Plans for the Future

Well.. this has been an interesting week in an interesting month in an interesting year!

As many of you are now aware, Bakes on Mesh is coming.  This has elicited a variety of emotions in the community, from impatient joy “GIMMIE GIMMIE GIMMIE” to Anger “WHAT ABOUT THE MATERIALS?! ARE YOU DUMB?! THIS WILL RUIN ALL THE THINGS”.  I’m being asked daily about my plans and what I think of it.

I, being in the position I am, have run a bit of a gambit. I’m super hopeful for what this means for SL. Rendering Costs and Alpha Glitches will go down dramatically, creation processes streamlined.  There are some things that I’m still poking LL about.  I go to those Creator Meetings every dang week for a reason. (Like.. srsly LL.. give us API..and materials pretty please?!).

But I’m not stupid, I know this is going to cut my market share dramatically. My tactic of drastically undercharging to ensure total market saturation just isn’t going to work when BoM is free.  Omega is going to end up being a frill for many meshes, a way to make clothing and makeup look better rather than a pre-requisite just to put it on.  This means some things are gonna have to be adjusted.

Pricing

My pricing model has to change. Most meshes I make almost nothing on. It’s charity work because I’m operating as the only available common carrier and I do NOT want to be a hurdle for creators just to get to market. I wub you guys and I want you to make ALL THE THINGS.

I could regale you with the various spreadsheets and calcs I ran to try and figure out what would work.. but ultimately.. it came down to “throw something at the wall and see if it works!”

So, starting 7/15/2018, pricing for Kits on the Marketplace will be changed to this:

Body Kits: 199L
Head Kits: 149L
Hand/Misc Kits: 99L
Retired Kits (like wowmeh & signature): 99L

License Fees for Pre-Installed will remain the same, as will in world prices. (That’s right! The Lazy tax is back!)
Pre-Installed because it’s guaranteed sales and by far still the best thing the for customer.
Inworld, simply to give yall a vote. If you absolutely hate the new pricing and think I’m being a greedy c#$@, get your kits inworld.  (I won’t be offended.. ok.. maybe a bit.. but I’ll wub you anyways!)
I’m hoping I won’t have to raise inworld prices too, but that will ultimately end up increasing will depend heavily on what happens when BoM hits.

New Head & Eye Kits sometime this month

In addition to pricing changes, I also need to brace for the impact of a 1000 new head makers charging toward the gates wanting scripts…
So this month, likely in the next week or so, I will be releasing 2 new kits.  One will be a Generic Eyes and Lashes Kit and the other a Generic Head, Eyes and Lashes Kit.

Both will operate similarly to the current full perm kits, with Trans and No-Trans versions for creators and customers to pick up.
This time, however, I’ve got a new trick up my sleeve that will let me remotely convert any creators meshes to Pre-Installed just by adding their keys to a table.

The Price to do this will be inexpensive but only available to trusted creators.

There will be Stricker Scripting Requirements

The era of “Check all these boxes and you get in” is going to have to end once BoM hits.
The whole reason Omega is so time-consuming is that I script ALL THE THINGS. As long as you fulfill some very basic requirements, ie no stolen meshes, no IP infringement, you’re not making a griefing tool, etc, I make you a kit.
I do this because I am the only real option and it’s not fair to exclude someone from the market because of my laziness. Once BoM hits though.. I’m going to be a frill.. not a hard entry requirement.
As such, once BoM starts, I will no longer be making scripts for any mesh that comes through unless I think it’s worth the man-hours.  It’s just going to have to be that way as Omega will inevitably, even with price increases, need to become a part of my work instead of my entire Portfolio. By all means, don’t be afraid to come to ask for scripting, but please don’t be offended if I ask you to either pay or work on your mesh some more before we work together. 🙂

In Summary, I love you guy. I love the time I’ve had building this system. I’m going to love the time I spend taking care of Omega as it (hopefully) ages gracefully into semi-retirement. The days of just rabidly flinging Omega Kits at yall knowing at least a couple will be popular enough to pay for the rest are over, but will some luck, I plan on making sure I can take care of this baby of mine for as long as you need her, whether that’s a month, a year or another decade of SL.

oxoxoxox
-Chellynne Bailey

Eyeee Seeee Giifftyyss!

Soooo big batches seem to work better. Sooo Here’s another one!
I took another wack at Pastels.. and did get LIGHTER… still not very pastel…
It’s HARD to make them look detailed when it’s too light! >.>
I also swapped out the RA pupils for Stars.

And then, of course, this weekend is Father’s day, so needed a freebie..
I contemplated making it themed.. but what would that look like? x.x
.

And then, of course, I forgot I still need to do brown… sooo.. NEXT BATCH!

Now, this time, I’m doing things a BIT differently!
Regularly priced 99L, come visit the new (still under construction) shop here:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Omega%20Solutions/231/108/26
before the end of 6/18 to get it FREE when you join us on Discord!

Join us on discord: https://discord.gg/YcXNM9G and check the #News section for instructions on how to get the Clear Skys Eyes for FREE

But be quick about it though, 6/18 the discount ends. Unless I forget. I do that.

Oh, and don’t forget to check out all the other colors available, it’s starting to really flesh out!
(I got all the ones I forgot to list last time up now!)
Inworld or On the MP

Hugs and Wub
~ Chellynne Bailey

Omega Now has a DISCORD: https://discord.gg/ZxnkzuE

Lets face it, Group Chat is uggggg. No matter what we’ve done, the lag will not go away.
And if no one happens to be around to answer your question, you might as well be talking into the void!

Notices too are a pain to look through. We can’t delete errors and there’s no organization. Flickr too is an organizational nightmare. Do we make 1000 groups with different topics, or 1 group with ALL the things? How is anyone supposed to FIND anything?

So I’ve been snooping around for alternative ways to both provide support and allow advertising/shopping. Perhaps a forum! But does SL really need another forum?

Annddd then it was suggested to me: Discord.

I was a bit.. skeptical, I didn’t really know much about it, but the more I toyed with it, the more I realized what we could do with it.

1. Persistent Chat Channels. No one around when you ask a question?  They’ll see it when they are around!
2. Easily organized channels that are SUPER flexible. I’ve already set up a bunch of channels, but can easily set up more as they are needed! 
   1. Support is it’s own dedicated channel. No getting smothered by off-topic info
   2. Chatter is now it’s own dedicated channel. Make friends! Talk about the weather, just be nice!
   3. News, it’s like notices! But I can delete boo boo and they DON’T. GO. AWAY in 2 weeks.
   4. Advertisers aren’t just getting 1 new channel, they have a whole section of channels.
      1. A Channel for Bloggers.  I’ve never been able to give bloggers much leeway in any of our advertising opportunities since there is just sooo many of them. But now, have at it folks!
      2. A Channel JUST for Mesh Bodies and Parts
      3. A Channel JUST for Omega Appliers
      4. A Channel for ANY Applier. Thats right, even if it’s not Omega, advert it here!
      5. A Channel for ANY Mesh. Mesh Dresses, Mesh Jewelry, Mesh Hair, Any Fashion mesh, GO FOR ET.
      6. A Channel for Childrens Products
      7. A Channel for NSFW Products! (For any product that WOULD be allowed in the other advert channels.. if it wasn’t NSFW)
      8. A Channel for Events! Do you run a shopping event people should know about? Post it!
   5. We ALL get discussion Channels! Have a relevant topic you’d like to discuss? We can easily add that as a channel.
3.  
4. Voice Chat: Need to give/get help and want to do so in voice? Discord is primarily a voice service, so it’s super easy to grab someone and start a voice chat. Just make sure you ask first. 😉
5. NO need to use a group slot or apply for permission before posting. Just follow the rules of the channel!

FAQ

Is Group Chat going away?
No, it’s not going anywhere. But if you want a chat that doesn’t lag till next Tues, this is the place!

Is Omega Obsessions/Flickr going away?
No.

Can you add a channel for <Insert Idea>
Maybe! Ask!

I didn’t get an answer to my question right away! <angry noises>
Discord is a bit of a cross between a forum and a chat room. Sometimes there may be people ready to chat right away. Sometimes you’ll have to wait, like when you post a question on a forum.  Just post as much info as you can about your issue and make sure you include your inworld name in case someone wants to ask you more questions about the issue.