LaraX?

[Zallia Creeley]

43 minutes ago, Dafadilia Wayfarer said:

I apologize if this sounds grumpy. Rereading it made the tone sound like that. To me at least. It wasn't meant to sound snarky. Eek!

It didn't, at least to me.

It makes complete sense, and I don't get early on why creators are dumping 5.3, unless they just didn't see the sales numbers. I wonder what affect, if any, Reborn being the current body of the year for bloggers has on sales. In a year, dropping 5.3 I can see.

But it's a new body and folks can't just change without the wardrobe in place. And moving away from what is likely a decade or more of clothes can't be done overnight. 

It's not cheap either. $25 in clothes for a few fat packs gets into real money fast, and may be there for most poeple already.

Edit: and with the included deformers, it's possible to wear 5.3 stuff on Legacy, which helps me out a lot.

Edited March 27 by Zallia Creeley

[Anna Salyx]

On 3/26/2024 at 7:47 AM, Zallia Creeley said:

How are folks doing with moving to LaraX?

This week I am going to dump another $25 into SL for the weekend sales.

I still haven't worn the body much while I wait for my inventory to catch up.

I'm wearing the LaraX line almost exclusively these days.  There has been enough updates on existing core items for me, and enough new items coming on the market that i don't feel like it's been a struggle to have outfits. 

I also made a quick body changer to quickly swap between the 4 different bodies (OG Lara and Lara X, plus petite versions) along with the other bodies I occasionally wear that it's pretty much seamless to use different bodies while maintaining a given look for the day. It's RLV based in that I'm not big on outfits, and this is for me better than an outfits based changer.

 

 

13 minutes ago, Zallia Creeley said:

 I don't get early on why creators are dumping 5.3, unless they just didn't see the sales numbers.

Objectively, from what I've been hearing it's somewhat easier to make cloths for LaraX than it was/is for OG Lara. Add that since the OG Lara users get Lara X for free, and new users to the Maitreya line get OG Lara for free when buying LaraX for the first time, it makes a modicum of sense to just fully switch which body they are making for -- their customers doesn't have to drop extra money on the body itself, it's just there.

Couple that with the fact that there is only so many hours in the day and a fair number of bodies to make for as it is, it doesn't really make sense to do double the work to make for both LaraX and OG Lara at the same time when the customer will have access both bodies. It's a no brainier, IMO: drop OG and pick up X since X is an easier creation.

[Orwar]

On 3/27/2024 at 12:20 PM, Kathlen Onyx said:

Oh! How did I miss that they updated it. I'll go get it now and see if I like it better. I do like a round butt! Thanks Orwar!

   I just went to peek around a little and this reminded me of your comment ..

   Seems a lot of people missed it! 

   Honestly it feels as if there isn't really any good way to keep people updated on these things. Group notices often fail to deliver, and requires a group slot which to many is a limited resource. Subscribers aren't at all very well liked (mostly because of how much they're used for unsolicited spam). And being in thirty-eleven different Discord groups for brands just to stay in the know sounds like a nightmare. 

   Auto-re-deliveries when wearing an outdated version kind of works, although I do get annoyed when I'm being sent stuff just as I'm logging in.

[Zallia Creeley]

13 hours ago, Anna Salyx said:

It's a no brainier, IMO: drop OG and pick up X since X is an easier creation.

Fair point, it just seemed a little abrupt. I can see later this summer or so, but I think it is going to take a while for folks to transition.

If they even do. Heck, there are a lot of 5.1 bodies still out there.

[AmeliaJ08]

37 minutes ago, Orwar said:

   I just went to peek around a little and this reminded me of your comment ..

   Seems a lot of people missed it! 

   Honestly it feels as if there isn't really any good way to keep people updated on these things. Group notices often fail to deliver, and requires a group slot which to many is a limited resource. Subscribers aren't at all very well liked (mostly because of how much they're used for unsolicited spam). And being in thirty-eleven different Discord groups for brands just to stay in the know sounds like a nightmare. 

   Auto-re-deliveries when wearing an outdated version kind of works, although I do get annoyed when I'm being sent stuff just as I'm logging in.

Since web HUDs are all the rage apparently why not just have an "Update is available" panel in the HUD if someone is using an outdated version? avoids having to spam them with anything and as you say most people just clicky clicky close all the mess of windows that appear when they log in anyway.

Of course this is about the extent to which I think web based HUDs should be used, awful things otherwise. I just think it might be a good way of delivering a message to convey useful update information about the product

[Trinity Blakewell]

15 hours ago, Dafadilia Wayfarer said:

Many of my favorite fantasy creators have ignored LaraX or have made it clear they will be creating for both.

There's a significant number of fantasy/scifi style creators that are not rigging for any Maitreya body. Go to a Cyberpunk, Anime, or Asian-themed event and see how many creators are focused on just Legacy and EBody.

[JeromFranzic]

24 minutes ago, Trinity Blakewell said:

There's a significant number of fantasy/scifi style creators that are not rigging for any Maitreya body. Go to a Cyberpunk, Anime, or Asian-themed event and see how many creators are focused on just Legacy and EBody.

Yep... this is partly piquing my interest in those bodies TBH. At least if I can find stuff that fits the free TMP I'd be good for a while. That + the Bladencat HUME, which is rigged like a female Legacy body. 

[Kathlen Onyx]

I got the new update and am very pleased with the way they fixed the dimples.

Question: Do I need to use a skin specifically made for Lara X or can I use the one that I have for 5.3.  

I'm using the Picasso Babe Skin for Maitreya 5.3 (SLIM/CHANTILLY) S

Also the shape is different when I switch. I assume I'll need to tweak the shape on Lara X to get it to look the way I want it to?

[Orwar]

3 minutes ago, Kathlen Onyx said:

Question: Do I need to use a skin specifically made for Lara X or can I use the one that I have for 5.3.

   There's no changes to the UVs, so you shouldn't need any new skin. However, since the shape is slightly different, the skin may appear a little different as well; it's ultimately a question of whether you yourself feel that the skin doesn't look right with the new shape.

4 minutes ago, Kathlen Onyx said:

Also the shape is different when I switch. I assume I'll need to tweak the shape on Lara X to get it to look the way I want it to?

   When switching between Lara 5.3 and LaraX, or LaraX 1.0 and LaraX 1.1? 

[Kathlen Onyx]

1 hour ago, Orwar said:

     When switching between Lara 5.3 and LaraX, or LaraX 1.0 and LaraX 1.1? 

between Lara 5.3 and  LaraX 1.1

[Orwar]

12 minutes ago, Kathlen Onyx said:

between Lara 5.3 and  LaraX 1.1

   Ah. Well, there are some small differences, but whether you feel you need to adjust the shape is up to your own preferences. If you line up your avi and use the same camera position and take a picture in both bodies and then compare them you'll be able to see which areas change and may need some attention.

[Cougar Sangria]

1 hour ago, Orwar said:

   Ah. Well, there are some small differences, but whether you feel you need to adjust the shape is up to your own preferences. If you line up your avi and use the same camera position and take a picture in both bodies and then compare them you'll be able to see which areas change and may need some attention.

You can also make copies of both bodies, tint one so you can see the difference, and then wear both bodies. This way you can see what is different and correct any areas that need it.  I redid my 5.3 shape and now wear it with LaraX as well. I am happy with the look, and I switch between both bodies. I have a massive closet for 5.3. No way am I trashing it. But from now on, I will only buy LaraX unless I see something I must have for 5.3. It's the best of both worlds.  

[Anna Salyx]

4 hours ago, Zallia Creeley said:

Fair point, it just seemed a little abrupt. I can see later this summer or so, but I think it is going to take a while for folks to transition.

If they even do. Heck, there are a lot of 5.1 bodies still out there.

I fall back to the point that Maitreya didn't make people buy the new body; it was freely given to everyone who already had 5.x*, with  the only cost being a little bit of time**.  It's now the body being sold at the store, with the previous body included in the sales box for backward compatibility with the vast collection of products already existing on the market.  There was no real, compelling, reason (IMO) for designers who wished to not make an abrupt change. For the most part is was/is a fairly risk free decision. 

and speaking of v4.1, it's presence is still felt daily on the grid albeit minimally.  I sincerely doubt that new clothes are being made for it though.

-----

*maybe even 4.1, but i don't know about that and I could be wrong.

**I will freely admit that time is not a wholly free commodity regardless of how some might categorize slices of it. But for the purposes of my point here, it can be considered as such in that the expenditure of it alone is needed and is fully independent of an actual monetary cost.

[Ayashe Ninetails]

On 3/26/2024 at 8:47 AM, Zallia Creeley said:

How are folks doing with moving to LaraX?

Still not seeing a compelling reason to switch yet. I have maybe 2-3 items with X sizing. Couple reasons for that:

1) I avoid buying clothing at events and steer clear of new releases entirely - whatever's currently "in" has never, ever been my style. I don't need to air out the girls, ya know? Everything I see in Lara X is stuff I wouldn't be caught dead in for one reason or another. I mostly buy from OG designers who tend to be a bit more on the slower release schedule/higher-end product side and avoid those on the fast fashion "girls out/skirts up" train, and I'm seeing a LOT of that in the X new releases groups and galleries on Flickr. The stuff I come across that is not that - still not at all my style.

2) Creator adoption is very sporadic. I can teleport to a shop that's been in business for well over a decade and has a massive inventory and find, what...3 new items rigged for X at best, but 3489283192387123 items rigged for 5.3. It'll take them years to balance that out and many are not updating older releases (understandably!), which are mostly what I'm interested in. What I'm generally seeing is a mix, where creators are releasing both for 5.3 and X, or going back to update some older popular releases for weekend sales, which is fine - I'd buy those on occasion. At that pace, I might be able to swap bodies in 4 years. 😂

3) Mod support is meh. Some big mods got an X update, like AP Feety Peets and Petrichor's Valenne mermaid tail. Other popular mods, like the Aii Riptide don't seem to be updated and not sure they will be, as Aii's new releases now exclude Maitreya entirely. My own tail won't be updated as Cynefin left SL entirely before X released. Other, lesser known mods that replace limbs or the torso - no updates and I rely on some of these for entire avatars, like my skeletal lich.

Chest mod support is also looking rather grim. Not that I've been looking too hard yet, but I've only seen one outfit for Flat X, and V-Tech broke off from Maitreya entirely, which led a bunch of flat mod-supporting stores to follow suit, so I'll likely need a whole new body for non-binary fashion eventually (leaning toward Anatomy for the male/female neck options and good community support).

4) I looooove digging around for older (and sometimes newer) gachas for styling my fantasy outfits and have some favorite go-to stores for this. They're usually Lara or Lara/Legacy exclusive outfits/items/mods/accessories and there's almost no chance those will be updated.

Soooo...long story short - maybe one day if I don't break down and buy Legacy and Anatomy first? 

Edited March 28 by Ayashe Ninetails
Grammaring

[Zallia Creeley]

1 hour ago, Anna Salyx said:

I fall back to the point that Maitreya didn't make people buy the new body; it was freely given to everyone who already had 5.x*, with  the only cost being a little bit of time**.  It's now the body being sold at the store, with the previous body included in the sales box for backward compatibility with the vast collection of products already existing on the market.  There was no real, compelling, reason (IMO) for designers who wished to not make an abrupt change. For the most part is was/is a fairly risk free decision. 

That's a fair point, and creators will make their decisions based off their own numbers. What I am curious as an aside, is how well Maitreya clothing sales stack up against other bodies? Does Maitreya's large install base translate to a large amount of sales, or do folks who use a body like Reborn also tend to spend more? As you said, Maitreya could take their toys home and there would still be no end of already existing content. Folks who don't want to move to LaraX certainly aren't going to run out of things to buy.

29 minutes ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

1) I avoid buying clothing at events and steer clear of new releases entirely - whatever's currently "in" has never, ever been my style. I don't need to air out the girls, ya know?

I am mostly like this. I tend to dress soccer mom, but depending on the venue I might show something off. What I need are a lot of jeans, tank tops, etc. I tend to dress like I'd go out in RL public.

30 minutes ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

Soooo...long story short - maybe one day if I don't break down and buy Legacy and Anatomy first? 

I am waging an inner battle to switch to Reborn, but I do like Legacy with deformers can wear 5.3 items.

I do like challenges so once I get more clothes I'll see how long I can go on LaraX.

[Orwar]

59 minutes ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

Petrichor's Valenne mermaid tail.

   The whatnow? Ooh, I didn't know they made one .. Looks at the very dusty Nemissa tail that didn't get very much mileage at all .. I'm going to have to look into it!

[Ayashe Ninetails]

1 hour ago, Zallia Creeley said:

I am mostly like this. I tend to dress soccer mom, but depending on the venue I might show something off. What I need are a lot of jeans, tank tops, etc. I tend to dress like I'd go out in RL public.

I like a mix of styles depending on my mood and the avatar it's for. I'll jump from vintage 1940s to non-binary/unisex outfits to goth formal wear to futuristic couture to stuffing Lara into menswear to slapping a chandelier on my head I don't even care, LOL. But yes, I generally like tasteful yet outlandish styles of dress, mostly. Björk is one of my style icons, so you can see where this is going, lol.

 

1 hour ago, Orwar said:

   The whatnow? Ooh, I didn't know they made one .. Looks at the very dusty Nemissa tail that didn't get very much mileage at all .. I'm going to have to look into it!

Those are the new sizes added and they already have a bunch of sizes they support.

I honestly don't like that tail at all (or Aii's, really). It looks and feels very much like a mod, LOL, if that makes sense. Like you're wearing some kind of silicone mer-cozy - kind of like what professional real world mermaid performers use. I'm staying a Nemissa gal until something else comes along.

If you do like it, though, you can get overlays from all the usual spots - Zen Child Designs, Krature, Misteria, etc.

[Ceka Cianci]

On 3/27/2024 at 2:49 AM, Kathlen Onyx said:

Interesting that you should say that. IF they had named it a new body and released it do you think that as many of the creators would have stopped rigging for Maitreya 5.3?

I just think it's the nature of the beast.. There is always a split in the market when a new body comes into play..I don't think a name would have made any difference really.. I was pretty much just being playful when I said that.. hehehe

They knew they would split their own market putting out a new body.. Some are just creating for the new one, some are creating for both and I'm sure some aren't taking on the new bodies.

Wearers were asking for fixes and creators were as well..

Maitreya is still supporting the older versions and have no plans to not support them.. So we might lose some creators with the older versions, but we're not gonna lose them all.. And it's not like the older bodies don't have enough content already.. They have more content than any other body on the grid.. Let alone High quality content as well..

So I don't think the older bodies are gonna be hurting in that department.. You can pretty much find what you are looking for in everything.. In fact the older bodies have things made for them that the newer ones will probably never see, since many don't make those things anymore..

As far as differences in the bodies, there are, but you really have to get in the areas where the older body starts to fail in the sliders to really notice them.. Plus have to really know what those flaws were..

I made an image awhile back that kind of gives an idea of what I'm meaning..

These are all from the same camera angles and in the same shape.. just me switching bodies.

 

 

 

Edited March 29 by Ceka Cianci

[Ceka Cianci]

22 hours ago, Kathlen Onyx said:

I got the new update and am very pleased with the way they fixed the dimples.

Question: Do I need to use a skin specifically made for Lara X or can I use the one that I have for 5.3.  

I'm using the Picasso Babe Skin for Maitreya 5.3 (SLIM/CHANTILLY) S

Also the shape is different when I switch. I assume I'll need to tweak the shape on Lara X to get it to look the way I want it to?

I will say when I demoed the Picasso Maitreya v5.3 skins, because they didn't have the lara x demo in them yet. I kind of notice the shine in the tummy, hips and thigh area in the front  kind of rounding out  to where it felt like the edge of a black hole around my V area..

It felt kind of strange the way the lines moved around that whole area.. I think it's because of that whole area being reworked in the newer bodies..

I kind of had the same problem with my Itgirls Queen line skins for the maitrey v5.3.. But luckily I had the reborn version of the Queen line as well and that worked perfect on my Lara X..

I haven't tried the Lara X version of the Picasso to know if there is a difference in how the shine works  in that version.. I'm just going by what I have tried so far.. I should give the demo a try now since they probably have a Lara X version in there by now..

It's strange that they didn't have a Lara X version at first, Since Velour was the one that blabbed first with the Picasso line about a new Maitreya body coming soon that got us all worked up in the first place last summer.. LOL

Edited March 29 by Ceka Cianci

[Always Incognito]

I switched asap to the new body when it was available. I kept clothes that fit (a lot actually) from the old body. Then getting as many gifts and event stuff as possible. Not used the old body once since i got the new one. Just pull the plaster fast and it hurts less 😌🩹❤️‍🩹

[Robin Kiyori]

On 3/28/2024 at 6:07 PM, Ayashe Ninetails said:

Chest mod support is also looking rather grim. Not that I've been looking too hard yet, but I've only seen one outfit for Flat X, and V-Tech broke off from Maitreya entirely, which led a bunch of flat mod-supporting stores to follow suit, so I'll likely need a whole new body for non-binary fashion eventually (leaning toward Anatomy for the male/female neck options and good community support).

Yeah it's very grim out there. I'm debating a switch myself but the fear:tm: of changing and having to rebuild wardrobes is scaring me off. I've seen exactly one whole outfit  were the top is for  FlatX.

Edited March 31 by Robin Kiyori

[AmeliaJ08]

Yeah where is all the Flat X stuff?

I see plenty of Petite X, I assume every person with the Lara X devkit also got Petite X which would explain why there seems to a Petite X version of everything which is a significant improvement from 5.3 Petite but... not seen any Flat X stuff. I know the release was bungled a little by being late and missing the fanfare but still, what gives? it seems to me to be the best flat chest body available that addresses many shortcomings of previously moderately-successful mods like Vtech etc.

I assume the answer has to be the age old one unfortunately... dev kit isn't in peoples hands?

 

Edited April 1 by AmeliaJ08

[steeljane42]

4 minutes ago, AmeliaJ08 said:

I assume the answer has to be the age old one unfortunately... dev kit isn't in peoples hands?

The answer is this:

#14 : Maitreya - Lara X : 7194 : 1.3%

#44 : Maitreya - Lara X Petite Body : 890 : 0.1%

#298 : Maitreya - Lara X Flat Body : 41 : <0.1%

Same "picture" with daily stats by bonnies. If anyone makes any for this mod/body right now they probably do only because they use/like it themselves, from commercial perspective it's a giant waste of time.

 

[Ayashe Ninetails]

53 minutes ago, AmeliaJ08 said:

I assume the answer has to be the age old one unfortunately... dev kit isn't in peoples hands?

It's always been a very small market. You're talking about people who are either trying to fit Maitreya into menswear made for male bodies, wear unisex fashion (same item comes in male and female body sizes with chest support for those of us in the middle - AsteroidBox does this often), are non-binary, are trans, wear drag fashion and want access to Maitreya's large wardrobe, etc. We're a tiny group compared to the "girls out/skirts up" fashion market. 

There are a handful of stores who serve this market, but that list recently shrunk after Maitreya and V-Tech parted ways. Stores who followed V-Tech currently seem to make for Legacy and Reborn's V-Tech chest and maybe Kupra Kups (an even smaller segment wear that one). No more Maitreya at all.

Some happy news - I did see that Mug appears to be working with LaraX Flat now, but they did not re-adopt our V-Tech for obvious reasons. I dunno how to feel about that as I much prefer V-Tech over Lara Flat (skins just work more reliably - Lara Flat had nip placement issues for a bit with male skins), but that's something, at least. Mug's a super important creator in the market given how many options their clothing offers.

[AmeliaJ08]

3 hours ago, steeljane42 said:

The answer is this:

#14 : Maitreya - Lara X : 7194 : 1.3%

#44 : Maitreya - Lara X Petite Body : 890 : 0.1%

#298 : Maitreya - Lara X Flat Body : 41 : <0.1%

Same "picture" with daily stats by bonnies. If anyone makes any for this mod/body right now they probably do only because they use/like it themselves, from commercial perspective it's a giant waste of time.

 

Sure but 5.3 Flat got more support than this even if it was in a bit of a losing war with V-Tech, it's never going to be mass market due to being so niche but equally nobody is going to be wearing a body there is no clothes for. There's maybe 2 items on the whole of marketplace last time I looked.

5.3 Flat had some big issues IMO but Flat X is remarkably good!

 

 

Edited April 1 by AmeliaJ08