why do pumps need alphas now? I'm not using mesh feet my avatar foot shows through legacy shoes now

[Rolig Loon]

If you are not using mesh feet, you probably still need an alpha layer with most shoes to hide the parts of your foot that would otherwise poke through the shoe.  If you're wearing shoes with a heel, for example, you need an alpha layer to hide that ghastly heel spike that we used to hide with an invisiprim years ago.  If you have open toe shoes with fake toes instead of your ugly SL toes, again you'll need an alpha layer.  Even some "normal" shoes may fit better and require less adjusting if you simply pop an alpha layer over parts of your feet.  Alphas aren't just for people with mesh feet.

[Rolig Loon]

If you are not using mesh feet, you probably still need an alpha layer with most shoes to hide the parts of your foot that would otherwise poke through the shoe.  If you're wearing shoes with a heel, for example, you need an alpha layer to hide that ghastly heel spike that we used to hide with an invisiprim years ago.  If you have open toe shoes with fake toes instead of your ugly SL toes, again you'll need an alpha layer.  Even some "normal" shoes may fit better and require less adjusting if you simply pop an alpha layer over parts of your feet.  Alphas aren't just for people with mesh feet.

[Syo Emerald]

All shoes need alphas, no matter if they are mesh or prims. You may see it as a sudden change, because you switched to better graphic settings, but this has been the case since Invisiprims became broken and non-functional.