What are "default" and "non-default" skins?

TinySpaceFox

I plan to download several skin and eye packs from Mod The Sims, and their descriptions say that they're available in both "default" and "non-default". What exactly do these terms mean? I've searched the net for some explanations but they're not very clear to me. Any help is much appreciated; thanks in advance

Simanite

Default means that ALL Sims will "wear" these skins, even the ones already living in the town - not just the ones you make. It will replace EA's skin. Non-default is the opposite, meaning only Sims you make using that skin/edit into that skin will "wear" it.

cwaddell

Some default replacement skins are for both males and females but mostly they are for either all males or all females. You can have only one default skin for males and one default skin for females.

Default replacement eyes are used by every sim in town but each sim uses their own EA eye color. Non-default eyes are often referred to as contacts and each time you place them on a sim the color must be chosen using the contact colors since they do not use the EA eye color.

With different contacts and different non-default skins on the parents what the children will inherit is random.

R3B3CKVH

@TinySpaceFox Just a side note, to add to what was already said- I think using non default is best... Skin tones don't always look right on every flavor.. I used one default skin that was very highly rated, and every ethnic sim in town look like they had "black face"... ya know... from about an inch below the chin and up was a completely different shade. I have since reverted back to not using skins at all. They seem to cause problems for me.

JoAnne65

I think it depends on what you want and what kind of skin you have. The skin I use changes sims slightly, making them a bit more realistic. I like that that one's default. But in some cases I agree non-default will be better.

HappySimmer3

I've been using a default skin since forever. I've had some non-default skins installed before, but I usually end up taking them out because I go through this cycle of adding then getting rid of what feels like too much CC.

One other thing to consider is that if you use defaults (skins, eyes, eyebrows, whatever it is) they will not transfer when you share sims because the person who downloads will have their own defaults - even if those are just vanilla game defaults. Non-default CAS CC can be a bit problematic when it comes to transferring itself on your sims. The other thing about defaults versus non-defaults is that with defaults you don't have to do a thing - all your sims will be using your defaults automatically.

lasummerb

I have a default skin and I also use different non default skins on top of that. I find that having Starfruit hd default along with Cakeface is the only thing that makes my toddlers look right. I use tonal ramps as well on some of my Sims.

TinySpaceFox

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I just have a couple more questions:

@lasummerb so let's say there are two skins, A and B, which are both available in default and non-default. Can I use default A together with non-default B? If so, what's the effect of that?

@Simanite I don't plan to add any more Sims into my town. Are you implying that, if non-default is used, you can choose which Sims to apply the skin to? If so, how?

Karritz

@TinySpaceFox I use a default skin for babies. Otherwise all my skins are non default. I am experimenting.

I add the skins to Sims when I make them in CAS or I use Master Controller to edit and existing sim in CAS to give them a new non default skin. If I later remove that skin from my mods folder the Sims with that skin are completely flat and colourless wherever the skin would appear. They are flat black shapes. To fix that problem I either have to put the skin back into my game or give the Sim a new skin in CAS.

I have one Sim that this happened to and when I gave him a different skin in CAS he changed completely and I couldn't make his face sufficiently like his original face so I put the skin back into my mods folder.



The problem is I had removed a few skins and since I don't know which skin I had on him I put them all back. I thought briefly of testing by putting them back one at a time to see which one I needed to use but decided that was going to be too much like a long and tedious exercise.

Having so many custom non default skins I got a mod that adds extra controls to the CAS part that lets you choose which skin you want to use. I'll see if I can find a link to the mod. It makes it possible to have lots of different non default skins. I like that idea as I like my Sims to look different to each other.

I can't find a link but the mod is

cmar skin tone panel and body sliders

cmar_SkinTonePanel_BodySliders1.38

lasummerb

TinySpaceFox wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I just have a couple more questions:

@lasummerb so let's say there are two skins, A and B, which are both available in default and non-default. Can I use default A together with non-default B? If so, what's the effect of that?

@Simanite I don't plan to add any more Sims into my town. Are you implying that, if non-default is used, you can choose which Sims to apply the skin to? If so, how?

For my game, the eyes and mouth on my toddler looks weird if I don't have the default skin in. It's not defined without the default skin. I use a non default on top of that because it gives them more range in color for Sims of color. The default also does a nice job of defining the eyes and other realistic features on all Sims.

I second the mod by Cmar @Karritz suggested.

cwaddell

In order to put a non-default skin on a sim you must do so using CAS. If you want all the sims in your game to have skins nicer than the EA default then you must use default replacement skins or take each and every one of them into CAS and put the non-default skins on them. The same with non-default eyes.

I do not bring every sim in town into CAS so use default skins and eyes, one for the males and one for the females. I used to have non-default skin and eyes in my game but decided to simplify my life. Also I am in the process of getting rid of unnecessary CC.

GaiaHypothesis

I use a default skin (e-skin fresh) and it encompasses Male-Female, Toddler-Elder. I'm lazy, so I don't want a bunch of EA skins, and then non-default skins on certain sims.

Keep in mind some non-default skins don't encompass all ages and genders so you might get a child that inherits the 'non-default' but it won't show until they are a YA or what have you. Which is ok sometimes, but IMO doesn't always work out well especially if they use a different tone ramp. Two light skinned non-default skinned sims can have a baby that looks very dark because the tone ramps don't match up.

So here you can see the same sim, this is EA skin with EA eye.


And my default e-skin fresh. I just like the increased shading and texture, plus IMO it makes everyone (even puddings) look pretty good. (also with my default eye)


The only time I use non-default skins is on sims that I plan on keeping around for a long time. For normal lifespan games I wouldn't bother because of said issues with genetics. I wouldn't want to mix EA skintones with anything that was too realistic, it would just be too different.

Sometimes you just have to try out a few to find what you like though. If you like a less realistic skin, smoother, then I would go with Kurasoberina Primer in DEFAULT. It encompasses all ages (including baby).

Also with eyes, I go with a Default because I can't be bothered to equip anyone with contacts. My non-defaults are brntwaffles N19, because they are the most appealing to me. They are colourful with a large catchlight which gives the illusion of better lighting. They still retain the original colour, and are hereditary. Its sort of another thing you just have to try out until you find the one you like. I've tried a lot of different skins and eyes, and those two are hands down my favorite the the kind of sims that I like to play and make.

ETA: The one thing TS3 doesn't do well is asian sims, because they are missing the epicanthic eye. So in that case I would use a Non-Default skin and apply it to my asian sims. With that also said I haven't found one that I am in love with. The search continues!!

JoAnne65

I can imagine by the way when you use default as well as non-default, you have to take care they kind of match. Because otherwise you'll play a game with all kind of art styles through each other.

(suddenly wonder what Rowan will look like vanilla @GaiaHypothesis )

Karritz

JoAnne65 wrote: »

I can imagine by the way when you use default as well as non-default, you have to take care they kind of match. Because otherwise you'll play a game with all kind of art styles through each other.

(suddenly wonder what Rowan will look like vanilla @GaiaHypothesis )

I am new to skins and use a variety of different skins on Sims I make in CAS because I want variety in my game. IRL not everyone looks exactly the same as everyone else.

If my game includes a born in game sim from before I started adding skins (or any cc at all) to my game, I will probably use MasterController to take them into CAS and choose a skin for them. I try several skins and end up using the one I like the look of for that sim. I take into consideration who their parents are and what their siblings look like when doing this.