Do I HAVE to transition to BOM?

[Joy Larkspur]

I took a hiatus from SL for about a year and recently i went to a shopping event and there were no tattoo appliers for Catwa mesh heads? With new products that are being offered, is there a way to apply skins and tattoos without transitioning to BOM? I spent alot of time and $ transitioning to mesh, finding the skin i wanted. I personally don't wish to use old tattoos and clothes. The resolution in mesh products far exceeds the look of older textures and clothes. Maybe it's just my perception of this. Sorry for my ignorance on this subject. Any assistance in how to use these new products without using BOM? My apologies if i posted this question in the wrong section in forums.

Edited November 9, 2021 by Joy Larkspur

[PixelBerry]

• Bom does not replace mesh clothes, bom stockings, pantyhose and underwear is optional.
• Bom is not lower quality than applier skins, it's the same quality, however bom is more superior as you can layer a lot of makeup, skin details and tattoos without any alpha glitches.
• Bom has taken over applier skins, so you will most likely not find any new applier skins, especially for catwa or genus, Lelutka evolution x has taken pretty much over it all.
• HQ lipsticks and eyeshadows are still appliers.
• Lelutka evolution x heads have a different and a better uv than other heads, and that is why that has taken over the market.
• You can still use applier tattoos with bom skins as long as your body still got an onion layer to use for appliers.

Bom is way better and superior to appliers, catwa doesn't get support, well at least not much anymore, so it's better in the long run to get a lelutka x head.

But you absolutely do not have to do any of this, you will just have to expect that there will be no new applier skins, or much skins really for the catwa heads.

[Alwin Alcott]

53 minutes ago, PixelBerry said:

Bom is way better and superior to appliers

please explain why it is better, because in my opinion it's only better because it lowers complexity, in ány other meaning it's not better át áll ..only a different way to wear bodytextures..
The only way to see high def. details is when you'r sniffing somebodies face from close, is thát really "way better" ?... it's mainly hype and oh new.. i must have it.

You can use BOM for your body and still all Catwa appliers, you also can buy the hdpro heads from Catwa, those dó use BOM, don't picture it like it's only applier for them, they'r around since 2020.

Edited November 9, 2021 by Alwin Alcott

[PixelBerry]

57 minutes ago, Alwin Alcott said:

please explain why it is better, because in my opinion it's only better because it lowers complexity, in ány other meaning it's not better át áll ..only a different way to wear bodytextures..
The only way to see high def. details is when you'r sniffing somebodies face from close, is thát really "way better" ?... it's mainly hype and oh new.. i must have it.

You can use BOM for your body and still all Catwa appliers, you also can buy the hdpro heads from Catwa, those dó use BOM, don't picture it like it's only applier for them, they'r around since 2020.

You seem to have already formed an opinion on bom, so I'm not going to try and change that, I have no interest in shoving bom down someone's throat.

Bom in my opinion is better because just like you said, that way we don't need onion layers, lowering complexity. But with bom you can also layer a ton of tattoos, skin details, blushes, makeup and what not, merging it into one, like you couldn't and can't with appliers. Which means a lot for people who love to customize their avatar's fully, no more tattoos glitching with your stockings for example, or being limited to one tattoo or some other kind of applier.

I never said that bom is higher quality texture size wise, it is the same size as applier textures. Only with lelutka evolution x can it appear slightly more high quality looking because they changed up the uv, giving the face a bigger space on the uv, but it is still the same texture size as a regular linden lab uv.

And yeah you can still wear a bom body skin and wear a catwa face applier for example, but at that point it's just easier to wear full on bom if possible. You can also buy a catwa hdpro if you want to or a genus head, but it is pretty obvious that they don't get as much support as lelutka does, which is why I'm not going to suggest it to most.

What you and other do, is not up to me and I couldn't care less what people do with their own avatar, just have fun and do whatever you like.

 

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by PixelBerry

[Rowan Amore]

BOM is also nice in that you can save makeup looks.  Before, when saving an outfit,  you would need to also add any makeup/tattoo/hairbase/etc, HUDs, to that outfit before saving.  Now, each BOM layer is saved with the outfit.  You can also easily find it in your inventory as it's a worn item.  Quite handy.

Edited November 9, 2021 by Rowan Amore

[Joy Larkspur]

16 hours ago, Alwin Alcott said:

You can use BOM for your body and still all Catwa appliers, you also can buy the hdpro heads from Catwa, those dó use BOM

It would be nice if i didn't have to invest in another head. I heard there were free upgrades/updates for some?

[Joy Larkspur]

15 hours ago, PixelBerry said:

 

 

 

 

 

17 hours ago, PixelBerry said:

• Bom does not replace mesh clothes, bom stockings, pantyhose and underwear is optional.
• Bom is not lower quality than applier skins, it's the same quality, however bom is more superior as you can layer a lot of makeup, skin details and tattoos without any alpha glitches.
• Bom has taken over applier skins, so you will most likely not find any new applier skins, especially for catwa or genus, Lelutka evolution x has taken pretty much over it all.
• HQ lipsticks and eyeshadows are still appliers.
• Lelutka evolution x heads have a different and a better uv than other heads, and that is why that has taken over the market.
• You can still use applier tattoos with bom skins as long as your body still got an onion layer to use for appliers.

Bom is way better and superior to appliers, catwa doesn't get support, well at least not much anymore, so it's better in the long run to get a lelutka x head.

But you absolutely do not have to do any of this, you will just have to expect that there will be no new applier skins, or much skins really for the catwa heads.

Ok thank you for your response.

Edited November 10, 2021 by Joy Larkspur

[Joy Larkspur]

Ugh struggling with responses. Sorry for duplicate quotes. Thanks everyone for response. I just don't know if i want to invest time and potentially money in moving to BOM. I'm on so little nowadays. Thanks!

[Coffee Pancake]

BoM is well worth the hassle switching.

Just being able to kiss appliers goodbye and go back to wearing a regular skin and tattoos and alphas has been a amazing experience that has greatly simplified dress up. 

At the time I switched I was able to get a BoM update to my body and head, and updates to some of the applier stuff I had previously bought. I also was able to resurect a whole ton of archived content that I had given up being able to use from before the switch to mesh.

I have since spent money on a different BoM only body and new skins and will only buy BoM compatible stuff going forward.

Refreshing your avatar is a great way to get back into SL.

[Rowan Amore]

1 hour ago, Joy Larkspur said:

Ugh struggling with responses. Sorry for duplicate quotes. Thanks everyone for response. I just don't know if i want to invest time and potentially money in moving to BOM. I'm on so little nowadays. Thanks!

You can also see if your Catwa head is updateable so may not need to spend any more money.  Just grab an update and see.

All Female Bento Heads v4.5 Update December 2019:
-Added Bom button on skins tab.
 

[Kytteh Wytchwood]

23 hours ago, Joy Larkspur said:

The resolution in mesh products far exceeds the look of older textures

These new Bom textures are mapped differently, for each head and body, for skins and cosmetics. I tried using an old skin that was created for classic, and it didn't line up in the face nor body, as the mesh has a different layout than the system avatar.

Lelutka did create a different uv map to give highly detailed sharp textures. Their resolution siuze for this uv map is 2048 by 2048 at 150 ppi.

SL will reduce this size to 1024 by 1024 and most likely the ppi will reduce to 72.

If you begin with 72 ppi on any uv map, it is going to greatly distort your design on the texture.

For materials, creators will provide appliers to layer over the bom tattoos.

Yes, many stores do offer free updates to bom layers.

If you are a fan of The Skinnery skin store, the store gives you bom layers for the body and cosmetic add-ons, by getting a redelivery.

I'm sure there are plenty of heads and bodies that still have the applier system.

Linden Lab is the one who decided to use this system to reduce the lag on the SL main grid.

You can also send in a ticket to them, filed under technical questions, and ask them more about bom and appliers.

[Rowan Amore]

11 hours ago, Kytteh Wytchwood said:

as the mesh has a different layout than the system avatar.

Most mesh bodies use the same SLUV as the classic SL body.  Slink is coming out with a new body that will use it's own UV map just as Lelutka has done with their heads.  They don't line up correctly because they are old.  Just look at the nails.  They fit, just not very well.  

 

[DeepBlueJoy]

On 11/8/2021 at 11:21 PM, Joy Larkspur said:

I took a hiatus from SL for about a year and recently i went to a shopping event and there were no tattoo appliers for Catwa mesh heads? With new products that are being offered, is there a way to apply skins and tattoos without transitioning to BOM? I spent alot of time and $ transitioning to mesh, finding the skin i wanted. I personally don't wish to use old tattoos and clothes. The resolution in mesh products far exceeds the look of older textures and clothes. Maybe it's just my perception of this. Sorry for my ignorance on this subject. Any assistance in how to use these new products without using BOM? My apologies if i posted this question in the wrong section in forums.

I won't fully address the how as others seem to have done that (the basics is below).  Don't feel bad about ignorance.  SL is change.  There's always something new and confusing.

* I will simply say this. If you're happy with how you look, there's no reason to change. Don't let snobby people bully you. 

* If you have a whole wardrobe of applier based clothing, you may not want to go to BOM.  Not all of them have made BOM layers and some never will.  Some people really have favorite 'applier layer' clothes and make up and not all of it can be replaced.

You won't be able to wear BOM layer clothing on your non-BOM body, but you can keep wearing what you have on the body you have.

There are still people in SL wearing their original system skins (not BOM, not mesh). So do what YOU want!

Your reason for being in SL is YOUR reason. If you like applier clothing or if you have skin appliers you prefer and a look you like, you can keep wearing appliers as long as you have a compatible body/head that can use them. 

OPTION 'KEEP APPLIERS:

You can still buy older 'applier' (omega) based skins at places like LAQ in their discount section (which is upstairs of their store). As far as I am aware, you can still buy the omega relay for your particular body type (Slink, Maitreya, Belleza, etc.) on MP. 

OPTION 'BOM':

In those applier skin boxes, there's also a system skin (usually in a single shade) which you can use to see if you like BOM.  In most cases it's as simple as turning on BOM on newer bodies or heads... some heads/bodies offer a BOM 'applier' that you click on just like any other applier.  After you do this, your body will turn red, and you will know you have successfully converted to BOM.  (then you will need to remove your alpha layer that hid your body and head and your mesh body will now be wearing whatever base skin you have on (system or BOM) 

After you turn on BOM, you simply wear a system skin or a BOM skin and/or a tattoo layer based skin (in inventory, skins look 'skin shaped' and tattoos are usually little red blobby things).

Bottom line: If you are going to want to change your look, you will need to buy BOM skins for use with newer BOM items. 

Note: if you buy a newer head, your older BOM or system skin may not map correctly to the head... so, beware of that.

 

Nostalgia Option:

Finally, if you have some clothing that is applier based, or make up that is applier based, you can still keep 'outfits' of your old body set up as it was even if you go to BOM.  That way, anytime you want to wear a special look that doesn't exist in BOM, you have your old body for that, already set up the way you like it.  I find saving outfits is really helpful with this.  I can find my original (or early days, anyway) avatar from when I first joined SL... In my case, I mostly looked like a dork, but I can still wear this anytime.  Since most of my early days were system, i have updated a lot of those old outfits that i loved to BOM and can now wear my old gowns again!

[MillyWH]

There are a lot of benefits to BOM. And a lot of places are doing BOM instead of appliers and even though make up or skins are optimized for certain heads with BOM you  can wear it with different ones. The fit might not be great but I've found some work really well.

 

AND you can do things like add body marks or imperfections and tattoos and all kinds of things. Do you want to have freckles and tattoos and things  you can add those in and don't have to worry about glitching with alpha layers or limits. Or if you like a skin but don't like the high lights or contouring you can add fixes to take them off.

 

Another nice thing is if you save outfits and have BOM skin or make up you don't have to save the appliers because the layers will be saved on the outfit. 

 

AND many skin creators did do updates for skins for BOM so there maybe an update you can get for the skins you already have.  AND you can use your applier make up and tattoos with BOM skin (but not BOM tattoos with an applier skin because of the alpha layer needed for the applier).

 

However if you don't want to do BOM you don't have to. But it's not that hard to get some free skins and make ups and such and play around with it and see if you like it. If you want help I would be glad to , you can message me in world (millywh). I've helped a lot of people with trying BOM out and did a lot of step by step walking through and I have a lot of different bodies and heads (or at least have read enough) that it won't matter what you have I can help walk you through it.

 

I do suggest that you get updates for your body and head though from the creators just because there are some slight changes that have been made to some of the bodies that will make it easier with the updates.