How Much Mesh Is Too Much?

Since mesh appeared on the grid, I’ve tried to learn as much as I can about it.

There are things I will never understand, because I don’t make mesh.

I’ve tried Blender, and it just makes me crazy.

Maybe someday I’ll learn it, but not anytime soon.

In the meantime, I’m happy to be a mesh consumer.

I like mesh.

It has pros and cons, like anything else.

Mesh clothing looks more realistic, because it sits ‘on/around’ a body, rather than looking painted on.

It looks more realistic (sometimes), when moving, sitting, etc.

It’s prettier (purely subjective opinion, of course).

However, mesh isn’t always ‘better’ than the alternative.

Mesh isn’t always the greatest option for building, because LI calculations are so complicated.

It isn’t the greatest for dancing, because sometimes it doesn’t rez properly, and, depending on the clothing, stretches and moves weirdly as the avatar moves.

I love mesh bodies and heads.

They look so pretty in pictures, and save me all kinds of time in post-processing photos to get rid of ugly jagged edges that system avatars always have.

I pretty much wear mesh clothing, shoes, and hair exclusively.

I have a mesh body and several mesh heads.

However, I try to be an aware and considerate SL resident.

So when I go to a dance show, for example, I get my scripts as low as possible.

Since discovering that render weight of things I wear can have an impact on others at a show, I have stopped wearing jewelry and other high-RW items to shows.

I generally, even with my mesh body and head on, can get my RW down to around 20,000.

Not spectacularly low, but decent.

I was at an event recently, and I had left ‘show RW for avatars’ checked without realizing it.

It wasn’t a crowded event, only about 25 or so people, but the RWs I saw were surprising.

Honestly, I expected the RWs to be 100K or above for most people.

The first surprise was that over half of those present, though dressed nicely and wearing mesh, had RWs between 40K-120K.

Again, not great, but not as high as I had expected.

The second surprise was that one of the people present, who was wearing a mesh body, head, hair, and clothing, had a RW of 378K.

378K!!

That’s a LOT.

I didn’t see any jewelry, which is usually high-RW, so I was surprised to see a RW that high.

The real shocker of the event, though, was the avatar whose RW was 978K.

Yup.

978K.

Almost 1 million RW – for 1 single avatar.

Wow.

Now imagine if everyone was decked out like that and they were all in one place.

How much mesh is too much?