Mesh or Prims Which Do You Prefer For Your Prefab House?

[IvanBenjammin]

Oh, I didn't mean *I* was ahead of the curve, just the fact that I build everything with mesh and normal maps etc. I know the power of normal mapping, but I get the feeling that lots of residents don't see what the fuss is about just yet. But, it was the same situation with mesh when it first arrived on the scene.

Hope I didn't sound arrogant before, wasn't trying to claim I was better than the rest.  There's some fantastic stuff out there, and lots of really talented creators. And thank you for the compliment

Drongle's graphs: http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Mesh/Download-weight-and-size-Some-graphs/td-p/1057163

 

 

 

[Moco Scribe]

Lol! No not arrogant it just amused me and you will need to grow a thicker skin to last in Second Life! Thanks for the link...

[IvanBenjammin]

My skin is fine - that's got nothing to do with not wanting to offend anyone

 

[Skye Arbizu]

Late to the party...but my $.02.

If I knew I would never need to edit a build, I'd prefer a well made mesh (e.g. great detail for the LI) with reasonable poly count, good textures including baked lighting and shadows, and good use of normal maps. This holds true if you are designing a sim from the ground up, especially if you can build externally in a 3d application and then import most of the build into SL as optimized mesh.

However, if I foresaw a need to edit in-game - I'd prefer sacrificing a bit of detail for a mixed build with some modular detailing in mesh (e.g. Architectural details) with the main portions in prims. This is the situation a lot of your buyers most likely fall into, as they may need to incorporate your build with other elements of their own or purchased, and may need to fit the build to a specific piece of land that could require editing.

I've already been burned with builds that had really nice texture work pre-mesh, but because the textures included baked lighting and shadows, were impossible to edit even moderately without retexturing and losing all the detail.

I also agree that one of the things that drives me crazy these days are the people with the 'If it is mesh it must be great" attitude. Just as there are bad builds and bad clothing items made of non-mesh, so to are there bad items using mesh (not to mention all the mesh that is ripped from outside SL and uploaded as 'original' like giant dragons from Skyrim), and sometimes the bad has nothing to do with the quality of the work, but with its inability to meet the needs of the user.

[Czari Zenovka]

In clothing, I detest mesh  (and yes I have now tried quite a variety of mesh clothing *and* from well-known designers), so I will continue purchasing system/sculpt/flexi made clothes.  Clothing stores that sell mesh only will never get my business.

Likewise prefab houses - I don't like how drastically mesh can increase in Li when resized - I'll stick with prims there as well.

Furniture is the one place I do like mesh, if it is well done, but to date I have not purchased any mesh furnishings as I have a LOT of very nice prim furniture in inventory.

 

[Pamela Galli]

The last house I built I think is how I will probably proceed in the future, for all the reasons stated -- a combination of mesh and ordinary prims, very easy to modify.  My previous mesh houses have been lovely, but just not amenable to modification. I like to give customers options, along with low Land Impact, and a combination seems to do that best.

[Aethelwine]

I was talking with someone using mesh studio in world to make mesh parts for her bikes. She showed me a highly detailed creation that she made that was 14li. She went on to tell me it was made out of over 1000 prims.

With the tools and time alot can still be done in world.

[Czari Zenovka]

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Amie Kaestner wrote:

Mesh is the way forward, mesh is progress. Luddites can go to Hell!

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How pleasant.

[Moco Scribe]

I have come to the same conclusion as Pamela.  Part Mesh builds offer the best options for customers and funnily enough the survey results suggest the same.

I think that there was a lot of hype around mesh in the beginning and everyone jumped on the 'we must now make everything out of mesh' bandwagon and we (builders and customers) all fell for it.

Now with the passage of time we have reached a better level of understanding and realise that it's not what something is made out of that's important (although it all helps) but giving our customers what they want.....So no different to the real world. Plus shoppers also have a better understanding of what being made of mesh actually means and that although it delivers a lot there are also some significant constraints and there's a lot to learn about how to use it even as a consumer. Mesh isn't always the answer.

Doing the survey has clarified my thinking and you can see the full results here on my blog, it may help you with some of your builds.

There were 100 responses which basically told me what I sort of suspected but needed to see it in writing!