Orion Pastorelli

Ok so I tried out the Onnupup body because a friend wanted my opinion on it. In all honesty, I cannot recommend it. Even though it's free and technically bento, it just looks awful no matter how much you mess with shape and no mater what skin you use. It is easier to make a much more attractive avatar using the System body.

No, I did not know this. However, I have a question for clarification. Does this dev kit allow you to make a traditional applier, independent from their external server? OR does it allow you to make an "installer," which communicates with their external server to make the textures available in their configuration HUD (called, "Style Mode" during the days of the original TMP body) ? Because if its the former and NOT the latter, then that's kind of a big deal for this company as far as I know.

I own the original TMP male body, but I have only DEMOed the new Legacy male body. A bit of a correction, The Shops does not use “off SL asset storage,” Linden Labs would NEVER allow this. A more accurate description would be, “External Server-based Applier System.” So, a little bit of the history of this company (The Shops), as I understand it… Back in the days before mesh bodies, the creators who would eventually form “The Shops” were like skin and hair makers. They were very frustrated by the extensive texture and content theft that was occurring in SL because of programs like copy bot. When mesh bodies started becoming a thing in SL, I think they saw an opportunity to do something about it. I strongly suspect they developed their “External Server-based Applier System” to prevent people from applying stolen textures on the mesh body. It acts as kind of Gate Keeper; only letting you use textures you have paid for and that they have determined are legit. Sure, people can still rip skin and tattoo textures, but without a way to apply it to the mesh body, they are pointless. Most mesh bodies use what I like to call, “Internal HUD-based Appliers.” If you get the development kit for a body, then you can make your own appliers. This gives you the means to apply a stolen texture to a mesh body. Second Life, however, being the market-driven beast that it is, the TMP body probably fell out of favor for being so restrictive and for the lack Omega Applier support. I know I switched over to the Belleza Jake as soon as it came out. I strongly suspect the current iteration of The Shops RELUCTANTLY decided to include support for BoM for the Legacy bodies. They see the writing on the wall and don’t want this body fail as well. BoM support is the only reason I am even considering it, though I will probably wait till it has way more third-party support AND goes on sale… probably next Christmas or something. A side note: When I was trying out the Legacy DEMO body and HUD, I noticed that all the skins and tattoos that I had purchased for my original TMP body were available to try out on the Legacy DEMO. BONUS!

So my question is, DOES the Legacy body store (The Shops ?) offer their default body skins in some kind of System Layer? After thinking about it, since you can only wear one System Skin at a time, I realized that a System Skin with just body textures (Torso & Legs) would be problematic if you wanted to go full BoM, head to toe. System Tattoo Layers would probably work best. I do not own a Legacy Body, but anyone that does, please chime in.

The thing is, when you "Turn On" BoM what happens is that whatever texture is on the Mesh Body is replaced by one of the red "BoM" textures. This red "BoM" texture is then immediately replaced by the baked texture on the System Body. The system body is then alpha'd completely invisible without the use of a system body alpha mask. Thus, assuming my current understanding of BoM is correct... In order for the default Legacy skin to be a part of the combined/composite baked texture that is ultimately applied to the Mesh Body, it HAS to be applied to the System Body FIRST. The only way to do this is via a System Skin. If the Legacy Body store is NOT offering their default skins in the form of System Skins, then, as far as I know, you will NOT be able to use them with BoM. You will HAVE to use a 3rd party skin.

The Legacy Store (The Shoppes?) would need to offer their default skins in the form of system skins or "BoM Layers" as they are often called these days. I would be very surprised if they did not. I would go back to the store and look for BoM Layers or Baked on Mesh Layers vendors.

To be fair, Catwa has a large selection of female bento mesh heads and not all of them have the infamous duck lips. Catwa's first bento mesh head (and most popular is seems), Catya, does have some rather "intense" lips that can look silly with a poor shape. But when done right, they can be very attractive in my opinion.

So I own both the Signature Gianni and the Belleza Jake. I like to have options... That said, I definitely favor the Belleza Jake. It is pretty much my "go to" body. There are a lot of things about the Gianni's geometry I just don't like. Its got weird pointy pecs, shallow armpits, an awkward torso and I am not a fan of its butt. However, get a demo for each and really try them out with different shapes and skins. Putting in time with the DEMOs is what will really put you at ease when you are finally ready to buy.

Revenge of the OG SL Hair!

Agreed. I have to say I am a bit befuddled by this whole thread. It seems obvious the reason many HUDs are so big is because that makes them easier to use. But beyond that, I get the feeling that people wear their HUDs even after they have finished using them. The only HUD I wear constantly is an AO, and that's only when I have been to lazy to transfer the animations into Firestorm's built-in AO. Hell, I even detach the HUD for my genitals when I am nude, but don't need to sport an erection. Guys you don't need to walk around with your mesh body and head HUDs all the time, only when you need to make changes. Even if they are minimized they are still using up texture memory and contributing to your script count. The same goes for HUDs used to customize textures or "styles" on clothing and hair. Once you set it, detach it. If you use Firestorm, HUDs that you use often, should be added to your "favorite wearables" window for easy access. https://wiki.firestormviewer.org/fs_wearable_favorites

OK I know that the old system layer tattoos could be tinted. And system skins could also take a tint as long as the textures used were like %50 alpha (The old "Naughty Designs" skins by Lost Thereian did this). Am I right to assume that the tint of these system items does NOT get incorporated the the final baked texture applied to the mesh?

So, I finally got a chance to play with BoM and figured out the mechanics and how it works. My question now is, has there been any official statements or buzz from Catwa, LeLutka and/or Belleza about releasing BoM only versions of their heads and bodies? So I can get rid of all the unused layers, what some people call onion skins.

I think what she is trying to say is that differences between bodies is negligible. To use your example: If an Avatar is restricted from a venue because of its high script count, then simply switching from the Legacy to the Maitreya won't make up the difference. They'll need to examine all their attachments.

Wow, I think you have managed to answer questions that have yet to occur to me. Thank you, I will definitely start reading your blog.

OK, here is the thing, what about texture memory usage? Correct me if I am wrong. I thought Visual Complexity was an aggregate score that took both geometry ( triangles & vertices) and texture memory usage into account, and that's what makes it so useful. Side Note: I am aware "script time" is a completely different metric that has nothing to do the visual aspect of SL.

So whenever I find myself in a crowded space, for a moment, I will turn my complexity limit down to about 25K and compare my score to those around me. My score is usually among the lowest. Even though this is purely anecdotal, I still thought it was safe to say I was doing well. Nevertheless, now I feel the need to compete and will endeavor to lower my average complexity score to the "20k-26k" range.

I can't tell if you think if 60 K -75 K is high or low... Please clarify.

For me, 50 K complexity is my soft limit, what I try to aim for. That said, my complexity score is usually around 60 K -75 K. 100K, for me, is a "hard" limit that I will only go over for photos. I would never go out and about in public with a complexity score over 100K.

Holy *****... I mean, I know that photoshop was probably involved, but those last two heads looked like photos of actual humans.

Ok I know I am a bit late to this party, So the most obvious thing about Male Mesh heads is that the selection is way less when compared to Female heads. The same is true for 3rd Party support. This usually means that I tend to suggest Catwa most of the time. Both because they have more heads available and because its easier to find third party options like skins and beards. That said, if you STILL want to try and go with a system head, I suggest Aeros. Even though they are famous for their genitals, they also do skins. In addition, they offer "legacy" system head tattoos of most of their old system skins that match the skin tones of several of their body appliers. I have friends who have used these with the Belleza Jake mesh body and a system head and achieved a seamless neck.

Furthermore, there is an Italian language Firestorm support group. Inoltre, esiste un gruppo di supporto Firestorm in lingua italiana. https://my.secondlife.com/groups/d3b4c8a3-cfd7-3218-65fb-d7e499d1efab?id=d3b4c8a3-cfd7-3218-65fb-d7e499d1efab

Please excuse the lateness of my reply. Scusa il ritardo nella mia risposta. I do not speak Italian. I am using Google translate. Non parlo italiano. Sto utilizzando Google Translate. The Firestorm wiki has an Italian section, but it is incomplete. La wiki di Firestorm ha una sezione italiana, ma è incompleta. https://wiki.firestormviewer.org/index_it The following is translated from the English wiki: Quanto segue è tradotto dal wiki inglese: https://wiki.firestormviewer.org/preferences_firestorm_tab Step One / Primo passo Firestorm Preferences Preferenze di Firestorm This window is accessed from the top menu bar → Avatar → Preferences, or by pressing Ctrl-P. Questa finestra è accessibile dalla barra dei menu in alto → Avatar → Preferenze, o premendo Ctrl-P. Step Two / Passo due Avatar Tab Scheda Avatar ● Amount that Avatar's head follows Mouse: Set both these sliders to zero if you do not want your avatar's head following the mouse cursor for unfocused mouse movement. They do not affect whether your head moves to look at something your camera is focused on. ● Quantità che la testa dell'avatar segue il mouse: imposta entrambi questi cursori su zero se non vuoi che la testa dell'avatar segua il cursore del mouse per movimenti del mouse non focalizzati. Non influiscono sul fatto che la testa si sposta per guardare qualcosa su cui è focalizzata la fotocamera. ■ Vertical range that avatar's head follows mouse: Controls how far or how little your head moves up and down to follow the movement of your mouse cursor. ■ Intervallo verticale in cui la testa dell'avatar segue il mouse: controlla quanto la testa si sposta in alto o in basso per seguire il movimento del cursore del mouse. ■ Horizontal range that avatar's head follows mouse: Controls how far or how little your head moves left and right to follow the movement of your mouse cursor. ■ Intervallo orizzontale in cui la testa dell'avatar segue il mouse: controlla la distanza o il movimento minimo della testa da sinistra a destra per seguire il movimento del cursore del mouse. ■ Disable random avatar eye movements: As the title suggests. ■ Disabilita i movimenti casuali degli occhi degli avatar: come suggerisce il titolo.

Stai utilizzando il visualizzatore predefinito di Linden Labs? Oppure stai utilizzando un visualizzatore di terze parti come "Firestorm".

He was probably wearing Aeros genitals. Don't get me wrong, I love Aeros and have given them a lot of money over the years. However, when I first started becoming aware of complexity scores I noticed it was higher when I was nude. The culprit? My dick. I have several different models from Aeros, and they all universally add between 60k - 70k to my score. There newest bento genitals, do MUCH better. Its only like 10 K think. But I also, took a look at some the hair I got from them, its also has a very high complexity score. So I think their mesh modeler just now starting to learn how to optimize their mesh.

@AlexandriteGem Aeros actually has appliers for all three (Belleza Jake, Signature Gianni and SLink Physique). In addition, they also have TMP installers, but that is not a body I recommend anymore. In my opinion, Aeros has always had the best male skins in SL; even during the pre-mesh, system bodies days. Unfortunately, the creator does not seem to be as active as she used to be, thus the selection is rather limited. However, with the right tattoos or body freckles or even some light tinting, you can get a very unique look. They also have great head appliers for Catwa heads.