DAZ Studio 6 is out in beta, going from 4.x to 6.x seemingly without a version 5. Still free. The new version is a surprise to all, and touts…
– smoother scene loading, with big textures continuing to load in the background even as you start to work with the scene.
– support for newer NVIDIA 50 series graphics-cards.
– newer version of iRay (NVIDIA drivers update required).
– updated Texture Shaded mode, if you use that rather than iRay for your Viewport.
– ability to hide or show Library content, and apparently other content-finding improvements.
– adjust hair strands while still in your full scene.
– the Help system is now run by an AI chatbot. No other AI is in the software. No AI renderer or ComfyUI bridge.
Frankly, such a huge version-leap seems barely justified by the changes. If you work with huge scenes and textures, on a 50-series card, and fiddle with dForce hair a lot, then it may be worth it. Many others will stick with 4.x.
Noted in the changelog…
– “Tweaked the minimum OpenGL version message”, though the newer version was not specified anywhere. Presumably an OpenGL bump is why Texture Shaded mode is now better looking in the Viewport?
– Some changes to formatting of scripts for version 6.
– A new SDK, so many older third-party plugins won’t work until updated by their makers, if they’re still around e.g. there’s said to be no Animate 2 plugin for version 6.
– “Fixed a regression in the script that backs the ‘Create Poser Companion Files…’ action!” “Backs” rather than “breaks”. That could just be a typo, or it could mean this script broke from version 4.23.1.42 onwards?