Game guide:Changing a Sim's gender

Some games in The Sims series allow players to change a Sim's gender by using a third-party tool to edit the Sim's character file.

The Sims

 * 1) Open SimMetamorphoser.
 * 2) Select a neighborhood, then select the Sim to be changed. (Note that while SimMetamorphoser will show pets in the thumbnail view, it cannot edit them.) Click the "Edit This Sim" button.
 * 3) A small sub-window will open. It will show the Sim's first name, radio buttons showing the Sim's gender and skin tone, and information on the Sim's head skin. "Model" is the head mesh, while "Skin" is the actual bitmap image. While the cursor can be placed in these fields, they cannot be edited. If "Skin Not Found" appears, this indicates that the image is probably in a Maxis FAR file, and is not visible to SimMetamorphoser. It will also show the file's thumbnail images, if they are present.
 * 4) Select the desired gender, change the Sim's name (if desired) and click "Save". Click "Yes" when asked to confirm the action.
 * 5) Click "Edit This Sim" again. Note that the Sim's head has not changed. Click the "Change" button. This will show the available head meshes and textures for the Sim's new gender, and allow one to be selected. If a mesh does not appear to have any associated textures, it is likely because they are Maxis textures in Maxis FAR files.
 * 6) Choose the desired head texture, and click "Select". This will return to the "Edit Sim" sub-window. Click "Save", then click "Yes" when asked to confirm the action.


 * Notes:
 * This process will delete the character file's internal thumbnails, which will be indicated by the Sim's thumbnail being replaced by a question mark. The game will regenerate the thumbnails.
 * SimMetamorphoser was never updated for Superstar. While it will assign appropriate default clothing for all categories except High Fashion, a new High Fashion outfit will have to be acquired in-game or assigned with another tool.

The Sims 2
This method was originally posted by Morague on the SimPE forums, back in 2005. Differences reflect changes in SimPE and new information.


 * 1) Open SimPE. Select Tools >> Neighborhood >> Neighborhood Browser...
 * 2) Select the neighborhood the Sim lives in. After it loads, select Tools >> Neighborhood >> Sim Browser...
 * 3) Find the playable Sim that is to be changed. Make sure that the Plugin View is open, then click the "Open" button.
 * 4) In the Plugin View, click the "More" button, then "Open Character File". The filename will be in parentheses.
 * 5) Once the file is open, look for "Age Data (AGED)" in the Resource Tree. Click on it, then click on Age Data in the Resource List.
 * 6) In the Plugin View, look for "Gender (dtUInteger) =" . It will be followed by either 0x00000001 for a female or 0x00000002 for a male.
 * 7) Click on that string. Keep in mind that it may be necessary to click on it a few times before SimPE actually selects it.
 * 8) Making sure that the right side of the Plugin View shows "Gender" in Name: and dtUinteger in Type:, click in Value: and place the cursor at the end of the string.
 * 9) Change the Value: to either 0x00000001 for a female or 0x00000002 for a male, making sure to only change the last digit. Then click "Commit".
 * 10) Going back to the Resource Tree, find "Property Set (GZPS)", and click on it. It will be followed by a number in parentheses, because a Sim will have a Property Set for each life stage.
 * 11) For each Property Set, click on it, select "Gender (dtUInteger) =", change it to either 0x00000001 for a female or 0x00000002 for a male, then click "Commit".
 * 12) Select File >> Save, or click the "Save Package" button, then use File >> Close or the "Close" button.
 * 13) Re-open the neighborhood from the Neighborhood Browser.
 * 14) Optionally, select Tools >> Neighborhood >> Sims Surgery... and find the Sim that was changed. Click "Use", then click the small red button in the upper right-hand corner to close Sims Surgery. This has no effect on the process, but can be used to verify that it worked. It will also cause the Sim to be opened in the Plugin View.
 * 15) If the optional step above was not used, open the Sim Browser, find the changed Sim, and open that Sim in the Plugin View. In "Overview", set the "Treat as:" radio button to Male or Female, to reflect the changes made to the Sim's character file. Commit, then Save. Note: Do not use SimPE to change the Sim's first name. Use the method outlined in Game guide:Changing names.
 * 16) Close SimPE.


 * Notes:
 * The changes may not take full effect until the Sim uses the Change appearance option on a mirror, though it is not necessary to actually change anything. This option is not available to babies, and is not available to toddlers unless Open for Business or later is installed. These Sims will show their new gender when they age up.