Skell Dagger

Looks like the head in this shape ad from her Flickr, which is created for LAQ's Noelle head.

Regarding neck seams in general, I spent a few hours inworld yesterday running some tests. After fixing Keith's issue I finally grew curious enough to invest the time into comparing different male head and body neckline fits in both default midday and one of the 'mesh-friendly' Windlight settings. I created a plain white, untextured skin (so that there were no visual distractions), and used Bakes on Mesh to check the necks of the following head and body combinations: Catwa Bento / Belleza Jake Catwa Bento / Signature Gianni Lelutka Bento / Belleza Jake Lelutka Bento / Signature Gianni Lelutka Evolution / Belleza Jake Lelutka Evolution / Signature Gianni For the Catwa / Gianni comparisons the 'default neck' Gianni body was used, and for the Lelutka Evolution / Gianni comparisons the 'new neck' (aka 'SL neck') Gianni body was used, alongside the 'SL' version of the Lelutka Evolution head. (Note that Signature had - somewhat confusingly - issued an update to Gianni that had the same version number but simply changed the name of that body version from 'new neck' to 'SL neck'. My version is labelled 'new neck' so that is what's on my images. The 'new neck' is exactly the same as the 'SL neck'.) The graphics settings that I checked against each head and body combination were: ALM disabled - Shadows N/A - Default Midday ALM enabled - Shadows None - Default Midday ALM enabled - Shadows Sun/Moon - Default Midday ALM enabled - Shadows Sun/Moon - [NB] Alpine Skinlight RGB The results can be seen in this Gyazo album. I didn't check any other head/body combinations, as this series of tests took a couple of hours to pull together as it was, and I didn't want to spend an entire evening working on it. I may do the same set of tests against the Legacy body at some point in the future. *Caveat: I was unaware at the time that - if pairing Lelutka Evolution with Belleza bodies - the non-SL neck version of the head needed to be used, together with the neck fit on the body's HUD being set to zero. So I will probably re-shoot all of those images again at some point soon for a more accurate depiction of that match. (That will be a few more hours of work...)

Keith's problem (as detailed in this thread) was fixed in this post. He had one graphics preference setting unchecked, so as soon as he checked that the severe neck issue he was seeing completely vanished. This issue can often be caused by using older system skins with BoM, or BoM-specific skins that are mapped to a different brand of head than the one you're using them on. @Maitimo has a free BoM fix for that in his Marketplace store, here. It's intended for Catwa heads, but since it's free it might be worth trying on other brands (since you don't specify which brand you're experiencing the issue on).

That looks absolutely stunning on you, Rowan

You're welcome. Glad we got to the bottom of it in the end!

OK, after logging in, changing into fresh test versions of Belleza Jake v2.1 and Catwa Skell v4.5, switching my environment settings to default midday, then tweaking around, I've discovered the root of the problem. Thanks additionally go out to to Majer - one of my fellow CSRs - who also changed into the Jake/Skell combination and ran her own tests. When we compared results she got the same issue that you're experiencing, whereas I did not. I asked her for a screenshot of her viewer's graphics settings, and immediately saw what was different between her settings and mine. Watch this video: https://i.gyazo.com/0da3d73f9221d185fe751c04f444a5d9.mp4 Screenshot version: Set your graphics preferences so the Shadows are 'Sun/Moon' as indicated in that second image, and the problem should go away.

Thanks for going through those tests so thoroughly, Keith. Appreciated OK, first of all I'd like you to ensure your head isn't tinted at all. Please use the Master HUD to click in the order shown below: I can see that you have no materials set on that second tab of the head, but we also need to check that you have no materials set on the skins tab, so please follow the below: Then we move to your Belleza body's HUD. I need to you set the HSL values on the skin as shown in this image, and also to click the 'clear' button, as below: Lastly, we're going to remove the materials/environment on the body (which Lillith has noted, above). Please push the grey sections of the Gloss and Environment sliders all the way to the left, as below: Let me know how you get on from there.

I have already advised you on your post where you bumped another old 'neck seam' thread, here. Please do not cross-post the same question into multiple threads, as it makes responses difficult to track.

I note, also, that you have edited your post to include the above. Having spoken to my fellow CSRs they have given me the below image that they took of you at the store: You were not advised to change your Windlight setting to "Catwa" as that setting does not exist. It's not possible to control how everyone else in Second Life views your avatar. Everyone's computer, graphics card, and graphics preference settings will be different. To someone using the lowest of low graphics settings because they're running Second Life on the proverbial potato your head and body probably wouldn't even rez. I'm curious as to why my fellow CSR sees you looking perfectly normally but you see what looks like a completely different skintone on your head. That would suggest that something on your end of things may be causing the problem. It could be any of the things that I mentioned in my previous post (which I still want you to check) or it could be your own system/GPU/settings, or it could be a corrupt texture cache, or it could be a corrupt settings.xml file caused by a previous crash. One might expect an occasional seam to be caused by default midday Windlight, but a complete difference in the entire head from the body is caused by something else.

Hi Keith. Catwa CSR here I note that you state your Catwa head is v3.2, but you're using the v4.5 HUD. Please ensure that you're using the v4.5 head as well as the v4.5 HUD. Several things could possibly be at play here: You're wearing a different skintone applier on the head You've tinted the head You've enabled BoM on the head and/or body and what you're seeing is a combination of skins You've got environment/materials/gloss enabled on either the head or body (most likely on the head) To ascertain which of those it could be, could you please do the following: Apply the palest tone of both body and head applier, and check the following after you've done that: Do both the head and body change in tone when you use the applier? Doesn't matter if they match; I just need to know if they both change. This is a test to see if you have enabled BoM on either body or head, and to see if either body or head are either descripted or not responding to appliers If they do both change, do you still look relatively 'normal' with only one head and body, or do you look odd with what appears to be a second head/body pushing through your mesh? This is a test to see if you have enabled BoM on either head or body (since using appliers will 'undo' the way that both Catwa and Belleza use BoM and you will see your system avatar poking through the mesh). Does the head look greyish? This is a test to see if you have tinted the head. If you move your camera around you, does your head look a bit shiny as the light catches your skin? This is a test to see if you have enabled environment/shine/gloss on the head Please post your results, alongside any screenshots that you deem useful, and hopefully we'll get you fixed up quickly.

I love infrared photography, so that's how I've treated mine.

You would probably be enormously disturbed by me, then. All the same person. No alts.

OK, since I jokingly went all Queer Eye from the Pixel Guy (which, incidentally, is my blog's byline) on Amanda's couch-n-candles pic, I guess I may as well be gentleman enough to offer some comments to the ladies who have posted here thus far. You can be guaranteed that my comments won't be of the 'phwoar!' variety, at least @n0minous - I'd call that head and skin demo combination a winner. The hair, too (Tram, by any chance?). It's a lovely look, and your brows are on point (I do love me a good eyebrow) @shiviex - I get a real Alice in Wonderland vibe from this, probably because of the blonde hair and powder blue clothing. LOVE the sleeves on that top. If they were separate from the bra section and came in a black variant I would probably get those for Skell's bishonen persona, Syd @Talligurl - What I love about your avatar is that - even though you change your hair and clothing regularly - you have a striking and distinctive style that's instantly recogniseable. Love that white-blonde hair against your darker skin tone, and the expression on your face in this pic @Stephanie Misfit - Good lord. That nose is TO DIE FOR. There are too many perfect noses in SL. It's wonderful to see a nose with character. Love (and own) that hair, love (and own) that outfit, and those eyes are so goddamn striking @RowanMinx - FIRE. Damn, lady, that is an exquisite look. I would have loved to see the lighter part of the background behind your head, because I have a feeling your hair is equally as gorgeous as the dress and your overall look (and I'm all about seeing the details in a look), but in the context of the 'stepping out of the shadows and into the light' mood that you have going on there, the darker background does work best @Panteleeva - There is sorrow, gentility, and hope all combined in this image. The melancholy of the rainy background and in your eyes, contrasted by the bright, hopeful lipstick and the glittery eyeshadow whose colour is echoed in the pale pink top. It's a wonderful, thoughtful image @Elora Lunasea - Words often fail me when I see your images, so picture me throwing my shoe in utter delight instead. Risqué, glam, and stunning. Those lips draw the attention (yes, straight dudes' eyes will go elsewhere, I'm sure) but my focus is on those EYES and how the colour is echoed at the bottom of the dress. Gorgeous composition @Lillith Hapmouche - Pixellation is IN this year, with that 8bit look. Stunning gold on the chain (my favourite tone), too! @AdminGirl - I feel chilly looking at this one (!) but then I tend to dress in SL for the RL weather as much as I do the SL weather. This is a lovely simple look. A plain white tank, paired with any black bottoms will always work. Your curious expression in this shot has me thinking that you're trying to decide whether to run back home and find either a coat or a fireplace @Cougar Sangria - Other dudes would be all about the lingerie (which, don't get me wrong, is exquisite) but I am all about THAT HAT. It lends a wonderful aura of mystique to this image, as do the deep shadows and the hint of lipstick And I think that's me all caught up.

That's what I suspected might be the case, and - as Rowan has said - the hairbase won't apply to that particular head. Lelutka's Evolution range are mostly BoM-only. What you will need to do is source a BoM (Bakes on Mesh) hairbase. The inventory icon for those is a pink 'dragon tattoo'. One of my favourite BoM male hairbases is at Stealthic. Go to the store, walk down the steps and take an immediate left at the bottom. One more turn left to face into the male hair section and the hairbases are on a low podium in front of you. Make sure that you get the correct one, as there are two ads: one for Catwa and one for Lelutka. As I recall, I think the Lelutka version was the one on the right. Here is the ad image:

LOVE the stripes, but guuuurl we gotta talk about those snowflakes. They're SO 2019!

It would be helpful to know the following: Which Lelutka head do you own? What is the inventory icon for the hairbase that you're trying to wear? Presumably it's an Omega applier, but whether it will work or not will depend on whether you have an older Lelutka Bento head or one of their new Evolution range. Could you please explain what you mean by "the system kit"?

Those are brand names. Can you tell me - without checking - the avatar names of the merchants behind those brands? Answers behind the spoiler tag:

Take your time. It's a lot of new information to take in for someone who is new to mesh bodies and heads One thing I will advise against, though: I strongly suggest not doing what some people do, which is to make multiple copies of your body, each one set up with a different skin or alpha cut combination. Doing that is all well and good, but when there is an update to your mesh body you will need to manually re-do every one of those saved copies, rather than just replacing the original body that you use to save outfits as described in my earlier post. I have seen people near to tears when they have 300+ outfits saved like that, each one with a different copy of their head and body, and they need to update each one manually. What those people then do is not bother to update, so they're walking around with old, outdated versions of their heads and bodies, often missing out on great new features and important bugfixes.

In addition to the advice about checking for worn alpha layers in case you've set the body up to use Bakes on Mesh (BoM), have a read of the below. It may be overly-basic information to you - and if it is then I apologise - but it's difficult to tell someone's level of familiarity with how mesh bodies and heads work. In brief: A mesh body will 'remember' its previous state, and that previous state will be remembered across all outfits until the state is changed. Let us say that you create an outfit where you're wearing a tank top and shorts. It's a beach outfit, so you want to be tanned. You change your skin to a nice tanned one. You set the alpha tab on the body's HUD so that it hides the parts of your body that are covered by the shorts and the tank top. You save this outfit and call it 'beach'. Let's say that you then put on a tuxedo. This time you don't want to be tanned, so you change your skin to be pale. For that you need many more parts of your body alpha'd out, so you set those alphas and save the outfit, calling it 'formal'. You then change back into the 'beach' outfit, but you notice that your body is still alpha'd out the same way it was when you wore the formal tuxedo and your skin is pale and not tanned like it was when you saved the beach outfit. The reason for this is that when you save an outfit each item in that outfit is a link to the original item. You're not saving a copy of the body; you're saving a link to the original body. So it stands that whatever state that original body is currently in will carry across to all outfits that the body is saved in until you change the state of the body. That is why your legs are missing across all of your outfits: your body is in the state of "leg sections alpha'd out" and until you change that state all of your outfits will have those leg pieces missing. In addition to this, Signature is one of the body brands that has 'auto-alpha' capability. Sometimes you will add an item of clothing and it will automatically alpha out the correct sections of your body so you don't have to do it manually. The trouble with this is that very occasionally when you take that item of clothing off not all of the alpha sections will be restored to visibility. It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes it will. The good news is that - assuming you don't have more than 13 outfits that you want to save - you can use the 'alpha save slots' on the Signature HUD to save specific combinations of alpha settings. These settings are numbered 1 to 13 on the HUD, as below: As you can see there, four of my save slot icons are green, which means that I have four alpha settings saved at the moment on that HUD. What you can do is ensure that you're wearing the Signature HUD before you save the outfit. With all of your alpha cuts set up correctly, click the first white save slot icon on the HUD, then click the word 'SAVE' beneath it. Confirm the dialogue and you'll see that save slot icon turn green, as in the image above. Then, go ahead and save your outfit. At some point in the outfit name (either at the start or in brackets at the end) include the number of that save slot. Two examples: 01. Formal Suit Formal Suit (01) Make sure that you're wearing the Signature HUD when you save the outfit, so that it will be added when you next change into that outfit. Save all of your alphas like this, each one using the next number along on the HUD, and each one containing the number of that save slot in the outfit name. Let's say you've been to a formal dance, so you were wearing your 'Formal Suit (01)' outfit. But now you want to change to your 'Beach (06)' outfit. Change into the outfit as you normally would do (I usually right-click on the outfit folder name in inventory and select 'Replace Current Outfit'). Your beach outfit will be worn, but your body will still be alpha'd out for the formal suit. However, since you know that you saved the alpha settings for your beach outfit in save slot 06 (because that's in the name of the outfit) just click the '06' save slot icon, then click 'APPLY'. Confirm the dialogue and your alpha cuts will be set correctly to the ones for the beach outfit. Unfortunately, Signature does not (yet) have the ability that the likes of Maitreya have, where you can also save skins etc alongside alpha cuts, so you will still need to change your skin manually to that tanned one (assuming that you're someone who will change their skin like that). For any further questions about your Geralt Body, I recommend joining the inworld support group - Signature Body - and asking in there.

Watcher... I was digging through some old backup drives in search of something this evening, and I got lost in multiple folders of old screenshots. This one - taken at one of the trio of long lost (and much missed) regions of Alchemy Immortalis, Empress and Hierophant, and Ceangeal - was so lovely that I decided to edit it a bit and upload it.

The Rebel Prince... Added a bit of scruff to yesterday's look and changed to my usual eyes.

Ode to boy... A recent three-piece suit release from Hoorenbeek. Credits here.

Perhaps in your world, with your friends. Not in mine. I seem to be able to hold on to friends even though I rarely bump into them inworld. I'm able to hold onto real life friends when we can't physically hang out, too. My closest friend lives 5,000 miles away from me. We talk - either in voice or text - every single day, and have done so since 2006 when we both met online. We have never met each other in person, but we are still incredibly close friends.

Everyone's definition of friendship is different. Having people who want to physically be with you, invite you to go places, hang out in the same location with you is your definition. My definition is different. Being invited to lots of places and having people wanting to be around me all the time would be my idea of a pain in the backside. I prefer to have friends who will hang out with me in IM while I do my own thing. (And even then, I'm very very selective about the rare individuals that I add to my contacts list.) It sounds like your vision of SL is that of gentle, humorous chaos. That is a side of SL that has fallen by the wayside somewhat from its early days (and I've been around for long time, so I remember those early days). You would have been right at home here circa 2007 or so. I do hope that you find a place and/or group where you feel comfortable and among like-minded people. I wish I knew what had happened to Nostoll, as he always struck me as the kind of guy who was fun to be around, and his idea of fun looked to be the kind of thing you describe enjoying, but he hasn't posted here since July 2019.