Poser 11 and Poser Pro 11 have been released today! UK prices are £95 for 11 and £239 for Pro 11. USA prices are $139.99 / $349.99. Both Windows and Mac version are available now, and are heavily discounted.
New features in v.11 include:
* an integrated (‘Superfly’) version of Blender’s professional level Cycles render-engine, including caustics.
* the Pro 11 version supports Nvidia CUDA, giving a GPU-assisted boost to render times.
* new Poser base female character, Pauline, shipping as standard.
* add realistic tattoos and scars, via new layered materials.
* improved OpenGL ‘Comic Book’ real-time rendering, adjustable ink outlines.
I wonder if we might start to see new semi-toon characters + presets dedicated solely to the comic book look?
Plus there’s…
* a new scalable user interface, for those working on humongously large monitors.
* it’s now easier to step back and forth between characters, as you build a scene.
* Pro also has bone control handles, and direct character manipulation is now easier.
* new rigging features, with some automation.
* customisable tool/dial/character palettes and hot keys. Adjustable auto-save.
Looks good. Let’s hope that the Blender/Cycles ‘Superfly’ rendering engine gives fast and good-looking results with standard characters, without having to faff around applying/tweaking three-dozen new materials by hand. And that ‘the comic-book look’ is viable for producing comic-books which will please the highly discerning eye of comics fans. If Poser 11 gets those two things right, then I’d say it’s back in the game against DAZ Studio.