It does take some empirical knowledge to tell what can be deleted or not.
Besides, there are two main factors in this equation: the creator may have used a new mesh with the base textures (not likely), or it may have used the base mesh with a new texture! (very likely)

Normally if a hair says something like "Long Hair Recolors - For all ages!", it could mean that there is an age group that has a new mesh, so in those cases I wouldn't delete any recolors.

On other cases, the creator would just make some subtle changes to the textures, and they could pass unnoticed in the preview image!

The bottom line is that you may have to spot which age groups have a new mesh/recolor in the game catalog before using this tool!

I just can't say no, can I? I could have done that guide already, I'm just too lazy! 

That error looks unusual! I'll try to reproduce it in my computer and tell you if something can be done 

Color Binning Tool
-----------------------
Users of SimPe v0.58 should download version 0.2.26.1
For SimPe v0.60, download 0.2.29.1
For SimPe v0.63+, download 0.2.30.1

This plugin allows you to categorize your hair package files so that they will appear in the correct color bins in the game catalog.
You can also select which PropertySets you wish to keep or remove from the output packages.

The inspiration and indeed most of its logic is stated in this thread http://www.moreawesomethanyou.net/smf/index.php?topic=2119.0
But of course I would like to thank everyone that contributed with a bit of knowledge that was used in this tool.

I won't describe all its functionality in this post, because it would make it unnecessarily long, and that would discourage people from reading

So, I will try to maintain a kind of FAQ for the tool in this thread - You post your questions or requests, and I (or someone else) may provide an answer.

I've created a simple page that contains a bit more info: http://theos.chewbakkas.net/tools/color-binning-tool.html

Finally, I'll just point you to the step-by-step walkthrough of the tool. It's at http://theos.chewbakkas.net/tools/color-binning-tool-walkthrough.html


Update 2006-05-05: (changelog)

The compiler optimizations were disabled, as I suspect it is causing erratic behavior on some fast machines. I'm still not sure what's causing this, so if the tool is making you lose some recolors (apparently the blonde is the main target ), please notify me in this thread, or contact me by PM or email.

The plugin now fully supports binning of facial hair, including meshed beards.

Also an old annoyance that write-locked the output files was finally terminated.

And for those concerned with the integrity of their custom-hair-bearing sims's dna, I have included a highly experimental feature that will scan any neighborhood and replace the former custom hair guid with the new (standard) guid in the sims dna.
So if you hadn't a reason to backup your neighborhoods yet, this plugin will give you enough motivation to do so


Update 2006-05-12: (changelog)

This tool can now open and process clothing packages .
That's right, to accomodate a requested feature that allowed editing the footstep noise assigned to a skin, I also ended up adding the clothing package operations that are available in SimPe's Scan Folders tool.

This probably will be the last release of the tool in this format, as it is evolving to become Something Entirely Different 
In fact the code is beginning to be difficult to maintain with such distinct functionalities assembled into one plugin, so in the future I'll trim down this tool to its original purpose, and separate the remaining functions.


Update 2006-11-14

Ok, I outrageously lied!

It's the same tool, with about the same look and usage, with just some updates to work with Pets.

It has a new option to specify if the packages should (or not) be renamed according to the current naming scheme. Of course new bugs are expected in this area, so proceed with caution. 

Edit: Changed the source distribution so that it can be compiled solely with .NET 2.0


Update 2006-11-16

The version for SimPe 0.60 was corrected: it no longer adds a "subtype" property to all PropertySets, that would make the hair vanish from the catalog


Update 2007-12-26

A very belated update, which only removes the nag box from the debug versions of SimPe.

When you don't know the file name of each recolor, the tool doesn't help much, as you can only see the textures after you add it to a color bin!

If it comes out as the wrong color, you can only remove it and try to load another one

Oh, and when I used the option to disable the original packages, an error dialog appeared saying that the file was being used by another process. Did anyone seen the same?

I'd hope to understand what these resources are really for, but their logic still eludes me.

Just one more pointer on the 3D ID Reference quirkiness, this one witnessed by myself:
http://ambertation.de/simpeforum/viewtopic.php?t=2883

Actually, I intentionally left the "Mystery Sim" memories untouched, only memories with an invalid owner instance would be removed - more specifically, the corrupt death memories were the intended target.

This looks like the way I played the Sims 1
My goal then was to create a house and furnish it in such a way that would keep the "free-will" sims alive with no divine intervention.
The problem then, as it is now, was the kids' homework and the upaid bills - that would eventually lead the repoman to take away a vital object such as the fridge.

That's odd! In my first attempts to make this plugin, I found that the patient would assume the new skintone only if the DNA record was changed accordingly.
Did you do full surgery, or only skintone surgery?

I don't think that's possible, as the voice definition is normally stored in the Sim Description resource. This resource is not changed by a surgery, neither by this plugin nor the original.

You must have used BodyShop to clone the exported Servo. BodyShop adds some resources to the sim templates, so that these files meet the requirements of the plugin (which by the way, will be loosened a bit in the next update).

I should warn you that I'm writing all this out of my head, because I didn't have time yet (again) to test the surgery in a servo.
I did manage to create a servo, but then I got carried away by the game, and next thing I know, it's 5am and I'm still busy doing some tuneup 

You need to add the custom skin packages to SimPE's FileTable.

In SimPE, select Extra > Preferences, and in the "FileTable" section, click the "add" link button. Don't use the "add Downloads folder", as this will cause a considerable slowdown.

In the next dialog, you have the choice of either adding a package file, or an entire folder. Select a skintone package (in my case, I added a subfolder containing all the custom skintones).

If you can't have a subfolder for skins, you'll have to add each skintone file individually.

Check the newly created entry(ies), then press the "Reload" button in the upper-left corner.

Next time you try to change a sim's skintone, you should see the thumbnails of the custom skins you selected before, and it won't throw an exception when you do the skintone surgery 

You mean a Servo? I still haven't created one, but it could mean that servos are missing some resources in their character file, since they lack a face, technically speaking (vd. Motoki's thread about servo recoloring).

I'll try to create one in my game so I can see what's happening. If it turns out that it's just a resource requirement, it can be easily fixed. 

The bald, default-face-template looking effect is not harmful AFAIK, and is fixed with the mirror.

As for the shadow sim, it's still a mystery.
It happened to some of my sims, surgery patients and otherwise, with no clear pattern.
A sim would be shrouded in darkness only indoors, and it would become normal when deleted and summoned with the Ingeological painting.
At first I thought it could be a conflict between OFB and GunMod's lighting config, but uninstalling the latter yielded no results (apart from an insipid looking game) 

It may not be related, but since I installed this hack, syberspunk's dance skilling hack also works on visiting sims and townies.
Let the dance parties begin...

Angelyne, perhaps the sim template package is missing some resource.

Could you post a list of resources of that package?
You can do that by opening it in SimPE, then select Tools > Create Description > from Package. You can then save the resulting list in any format.

This happened when I used the tool on a townie, but I haven't yet determined the cause.

I also tested it on a sim that had many clothing items on the wardrobe (more than one of each type), and they became randomly reassigned (but seemed to give preference to 'stock' maxis clothing).

Maybe your sim had only one clothing item of each type, so they wouldn't change?

Sorry for the delay, didn't notice you edited the post (zzz).
What version of BodyShop are you using to make the clone (UNI/NL/OFB)?

Well, I didn't realize that the property order was important, normally I would just dump the property references in the character file.

I still don't have any servos in my game, but can you change their appearance with regular mirrors?

Motoki, I could that on the alternate sim surgery plugin, the problem is I don't quite understand how to interpret all those 3IDR entries in the character file.
How can you tell which property refers to the character's face?

If you only use the fine tune options in Body Shop, your sim is likely to have unnatural looking (to say the least) offspring.

For better results, you should blend in the facial presets first, and only then proceed to the fine-tuning.

Let's say you want thinner eyebrows - instead of adjusting the eyebrow thickness, try to find a forehead preset that matches that and move the slider accordingly.

Well, everyone makes mistakes, I guess it was my turn now
Anyway, it seems that Pescado moved this to the right place. Thanks again!

Ahhh, gotcha! I *hadn't* even begun to find the culprit, thanks for the hint

Strange... I've put the industrial stove in a restaurant/community lot (following the game tip), and I can't hire a cook: an npc cook appears automagically from nowhere and occupies the stove.

Now and then there's a warning that the cook's skill is low for the menu, but hey! How can I control it?

To make matters worse, whenever I close the restaurant, the sim boss never ends that whistle drill, trying in vain to send the glued-to-the-stove cook home! So I end up moveon - selling the stove just to exit the lot!

Tsk, tsk... 

I'm glad that computer is fully functional again.

From what I can remember, the old package had the green and orange recolors.
Thank you for the black recolor!

Thanks, I'd appreciate that 

Damn! Wrong forum

Alternate Sim Surgery Plugin

Fixed 19/03/2006:
 - The plugin would blow up when using the export function.

Changes 03/01/2008:
 - Built with .NET 2.0 for SimPe 0.64
 - Fixed obsolete error message

Changes 03/01/2011
 - Built with .NET 2.0 for SimPe 0.73.1 (alpha)
 - Fixed incomplete sim list (sims with no pictures)

This plugin adds a menu item named "Alt Sims Surgery..." under the Neighborhood menu.

It works exactly as the standard Sim Surgery (from which it was built), but with the possibility of
selecting a sim template package as the Archetype Sim, thereby avoiding the need to
create a sim in the game for the sole purpose of plastic surgery.

You can do this by clicking the new "Load..." link button that appears on the "Archetype Sim" panel.
It will prompt you to select a package from the filesystem. Sim template packages are created
with "The Sims 2 Body Shop" tool, and are normally placed on the "SavedSims" folder.

After the file is loaded, the file name appears instead of the archetype sim name, and the "Surgery"
button becomes clickable - from here you can proceed as usual.

If a dialog box appears with the text "The selected template file is not valid", it means that
the selected file most certainly isn't a sim template.
If you have doubts on what each file contains, you better start renaming files :þ


Bugs/Limitations

 · Sim templates are like CAS sims! They don't have recessive gene data, so your patient sim will
become genetically homozygous.

 · Sim templates carry only one piece of clothing. After the surgery, the patient sim will wear that
particular garment in every situation (work out/swim/sleep/formal).
To correct this, you'll have to re-plan the sim's outfits using a wardrobe.

 · Sim templates don't have pictures. Even after the surgery process, you'll find that the patient's
picture is not updated. This behavior is intentional. You'll have to correct this in-game by
changing the sim's appearance with a mirror.


Testers Wanted

I still haven't tested the "Face/Makeup/Eyes" options, because I seldom use them, but for the ones willing
 to test them in combination with the Load feature, please post back your results in this thread.

** Do not select any other kind of package to do surgery with! **
The plugin tries to sort out the package contents, but it is not foolproof. So, unless you are a fool and want
to create a frankenstein (the non-working, non-loadable anymore kind), ** select only package files created with BodyShop **

Ok, I might be joking with the frankenstein thing, but bad things may happen even if you do it by the book,
and the fact it worked in my game doesn't mean it will work flawlessly in yours, so:

-> Backup your neighborhood before any procedure <-

@Pescado:
Your description matches word-for-word what happened in a business lot of mine.
In the "oh-no" second following that action, I thought that maybe the Lot Debugger's "Clear Offworld Loiterers" option could somehow solve the lot's locked state. Has anyone tried using it? Upon reload, only the buy/build tools were available.

Hi angelyne,

The tool you are wishing for is already being done by the SimPe development team.
From what I read in their forum, the Sim Deleter tool is available to anyone who applies for their QA team.

There are however, some issues with the current version of that tool, as some recepients have complained about side effects on the game. One side effect has been described in this post: http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=1039.0, and see my reply at http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=1039.msg89965#msg89965.

Furthermore, I would have to spend extra time trying to understand all the API functions involved in such ample undertaking, and that would be a wasted effort, as the coding is already being done.

Of course I eagerly wait for this tool to be included in the next public version or so, but until then, that procedure has to be done manually .

cheers