Planet, since posting I re-read this whole thread -every page!
You were in advance of me most of the time but now I can understand your findings and experiences much better. The thread constitutes an excellent critique of the software.
I liked how you said you probably wouldn't buy the game-dev version and then, in the next post, announced that you'd bought it!
I wonder whether your Poser is installed in a place which Windows (7 onwards) doesn't like?
Some older software, such as Bryce, used to go somewhere ???? and now it needs to go somewhere else ????
C:\ drive versus 'Program Files' directory, or something like that???
Sorry this is so vague. I can't imagine that something so fundamental would go wrong in your hands if it didn't in mine
The figure I've had best results in shaping and animating is the new-style 'Roxie' character. To me, the figure rivals Daz figures but I haven't learned yet whether this is doomed to be Poser-only. If so, that's fine by me. I'm trying to settle into enjoying what I have because 3D seems to give rise to an insatiable need to get this, buy that, upgrade to the next.
But I DO want it all.