New Free BOM Full Male Avatar :D

[Lillith Hapmouche]

12 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

...yet y'all STILL complain about the quality..

The system body is also free and in comparison, it can feature much nicer looking avatars for my liking.

Never been a friend of "if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all".

[Orwar]

11 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

I think it's funny that this is free, yet y'all STILL complain about the quality..

   Look, I did a freebie avi. Ain't it nice? 

[Panteleeva]

13 minutes ago, Orwar said:

   Look, I did a freebie avi. Ain't it nice? 

this is you actually

[Love Zhaoying]

13 minutes ago, Orwar said:

   Look, I did a freebie avi. Ain't it nice? 

If only it had fingernails and toenails..is it BOM-compatible?

[Skell Dagger]

Because of my affiliation with another mesh head brand (disclaimer: I am a CSR and manager for Catwa) I was initially very hesitant to post in response to this thread.

However, I am also a blogger whose passion is helping guys to look good in SL, and I like to pick up things like this to see what I can do with them. If I can get a blog post out of it that will help some guys in SL who are on a tight budget, then that's all to the good. And anyone who has come across my posts here on the forum where I'm helping people will see that I strive always to remain impartial, and that I never 'shill' for the brand that I work for.

With that disclaimer out of the way, these are my personal opinions as someone who has worked extensively with male avatars and male mesh bodies and heads for many years. I'm going to bullet point with pros and cons, so as to keep this post as impartial as possible.

Pros

• It is a full BoM body. That in itself is rare for a freebie. There are several free female bodies (eBody and LucyBody [although the latter's BoM relay costs L$200], off the top of my head) that are BoM but this is the only current male one that I know of. Previous gift releases from this store have always been in a single unchangeable skintone (usually extremely tanned, although there is one paler version out there somewhere). And it's not only a BoM body, it's also a BoM head. Body and head from the same creator means no neck seam, which is always a bonus.
• It is a full Bento body and head, and it comes with a basic face animation HUD.
• It will be available for a good length of time. The ad states one month, but this store's previous TeleportHub.com body/head combination gift was - as I recall - out for much longer than that. This will give the slowpokes plenty of time to get it
• It includes a developer kit.

Cons

• The lip overlay. This was a deal-breaker for me the second I tried my first BoM skin on it. The mesh has an additional overlay on the lips that cannot be removed, since there is no HUD for controlling anything on the face (which is understandable, since this gift is intended for purely BoM use). No matter what skin you try (and I tried about 20, from different creators) this lip overlay will always make your lips look the same way (shiny and chapped at the same time) and from a distance it... well, it really doesn't look good. I found that no matter which skin I used, my lips looked very pouty from a distance. I assume this overlay is intended to give a sort of 'HD lip' look to the head, but it really really doesn't work.
• Screenshot of the lip overlay, taken mid-skin bake, so it's clearly visible:

           

• There are no eyes included with the head. This is a minor issue, since you can either use your system eyes or use third-party unrigged mesh eyes. However, if you want to use unrigged mesh eyes you will also need an eye alpha, since this body is fully BoM. Those are simple (and free) to make if you don't already have one, but for the average guy that's an additional bit of hassle. Also, the lacrimal is very dark and non-removable.
• Lastly, another minor quibble, but a lot of guys are going to dislike the eyelashes. I'm not sure why they're so thick and 'clumpy' but they really do look like you've overdone the mascara (and then slept in it for good measure!)

So there are four pros and three cons. This is a gift (well, a L$10 gift, given the group join fee) so it feels churlish to say anything negative about it. A lot of guys will get it and it may be their introduction into mesh heads and bodies. But - given how many gorgeous, extremely high quality freebies there are for women out there right now, from the two free bodies (one of which fits Maitreya clothing), to the L$150 full featured group gift Bento head from Akeruka - I can't help but feel that once again the guys are left trailing a bit.

That said, kudos to Altamura for their generosity. They have released multiple full head and body gifts like this in the past, and they always participate in the L'Homme Magazine quarterly freebie round (previous gifts have included full Altamura and Omega head and body skin appliers on two occasions).

Would I recommend this gift to Mr Average in SL? Probably not, but that's with some caveats: if money is tight enough that you can't afford a full priced Bento head and body combination, if you are willing to spend a considerable amount of time working with this head and body, and if you are prepared to overlook that lip overlay then you should be able to create something that you're happy with. I spent over two hours working with it, trying on multiple skins, playing with the sliders (and remember: this is my job in SL, so I'm no slouch at this stuff) and in the end I gave up. But I have some pretty exacting standards that may not be your standards, so what I see as deal-breakers may be perfectly acceptable to you.

And it's only L$10, so what have you got to lose? (Except, y'know, L$10, but hey...)

Edited July 20, 2020 by Skell Dagger

[Orwar]

6 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

If only it had fingernails and toenails..

   That's the beauty of it though - if you want nails or ears, all you need to is press Ctrl + B and make some.

7 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

..is it BOM-compatible?

   Better than BOM-compatible - you can use any texture you want, even put different textures on different faces - with whichever materials you want, too!

[Gage Wirefly]

10 minutes ago, Skell Dagger said:

Because of my affiliation with another mesh head brand (disclaimer: I am a CSR and manager for Catwa) I was initially very hesitant to post in response to this thread.

However, I am also a blogger whose passion is helping guys to look good in SL, and I like to pick up things like this to see what I can do with them. If I can get a blog post out of it that will help some guys in SL who are on a tight budget, then that's all to the good. And anyone who has come across my posts here on the forum where I'm helping people will see that I strive always to remain impartial, and that I never 'shill' for the brand that I work for.

With that disclaimer out of the way, these are my personal opinions as someone who has worked extensively with male avatars and male mesh bodies and heads for many years. I'm going to bullet point with pros and cons, so as to keep this post as impartial as possible.

Pros

• It is a full BoM body. That in itself is rare for a freebie. There are several free female bodies (eBody and LucyBody [although the latter's BoM relay costs L$200], off the top of my head) that are BoM but this is the only current male one that I know of. Previous gift releases from this store have always been in a single unchangeable skintone (usually extremely tanned, although there is one paler version out there somewhere). And it's not only a BoM body, it's also a BoM head. Body and head from the same creator means no neck seam, which is always a bonus.
• It is a full Bento body and head, and it comes with a basic face animation HUD.
• It will be available for a good length of time. The ad states one month, but this store's previous TeleportHub.com body/head combination gift was - as I recall - out for much longer than that. This will give the slowpokes plenty of time to get it
• It includes a developer kit.

Cons

• The lip overlay. This was a deal-breaker for me the second I tried my first BoM skin on it. The mesh has an additional overlay on the lips that cannot be removed, since there is no HUD for controlling anything on the face (which is understandable, since this gift is intended for purely BoM use). No matter what skin you try (and I tried about 20, from different creators) this lip overlay will always make your lips look the same way (shiny and chapped at the same time) and from a distance it... well, it really doesn't look good. I found that no matter which skin I used, my lips looked very pouty from a distance. I assume this overlay is intended to give a sort of 'HD lip' look to the head, but it really really doesn't work.
• Screenshot of the lip overlay, taken mid-skin bake, so it's clearly visible:

           

• There are no eyes included with the head. This is a minor issue, since you can either use your system eyes or use third-party unrigged mesh eyes. However, if you want to use unrigged mesh eyes you will also need an eye alpha, since this body is fully BoM. Those are simple (and free) to make if you don't already have one, but for the average guy that's an additional bit of hassle. Also, the lacrimal is very dark and non-removable.
• Lastly, another minor quibble, but a lot of guys are going to dislike the eyelashes. I'm not sure why they're so thick and 'clumpy' but they really do look like you've overdone the mascara (and then slept in it for good measure!)

So there are four pros and three cons. This is a gift (well, a L$10 gift, given the group join fee) so it feels churlish to say anything negative about it. A lot of guys will get it and it may be their introduction into mesh heads and bodies. But - given how many gorgeous, extremely high quality freebies there are for women out there right now, from the two free bodies (one of which fits Maitreya clothing), to the L$150 full featured group gift Bento head from Akeruka - I can't help but feel that once again the guys are left trailing a bit.

That said, kudos to Altamura for their generosity. They have released multiple full head and body gifts like this in the past, and they always participate in the L'Homme Magazine quarterly freebie round (previous gifts have included full Altamura and Omega head and body skin appliers on two occasions).

Would I recommend this gift to Mr Average in SL? Probably not, but that's with some caveats: if money is tight enough that you can't afford a full priced Bento head and body combination, if you are willing to spend a considerable amount of time working with this head and body, and if you are prepared to overlook that lip overlay then you should be able to create something that you're happy with. I spent over two hours working with it, trying on multiple skins, playing with the sliders (and remember: this is my job in SL, so I'm no slouch at this stuff) and in the end I gave up. But I have some pretty exacting standards that may not be your standards, so what I see as deal-breakers may be perfectly acceptable to you.

And it's only L$10, so what have you got to lose? (Except, y'know, L$10, but hey...)

Agree with the lip thing, took me forever to find a skin to make it less noticeable. I had some old Hermony male skins deep in inventory and it works nicely.

[Gage Wirefly]

[Alwin Alcott]

1 hour ago, Love Zhaoying said:

I think it's funny that this is free, yet y'all STILL complain about the quality.

when something is given away for free doesn't mean quality isn't required. .. unless you wouldn't mind to have your butt on your nose/forehead..because it's free...
Nobody complained, just placed remarks...
Not sure what's more funny.... the remarks..or the comments on the remarks about the remarks.

[Love Zhaoying]

1 hour ago, Orwar said:

1 hour ago, Love Zhaoying said:

is it BOM-compatible?

   Better than BOM-compatible - you can use any texture you want, even put different textures on different faces - with whichever materials you want, too!

You wooden't be pulling my leg, wood you?

[Love Zhaoying]

1 hour ago, Alwin Alcott said:

Not sure what's more funny.... the remarks..or the comments on the remarks about the remarks.

Meta!

[Emma Krokus]

I have to agree with the poutiness. 

(Have not played with the shape much yet though...)

Lips with a 7DS skin - I didn't feel they were looking too chapped and shiny...?

 

 

[Skell Dagger]

7 minutes ago, Emma Krokus said:

I didn't feel they were looking too chapped and shiny...?

From the Windlight sky behind you it doesn't look as if you have all shaders as well as Advanced Lighting enabled. The overlay is partially materials-based, which will only show with full shaders and ALM.

[Maitimo]

4 hours ago, Love Zhaoying said:

I think it's funny that this is free, yet y'all STILL complain about the quality..

 

It's not entirely free. It costs L$10 to join the group.

The Roth 2 body is genuinely free.

[Chic Aeon]

5 hours ago, Skell Dagger said:

So there are four pros and three cons.

I thought yours was a very fair assessment. Personally I am not seeing a big problem with the lip thing. It could easily be my Windlight settings and I typically run with everything but DOF on.   I also don't see it on some of the screenshots in this thread. 

The eyes didn't bother me at all; I had some great new system eyes that worked perfectly.  The eyelashes I could see being an issue for some. Fine for me.  I will also say that I have hated the girl eyelashes on MANY female heads LOL. 

 

I REALLY like not having to play with a ton of alpha cuts (some male bodies have so very many it can take close to a half an hour to get all the small one touched just right (this on a large monitor - I can't imagine on a small one).   I had better luck with clothes fitting this body than some other free male bodies (and even some non-free :D).   I love the old alpha layer thing and don't mind going back to that as needed.  For me, it seemed like the sliders (especially the face) were rigged better than many bodies and there are so many looks that you can get just from the one body.  Some heads have (not only free) have very little movement in the sliders and you really can't get the look you want (shadows of pre-Bento but not that bad).  

 

Again of course I am not a "guy" very often. Still, this is my favorite free body so far.  And so far as Roth, I was very close friends with the guy that started that project and applaud all that he and other contributors did. I am wearing the Ruth version in Kitely although I seldom log in there.  But I wasn't all that thrilled with Roth. Again, it is good that there are choices as each person wants something different . 

 

My sim's default lighting up on my building pad. Raw shot. I would definitely date this guy :D. 

 

 

I am going to add a photo of myself as Chic in the exact same lighting with the same eyes. 

 

Edited July 20, 2020 by Chic Aeon
spelling and adding info

[Michael Timmerman]

7 hours ago, Skell Dagger said:

Cons

• The lip overlay. This was a deal-breaker for me the second I tried my first BoM skin on it. The mesh has an additional overlay on the lips that cannot be removed, since there is no HUD for controlling anything on the face (which is understandable, since this gift is intended for purely BoM use). No matter what skin you try (and I tried about 20, from different creators) this lip overlay will always make your lips look the same way (shiny and chapped at the same time) and from a distance it... well, it really doesn't look good. I found that no matter which skin I used, my lips looked very pouty from a distance. I assume this overlay is intended to give a sort of 'HD lip' look to the head, but it really really doesn't work.
• Screenshot of the lip overlay, taken mid-skin bake, so it's clearly visible:

           

 

I'm an old guy type with an old guy skin, so I didn't really notice the lip overlay you mention.  That, or it goes well with my weathered look.

I received an updated version, I appreciate that, that took care of the toenails (or, at least, the toe nails weren't visible after I put on the updated version and wore boots).

Edited July 20, 2020 by Michael Timmerman

[Marianne Little]

All my avatars already have mesh bodies, so I have not picked up this one. It looks really better with the Hermony skin that @Gage Wireflyis showing us.

It appears that the head can take pre-mesh skins well, a plus for the men who want to keep their old look. The downside is that the good pre-mesh skins can be pulled from the market already. I looked up Hermony, and they do not sell it on the MP.

The creator of this avatar appear to be responding, so those who are eager to use this avatar can ask nice for the lip layer to be removable...?

The benefit of a mesh avatar, expensive or not, is that it can use Bento animations. No more stiff face and the few hands animations we had before. They are really ugly.

I could see this avatar fixed up a bit, and sold as a low cost alternative. Men does not have any low cost avatars either.

The Roth body... I should say that I found that head very, very jagged. I say no more.

[Elise Banx]

first of all: theres always going to be someone that will complain about something doesnt matter what it is. 

The body given as a gift (if you are a member of teleporthub.com group), i have had alot of happy guys saying this is what it should be like, no fuss no muss, just add and that it. ALOT of guys dont want huds and other stuff they just want easy (and yes they usually only have two sets of clothing aswell ). 

as a first mesh body its not bad at all. The reason it was offered in the first place was to get users who are new or have come back to SL a chance to get an easy working mesh/bento avatar for a very low cost. 

my DJ is going on 14 years in sl and have refused mesh bodies up till now as he didnt want all the extras and mess with huds and stuff.

he is VERY happy with this body, wear and on you go with your sl life. he liked his look before and didnt want too much of a change.

and that is what this body is for... its not for you lot that have fifty eleven bodies already cos no matter what you will complain about something as you are used to huds and all the extras.

there were a few problems with the first version that came out but the owner did fix that as soon as we  they were found out. 

every mesh/bento body on the grid cant be for everyone. 

as some ppl cant help but complain yes im CSR at altamura and NO i didnt write this post as a CSR at altamura but this was my personal opinion

all im going to say about this as im way too busy to sit and bicker about little stuff

 

Edited July 21, 2020 by Elise Banx
claification

[Skell Dagger]

1 hour ago, Elise Banx said:

first of all: theres always going to be someone that will complain about something doesnt matter what it is. 

The body given as a gift (if you are a member of teleporthub.com group), i have had alot of happy guys saying this is what it should be like, no fuss no muss, just add and that it. ALOT of guys dont want huds and other stuff they just want easy (and yes they usually only have two sets of clothing aswell ). 

as a first mesh body its not bad at all. The reason it was offered in the first place was to get users who are new or have come back to SL a chance to get an easy working mesh/bento avatar for a very low cost. 

my DJ is going on 14 years in sl and have refused mesh bodies up till now as he didnt want all the extras and mess with huds and stuff.

he is VERY happy with this body, wear and on you go with your sl life. he liked his look before and didnt want too much of a change.

and that is what this body is for... its not for you lot that have fifty eleven bodies already cos no matter what you will complain about something as you are used to huds and all the extras.

there were a few problems with the first version that came out but the owner did fix that as soon as we found out. 

every mesh/bento body on the grid cant be for everyone.

I declared my Catwa affiliation when posting my objective and fair review. It is reasonable to expect others to do the same. Instead of writing what appears to just be a personal post and only hinting at the fact that you are a CSR for Altamura for those reading closely enough to spot "the owner did fix that as soon as we found out", perhaps a more open and professional thing to do would be to declare your affiliation upfront.

[Orwar]

2 hours ago, Elise Banx said:

every mesh/bento body on the grid cant be for everyone. 

   Well, no. And how boring it would be if there only was one perfect body on the market .. Then what on earth would we get to complain about?!

   Seriously though. I do sympathise with people who absolutely couldn't scrape together L$3,000 (or half of that, Signature has sales every so often - I got my Geralt at half price!) to get a market standard body - and that there are people who don't care much about how they look, or outright want to look different. But let's be blunt, L$3,000 for something you'd probably wear pretty much all the time, that's not 'expensive'; when people whinge about how they don't want to pay $60 for a AAA video game title because it's too expensive, well, if you play that game for 300 hours you've paid $0.20 per hour. So if you pay $13.50 for a body that you wear 'all the time', and you're in SL for 2 hours per day, and you wear that body for 3 years . . . I mean. It's the whole cheap shoes vs. quality shoes thing all over again.

   Then again, most guys don't appear to be too bothered about looking like a potato. And if that leaves them with a little bit more L$ to throw at strippers and escorts, go them! 

[Lillith Hapmouche]

28 minutes ago, Orwar said:

I do sympathise with people who absolutely couldn't scrape together L$3,000

Unfortunately, both Signature bodies are now at L$ 4000. 😶

This does come in favour of Belleza Jake, still at L$ 2999, while TMP / Legacy / "we insist to be called Meshbody or else you're ruining our reputation" can't even be bothered to refund L$ 1 for their demos.

 

Alantori should also be mentioned for their mesh parts. Currently, one of the bodies can be acquired via the group only daily prize board, so that's L$ 50 for a L$ 499 body. With some luck and a little waiting, a head might follow, either on the board or as part of weekly shopping events.

 

@Elise Banx

So you don't want to be criticised for posting your "personal" opinion, but you're fine with telling off others who do the same? ... Oooookay.

[Axel Naxos]

The subject is the body!
Which by the way my brother loved and left the default avatar after more than 10 years!
It was updated, which is important, as it demonstrates the creator's attention.
Who wants to enjoy SL, does not have time to be beautifying, adjusting here and there for hours, wants to log in and live!
BOM brought the facility back, and Altamura did well to bring us this avatar with his head, very good!
I would give 5 stars if it was effectively free, but I keep the 4.9.

Edited July 21, 2020 by Axel Naxos
translate

[Vanity Fair]

I think that this is a real bargain, and it is (to my knowledge) the first time that Altamura has made a body that is Bakes on Mesh compatible WITHOUT having to buy and use the Omega system kit for Altamura. Here is a look using one of the skins from the dollarbie set on the SL Marketplace from Sweet's. The lips don't bother me much, and I noticed that the hands problems mentioned earlier in this thread seems to be fixed now. 

 

[Lillith Hapmouche]

21 minutes ago, Axel Naxos said:

The subject is the body!

No one forced you to bring in your unrelated "personal experience".

22 minutes ago, Axel Naxos said:

Really some boring LL rules I don't stick to, I forget. 

🤥

[Ajay McDowwll]

7 minutes ago, Vanity Fair said:

I think that this is a real bargain, and it is (to my knowledge) the first time that Altamura has made a body that is Bakes on Mesh compatible WITHOUT having to buy and use the Omega system kit for Altamura. Here is a look using one of the skins from the dollarbie set on the SL Marketplace from Sweet's. The lips don't bother me much, and I noticed that the hands problems mentioned earlier in this thread seems to be fixed now.

That looks great   I still can't unsee the nipple distortion, but the skin and shape combo look good.

I mean, I don't have a dog in this fight.  It's good to see something for male avatars being offered for free; there is really too little for them available. 

It won't replace the body and head my husband and his alt have, but for newcomers and others who would like it, it's a viable option, assuming they know it exists/ how to join groups.  The fact that BOM is built-in is excellent.

Edited July 21, 2020 by Ajay McDowwll