Playing around with genetics...yet again

[rome_raven]

Alright, so here's the situation:

I have a set of defaults skintones and eyes in my game that I would like to change.  However, I would like the sims who have the defaults already, to keep them and only new sims and townies to get the new defaults.  Is there a way to do this without having to clone every single sim in my game because that adds a lot of unnecessary character files to the game

[neriana]

You can't change the defaults without changing what your current Sims are displaying. Your best bet would be to geneticize and make townie available the skin and eyes you want to use. An discussion of how to do this is here: http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,2966.0.html.

[selzi]

I have a set of defaults skintones and eyes in my game that I would like to change.  However, I would like the sims who have the defaults already, to keep them and only new sims and townies to get the new defaults.  Is there a way to do this without having to clone every single sim in my game because that adds a lot of unnecessary character files to the game

I do the same thing once in a while when my current defaults become boring for my taste. I always use the following method:

1. Download the non-default versions of the skins you're currently using as defaults. Open all four of them in SimPE (one after the other), choose "Skintone XML" and copy & paste the string under "familystring (dtSingle)" into an empty text file. (Of course you should write down what color belongs to what string)
2. Open your neighborhood and click on "Sim Description". Choose one of the sims you're about to change in the list.
3. Click on "More" >> "Open Sim DNA". Under "Skintone" and "Skintone Range" you'll see long strings with many zeroes and a number between 1 and 4. 1 is the lightest tone, 4 the darkest. Overwrite these strings with the strings you copied in 1.
4. Click "Commit" and save. Now choose "More" >> "Open character file".
5. Click on "Age Data" and select the row "skintone". Replace the string with the corresponding new string as well. Commit and save.
6. Repeat that for all the sims you're about to change.
7. After replacing your defaults all of these changed sims will have to use the mirror once so they display their old skintones. Otherwise they'll run around with faces of your new defaults, but they'll keep their old bodies.

[Zazazu]

Huh? You mean that their thumbnails/UI display remains the same? This is an issue when switching to custom skins, too. You can do the mirror change, or, if you have the lot debugger, regenerate portraiture.

[Ellatrue]

How did you manage to give your playables new defaults, but not the townies? I thought default skins and eyes were all-or-nothing.

[selzi]

How did you manage to give your playables new defaults, but not the townies? I thought default skins and eyes were all-or-nothing.

That's right - they are all-or-nothing. This is why I change my playables' genetics who have default skins or eyes when I change my defaults. I always download non-default versions of skintones and eyes as well, and when I switch default I use SimPE to change their genetics so the non-default versions.