How unsafe is it to change sims' names?

[moniquinin]

I screwed up in two ways - first I didn't realise how the wedding thing worked until it was too late - for some reason I thought that what mattered was who proposed to whom, not who went to the wedding arch first.  Secondly, I gave a female name to a boy baby by mistake (I was presented with twins and hit enter before my brain caught up with my hand).  The only thing I use in the game that gives me an option to change names is Merola's painting but I'm wondering if it's a VBT to do this or if this hack takes into account memories or whatever else that may be affected by name changes.

[J. M. Pescado]

Changing names done with the Merolian painting, the Lot Debugger, or the spawnable Tombstone of Life and Death, as well as many other methods, is totally safe and has no effect on a sim. Do not perform a first-name change in SimPE, as this process is incomplete and does not correctly rename everything. Last names may be changed arbitrarily without harm in SimPE.

[moniquinin]

Very cool.  I know you don't like to be thanked, but BAAAH!  Now, is there a way to change the names of pets? 

[J. M. Pescado]

Very cool.  I know you don't like to be thanked, but BAAAH!  Now, is there a way to change the names of pets? 

The phone has an option under the Pet Registry to rename a pet.

[RainbowTigress]

That explains why some of my sims names reverted after Glamour and Pets.    I'll be sure to use the Lot Debugger next time instead of SimPE.  But I had something weird happen the other day.  I renamed my sim in SimPE to Rainbow Tigress, and when I got in the game, her name was Rainbow Gold!  Now I know I didn't type Gold.  I am not too concerned though because this hood was a throwaway and I intended her to get married and take her husband's name anyway, but that was totally weird.  Just where did it pull that from???

[J. M. Pescado]

Your less than awesome efforts?

[RainbowTigress]

I don't think so.  I know what I typed.    Is that the best you can do?

[witch]

I'd say it's a slip of your typing fingers Rainbow, remember how Inge meant to type 'servers' once and typed 'buttocks' instead? Easily done. Tigress / Gold, pretty similar really.

[RainbowTigress]

Oh yeah, that's right.   

[gynarchy]

If I were to say, give everyone in a neighborhood a new first name with SimPE before reading this thread, could I correct the incompleteness by repeating the process with an in-game tool? Or is it best to restore the neighborhood from before the changes were made?

[J. M. Pescado]

If I were to say, give everyone in a neighborhood a new first name with SimPE before reading this thread, could I correct the incompleteness by repeating the process with an in-game tool?

Yes.

[seelindarun]

I don't know of any tools but SimPE to change last names, have I missed alternatives?

Psst Moniquinin, toss in Marhis' very cool surname chooser, and never have this problem again!

http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=223528

[witch]

MikeInside, also hosted by MTS2 has a family names generator I have often found useful.

[RainbowTigress]

Christianlov has a last name copier on MTS2 that lets you copy the last name from any other sim. 

[Orikes]

So, are we talking a FBVFS type of Very Bad Thing with changing first names in SimPE? I recently changed up a few names with SimPE, and would like to know if I need to worry about my neighborhood (which is my legacy neighborhood) going down in glitchy flames.

[aussieone]

So, are we talking a FBVFS type of Very Bad Thing with changing first names in SimPE? I recently changed up a few names with SimPE, and would like to know if I need to worry about my neighborhood (which is my legacy neighborhood) going down in glitchy flames.

If I were to say, give everyone in a neighborhood a new first name with SimPE before reading this thread, could I correct the incompleteness by repeating the process with an in-game tool?

Yes.

Ta Da!!

[Orikes]

Yeah, but I'm not sure I can remember all the names I changed. :x There were a couple of the duplicate named pets I changed, and I'm not sure if I remember what they were changed to. All the sims I can find easy, but the pets... That worries me.

[moniquinin]

Seelindarun - Yes, thanks I have that - I looked it up after I screwed up

I guess I'm stuck unsing merola's painting (which means I have to wait until the babies become toddlers) because although I have the lot debugger, for the life of me, I cannot find where I can change the names, and I've read the effing manual.  In fact, I have no idea what half the stuff on the debugger does, but I will start with re-reading the thread...

ETA:  Shit, I just tried to change the name of the sim in my first problem using the merola painting (for the first time for this) -- guess I should have read Seelindarun's post more carefully  --and realised it only changes the first name.  Can I get clarification on whether lot debugger can change surnames?  Or, is thw only way I can do this is by using Christianlov's thingie - which I guess would work for me since the surname I'm interested in using already exists in my game?

[Kyna]

So, are we talking a FBVFS type of Very Bad Thing with changing first names in SimPE? I recently changed up a few names with SimPE, and would like to know if I need to worry about my neighborhood (which is my legacy neighborhood) going down in glitchy flames.

I do the same thing.  I don't like characters to have the same first name in my game, so when I start a neighbourhood after I've created the townies, dormies, downtownies, and needed NPCs (usually created via townie tree) I sort by first name in SimPE and change any identical first names. 

In Maxis neighbourhoods it will be easy to find the ones I renamed (e.g. the two Marylena Hamiltons now have different first names), but in my custom neigbhourhoods I wouldn't have a clue which of the non-playables I renamed.

How much of a disaster am I looking at here?

[Havelock]

Can I get clarification on whether lot debugger can change surnames?  Or, is thw only way I can do this is by using Christianlov's thingie - which I guess would work for me since the surname I'm interested in using already exists in my game?

The Lot Debugger renaming works in Debug mode, its called "force Error/change my Name" or something similar. You should get the chose Baby Name Screen.

[moniquinin]

Right, but then that only changes the first name    And....I'm an idiot - I haven't quit and restarted the game since it takes too long so I haven't tried Christinlov's thingie yet, but what I wrote above is nonsense.  The surname I'm interested in changing back from my CAS sim wouldn't still exist in the game because she got married and took the townie surname.  I guess this can't be done then.

[Gwill]

Make a dummy sim with the correct last name in CAS and copy from there.

[Havelock]

Now i am totaly confused what name to alter in Simpe is unsafe?
 I dont understand the surename, lastname, firstname, whatevername thingie.
 Please explain it someone for dummys like me.
 I have altered a Thomas to Aaron in Simpe. If i understand right thats the no no. (made it later with the Lotdebugger)

To alter a Thomas Wood to a Thomas Smith in Simpe is alowed ? Or is it also a bad thing to do.

[Theo]

Do not perform a first-name change in SimPE, as this process is incomplete and does not correctly rename everything.

Last names may be changed arbitrarily without harm in SimPE.

I thought the first and last names of a sim were all stored on the CTSS resource in the character package. Are there other places that store this information? Or perhaps SimPe changes the strings in only one language?

[J. M. Pescado]

I thought the first and last names of a sim were all stored on the CTSS resource in the character package. Are there other places that store this information? Or perhaps SimPe changes the strings in only one language?

The OBJD also carries the first name of a sim, and renaming in SimPE will not change this.