New Genus heads are out - what do you think?

[Firefly Veeper]

I finally abandoned my Genus head for a Lelutka head because I thought Genus was dead.  I am happy to see they are actually trying to update.  Personally, I never liked Lelutka as much...there is a sameness about all the Lelutka heads and faces no matter which head or skin you wear.  Genus built unique facial features into the mesh which  is refreshing to see something that resembles RL faces.  Bumps in the nose, bolder jawlines, different eyelids,  Genus has always been higher resolution than most other heads.  They photograph so much better.  Don't mistake...my alt wears Lelutka and its lovely but I prefer a more unique face one that skin alone cannot achieve.

As for how long it took to update, Updates on quality heads take time, even remapping takes time.  If you want a quality look you cannot just dash it out in 15 minutes.  You have to actually spend time on it.

I agree the tinting feature is tricky but mostly because I click too quickly and don't really pay attention to what is already activated so I have ended up with Pink eyelashes or black lips. but its an easy fix and the responsibility is mine to pay attention to what I am doing.  To be fair the Lelutka tinting is not that great either you still have to be careful what you are doing or you will make a mess of it.  If I look at the Lelutka tinting and the Genus tinting side by side they are actually kind of similar.

For me, I am glad Genus is trying to come back.  They face some obstacles but hopefully they have the grit to dig in and work through it.

No Ill  feelngs for any of the heads, there is beauty in all of them and having Genus  offers all of  us more options and variety.   I just hope they hang in there and work to make it better.  Give me a bumpy nose and strong jaw anyday.    There is beauty in imperfection!

 

[aAlliAa]

On 8/20/2023 at 9:58 PM, Stephanie Misfit said:

I still hate how they do the HUD, specifically the tinting. I try to tint one thing, I end up tinting another. Does anyone else have problems with this or is it just me?

Other than that, I am impressed with what they have done. I was a Genus W001 wearer, though I had several other heads too. I will be trying to replicate my old look as soon as skins become available.

 

on the color picker tab (5th tab down ) only HIGHLIGHT  the layer you want to tint, if you have other layers still Highlighted, they will tint to.  if you do tint by mistake, simply click a white texture box below the colorful tint board and narrow contrast slider . , if you have anymore concerns, please let me know, I will be happy to help    

HIGHLIGHT = ACTIVE TO TINT 

[Laylah Yaseotoko]

The amount of money I am into Lelutka now makes it not feasible to return to genus. So I title it too little too late.

[AmeliaJ08]

1 hour ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

Lel has far too many moods to run all at once

Lel's animation engine also frequently just seems to stop dead, I think it's the low priority of the animations it uses but then it never seems to recover either. So not to say Lel have got this perfect either!

 

[Ayashe Ninetails]

7 minutes ago, AmeliaJ08 said:

Lel's animation engine also frequently just seems to stop dead, I think it's the low priority of the animations it uses but then it never seems to recover either. So not to say Lel have got this perfect either!

It's true. My best animated, most expressive heads come from Catwa and furry creators. It is so hard for me to switch away from them for daily use.

[Blaise Glendevon]

My Genus head isn't due for updates until tomorrow (Genus Strange W002), but it was my daily driver for a while. It's such a fun look, especially with the crooked nose. So, I polished up the shape a little to match with my current body shape and picked up a new (to me) skin from Amara Beauty - Shelly, from their clearance room, is $L 350 for the fatpack. I'm posed so the neck seam doesn't show, because vanity. The cosmetics are from my extant stash, Cazimi and IDTTY. Buzzeri BOM eyes. Can't wait to play with the new features, though. In lieu of the on-board animations I'm using the Vista Animations Facial Bento Hud. 

[Persephone Emerald]

6 hours ago, AmeliaJ08 said:

Thanks. I'm a bit confused how 'K' has come to be so misused like this.

As you say, this is 4MP. We're surely all comfortable with megapixels since the 90s so not sure why I see 'K' so frequently misused in the 2020s, possibly something to do with it being slapped on a sticker on every fancy TV etc?

For what it's worth as far as quality though I can definitely see the difference in the example pictures shown. The thing is though: you will only notice this when very close to someone, if you're feet away or your camera is in the normal position behind your own avatar you're not going to notice a thing.

I think 1K is used to mean 1024 pixels per square inch?, so 2K is used to mean 2048 pixels, much as is done with the resolution on TVs. 

What we're actually getting with these higher definition skins is then twice the detail of a normal 1024 resolution, which is really only noticable for close up photography. If the skin makers are smart and care about their customers' SL experience, they should include at least a normal 1024 resolution skin, then a 4 x 1024 resolution version for those who want to pay extra for the extra work it takes them to make these "4K" (actually 2K) skins. (I don't see the value of trying to upload a 2048 texture when SL is just going to compress it to 1024.)

Edited August 24, 2023 by Persephone Emerald
I don't know what the "per" refers to in SL

[Alessandra Corvinus]

On 8/22/2023 at 1:36 PM, Trinity Blakewell said:

Getting back to discussion of the heads themselves...

This is just my first impression with the Babyface update and YMMV. I will be testing the original head next.

While there are a number of things I like about Lelutka heads, there are some things that over time I've become frustrated about. And considering that everything I've used over the last few years, with the exception of the AK Pride Head, has been Lelutka, I can really see some significant differences now between Genus and Lelutka.

The biggest issue I have with Lelutka heads is that they are really small out of the box,, unless your avi is also very petite. My avi is the equivalent of about 6 ft to 6ft 2 in, and I find that to get close to normal human proportions I have to stretch and enlarge the Lelutka heads a lot. On the other hand, right out of the box, the new Babyface was almost normal proportions. Certainly much closer than Lelutka.

The other big issue I have with the Lelutka heads is the hollowness under the cheekbones. I have about 7 Lelutka EvoX heads and I'm pretty sure all of them have this issue to varying degrees. I've tried adjusting all the possibly relevant sliders to get a softer face shape (jowls, face shape, cheekbones, jaw height, etc) and still have those doggone hollows.  Babyface doesn't have them.

My first new Babyface shape below:



The main negative I see right now with the included skins....I really don't like those brows. They're really heavy. I think...because it's got a HW sign on it...one of the new Tres Beau skins for Genus 4K may be on sale next weekend. It's full price right now. If that's the case, I will be snatching that up in several shades.

However...including some default skins in Velour tones...that's a big win in my opinion. I don't know why they didn't include Rose Kiss since that is one of the most popular shades, and I'm sure that some folks would have liked to see a wider range of Velour tones. And some folks would rather have seen other brands' tones.

I've been inspired to start making shapes again.  I discovered that Ipanema (the shinny Velour skin) is available for Erika. I've not tried out the Erika Zero/Zero+ body yet even though I have them in my inventory, so I bought a couple of shades there today. I don't like Ipanema as much as the other two skin types, but I remember there is a add on that can make it a little more matte...so I'll be checking to see if it works on different bodies.

Since I'll automatically get the LauraX upgrade, I'll buy at least a couple of shades in that body type as well (it will only be available in the Picasso line, I think). I'll likely do shapes for Legacy, LauraX, Erika, and maybe Jamie body with both EvoX and Genus 4K heads.

 

Erika body skins by VELOUR are okay if someone wants Ipanema, but, Erika/Zero/+ are compatible with Maitreya (SLUV) body skins (see the link below.) I've tried  several brand (Maitreya) skins, in addition to VELOURs, to be sure the fingers & toes aren't an issue. Depending on the head skin brands worn, surely VELOURs are a good choice. After testing them, I favor Venus over Ipanema. Once Lara X/Picasso release, I'm pretty sure I'll like those even more than Venus.

Btw, the same is true for [ INITHIUM ] Khara & *Prima* Elite/Busty/Petite, which are also based on SLUV. I'm very choosy about little details, so with Khara & Erika, a shading in the "v" and derriere zones were a little off,  in the sense the Ipanema had a tad too much shading/streaking in those areas. Izzie's has two fixes that blend them out very well. For someone who already owns VELOUR body skins, the investment to buy the 'BoM Butt Fixes for Female Butts' & BoM 'Inner Thigh Shadow Fix' is slight, and a nice option over buying proprietary skins for any of the three bodies mentioned.

I prefer the Venus and itGirls x VELOUR Picasso Babe, over Ipanema, because as you mentioned, the Ipanema are shiny, even when using the VE 'Soft' Add-on. Also, Venus & Picasso have amazing detail, especially around the hands and feet. With what I own in Venus/Picasso fatpacks for various bodies, finding them to be crossovers for other bodies is fantastic!

You can read Claudia's post about Erika skin options, hereERIKA Mesh Body (About skins)

Question?
Does anyone know if the Genus update is using the Universal Neck Standard? I checked the posts of this thread  for an answer, and didn't see mention of it, only how some people are finding the fit with various bodies. I'm hoping that with whatever else was done, that they used the Universal Neck standard so we'd would have the best fit possible.

[Orwar]

1 hour ago, AmeliaJ08 said:

Lel's animation engine also frequently just seems to stop dead, I think it's the low priority of the animations it uses but then it never seems to recover either. So not to say Lel have got this perfect either!

   Never had any issues whatsoever with Lelutka's animations, running them '24/7' on two avies. They occasionally get overridden by external animations (as they should), and sometimes those animations fail to stop playing by themselves - nothing a quick reset of skeleton and animations won't fix though.

[Trinity Blakewell]

21 minutes ago, Alessandra Corvinus said:

Erika body skins by VELOUR are okay if someone wants Ipanema, but, Erika/Zero/+ are compatible with Maitreya (SLUV) 
Does anyone know if the Genus update is using the Universal Neck Standard? I checked the posts of this thread  for an answer, and didn't see mention of it, only how some people are finding the fit with various bodies. I'm hoping that with whatever else was done, that they used the Universal Neck standard so we'd would have the best fit possible.

In my admittedly small amount of experience, the new heads are fitting well with Legacy. I always use the Velour neck blends when using Velour skins, but even before I put the neck blend on, things looked good.

[Dorientje Woller]

10 minutes ago, Trinity Blakewell said:

In my admittedly small amount of experience, the new heads are fitting well with Legacy. I always use the Velour neck blends when using Velour skins, but even before I put the neck blend on, things looked good.

If you add first the body layer and than the headlayer, there is a big possibility that you don't need the necklayer.

[DeeVious Dagger]

I will get cattle prodded for this.. but other than fixing a couple things that have been broken for about 5 yrs or so  adding the 4k and remapping the hud  to be honest it feels like the old head. No WOW factor and nothing to ohhh and ahhh about.. I adored my old genus heads.. but why go backward when you have already gone forward? I played with my classic re-release for days... the make up hud is glitchy at best.. i didnt try animations.. but i tried tons of skins and makeup.. even my old shape and skins.. the eyelids are swollen..and crooked.. try the eyeliner to see what i mean.. you have to use unrigged eyes to move them manually instead of a hud control.. (which makes my RL eye twitch) I was soo darn excited when I heard there was an update coming out!!  I wanted to tell Genus I was sorry for doubting they would ever fix the problems with the head. That being said.. the holes are still in the ears.. I mean come on. But before I give up on Genus I hope they keep up with updating and catch up to the new standards we have been spoiled with by EVOX. Cmon Genus knock my socks off.. i have 20x more make up for genus thats just wasting away in my inventory!!!

[AmeliaJ08]

2 hours ago, Persephone Emerald said:

I think 1K is used to mean 1024 pixels per square inch?, so 2K is used to mean 2048 pixels, much as is done with the resolution on TVs. 

What we're actually getting with these higher definition skins is then twice the detail of a normal 1024 resolution, which is really only noticable for close up photography. If the skin makers are smart and care about their customers' SL experience, they should include at least a normal 1024 resolution skin, then a 4 x 1024 resolution version for those who want to pay extra for the extra work it takes them to make these "4K" (actually 2K) skins. (I don't see the value of trying to upload a 2048 texture when SL is just going to compress it to 1024.)

Ah maybe, all I know of 'K' is that it was something people involved in video used to talk about.

[Gabriele Graves]

2 hours ago, Persephone Emerald said:

I think 1K is used to mean 1024 pixels per square inch?, so 2K is used to mean 2048 pixels, much as is done with the resolution on TVs.

It's even worse than that.  I think they are just counting the pixels in one dimension in the source image.  The source image is 4096x4096, one dimension is 4K depending on your definition of "K" (1000 vs 1024).

PPI (pixels-per-inch) would again be another image factor but only in the files outside of SL, it has no relevance to images inside SL which are all using a the same PPI upon upload.

Edited August 24, 2023 by Gabriele Graves

[AmeliaJ08]

2 hours ago, Orwar said:

   Never had any issues whatsoever with Lelutka's animations, running them '24/7' on two avies. They occasionally get overridden by external animations (as they should), and sometimes those animations fail to stop playing by themselves - nothing a quick reset of skeleton and animations won't fix though.

The issue is they stop and do not self recover after another higher priority animation has stopped, you have to re-start the animation.

[AmeliaJ08]

1 minute ago, Gabriele Graves said:

It's even worse than that.  I think they are just counting the pixels in one dimension in the source image.  The source image is 4096x4096, one dimension is 4K depending on your definition of "K" (1000 vs 1024).

PPI (pixels-per-inch) would again be another image factor but only in the files outside of SL, it has no relevance to images inside SL which are all using a the same PPI upon upload.

They're not using it in terms of K being 1000 (or 1024). They're (mis)using it in the sense of 4K definition as in 4K resolution... because right now that's the thing being slapped on TV and monitor stickers as the best of the best.

It is of course just marketing spam since their textures are not 4K (3840 x 2160)

As for why '4K' is the name for the pixel resolution of 3840x2160... I have no clue, it used to be something that nobody outside of video production would even recognize as a term until TV/monitor makers started also mentioning it.

 

 

[Gabriele Graves]

Just now, AmeliaJ08 said:

The issue is they stop and do not self recover after another higher priority animation has stopped, you have to re-start the animation.

I've been using Evo heads since they came out and Origins heads long before they were renamed to Origins and I have to agree with @Orwaron this, I've never seen the issue you are describing.  The anims just keep going for me.  It's possible you have an anim from something else that's affecting the head when it shouldn't be.

[AmeliaJ08]

No, I don't.

[Gabriele Graves]

Just now, AmeliaJ08 said:

They're not using it in terms of K being 1000 (or 1024). They're (mis)using it in the sense of 4K definition as in 4K resolution... because right now that's the thing being slapped on TV and monitor stickers as the best of the best.

If you look at the graphic I previously posted from Genus, they certainly are equating 4K with 4096 pixels.  It says right there in the text.

[AmeliaJ08]

Just now, Gabriele Graves said:

If you look at the graphic I previously posted from Genus, they certainly are equating 4K with 4096 pixels.  It says right there in the text.

Yes but they're not using K to mean 1000 or 1024. They're just using an existing marketing/technical term of "4K" incorrectly.

 

[Gabriele Graves]

1 minute ago, AmeliaJ08 said:

Yes but they're not using K to mean 1000 or 1024. They're just using an existing marketing/technical term of "4K" incorrectly.

 

I disagree.  Equating 4K with 4096x4096 (which they clearly do) is saying that "K" in this case is defined at 1024 pixels.

[Orwar]

6 minutes ago, AmeliaJ08 said:

The issue is they stop and do not self recover after another higher priority animation has stopped, you have to re-start the animation.

   Never had that happen to me either, the only times I even have to put on the head's HUD is when I want to use a static pose for a picture .. Which is pretty rare for me, as I prefer catching snaps with my AOs running. 

   The animations are looped, and though I'm unsure of how exactly they're scripted to start running after you've stopped your avi's animations it has just always worked for me. And I reset my skel and anim a lot in any given day, whether it's because my avi got deformed by a box from a store (which is a serious peeve of mine) or after having flown through a few region corners too many, the native facial AO from the head has never failed to start for me.

[Rowan Amore]

13 minutes ago, AmeliaJ08 said:

The issue is they stop and do not self recover after another higher priority animation has stopped, you have to re-start the animation.

I've never had this happen on mine.

[AmeliaJ08]

Just now, Orwar said:

   Never had that happen to me either, the only times I even have to put on the head's HUD is when I want to use a static pose for a picture .. Which is pretty rare for me, as I prefer catching snaps with my AOs running. 

   The animations are looped, and though I'm unsure of how exactly they're scripted to start running after you've stopped your avi's animations it has just always worked for me. And I reset my skel and anim a lot in any given day, whether it's because my avi got deformed by a box from a store (which is a serious peeve of mine) or after having flown through a few region corners too many, the native facial AO from the head has never failed to start for me.

I can only describe my experience which is having multiple animations selected to loop and they play initially but after a while I find they have all stopped playing. Going back through the list, deselecting and reselecting each of them will make the whole thing re-start.

I cannot say what triggers this.

 

[aht1981]

3 minutes ago, Gabriele Graves said:

I disagree.  Equating 4K with 4096x4096 (which they clearly do) is saying that "K" in this case is defined at 1024 pixels.

yeah exactly, "4k" is a term I think anybody who downloads textures or makes textures is familiar with given they are, mostly, made in a 1:1 ratio. They're not using it incorrectly as if you made a 4096 texture and divided it into 4 parts it would display as created (in theory). If anything loads of brands in SL use the term "HD" in a disingenuous manner. 

4k in tv terms just means 4 times as many pixels than standard "HD TV" (thanks google).

Most people will already make textures in 4096  and then resize or let SL resize. If you want to test go download a 2k texture and a 4k texture and upload them both and you'll notice differences. Anybody using software such as blender or substance will bake in 4096. You could even bake in 8k but working with images that big (and the storage) is a nightmare.

I'm glad somebody is doing something and who knows with pbr around the corner maybe this will take off - I mean imagine making a material of say glitter on the face. Part of me imagines the "4k" texture stuff will appeal to the detailed images types on flickr.

Also with regards to creators, this could mean that a lot could simply take their original SLUV skins (lets presume they made them in 4k) and just divide into 4 parts. No reason loads could not update half their back catalogue in a few days (can't they just create a PS action?) and charge a few linden at weekend sales for the benefit. Somebody already showed a nice looking sessions skin, imagine how good those might look in 4k.