-del, etc., is the only way to proceed.
Don't even bother looking in the event manager, or searching for a log that might explain the source of the problem. The Poser "engineers" apparently considered such niceties as superfluous.
Interestingly, it's often possible (and necessary) to load a scene that Poser Pro refuses to accept by using Poser 7! I can then eliminate some elements, save the file, and reload back into Poser Pro. Did someone decide it was necessary to introduce some additional bugs into the flagship package.?
I also have a strong suspicion that the program suffers from some severe memory leaks. If you monitor memory usage, you'll see that, regardless of the nature of the scene, memory usage just keeps on increasing, until, inevitably -- that's right: ctrl-alt-del.
The thing that amazes me most, is the proliferation of gushing reviews of this shoddy piece of . . . programming. Are the reviewers on Smith Micro's payroll? Have they done any more with it than render a quick naked woman, gawk over it, and then write: "WOW, what a GREAT product!"?
There are, of course, so many other annoying quirks as to defy enumeration here. Suffice it to say, that this is an extremely irritating program with which to work.
Smith Micro touts this as a "professional package," an utterly absurd assertion. It's quality is such that I might overlook the bugs in a freeware package, but certainly not in something costing nearly five-hundred bucks. Oh well, there's a sucker born every minute.
Now, as someone who has watched my own company's profits eroded by software piracy, I am generally opposed to such abuses, however, in cases like this, my advice is to acquire the product from someplace like Emule, or Vuse, or other torrent servers, use it for a while, and if you still think it's worth the asking price, then by all means, write that check. Otherwise, just use it at a cost that's precisely what it's worth: $0.
2 - Bubba Hotep
Thank you, Joe, for taking the time to write a decent review, not just another press release. I have been holding back from upgrading from an earlier version since I have been burned before by SM. I was generally depressed to hear that this company had acquired Poser, and your comments seem right inline with my low expectations.
As for the writer of the review, thanks for having a comments section for reality to have its say.