The Ultimate Sims Genetics Tutorial! Chapter 6
Modifying Custom Skins
Going More Indepth on Skintone Genetics
As mentioned in Chapter 2, the default Maxis skintones are on a spectrum, from light to dark. Like custom eyes, these defaults have specific numeric values.
S1 - 0.1
S2 - 0.3
S3 - 0.6
S4 - 0.9
So, essentially, natural skintones can be placed on a scale from 0.01 (very pale) to 0.99 (very dark). And, as said before, offspring can inherit ANY skintone in the range between that of its parents, parental skintones included. So if you add ten skins to the range between S1 and S2, a parent with S1 and a parent with S2 can have offspring with any of the now 12 skintones from S1 to S2.
Skintone files can be large, but they can immediately add quite a bit of variety to your game if you give them the right genetic values.
One more thing--just like there can be eyes outside of the original Maxis values, you can have skintones past .99--using whole numbers from 1.00-9.00 and all the decimals in between. This means you can download fantasy skins for different races, or a fantasy neighborhood, and make your own genetic spectrum. If you do the spectrum like a rainbow, that will mean a red skinned sim and a yellow skinned sim could have an orange-toned child...just depends on the skins you can get and how you organize them!
Changing Genetic Value in SimPE
(N.B.: This is extremely similar to changing the values for eyes.)
Resource Tree: This groups all the files in the package into categories. Here are the ones that you are most likely to be interested in.
- jpg/tga/png Image - The thumbnail that displays in CAS or Bodyshop
- Skin Tone XML - Sounds really funny, but this is where the information about the skin is kept
- Texture Image - This is the actual texture(s) of the piece of CC--looking at this gives a really good idea of what it looks like
Resource List: This lists ALL the items in the package (if AllRes is selected in the Tree) or ALL the items in a category you select in the Resource Tree. So if there are multiple Texture Images, and you selected Texture Image in the tree, all the individual textures would be in this frame.
So, in short, to look at something, choose its category in the Tree, then pick the file in the Resource List. Once you've done this a few times, you'll probably be able to find all the files you need in the full list, without bothering with the Resource Tree at all.
Plugin View: When you select the resource you want to look at, it will appear down in plugin view. Depending on what it is, you will have various options.
Viewing the Texture:
Unless the file-naming is rather specific, and the look of the skin very clear in your mind, you will probably want to look at it before you decide what genetic value you want to give it. So, as explained about, choose texture image in the Resource Tree and one of the textures that appears in the Resource List (for skins there are many textures, you may need to choose a few to get a feel for the skin). It should look similar to this:
Now, again as with eyes, what genetic value you choose in the end should be your opinion, as it's going to be for your game. This is a dark skintone, but it seems just a hint lighter than the S4 in my game (which was stated above to be a value of .90). So, in this case, I'm going to give this skintone a value of .85.
Let's change that. Click on Skin Tone XML in the Resource Tree. The Resource List will have a file with a name like "Light" or "Dark," which is usually just the name of the skintone cloned in Bodyshop.
Down in Plugin View, there are several lines. The one we're currently concerned with is the "genetic" line. See how it looks? genetic = 0? This skin is custom and set at 0. We want to change this value to 0.85, so the skintone behaves as if it's slightly lighter than Maxis S4.
If you select the genetic line, the fields on the right will change to the values for genetic. Change the Value field from 0 to the value you want your skin to have. Make sure to hit commit!
Are we done?
If all you wanted was a skin that is not superdominant, that you can put on CAS sims and treat like a Maxis skin, then you are finished. Choose File-->Save from the menu, or hit CTRL+S. Close the file and move on to your next skin.
If you wanted a skin that will pop up randomly when you use the dice in CAS or Bodyshop,or when townies and NPCs are spawned, we've got one more step.
Back to Plugin View on Skin Tone XML:
This time we'll be looking at the value called "flags." We need to change the value from 0x00000008 to 0x00000000. You can either change that last 8 to a 0 in the value box, or just delete the line from the value box. Either way, when you hit commit, the value will be saved as 0x00000000. Make sure to save the file!
Now your skin is GENETICIZED (follows the genetic rules discussed in Chapter 2) and TOWNIFIED (behaves just like Maxis defaults and binned hair).
Small Note:
There's only one option you really need to consider when changing values with SimPE itself, whether or not you want to make a backup file. Go to Extra-->Preferences, and check out the SimPE Settings tab on the Preferences Menu. Check "Auto Backup" if you want backup files made, uncheck it if you don't.
If the only things you change are the flag and/or genetics lines, then you can change skins already in use without affecting the sims using them, appearance-wise. If you change the genetic value and THEN that sim has a kid? The kid's displayed traits will be determined by the new genetic value. So if you're doing a legacy, you can certainly fix all this stuff NOW and reap the rewards, without waiting until you start a new hood or a new family.
Chapter 7: Making a REALLY Custom Game
Going More Indepth on Skintone Genetics
As mentioned in Chapter 2, the default Maxis skintones are on a spectrum, from light to dark. Like custom eyes, these defaults have specific numeric values.
S1 - 0.1
S2 - 0.3
S3 - 0.6
S4 - 0.9
So, essentially, natural skintones can be placed on a scale from 0.01 (very pale) to 0.99 (very dark). And, as said before, offspring can inherit ANY skintone in the range between that of its parents, parental skintones included. So if you add ten skins to the range between S1 and S2, a parent with S1 and a parent with S2 can have offspring with any of the now 12 skintones from S1 to S2.
Skintone files can be large, but they can immediately add quite a bit of variety to your game if you give them the right genetic values.
One more thing--just like there can be eyes outside of the original Maxis values, you can have skintones past .99--using whole numbers from 1.00-9.00 and all the decimals in between. This means you can download fantasy skins for different races, or a fantasy neighborhood, and make your own genetic spectrum. If you do the spectrum like a rainbow, that will mean a red skinned sim and a yellow skinned sim could have an orange-toned child...just depends on the skins you can get and how you organize them!
Changing Genetic Value in SimPE
(N.B.: This is extremely similar to changing the values for eyes.)
Resource Tree: This groups all the files in the package into categories. Here are the ones that you are most likely to be interested in.
- jpg/tga/png Image - The thumbnail that displays in CAS or Bodyshop
- Skin Tone XML - Sounds really funny, but this is where the information about the skin is kept
- Texture Image - This is the actual texture(s) of the piece of CC--looking at this gives a really good idea of what it looks like
Resource List: This lists ALL the items in the package (if AllRes is selected in the Tree) or ALL the items in a category you select in the Resource Tree. So if there are multiple Texture Images, and you selected Texture Image in the tree, all the individual textures would be in this frame.
So, in short, to look at something, choose its category in the Tree, then pick the file in the Resource List. Once you've done this a few times, you'll probably be able to find all the files you need in the full list, without bothering with the Resource Tree at all.
Plugin View: When you select the resource you want to look at, it will appear down in plugin view. Depending on what it is, you will have various options.
Viewing the Texture:
Unless the file-naming is rather specific, and the look of the skin very clear in your mind, you will probably want to look at it before you decide what genetic value you want to give it. So, as explained about, choose texture image in the Resource Tree and one of the textures that appears in the Resource List (for skins there are many textures, you may need to choose a few to get a feel for the skin). It should look similar to this:
Now, again as with eyes, what genetic value you choose in the end should be your opinion, as it's going to be for your game. This is a dark skintone, but it seems just a hint lighter than the S4 in my game (which was stated above to be a value of .90). So, in this case, I'm going to give this skintone a value of .85.
Let's change that. Click on Skin Tone XML in the Resource Tree. The Resource List will have a file with a name like "Light" or "Dark," which is usually just the name of the skintone cloned in Bodyshop.
Down in Plugin View, there are several lines. The one we're currently concerned with is the "genetic" line. See how it looks? genetic = 0? This skin is custom and set at 0. We want to change this value to 0.85, so the skintone behaves as if it's slightly lighter than Maxis S4.
If you select the genetic line, the fields on the right will change to the values for genetic. Change the Value field from 0 to the value you want your skin to have. Make sure to hit commit!
Are we done?
If all you wanted was a skin that is not superdominant, that you can put on CAS sims and treat like a Maxis skin, then you are finished. Choose File-->Save from the menu, or hit CTRL+S. Close the file and move on to your next skin.
If you wanted a skin that will pop up randomly when you use the dice in CAS or Bodyshop,or when townies and NPCs are spawned, we've got one more step.
Back to Plugin View on Skin Tone XML:
This time we'll be looking at the value called "flags." We need to change the value from 0x00000008 to 0x00000000. You can either change that last 8 to a 0 in the value box, or just delete the line from the value box. Either way, when you hit commit, the value will be saved as 0x00000000. Make sure to save the file!
Now your skin is GENETICIZED (follows the genetic rules discussed in Chapter 2) and TOWNIFIED (behaves just like Maxis defaults and binned hair).
Small Note:
There's only one option you really need to consider when changing values with SimPE itself, whether or not you want to make a backup file. Go to Extra-->Preferences, and check out the SimPE Settings tab on the Preferences Menu. Check "Auto Backup" if you want backup files made, uncheck it if you don't.
If the only things you change are the flag and/or genetics lines, then you can change skins already in use without affecting the sims using them, appearance-wise. If you change the genetic value and THEN that sim has a kid? The kid's displayed traits will be determined by the new genetic value. So if you're doing a legacy, you can certainly fix all this stuff NOW and reap the rewards, without waiting until you start a new hood or a new family.
Chapter 7: Making a REALLY Custom Game