Things you need to know about mesh bodies (Part 3)

This article was published in Fusion Magazine, April 2015. Click for the magazine!

Greetings everybody! We know, now, what a mesh body is and what we can expect with it. We also know that in order to use mesh clothes with a mesh body, we'll need to use a HUD that will hide slices of the body to avoid pokethrough.

Mesh bodies offer another alternative, for clothing. They may offer two or three extra layers, to wear painted clothes similar to the clothing system layers. These extra layers are usually organized like the SL avatar: a tattoo layer, to wear tattoos, or body make up... then an underwear layer, and then a clothing layer, which tends to be a little loose over the mesh body.

We will not be discussing here whether this is a step forward or a step back. The relevant thing is that mesh bodies do offer this option, and what matters to us is: how do we get those painted clothes over our mesh body?

By using something called appliers.

Appliers are scripted HUDs that will communicate with the mesh body, giving it specific instructions, i.e. which texture to apply over which of the available layers. Each mesh body has its own scripting system. This means that we would need appliers that work for our mesh body, in order to use them. If we see an applier product that explicitly says it will work with our mesh body/attachment, then we can purchase it, confident that it will work.

With so many mesh bodies and other parts, it sounds like this is a nightmare for applier creators. And it was, until a set of scripts called Omega came to life. The Omega set of scripts allows clothing designers to create one applier HUD, and this will work in all bodies that support Omega. Maitreya Lara and Belleza Venus, two of the most used mesh bodies at the moment, support the Omega system.

We have to purchase this set of scripts by teleporting to the Love N Lust Designs location (currently at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Jacuma/79/77/25, but double check in case they moved). Then either we spend L$99 for the kit corresponding to our mesh body/attachment, or we may join their group, and purchase it for L$1 or L$3. At the moment of this writing, those kits are on the first floor. Kits are also available on Marketplace. Just type omega system kit in the search box. Then, unpack the kit(s) in your inventory, if they were packed.

Once we have the kit that corresponds to our mesh body/attachment, what do we do? The procedure is a little different, depending on the mesh body. I will describe the procedure for two of the three mesh bodies I had the chance to try out: Maitreya Lara and Belleza Venus.

Maitreya Lara: The kit for this body includes a relay HUD. Simply, wear this HUD while at the same time you're wearing a HUD for your clothes. The picture shows an example.

Figure 1.1: Maitreya's relay, its body HUD, and an Omega applier HUD
We do not have to click anything on this relay HUD. So we can resize it to a small size, like in the picture, so it occupies the least possible space on our screen. Make sure that you're showing the corresponding clothing layers on the mesh body. Toggle on/off if in doubt; the script could be remembering a wrong state for them, and all you have to do is toggle again.

Notice also that whenever we select what we want to wear, by clicking on the HUD, a popup menu will appear, asking us to which layer we want the clothes applied (since version 2 of the body).

Figure 1.2: Pop-up menu when clicking on the Omega applier HUD,
to select on which layer the clothes should be applied
Belleza Venus: This kit includes an installer HUD. This will be a one-time operation, and it will not be necessary to wear a relay when we want to use Omega appliers. This installer HUD is named Omega System Installer - Belleza.

First, we have to wear Belleza's body. After this, we wear the installer HUD, and click on it. We will receive the following message in local (nearby) chat, like the picture shows: Thank you for Activating the Omega System!

Figure 1.3: Belleza Installer, notifying of success
We can now detach the installer, and use the Omega appliers we own. At this point, we do not need a relay. The body is ready to show the textures sent by the Omega applier.

One note, though: Since there are three versions of the body included, we need to activate the Omega system for each one of them. The three versions are: full body; body with hands but no feet, to use Slink feet, and body with no hands and no feet, to use Slink hands and feet.

Using this body, we have to make sure that the corresponding clothing layers we click on the Omega applier are visible. We have to wear Belleza's body HUD, to make sure of this. Once we're sure, we can detach Belleza's HUD and just use the Omega applier.

Figure 1.4: Using Omega appliers with Belleza
If you own other mesh bodies/attachments that support Omega, you may have to rez the item on the ground and drop a script inside, then take it back into your inventory. (That is the case with Wowmeh.) Follow the directions included in their documentation notecard. Keep in mind that you will find, together and on top, directions for the final user (the one who simply wants to dress up), and then for the creator who needs to prepare the HUDs. Unless you plan on creating applier HUDs, we are in the first case.

And with this, the mini series on mesh bodies is complete. Enjoy your SL.