Tutorial: How to Replace the GENETICS of an NPC *UPDATED!*
I had been looking for a step-by-step tutorial on how to change both the appearance and the genetics of NPCs in the game, but was unable to find one. I only saw tutorials that told how to change their appearance. However, since I had managed to muddle through on my own with the help of RGiles's massively helpful 'Mysteries of SimDNA Unraveled,' thread, I decided that a plain tutorial was needed for those out there who want to completely replace their NPCs, and I took the time to make one up myself.
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Programs required:
The Sims 2
SimPE (this tutorial uses version 0.58)
Please note: Make sure you
backup your neighborhood before attempting this! I will not be held responsible for your game going crash-crash-boom!
1. Start the game.
2. Go into CAS and create the sim you want the NPC to look like, and once they’re in the Sim Bin, exit the game.
3. Open SimPE.
4. Click on Tools in the menu bar, then Neighborhood, then Neighborhood Browser.
5. Select the appropriate neighborhood and wait for it to load completely.
6. Click on Tools, point to Neighborhood then Sim Browser and select the sim you have just created (in my case, Dickson Yang).
7. Point to the More tab and select Open Sim DNA.
8. You will see something like this:
9. Open up Notepad (or the like) and copy/paste each line onto it, making sure you keep them in order. Personally, I leave an extra line in the NotePad so I remember where it was, like this:
10. Now, go back into Sim Browser and select the NPC you want to change (in my example, Corey Davison, the mailman).
11. Once again, click on the More tab and Open SimDNA.
12. Paste each line in its appropriate area and then click the commit button.
You are not finished yet! You’ve only changed their DNA,
not their appearance.
13. Click on Tools, then Neighborhood then Sim Surgery.
14. Select the NPC you are changing and then click on the Use link in the Patient area (the top box).
15. Select the Sim you created in CAS and click on Use in the Archetype Sim area (bottom box). Click Surgery.
16. You will get this message popping up:
17. Click Yes.
18. Your NPC should now be changed, although the thumbnail will not show it yet. If you wish, change the name of your NPC in the appropriate area and commit the file.
19. Click File, then Save.
If you want to be on the safe side, I suggest you create a brand new Neighborhood to try this out before you actually apply it to one of your ‘main’ Neighborhoods, but I have personally had much success with this method.
P.S. Credit for having made a similar tutorial for an earlier version of
SimPE goes to
Nukael, which can be found
here.
Please note: This tutorial will
not change the uniform of the NPC.
UPDATE!
Up to this point, the previous instructions would only alter the skintone, hair color and eye color for genetic inheritance. It would
not change the facial structure that was passed down to the NPC's children. The following instructions will correct this.
Credit for the following information goes solely to Nukael; I have merely altered the instructions a bit so that they're not as confusing for people who aren't altering Sims that have used the Plastic Surgery machine.
20. Open SimPE, point to Tools on the Menu Bar, select Neighborhood Browser and select the appropriate 'hood. Wait for it to load completely.
21. Go to Sim Browser and select the Sim whose facial structure you want used as a genetic inheritance (i.e. in the example above, you would select Dickson Yang ).
22. Click on the More button and select Open Character File.
23. You will see a list of files under the Resource Tree (above left screen). Click the one that's called Facial Structure. To the right of this (under the Resource List area), you'll see an additional Facial Structure file. Right click on that line and select Extract (if you see more than one line, choose the one on the
bottom of the list). Extract this file to the location of your choice
but do not alter its name!
24. Go back to the Sim Browser and select the NPC who's appearance you changed (in the above example it would be Corey Davison, the mailman). Click on the More button and select Open Character File.
25. Select the Facial Structure file from the Resource Tree (on the left) and then right-click on the Facial Structure file from the Resource List (on the right) and choose Replace (if you see more than one line, choose the
top one). Browse to the location that you saved the extracted facial structure file and choose the file with the .simpe extension.
Do not choose the one with the .xml extension.
26. Click on Save and then you're done.
Pictures will follow in due course (possibly tomorrow).