VaM 1.x Please help :( VaM morph becomes badly distorted in VaM, but looks fine in Daz

[sans1234]

I am trying to create a reusable head/face morph for VaM from a photograph. My goal is simple: generate a face from a photo, convert that face to Genesis 2, and then use the resulting head morph on any VaM body.
I have gone through the process below several times, including starting completely from scratch, but I keep getting the same problem: the converted Genesis 2 morph looks acceptable in Daz Studio, but becomes severely distorted when loaded in VaM (lower jaw went completely backwards and eyes also).
Here is the exact workflow I used:

1. Created the face in Daz Studio
   • Daz Studio 4.22 Pro
   • Loaded a completely plain Genesis 9 Female
   • No custom body morphs applied
   • Used Face Transfer with a front-facing photo
   • Generated the face and used Save Face so the Face Transfer watermark disappeared
   • The resulting Genesis 9 face looked correct in Daz
2. Prepared Genesis 9 for conversion
   • Selected the main Genesis 9 figure
   • Set:
     • Resolution Level = Base
     • Subdivision Level = 0
   • Exported as OBJ
   • OBJ preset:
     • DAZ Studio (1 unit = 1 cm)
     • Scale = 100%
     • X = X
     • Y = Y
     • Z = Z
     • Write UV Coordinates = ON
     • Write Normals = ON
     • Write Faces = ON
     • Write Separate Objects = ON
     • Ignore Invisible Nodes = ON
3. Converted Genesis 9 to Genesis 2 in Blender
   • Used Daz Generations Converter 2.1.0
   • Imported the OBJ
   • Selected only the main Genesis9 mesh, not eyes, mouth, eyelashes, tear, eyebrow cards, etc.
   • Target = Genesis 2
   • Female selected
   • Preserve Volume = ON
   • Clicked Convert Female
   • Converter created Genesis9_to_G2F
   • Selected that converted object
   • Exported the converted Genesis 2 OBJ using the add-on's Export OBJ function
4. Created the Genesis 2 morph in Daz
   • Started a completely new Daz scene
   • Loaded plain Genesis 2 Female
   • Selected Genesis 2 Female
   • Opened Morph Loader Pro
   • From = DAZ Studio (1 unit = 1 cm)
   • Imported the converted G2 OBJ
   • Morph Loader reported success
   • Set the new morph to 100%
   • Important: at this stage the face itself looks reasonably correct in Daz. Eyes, jaw, mouth and head are not badly distorted.
   The morph also changes the body because the converted Genesis 9 base shape differs from Genesis 2 Female. I understand this part. My intention was eventually to split the result and keep only the head.
5. Saved the Genesis 2 morph
   • Set the morph back to 0
   • File -> Save As -> Support Asset -> Morph Asset(s)
   • Saved only this new morph as a .dsf
6. Loaded the morph into VaM
   • Copied the .dsf into:
     VaM\Custom\Atom\Person\Morphs\female
   • Restarted VaM / reloaded custom morphs
   • Loaded a default female Person
   • Applied the new morph
   • This is where everything goes wrong.
   As I move the morph toward 1.0:
   • the eyes move badly out of position
   • the jaw moves backward
   • the mouth/head relationship becomes wrong
   • the overall face becomes very crooked/distorted
   • It looks dramatically worse than the exact same Genesis 2 morph at 100% in Daz Studio.
7. Things I already tried
   • Deleted the generated .vmb and .vmi files in VaM and allowed VaM to rebuild them from the updated .dsf
   • In Daz:
     • Morph = 100%
     • Edit -> Figure -> Rigging -> Adjust Rigging to Shape
     • Adjust Center Points = ON
     • Adjust End Points = ON
     • Adjust Orientation = OFF
   • Then used ERC Freeze on the morph
   • Re-saved the morph asset
   • Deleted VaM .vmb/.vmi again and rebuilt them
   • Still exactly the same distortion
   • Also tried Eye & Jaw Morph Fixer v1.0.14
     • Genesis 2 Female data file correctly selected
     • Fix Eyes = ON
     • Fix Jaw and Tongue = ON
     • Eye translations initially set to 0
     • Created a new fixed morph
   • The fixed morph produces essentially the same distorted result in VaM

So the key diagnostic point is:
The converted Genesis 2 morph looks acceptable when applied to Genesis 2 Female inside Daz, but the same saved DSF becomes badly distorted when VaM applies it.
Ultimately I do not want the G9 body conversion. I only want the photographed head/face morph, so that I can apply it to any existing VaM body. I planned to use Morph Merge and Split Extended afterward to make the final morph head-only, but I have not continued because there is no point splitting the head while the face itself is already broken in VaM.
Can anyone identify what is missing or incorrect in this workflow?
In particular:

• Is there something special that must be done to a Daz Generations G9 -> G2 morph before VaM can use it correctly?
• Is VaM interpreting eye/jaw rigging or deltas differently from Daz?
• Should the morph be converted into a head-only G2 morph before being loaded into VaM?
• Is Daz Generations Converter 2.1.0 the wrong approach for a Face Transfer 2 head intended for VaM?
• Is there a better current workflow for Face Transfer 2 Genesis 9 -> Genesis 2/VaM head morph that preserves the face accurately?

Any help identifying which step is causing the Daz-to-VaM distortion would be greatly appreciated.

I would post this version rather than shortening it too much. The most useful clue for someone knowledgeable is that the G2 morph is visually fine in Daz but breaks only when VaM evaluates the same DSF. That should help them narrow down whether the issue is morph deltas, rigging, VaM's G2 implementation, or the G9-to-G2 conversion itself.

 

[SlimerJSpud]

In step 5, you 0'd out the morph before saving it as a morph asset. I'd leave it at 1.0, or 0.7. Also, the min value needs to be set to 0. Re-read steps from 18 on in the Import G8 to Vam guide and make sure you follow those steps exactly. Once you have the G9 converted to G2, and re-imported back into Daz, you should follow that guide exactly.