Honestly, I use the Maitreya Lara Petite (not X) because i decided that I was ok with just having the body I had.

A new body requires new clothes, which requires new buying, etc.

SL's avatar shape editing is not over complicated. If you don't like it on here, then there are hundreds of other games you are really going to hate.

How is SL 'needlessly overcomplex' when a lot of people want new features for further customization all the time? Why would anyone want a 'vastly' higher polycount? What is 'universal' rigged mesh clothing when people often struggle to rig as-is to drastically different body shapes such as not-skinny people? Does this 'system body 2.0' concept even keep in mind people who want abnormal body proportions or anatomy? Why would you want a mesh body with an entirely different second UVmap just because people aren't supporting the existing Left Arm layer as much as they should be?

A highpoly new base body would just be more tris to hide when you want to use your current mesh body with your current entire inventory, which keep in mind not everyone on SL even uses a humanoid body in the first place. And SL is nowhere near optimized enough to have 'vastly' anything, we have enough people making 1000mil tricount bracelets crashing whoever looks at them.

When LL tried to make a 'new starter avatar' they didn't even manage to have a open source kit for it, you have to apply for the devkit and therefore no one cared. Not even good as a starter body for people to test out their first meshes on before trying to get normal apply-for kits.

What you should be asking LL for is shape keys / some ability to add 'custom sliders' and custom skeleton support, and what you should be asking current content creators is for their mesh bodies to not be laggy in the first place (such as removing shell layers people haven't used in like 10 years, or at least being modifiable so we can unlink them ourselves). Even with their lag, though, you need to keep in mind that mesh body makers on SL are likely using that income for things like rent and food, so trying to make a whole category of products defunct would have it's own problems.

Hell, the entire concept of SL, a open economy where creators make objects to customize builds and avatars with, the fact SL 'is overly complex', is most of the reason a lot of people are even here. This feature request feels like not only does it not understand how content creation works, but it's asking for less customization and more lag.

If people new to SL want a mesh body, the Legacy Basics were recently added to the inventory Library, and they're far less laggy than the full versions, same with the Lelutka Lite heads.

The avatar customization system is an absolute mess. Too many people have duct taped junk on the sides of it over the decades for it to not be.

A higher poly remap of the base body might have been an option at the very beginning of the launch of mesh, but I fear that ship has sailed. Aside from the issues with personal tastes and marketing that have led the mesh body market to...where it is, there is the inherent problem that the System body does not use a shape system that users can access.

It is impossible to make items for a System body that can actually change shape to match that System body. More polygons won't help that. The System body uses a completely functionally different system to change its shape (Shape Keys), a system that is not reproducible in user created mesh uploads. (While I'm not super into a lot of the structural choices in the bone defined shape system...and am in fact super against certain choices...we also don't particularly want to switch to shape keys. It's a super pain in the ass to deal with, and why some of the System shapes go off the rails the way that they do. Also why simple things like lighting is allllll shades of f'ed up on hands. Extra polys won't fix shape keys THAT much.)

In other words: even if there WAS a better base System body, mesh clothing would not fit you. It's not a solution that can make ANYTHING work smoother or simpler or easier for a new user (or returning) to get used to. Adding another System body would, unfortunately, just add just another layer of duct tape, and another layer of confusion.

(There is a free mesh replacement body and head project that uses the System body as a jumping off point, Ruth 2.0, but it never really caught on. And, again, it has to use MESH shape adjustment options, which are absolutely not SYSTEM shape adjustments, so it cannot make the same shapes the System body does, even starting in the same place.)

I disagree with keeping the older model. But upping it's detail and replacing it for a higher triangle count has been something that should have been done decades ago. LL should be providing the best base avatar possible to allow people to actually see the platform isn't as out of date as the current base avatar makes it look.

Senra was an utter waste of time. LL need to hire a 3D modeler who specialises in human anatomy to re-create what is already there. Not just cover it up.

They did do system body 2.0. It’s called Senra and it’s terrible which is why they made deals with Meshbody and Lelutka to have a HUDless, BOM mesh head and body in everyone’s default inventory now. You mesh haters kill me, y’all lookin’ like you stepped out of a SL time capsule. You all need to get over your old look to evolve and accept the mesh revolution / evolution. And this notion that mesh avatars are inherently heavy in complexity is nonsense. The most overweight avatars I come across are legacy system avis with their flexi hair and sparkly bling and whatever else it is that makes them exceed 300K in complexity! Most mesh avis I see are in the five digits. If that’s too much for you then you should probably consider upgrading your first gen Pentium to something with a GPU. You’re essentially asking LL to put a bunch of effort into satisfying a small, niche group of mesh haters.

YES!

An other concept could be to create "a mesh HUD which somehow was able to transfer the system body into a mesh body BUT as a look alike. " I like my appearance as a system body, oc my head mostly but my body shape also, and if I need switchs to a complete mesh shape, I like my head appearance to come along..I dont like to look like a plastic doll with several botoxs injections. :-) A "transformer HUD" able to create a supreme mesh head + body as a look alike of my system head and body. Just an idea.. :-)

Supreme idea and an intelligent concept - Lets get "System Body Shape V.2.0" so all the beautiful outfit we now have with body shape V1.0 can fit the 21 century avatar. Linden lab need move forward, inward and upward toward higher creativity and beautification of the vision of humens

The terminology used in this suggestion is completely wrong, making it really hard to understand what the suggestion actually means.

But what I think the original poster wants is a better default body with more detail, which I can understand. However I see a bunch of issues with this that would also have to be considered.

First off, adding more sliders for better shape control would mean completely replacing the system skeleton which has been done before when the bento skeleton was introduced, but as I understand it, this is a hugely complex task that could potentially cause a lot of old rigged items to completely break.

Another issue I see is that a more complex base mesh for the original avatar could be beneficial to simplify things for people with regular human avatars using no third party modifications. However it would be very detrimental to all non standard avatars. This is because all non standard avatars like animal avatars, furries or third party mesh bodies would still rely on hiding the default body, but even when the default body is hidden it still exist and take up system resources and if the default body is more complex this could potentially become a source of unnecessary lag.

Maybe my concerns regarding this is unfounded, just wanted to share my view.