custom avatars

Hi

i just searched the forums but didnt found an answer
to my approach of the custom avatar problem.
I wonder whether it is possible to modify the avatar
mesh by other means than the build in shape modifier (slider based).
It would be cool to create kind of different morph targets for the
avatar properties (e.g. nose).
Is it possible at all - and do there exist any tools for this?
Or are we forever bound to tweaking around with the given
settings or linked prims?

thank you,
Babette

I believe you're stuck but you can do miracles with the skin textures. It's the skin more than the shape that makes a really nice looking avatar. If the avatars were too detailed then it would take even good computers forever to render a room full of people (not that it doesn't already)

No. At this point, SL does not support importing other avatar Mesh configurations or morph targets. Would be nice if it did, but that isn't possible yet.

thank you for your answers.

i cant stand from doing a comment on the avatar mesh..
it looks very much like a newbie work to me.
E.g. i'd call the topology a nightmare .
Polygon efficiency is almost not existent on this mesh.
At least no one with real experience or outstanding capabilties in
character modelling did this mesh, which plays such an important
role in this game. Its such a pity.
I think it is one of the most
urgent things to do in SL to update the mesh with an up to date
version done by a real character artist.
What do you think about this issue?

The existing avatar mesh and UV mapping is based, I believe, on the Poser 4 female figure, and hasn't changed since then. In Poser and Daz|Studio, the figures have improved in poly count and in UV mapping by a couple orders of magnitude. Not so in SL, which is stuck where human modeling was about 5 years ago.

Many people have requested more detailed and better UV-mapped avatars. The problem is that a "new generation" avatar would not be compatable with any of the skins or clothing designed for the current generation! That is a problem with Poser already. They come out with Victoria 4, at 10x the poly count, and you have to buy all new skins and clothes to use her in your renders. But in 3D rendering apps, that doesn't prevent you from using the old figures everywhere else. They may not look as good as the new generation, but you can still use them.

Adding a "new generation" avatar mesh would require the client to differentiate between two or more completely different avatar creation models. The new generation figures would take far longer to render if they had higher poly counts. They would require entirely seperate lines of skins and clothes. The list goes on... In short, you'd almost have to re-create SL from scratch to do much to alter the avatar mesh or UV mapping.

At best, we might hope for a better UV mapping with the same poly count. Again, it would still require all new skins and clothing for the new figures. But at least the rendering times would remain similar. And if they did this, then hopefully they would also give the new figure a template that has both arms seperately mapped!

well there are many points in your post that make things clearer to me, thank you.

I think one can do an awesome avatar with the given polycount of the current model,
i have seen game models with 1/10 th polycount of SLs avatar mesh which looks much better.
The current model involves so much useless overhead its really hard to believe
e.g. one single shoulder of the avatar has roughly 150 polygons, thats a budget were others have to make an entire game-character from .. but it even though looks like a lump of vertices to me.

phew i think we only can hope the developer do something regarding this but as you pointed out chances are probably almost zero.

I don't think it would be that big a problem to have more than one mesh option for avatars. The original mesh could still be an option as well a "nude" mesh with better UV mapping and one for trousers and shirts that stretch across the rear and chest. Not to mention skirts that don't let the legs poke through.



Hmm, I didn't realize that would be a problem.




I don't quite see why the poly count would have to be any higher, just a bit different really. And I don't quite see why the rest of SL would even be affected. I admit the chances are good that you know a lot more about this than I do.



Even better UV mapping would be great.