All About The Mesh (NWS)

by Penny London (with Anonymous)

Mesh mesh mesh mesh! SL is in the throes of the mesh revolution. Its soooo much better! Just ask anyone! You simply must get a mesh body!

Wow, do I hate mesh.

WHY MESH BODIES SUCK

1. Mesh bodies look soooo much better!

Its true, mesh is smoother.  That is the main difference. Avatar shoulders are still terrible, the underside of your butt still looks like you had an accident. But hey, don't take my word for it! See for yourself

 

System butt

 Mesh Butt

 

System body

 Mesh body (Maitreya, Lara)

To achieve this smoother appearance, mesh requires the use of multiple confusing HUDs - one of the only things you can layer with mesh (more on this later).

My main reason for disliking mesh bodies is that your design options are limited. Currently Maitreya creates the best (2000L including hands and feet), her shapes build on your existing system shape so they don't need as much modding, and the curves of the shape itself are very attractive. While it works well for this avatar, the breast shape is odd (narrow at the base and slightly square). My system breast shape was more realistic.  I do prefer my Mait butt however the divits on my hips annoy me. I can't change these things.

Annoying hip divits

This shape does not work at all on my alt, who is not tall and thin!

2. Where are the men? 
That is a really good question. The other issue with mesh bodies is the total lack of comparable shapes for men.  Slink has an OK male shape but it requires intense modding (2000L no hands or feet). TMP has one that also requires extreme modding and is blisteringly expensive (5000L). The TMP HUD is extremely confusing. Also TMP limits many accessories/clothes/etc to TMP items. Fail.

Slink v1.3 - still modding

TMP - this is the hottest man in SL so it might be worth the money and time if you can mod it like he did.  This cost upwards of 9000L - shape, skin, applier (hair), wig, eyes, cock, AO.  That's $40 USD folks! Of course, with that look he doesn't need clothes so it's really about your priorities. Bonus: SL = safe sex!

I think this is a blessing - mesh is more trouble than it's worth and while you can still get away with not having a mesh body I say enjoy it - but know that your system body better look terrific because the bar just got raised (detailed instructions here).

You will still need to buy genitalia, skin, hair, eyes and other accessories (detailed instructions here also).

WHY MESH CLOTHES SUCK
Mesh shows textures so much better!  

This is true, it does. It has simply revolutionized builds! And that is where the joy ends. It just isn't sophisticated enough for clothes.  Here's why:

A. No layering. Personally I like to wear layers - great for creating a unique look (or stripping off). Mesh applier layers don't allow this. The alpha layer each layer is created on almost always cancels out the one below. No mix 'n matching allowed.

B. RLV does not work with mesh, so no one else can strip you either.

Mesh moves with you so we can finally have coats and skirts that work!
Not yet. While mesh does offer some movement with the avatar it is very limited and stiff. This works well for coats and pants (definitely buy these in mesh and throw out your old system/prim combinations), but skirts lack flow and while the bend mesh offers is an improvement, it looks like you are wearing a plastic sheet.

C: Mesh clothes don't fit!This is the #1 reason I hate them. Mesh clothes are simply clothing shaped objects that you attach to your avatar.  Keep that in mind and the following issues make perfect sense.

The limited bend causes show through of your avi.

Show through

Mesh cannot accommodate avatar physics well, the result looks like you are wearing a prim (note: many fashionistas claim that physics are old school and no one wears them anymore. They are more than welcome to my share of rigid dresses). 
---> Giggle Jiggle Jiggle!

Mesh clothing is available three ways.

1. Rigged Mesh:

Because mesh is inflexible many clothes are available in 5 "standard" sizes that don't fit anyone. The best you can do is pick one that is close and "alpha out" (hide) the parts that show through. Then you sit immobile all night with your AO off because when you move the invisible parts of your body will show around the mesh object as the lines never meet up exactly.

You see right through me!

2. Fitted/Liquid Mesh:

One resolution for this issue is "fitted" mesh. This is a better option, but because it is basically an algorithmic guess at sizing you will usually see gaps between your mesh outfit and you. While this does accommodate physics, show through will still happen when you move (depending on the creator.  Better creators = fewer issues).  Further, you have to be careful to purchase the fit mesh for your specific body creator or it will not work at all.

Mind the gap!

3. Mesh Appliers:

The final, desperate option to get mesh to fit is appliers. This is like system layers. Obviously these fit everyone as they are basically "painted on," however you have to make sure you purchase appliers for your specific creator. The best work around for this is Omega (this link to the relay for Maitreya shapes). Omega has relay HUDs that you purchase for your particular body creator. Then you can safely buy any clothing that shows the omega logo and know it fits, right?

Well, almost. There are still some unprofessional (or ignorant, I'm not sure which) creators that fail to respect the people that actually purchase their clothes. They list their items with the omega logo but only provide appliers for socks or panties. Its really shoddy business practice from some shockingly mainstream creators that I refuse to support (like Dirty Princess, a gorgeous line on which I spent  over 1000L at Halloween on things I can't wear from an extremely rude creator that banned me for complaining). 

In other words, from now on in your mesh life each purchase will be made in multiple steps - one to try the demo, the next to buy the outfit).

D: Mesh is insanely complicated!  All three options require the layering of multiple HUDs on your screen, completely obliterating the avatar you are trying to dress and overlapping so that you don't always know what HUD you are actually clicking on. Fun!

HUD OVERLOAD!!!!

E: You cannot save mesh outfits. Wow, after all this it sure would be helpful to just "save outfit" and move on, right?  Too bad. The most you can do is save all the applicable HUDs attached to your outfit, then when you load the outfit you only have to click each item HUD and select the applicable colors, layers, etc. Every single time. 

F: Mesh is extremely expensive - in case you can't tell by the prices listed. The days of making a gorgeous avatar without spending money are over if you go mesh, and you can expect to lose thousands of L trying to figure it out (like I did - even with a good friend and mesh expert holding my hand!).

In short, don't be a sheep. Just because something is new doesn't make it better. Use your best judgement and decide what outcome is critical to you (for example, the avatar shown here is usually naked so mesh works great for her!).

I also understand that there is a tool that allows you to convert your favorite system clothes to mesh appliers, which makes sense. I am looking into that next.

I hope this post spares you some of the expense and frustration I endured. If you are still unsure, email me. I will walk you through it personally for a fee ;)