In this review we get to review a more conventional species of animal that has been remade as an avatar. For those wanting a bit more of an alternative take on the familiar Red Fox variety, the EXL Foxen presents a choice.
Out of the Box:
19 Eye colours
Measurement
Value
Script Time with HUD
~0.30
Script Time without HUD
~0.08
Avatar Rendering Cost
~620-2514
(Dependent on Hair. Female hair doubles the ARC)
Blink Toggle
2 male skins (Adult/PG)
3 female skins (Adult/PG/Multi)
Random eye/tail/ear movement
Eye Position Control
Tongue In/Out
Mouth Open/Closed
Muzzle Talking System
7 tail positions and wag
5 ear positions
Build and Skin:
The EXL Foxen is a little bit older than a good few of EXL’s other avatars, so there is less features and development than the others. The Foxen had a slightly rough release with some of the colour variations, but the issues are minimal.
The texture skills are at about the same level of the already reviewed EXL Wolf; with a good amount of difference between the male and female skins. The male versions of the avatar get a fit, more chiselled figure with a set of abs, while the females have far softer texturing across the body, with a soft mid-section and shading to accentuate the breasts. Both sexes come with mature skins a la EXL; with the males having small nipples ‘buried’ in fur. Females get the option of two nipples and genitalia, or the Multi-Skin (3-rows of nipples + genetalia). All in all, the skins come in a good variety of colours and competent shading and highlights. Otherwise, the skins are simple and do not feature too much fur detailing other than the patch of white on the chest, belly, and rump, which helps the avatar textures stay in line with the cartoonish build.
The only real issue with the skins is unfortunately the line that appears between the torso and lower body parts. The textures on the upper body of the skin are better defined and look more detailed, but the lower body lacks some of that definition. Fortunately, the effect is not a major one, and wearing clothing covers the discrepancy.
The foot attachments for the avatar are among the meatiest that we have seen, with thick toes and heavily padded paw pads. The paws are darkly textured, moving up the digitigrade leg in the typical ’sock’-like colouration that people have stereotyped with the Red fox. The digitigrade legs are thick enough so that if the user wishes to add more muscle (or fat) mass to their body, the digitigrade legs would be able to support the modified body shape. Additionally, the digitigrade leg features a vestigial dew-claw.
The hand paws are pretty much the same as the ones on the Wolf and Therion avatars. That is, four-fingered paws with thick digits complete with wide paw-pads; which makes them a good merge between a hand and paw. Finally, the tail that comes with the avatar is a flexi-prim one. EXL has arranged and textured the prims for a very soft-looking, floofy fox-tail that is visually appealing.
Now on to the head. We have established by now that EXL has a unique style of creating their heads; particularly in the eyes. Again the face has a look of general disinterest, apathy, and attitude. The eyeballs are brightly textured and come with a slightly slitted pupil. For females, the eyelids comes with a degree of eye-shadow to underline the femininity of the user, while males get generic eyelids. The face is well textured, with highlighting shading around the eyes and dark whiskers poking over the pronounced eyebrows.
The muzzle is the most textured place of the avatar; both inside and on the outside. We find the typical fox marking on both sides of the muzzle, whiskers, and ample shading to give the muzzle more character than a simply flat white face. Males receive ‘chin-fluff’ as a kind of goatee, while like other EXL avs before it, females receive a pouty bottom lip that is is tinted black. On the other hand, the interior of the mouth keeps up with the company’s standard of making a well made and textured tongue and mouth. The inside of the muzzle looks wet and as per their canine avatars, has a spotted tongue. I had neglected to point this out before on their other avatars, but when the mouth is open, we see the unfolded skin of the mouth between the top and bottom jaws of the muzzle. This is a realistic addition to avatars that formerly was unique to EXL, but some other creators are starting to play with this as well.
A small issue with the avatar is that despite the great textures and interior, when the mouth is wide open, you can see the head-prim poking into the mouth where the back of the throat should be.
At last, the ears are not particularly notable, but are remarkably simple and smooth, giving them a neatly concave shape. They are accented with sculpted fluff and complement the head neatly. The hair that comes with the avatar differs between the male and the female versions; actually some of the best included hairs that we have seen EXL include with their avatars. Males get a dark, modern shoulder-length style, while females get a much longer hairstyle that goes past the shoulders.
Heads-Up Display (HUD) and Features:
The HUD is again the central point for the avatar’s control. Again, it is not as developed as we see in the later EXL avatars, but still holds its own and offers a good amount of control over the avatar’s functions and features.
The HUD therefore controls the following:
Ears: Relaxed, Perked, Down, Forward, or Back for One or Both Ears
Eyes: Toggle Blink, Change Eye State (Open, Mid-way, Closed), Eye Position, Eye Colour for One or Both Eyes
Mouth: Open/Close Mouth, Toggle Tongue
Tail: Tucked, Relaxed, Right, Left, Up, Upper Left, Upper Right
The only issue with the HUD in each EXL avatar that I keep forgetting to mention is the Toggling of the Random Eye Movement. When users turn this off by clicking the eyeball to point the pupils forward, there is no way to turn on Random Eye Movement other than to detach then re-attach the head. This is a very small issue, but is easily worked around as just mentioned.
Customisation:
The avatar is easy to customise as it is fully copyable and modifiable. The head shape is more spherical than oval however, so it may take a little bit of time to find a third-party hair that can be used well. Contrary to the EXL wolf, the ears on this avatar are separate from the head, so users can easily add prims and accessories the ears.
Conclusion:
The EXL Foxen is an alternatively styled take on a more popular species; remaining cartoon-based, but with a sarcastic edge of character. The usage of personality in their avatars continually defines EXL as a company, while appealing to those who wish for a different take on favourite species. Despite the rough launch, the avatars are fun to wear and customise.
SLURLS (Click to Teleport)
Mainstore:
Satellite Stores:
In this review we get to review a more conventional species of animal that has been remade as an avatar. For those wanting a bit more of an alternative take on the familiar Red Fox variety, the EXL Foxen presents a choice.
Out of the Box:
Measurement
Value
Script Time with HUD
Script Time without HUD
Avatar Rendering Cost
~620-2514
(Dependent on Hair. Female hair doubles the ARC)
Build and Skin:
The EXL Foxen is a little bit older than a good few of EXL’s other avatars, so there is less features and development than the others. The Foxen had a slightly rough release with some of the colour variations, but the issues are minimal.
The texture skills are at about the same level of the already reviewed EXL Wolf; with a good amount of difference between the male and female skins. The male versions of the avatar get a fit, more chiselled figure with a set of abs, while the females have far softer texturing across the body, with a soft mid-section and shading to accentuate the breasts. Both sexes come with mature skins a la EXL; with the males having small nipples ‘buried’ in fur. Females get the option of two nipples and genitalia, or the Multi-Skin (3-rows of nipples + genetalia). All in all, the skins come in a good variety of colours and competent shading and highlights. Otherwise, the skins are simple and do not feature too much fur detailing other than the patch of white on the chest, belly, and rump, which helps the avatar textures stay in line with the cartoonish build.
The only real issue with the skins is unfortunately the line that appears between the torso and lower body parts. The textures on the upper body of the skin are better defined and look more detailed, but the lower body lacks some of that definition. Fortunately, the effect is not a major one, and wearing clothing covers the discrepancy.
Take Notice: The pictures under this link are rated Mature – Click here to view the Male and Female Adult Skins
The foot attachments for the avatar are among the meatiest that we have seen, with thick toes and heavily padded paw pads. The paws are darkly textured, moving up the digitigrade leg in the typical ’sock’-like colouration that people have stereotyped with the Red fox. The digitigrade legs are thick enough so that if the user wishes to add more muscle (or fat) mass to their body, the digitigrade legs would be able to support the modified body shape. Additionally, the digitigrade leg features a vestigial dew-claw.
The hand paws are pretty much the same as the ones on the Wolf and Therion avatars. That is, four-fingered paws with thick digits complete with wide paw-pads; which makes them a good merge between a hand and paw. Finally, the tail that comes with the avatar is a flexi-prim one. EXL has arranged and textured the prims for a very soft-looking, floofy fox-tail that is visually appealing.
Now on to the head. We have established by now that EXL has a unique style of creating their heads; particularly in the eyes. Again the face has a look of general disinterest, apathy, and attitude. The eyeballs are brightly textured and come with a slightly slitted pupil. For females, the eyelids comes with a degree of eye-shadow to underline the femininity of the user, while males get generic eyelids. The face is well textured, with highlighting shading around the eyes and dark whiskers poking over the pronounced eyebrows.
The muzzle is the most textured place of the avatar; both inside and on the outside. We find the typical fox marking on both sides of the muzzle, whiskers, and ample shading to give the muzzle more character than a simply flat white face. Males receive ‘chin-fluff’ as a kind of goatee, while like other EXL avs before it, females receive a pouty bottom lip that is is tinted black. On the other hand, the interior of the mouth keeps up with the company’s standard of making a well made and textured tongue and mouth. The inside of the muzzle looks wet and as per their canine avatars, has a spotted tongue. I had neglected to point this out before on their other avatars, but when the mouth is open, we see the unfolded skin of the mouth between the top and bottom jaws of the muzzle. This is a realistic addition to avatars that formerly was unique to EXL, but some other creators are starting to play with this as well.
A small issue with the avatar is that despite the great textures and interior, when the mouth is wide open, you can see the head-prim poking into the mouth where the back of the throat should be.
At last, the ears are not particularly notable, but are remarkably simple and smooth, giving them a neatly concave shape. They are accented with sculpted fluff and complement the head neatly. The hair that comes with the avatar differs between the male and the female versions; actually some of the best included hairs that we have seen EXL include with their avatars. Males get a dark, modern shoulder-length style, while females get a much longer hairstyle that goes past the shoulders.
Heads-Up Display (HUD) and Features:
The HUD is again the central point for the avatar’s control. Again, it is not as developed as we see in the later EXL avatars, but still holds its own and offers a good amount of control over the avatar’s functions and features.
The HUD therefore controls the following:
The only issue with the HUD in each EXL avatar that I keep forgetting to mention is the Toggling of the Random Eye Movement. When users turn this off by clicking the eyeball to point the pupils forward, there is no way to turn on Random Eye Movement other than to detach then re-attach the head. This is a very small issue, but is easily worked around as just mentioned.
Customisation:
The avatar is easy to customise as it is fully copyable and modifiable. The head shape is more spherical than oval however, so it may take a little bit of time to find a third-party hair that can be used well. Contrary to the EXL wolf, the ears on this avatar are separate from the head, so users can easily add prims and accessories the ears.
Conclusion:
The EXL Foxen is an alternatively styled take on a more popular species; remaining cartoon-based, but with a sarcastic edge of character. The usage of personality in their avatars continually defines EXL as a company, while appealing to those who wish for a different take on favourite species. Despite the rough launch, the avatars are fun to wear and customise.