Bakes on Mesh Will Greatly Improve Second Life Performance -- If SLers, Viewers & Mesh Brands Adopt It

Left and right: Bakes on mesh when using the updated SL viewer... and a current 3rd party viewer (photos by Rhonda Huntress via this thread) 

Linden Lab just announced the official release of Bakes on Mesh [aka BOM], which aims to optimize mesh-based attachments. (Lack of mesh optimization has utterly crippled Second Life performance in recent years.) And while actual SL users are struggling to get it to work with their existing mesh and current viewers (see above), it does have great promise. NiranV, creator of the Black Dragon SL viewer and Second Life's sharpest critic of poor performance, is cautiously optimistic. 

"Bakes on Mesh idea is nice and it's a much needed thing, especially with onion layers," as he puts it to me. "This could potentially reduce texture memory usage by up to 75%, and polygon counts too." He's planning to merge BOM to his own viewer soon, and Firestorm, Second LIfe's most popular viewer, is already doing so.

One key challenge, however, is BOM's compatibility with existing mesh-based avatar content. It remains to be seen if the leading brands will update existing content for their customers -- or require them to buy new BOM-based mesh.

"Many SL residents think that with BoM, when they buy a skin, it will apply on any brand’s body and mesh head, but I think there may be some issues with it fitting," as SL fashion blogger Gogo tells me. 

Or as Niran puts it, somewhat less tactfully: "BOM doesn't mean jack shit if the creators don't swap for it since the user can't, because all the crap human [avatar] trash content is no-mod."

SLink, a popular mesh brand, has updated to BOM -- apparently the first to do so -- and just posted this lengthy FAQ suggesting the arduous process of doing so for its customers.

The SLink body parts system has undergone a MAJOR update for Bakes on Mesh. We have gone back to the drawing board on many features and redesigned the whole thing from the ground up. We have streamlined the geometry and texture usage, and removed as much unnecessary overhead as possible. This includes extra onion skin layers that were no longer necessary, and the script system and HUD have been completely redesigned to take full advantage of this opportunity. The end result is that the user experience is easier, cleaner and lower avatar rendering cost, especially in the body bundle packages.

So expect a lot of consumer confusion and anger in coming months, and a possible shift in market dominance, depending on which major mesh brands jump on BOM -- or don't.

Comments

[Summer Haas]

"BOM doesn't mean jack shit if the creators don't swap for it since the user can't, because all the crap human [avatar] trash content is no-mod." - It would be nice if Linden Lab quoted this in their official release.

[fionalein]

Just as we need one omega per mesh body /mesh head brand, we will need one system layer per brand. BoM will improve some things, but if you do not wnat to thrown out of a club for "wearing a demo skin" or "trolling" I reccomend you not to use it untill two compatible firestorm updates have passed... as the ever charmant NiranV tried to point out people just will not see it before.

[Mondy Bristol]

Anyone who has been following the BoM development forums, trying it out on the beta grid and keeping up with the Omega, creater groups will know that like Slink, the main brands have been working on having their products ready for this and have been holding back until LL released it in their main viewer. Some may even hold it back until Firestorm release it. There isn't even a FS beta with BoM yet. Meanwhile, Cool VL has had BoM built in for months for those that want to test it and don't want to use LL's viewer. (Although I wonder how many are familiar with the V1 interface now apart from Singularity users)
BoM despite it's current failings isn't likely to get anyone 'thrown out' of a club if you follow the process for using it correctly, which isn't hard..really, it's not! Suggesting that when FS do have a release people don't use it is just spreading FUD.
I'm viewer agnostic btw, not promoting Cool VL over any other.

[Psistorm Ikura]

IIRC BoM doesn't support materials yet, and with 100% of my content using materials - such as normal maps to optimize my meshes etc - it is entirely useless to me right now.
Why roll out materials, then roll out a baker that does not support this feature that's been around for so long? Correct me if BoM now has materials support, of course. This was just the last I heard of it.

[Clara Seller]

How much time has LL wasted reinventing the wheel like they'd never seen a wheel before? What is this strange new thing and will we be able to use it? Let's hope our creator class can figure it all out for us because we could never do it on our own. Imagine a texture that can appear on an object? It's like the apes staring at the obelisk in 2001:A Space Odyssey.

BOM is a great concept with endless possibilities. It's a solution we used to have before we created a problem. I'm anxious to see how complicated mesh body creators will make this. Will we have to put a quarter in a meter every hour before it automatically resets to default just to remind us that the content isn't really ours? I hope it comes with some sort of lock or explosive device to prevent just anyone from getting the keys to the creative kingdom.

Oh LL, why can't you just provide us with an updated good moldable piece of clay mannequin, like you used to, and let us chimps figure out our own destiny with a working set of sliders. It's become so tedious and boring having to learn to walk over and over again.

[volran]

anyone knows a good tutorial on BOM?

[amandamagick]

all mesh body and mesh head designers need to update to BOM otherwise we are all screwed.

[Kacy]

Here’s a tutorial I found that shows how to use BoM with any mesh head and body: http://juicybomb.com/2019/08/28/bakes-on-mesh/

[Cs]

Sorry after Slink refused to update that makes sense , I just see a lot of people just not even bothering with it. We have appliers that are no mod. Slink answer to this was just used the lag body.

So that's what im going to do, is use the old mesh lagging body, sorry.

So stupid we shouldn't need 2 mesh bodies and a system body to dress.

you mean in 32 layers that can be added you couldn't find a way to translate 6 layers of the old appliers in 32 is bs.
https://gyazo.com/c21fad209784c8ea9065a53c8cdc1bfd

In the end the lag wont stop because 3/4 of the mesh bodies will stay the same old laggy way. Also the creators will scream more no mod ip theft as people try to make their bodies work, as well as server cost going up because everyone that owns a applier needs to re upload the uuid. meaning that could be like 100,000 uploads per applier.

[geoff beery]

signature has already released a test BOM
mesh with their latest update

[Ava]

it's been a few months now still not switching out my favorites. nothing new has come out at any events that would replace my favorite skin or makeups. I have friends who used baked on mesh and they still load blurry for each other, one big blur but nonetheless.