Skin confusion

[adax20]

You have classic skin, applayer, kit, omega, applier, BOM and I forget other technical words.

I learn how to use BOM (classic skin) but my problem is that where do I get classic skin. I found lot of skin but they are ugly. I spend my time trying and deleting them. They all have makeup and I don't want I find it dirty. I try all free skin. When I search on marketplace I find all except classic skin. All kind of brand and demo demo demo applyer etc... but how do I find just skin.

Shops in the game. I visited few skin shops but they don't have clasic skin always applyer or omega or kit or layer or many things I don't understand but no classic skin of skin shops.

Why is there all so complicated.

 

[Alwin Alcott]

4 minutes ago, adax20 said:

Why is there all so complicated.

it is really complicated .. but if you run full in it without learning a bit first, it will be nearly impossible to get what all is.
I would say, read threads in  this section.. dig in and be patient
 

[Orwar]

   BOM is still a relatively new feature and many skin creators are still in the process of catching up with it, so many of the classic skins you'll find are pre-mesh. Not all mesh bodies or heads are fully BOM compatible either, and many creators want to continue catering to those using appliers. Not all who have BOM compatible bodies want to go BOM either, usually because they don't 'get' it, or because they've invested too much in their appliers.

   Depending on what body and head you're using, I'd suggest you choose how to approach finding a skin from there.

[Chic Aeon]

To be clear BOM skins and "classic" skins (skins made for the default system body with no mesh body used) are different. Classic skins are typically older and have some built in issues such as the toes looking HORRIBLE.   For the most part true classic skins have been out of popularity for quite awhile.  

The newer BOM skins are typically marked as such -- but at the same time, most stores have a lot more applier skins that BOM skins. Some creators changed (and fixed) their skins to become BOM skins.  Most of the new skins at events are marked with something like "BOM layers included" text.   

If you are ONLY looking at free skins, then it is unlikely you will find many BOM skins right now.  Whatever you do be sure and DEMO, DEMO DEMO and play with those demos so that you understand how BOM works. It IS complex; agreed. 

 

[Maitimo]

Many applier skins now come with the BOM skins included. 

If you want to try a nice free one, go to the LAQ store and join their group (free to join). There's a couple of free skins (one old classic skin and one new BOM skin) included in their group gifts on the back wall of the store. Both skins come without makeup. Belleza also has free classic skins in their group gifts, but these all have makeup on. 7 Deadly Skins still sells old classic skins as well as new BOM ones and they often have cheap deals available. Pink Fuel has a small selection of classic skins in their main store at very low price (though their applier skins are rather expensive).

Another one worth a mention is Gessami; they are on the MP only (as far as I know) and they only have a couple of skins out, but they are new, properly BOM (no nasty toes) and no makeup at all, not even a hint of eyeliner.

You also have a collection of classic skins in your Library; every basic starter avatar includes one and some of them have no makeup.

Edited May 21, 2020 by Maitimo

[Nalates Urriah]

I disagree with several of the opinions on BOM... 

Classic or system skin is the term used for pre-mesh skin that was the 'original' skin of the built-into-the-viewer avatar, Ruth or Roth. Everyone had the same body, no choice. Look in the Library for Boy/Girl Next Door for a clear example. The system avatar is what you have, everyone has, when you remove all attachments.

The ONLY difference between a BOM (Bakes on Mesh) and Classic skin is the resolution of the textures used to make the skin. Old skin used three 512x512px images. Some Classic skins were made with 1024 textures but the SL backend automatically reduced them to 512. Back in that day we had Server Side Baking (SSB) which was the system that took the 3-skin textures, 3-tattoo textures, 3-Underwear, and 3-clothes and composited them all into 3 temporary 512px textures. This is done for performance reasons.

Part of the upgrade from SSB to BOM system was to move up to handling 1024 textures. The other change is to allow the resulting three 1024px temporary textures to be used on mesh items. SSB was limited to using the temps only on the avatar.

So, the difference in BOM and Classic is not the skin or other things, it is the backend system that is different. Merchants need some way to tell you you are buying a new skin that is made with the new system in mind. So, they call it a BOM ready skin. But, if you have one of the old Classic skins that was made with a 1024 texture, there is no difference in the skin.

OMEGA is not a skin nor a type of skin. It is a translator for Appliers.

When we got mesh bodies they were "attachments" that covered the Classic avatar body. The system or Classic skin was hidden and we had no way to get it on a mesh. The SSB was designed to provide temporary textures which only the Classic avatar could use. Thus Appliers were designed to put the skin and other textures on the various layers of the onionskin mesh bodies. Mesh only allows one texture per face. There is no way to combine or composite them on a prim/mesh face. Layering to create composites was only something we could do with an avatar via SSB. So, designers built onionskin bodies to provide the illusion of compositing.

The complication for skin makers was all the different mesh bodies. Each part of a mesh body has a name and some number of faces. These are all arbitrary and totally up to the mesh body designer. To put the right texture on the right part the skin maker needs to build those names and faces into their Applier. That is a lot to know and a bunch of work. Omega came on the scene and made a translator. Literally this is a script that listens to an Applier for perhaps Maitreya and tells a Slink body which textures to put where. Now a skin maker only needed to make an applier that works with Omega because Omega will make it work with any target body.

Kit... I have no idea what kit you have seen. There are customizable avatars which I've seen where their customization systems are referred to as kits. You are not likely going to need to be concerned with those.

Why? SL is complicated. Not because it is complicated on purpose but because it opens up the 3D virtual world and exposes you to amazing possibilities. 3D virtual worlds are complex, far more than you are seeing. Most games have professionals doing all this stuff for you. To make clothes for those games you have learn something like Blender's 3D modeling program and learn to design for possibly the Unreal game engine or whatever engine the game uses. Otherwise, the creative freedom you have in SL is taken away. You are seeing a 3D virtual world that has been greatly simplified for us. 

The confusion is from time... there used to be only Classic. Tech advances. We can do more and SL looks way better that it used to. But, we have all the stuff that came before to build on. Those of us that lived through the changes understand them. Those meeting these terms for the first time... they get confused, with good reason. There is a lot to learn. Its like not knowing RL history. If you don't know the history of Communism, Socialism, Free Market or haven't read the Federalist Papers you can't know why the world is as it is and things get REALLY confusing. 

[Maitimo]

9 hours ago, Nalates Urriah said:

The ONLY difference between a BOM (Bakes on Mesh) and Classic skin is the resolution of the textures used to make the skin. ....

So, the difference in BOM and Classic is not the skin or other things, it is the backend system that is different. Merchants need some way to tell you you are buying a new skin that is made with the new system in mind. So, they call it a BOM ready skin.

This is one difference, but there is one more; finger and toe nails.

An original classic system skin will have these painted on to the skin, which looks fine on a system avatar but awful on mesh, because they don't line up with where the finger and toe nails are on a mesh body. If you wear an old classic skin on a mesh body you'll need "fixes" to cover them up. A truly BOM skin is already pre-made with blank toes and fingertips so you don't need an added fixer.

[Emma Krokus]

55 minutes ago, Maitimo said:

This is one difference, but there is one more; finger and toe nails.

An original classic system skin will have these painted on to the skin, which looks fine on a system avatar but awful on mesh, because they don't line up with where the finger and toe nails are on a mesh body. If you wear an old classic skin on a mesh body you'll need "fixes" to cover them up. A truly BOM skin is already pre-made with blank toes and fingertips so you don't need an added fixer.

I have used BOM skins on my Altamura body and not found the fingers or toes to line up properly. My suspicion is that there may be slightly different mapping on that body to Maitreya. Fortunately the BOM fixes made by a few creators do a good job with maybe a little tinting to get a good match.

Emma