Happy Topless Tuesday! This week I thought that I'd feature a full-body mesh shape from The Shops (SLurl) a Beta release body and clothing system. My first impression was "Holy Carp! This is one needlessly complicated shopping experience in a slow-rezzing shop." First you have to get a shopping HUD, then you have to buy "coins" if you want to purchase anything that isn't free unless you buy some "pay-what-you-wish" items that would likely be free in other shops.
But the picture above can probably tell you what my second impression was after I got the system set up: "Holy Carp I'm friggin' hot!!" Like other mesh bodies this one is "Fitted" so the shape changes as you adjust some of the controls in the standard Second Life shape editor. When I leaped in with my "standard medium mesh" shape based on the parameters (see here) set by a consortium of designers so that "rigged" mesh clothes would fit consistently from creator to creator I found that all the clothes I had setup for the shape no longer fit well. I had to tweak everything totally breaking the so-called standard numbers (also found the case with the SLink mesh body called Physique) or my clothes wouldn't fit. Even with the tweaks quite a few items still didn't fit will because while someone thinks their item meets specified parameters practice tells us different.
Sure, the blocky nature of the default body (which is actually a form of mesh but we'll call a System body) is smoothed out for a better look while joints (knees, especially) don't "break" when bent in certain poses, using a mesh body seems like an awful lot of work. I get the impression that while The Skinnery (SLurl), maker of my fave skins, apparently has appliers for the body from The Shops I can't figure out how to find it. The default skins included with the body match pretty well with them and skins from Unbra (SLurl) unless I purchase a mesh head for several thousand $Lindens or wear the collar you see above, there's a nasty seam at the neck. Maybe having a matched skin would help, but I can't figure out how to get one. Plus, my investment in SLink hands/feet would then be moot.
I tried the SLink body, too, and it is far less curvy than the one above (and I'm assuming less curvy than the now extinct Wowmeh body) so while Colleen Criss tells me that breasts set to a size of 75 or larger on the shape editor sliders count toward being busty enough for Busted Magazine, the result really don't look much similar.
The animated GIF above shows what the two bodies look like (the SLink body has the Demo tatts) with the exact same shape. While the height difference could be attributed to the difference in foot shapers, and if you ignore some skin tone differences, you can see clear discrepancies in how each body renders shoulders, breasts, muscles, and body fat.
So I'm confused. I don't like the seam that so-called Implants leave and a mesh body would let me drop my Three Breast System for a Two Breast System (one for rigged clothes and one for fitted clothes) but there are other complications, many of which vary greatly depending which body system is used. And then all the clothes I have would be fairly useless unless updated and that's probably not happening.
But for free (remember, it's Beta), the body from The Shop looks great on a nude beach and I'll keep it for that until the whole fitted mesh body issue is worked out. I'd love to hear what you thins, so hit up the Comments below. Maybe I'm missing something that you can teach me or you might have other recommendations. Be sure to visit the Topless Tuesday in SL Flickr group, too!
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