Default genetic & custom skins query

[witch]

I just made some of my skins fit into the Maxian default genetic range. Because I wanted my alien skins to be outside the Maxian range, I have four skins at less than .10 (one at .09, one at .08, then .07 and .06)
 
I tried out some mix and matches in CAS. With a parent's skin at .06 and the other parent on the Maxian default light skin, I get my alien skins, plus the very pale ones, plus also the default green Maxis alien skin.
 
So, two questions.
Do you know what number the Maxian default alien skin is set at?
Can you go to 3 decimal places for a setting e.g. .099?

[J. M. Pescado]

The alien skin is not part of the continuum. It is GREEN!

[witch]

Yeah, well my furthest out skin is purple with spots.  Seriously. Then blue, then the ghostly whites, then Maxis default pale.

I wanted to find out if I could stop my range before it got to the green if I used 3 decimal places. But I don't want to blow up my game finding out, so that's why I'm asking.

[aqualectrix]

The Maxian alien skin ought to have value 0 just like any other custom skin.  I.e. what happened to you shouldn't happen.  I'm sure you've thought of the possibility, but perhaps you have something -- a mod or default replacement -- that changes it somehow?

I seem to remember that when I was first messing around with geneticizing skins I had no success with three decimal places -- but that was a long time ago.  My memory may be false or things may have changed.  I doubt you'll mess anything up very much if you try it.  It probably won't have any effect on your green problem, because that shouldn't be happening in the first place.

[Li'l Brudder]

It SHOULDN'T have 0.  That makes it completely dominant of all.

[witch]

Hmm. I do have Laverwinkle's default lilac for aliens - and paste for vamps, I wonder if that would make the green show up in my range for some reason?

[witch]

Okay. D'oh. One of my ghostly pale skins has a distinct greenish cast in toddlers and children. When I made a child between the two sims, I didn't age it up. This time I checked all ages and saw it wasn't the alien skin.

[AnnaM]

I think there are explanations of how this works on  Genensims: http://genensims.com/new.htm. Or you can just copy what they do for their "special" skins. (Me, I don't know nothing, but I saw the page the other day so I'm passing it on...)

[witch]

Thanks, that's where I started last night. Madame Mim didn't know the answers to my questions, so she suggested I ask here.

[Madame Mim]

You feeling dizzy yet Witch? The suggestion to come and read my web (which is really only a link to BogSims Institute and the same information fleshed out) made me laugh.

I suppose that was mean of me, as AnnaM suggesting had no idea you'd already tried to pick my empty mind, but I couldn't help it.

I must admit your suggestion that you'd got the alien skin by using less than 0.10 was what confused me most - I thought I must have missed something fundamental. But if that was a mistaken identity at least you got half your answers when aqualectrix relealled testing 3 decimal places with no success.

I had another thought on who you could ask - Theo. He might know about the exact way alien skins fit into the scheme of things (because even if they are outside/removed from the skin numbering range they definately aren't straight custom '0' skins either). He finally managed to get me to understand that I couldn't make a genetic and npcAvailable version of the 'same' skin without first making one of them into a completely different skin or they'd conflict.

[witch]

Actually what makes me dizzy is the realisation of how easy it is to genetisise skins and how I waited so long before trying. 

I have both my answers now - I'm not seeing the alien skin at less than .10. That's fine, I didn't want it as a skin, I just thought I was seeing it in error.

I can't use 3 decimal places - so I'll have to pick and choose skins carefully for the range 'a whiter shade of pale' as there are limited slots I can use.

Sim breeding was the thing I looked forward to the most before sims 2 came out and I was so disappointed that custom skins just overrode default ones. I'm much happier now.

[aqualectrix]

Li'l Brudder: You're right, apparently the Maxian alien skin is a little wonky in the way its dominance behaves.  IgnorantBliss explained it pretty well starting about here in the old Changing Dominant/Recessive Values on Skin and Eyes thread.

[Tamha]

Witch, do keep in mind that you can set multiple skins to the same value. That should help the limiting problem a little, at least.

[witch]

Thanks, I do remember now you mention it. I saw it in a text file and mentally thought, I'll worry about that later if I get this thing going. But then I forgot. 

[ElfPuddle]

Erm...

Mine are set to three decimal places (I have a shitload of skins from 0.010 to 0.999. They work just fine for me.

[witch]

WICKED! Thanks. So I'm all sweet then.

I can keep the alien skins at either end of the range, so if I don't want to interbreed the aliens with ordinary sims, I won't pollute the gene pool with weird skins.

Now I just have to find more interesting skins. Unfortunately I don't like Enayla's skins, the shine makes them look like reverse racoon masks and the pixie series just makes them look ill. Not talented enough to make my own. Yesterday I picked up about three skins off TSR free section - out of about 518 I think. 

[SaraMK]

You can go higher than 0.99. You can do 1.99, for example. I have several like that and they work.

[ElfPuddle]

I have skins by Sandy at Around the Sims, almost all of Enayla's, almost all of Genensim's "normal" tones, and some random ones from MTS2...mostly from Self-Sims. Oh, and I LOVE Lyran's.

[Madame Mim]

Witch - no, it's definately not difficult, but I still find it mind numbing when I have a pile to do. It's so repititious that I can only do a few before I have to start going back over what I have done to see that I actually did it - if that makes any sence at all.

In some ways it would be easier if it was harder . . . feh, you know what I mean (at least I hope you do).

As an aside I now have NPC Available versions (which don't overwrite their companion genetic versions) for my Enayla normals and Dewshine's one series. http://www.genensims.com/guest/MadameMim/skins.htm

NPC furries and Genensim normals will follow soonish.

[witch]

Witch - no, it's definately not difficult, but I still find it mind numbing when I have a pile to do. It's so repititious that I can only do a few before I have to start going back over what I have done to see that I actually did it - if that makes any sence at all.

I agree, after you've done two or three, it's like, 'oh, did I type .8 or .9 for that last one?' (Or did I type anything at all!) It's a bit routine and easy to forget bits - like driving on autopilot.

[Ambular]

Hmm, what exactly is it that makes a skin available or not available to NPC's?

[Madame Mim]

To make a skin npc Available you have to completely decustomise it. You need to go into the XML of the skin and make the flag setting all 0's and the creator setting as well. Then delete the version and product line. All the one's I have done have also been geneticised, so I make the assumption that that is necessary too - but I don't know for sure.

[SaraMK]

Hmm, what exactly is it that makes a skin available or not available to NPC's?

Keep in mind that you will no longer be able to select that skin in CAS.

[Ambular]

Hmm, what exactly is it that makes a skin available or not available to NPC's?

Keep in mind that you will no longer be able to select that skin in CAS.

Huh, that's also need-to-know information, thanks!