More Awesome Than You!

Just toss me somewhere if I'm dumb, but I don't really know what I'm doing with hacks or SimPE or such. I just copy what other folks suggest, and usually there are no exploding balls of flame.
If I use the plastic surgery kit or the insiminator to fix the appearance of my townie sims in-game, it is my understanding that this does not affect their DNA -- their children will still get a healthy whoopin' from the ugly stick. Assuming I'm right here (I think I am, cuz there are some ugly little half-townies running around Pleasantville), is there an easy way to copy the new appearance I've given to the moved-in townie and just replace the DNA they'll be passing along with it? I'm afraid to touch SimPE looking for something like that, on account of the afore-mentioned fiery balls (whether visible from space or not).

Qvcatullus, there was a tutorial somewhere on MTS2 for altering the genes permanently, but I don't know whether that still goes. I tried to check SimPe, but the new design has me baffled. I'm a technophobe, so sue me.
I would like to find out how to with the new edition of SimPe also, or whether it's even still necesarry, so make room where ever you've been tossed, I'm a-coming to join you.

Baratron has something concerning gene-altering here, but that's only for Strangetown. That's why I'm not touching it, I need a walk-through for Pleasantview.

Here is the tutorial for making the plastic surgety alterations genetic.

http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=56241

Going by memory (and testing it out as I write), it's like this: Go into the character file for the neighbourhood containing the character you wish to alter.  Click on their file (you will need to get the number from their Sim Description in SimPE first).  When you've opened the file, click on Facial Structure.  If they've been altered, there will be two lines.  Extract the date from line 2 (right click on it) and save it (mine goes to Saved Sims by default).  Right click on Line 1 and hit Replace, then replace it with what you just saved.

Another way is to make characters you want as townies in a test neighbourhood, clone them and replace the faces of the originals with the new faces in Sim Surgery.  This should automatically replace their DNA without having to mess about in SimPE.

Thank you both, I'll try them out.

Ancient, I wasn't even sure that SimSurgery in SimPe would permanently alter the genes. I'm still learning all the different things in SimPe. I just now figured out how to fiddle with the memories there. (I know, I know, I wont touch the tokens :D) Slow going, right now, but I have some time off coming.

Well, slap me silly if all that don't seem like precisely what I was looking for! Thankee all kindly!

-- QVC

What's wrong with Pleasantview? I don't think anyone there has missing DNA...?

Sorry Baratron, I wasn't quite as clear as I wanted to be. Your tutorial about DNA was great, and I thought that maybe it could be used as a basis for  permanently changing sim DNA. Even if they use the surgery machine, the DNA doesn't change, just the look of the sim using the machine. Hence, when they marry the ugly genes are still at work. I was looking at your stuff and although it's all clear and nicely explained for missing DNA, I don't think I have the courage to mess with it to change townie DNA permanently.

Ah. Yeah, I'd actually recommend that you use the SimPE method for making the surgery changes permanent, for a number of reasons. I'm certain that the simDNA does not include all the details. Notice there's a line with "features to pass on" which just contains the words nose, cheek, eyes etc.

If you change the face with the surgery machine but don't make the changes genetic, then when the game passes on the nose or cheek, it'll pass on the old version. Why, I don't know, except there must be another file somewhere. Otherwise there wouldn't be a load of people hopping around because they changed their Townies to be less "fugly" (what a strange word!), but their Townies' children look the same as the parents used to. 

that why I have an Iron clad no townie marrying or breeding with my Sims. I dont want the Fugly Baby Syndrome to Start. so far its worked  no fugly babies born