Revision as of 12:41, 26 October 2013

Guidelines for Sims 2 Meshes

Have you made a spiffy new object for your sims to use? This guide will walk you through every step of what we require on MTS. This information is relevant for all of Buy Mode, much of Build Mode (pretty much everything not wallpaper, floors, and terrain paint), and also for neighborhood decorations. Please make sure you read these guidelines carefully, as our standards have changed over the years, and there may be some items you weren't aware of before.

Quality

Duplication:Search MTS and see how many meshes have already been done for the particular type of item you're creating - do not duplicate items We would, however, accept the same kind of thing if your version had significantly improved features (better textures, uv mapping, etc.) than an existing item.

Polygon Counts: If you have created a new mesh it needs to have a polygon count (SimPE's 'facecount') which is reasonable for what it is. A curvy, complex item that would be used rarely can have a higher count than a blocky/boxy item that would be used frequently. Look at EA/Maxis items similar to the type you're making to get a good idea of what a reasonable poly count is for the game. Items with excessively high poly counts for no good reason will not be accepted at MTS.

Texture Quality: Your textures should have some detail to them - not just a flat single-colour bucket fill, but with highlights and shadows in the right places. Even for flat, smooth items, you should have some detail. Ensure your UV/Texture has a crisp texture and is correctly scaled and not distorted.

Color Enabled and Subsets: Very few objects should not be recolorable (foods, 'hood objects and fences), so please make sure that yours is. We have a great tutorial for how to make objects CEP ready. Also consider giving your object two subsets, especially if the object has different materials like a wood chair with a cloth cushion.

Unique GUID and Script Numbers: New meshes need to have a unique GUID number. Some of the Build Mode items do not use GUIDs, instead they are installed with a unique script file. Modular stairs and Fireplaces with chimneys require a scriptfile. Check out the helpful links for more information.

Proper shadows: Objects should have the same number of shadows as the corresponding EA object. Particular attention should be paid to the shadow shape actually matching the object. No shadow is better than the wrong shadow.

Information

Title & Description
Give your upload a descriptive title and write a text description for your upload, describing what you're uploading. Your title and description must be in English or provide an English translation. If you are not a native English speaker, using Google Translate is okay. You can also ask for help writing your description in the Creator Feedback Forum.

Catalog Location, Price
For Build/Buy meshes state whether or it's for residential, community, or both. List the location(s) in which your object(s) will appear in the catalog (if it's a neighborhood decoration, please also include which category it will appear in) and the in-game price of the objects. Try to keep prices in line with game economics.

Polygon counts
If your creation does include a custom mesh, then identify the number of polygons it has and list the total count for each GMDC.

Expansion Packs or Stuff Packs required?

Particular items may be added with expansion or stuff packs, and depending on how your creation is made and the item you based it on, your creation may not work for users who do not own that expansion/stuff pack. You need to be sure of which packs are necessary for the items you have made. If users don't have the EP, your stuff may not work! If you are unsure of whether or not your creation will require an expansion or stuff pack, you can ask about it in the appropriate Create forum (under the Create menu on MTS) before uploading.

Make sure you only mark the EPs/SPs required that your upload actually needs! Don't just mark them all! For specifics, please read: MTS2:Creator_Guidelines/Compatibility

Include in-game names of items
If you are editing EA items, you MUST include the in-game name of the item you have edited. If you are editing a set of EA items, you need to name all the items you are editing. Conversely, if you are creating a new set yourself, please include the names you have given your items in-game.

Screenshots

Take some nice big (600 pixels or more on the smallest side is a good size to aim for), clear pictures of your objects. Your pictures should be taken in-game and should show the quality requirements are met.

CASt Presets: It's a nice idea to show any special presets you have made and we do require that objects have at least one preset that makes sense. For example: when it's a sofa pillow, preset can't be wood + masonry ;)

Show mapping and channels: You will need pictures of each and every object, showing it in multiple colours (to show how the channels work) and at least one picture per item with a tiling pattern that makes it obvious that your UV map is not distorted. Use a plaid or checker pattern for this - it may not be the prettiest style for the object, but it will show that it takes patterns well. This is also applicable to conversions from TS2 - often an object will require remapping to pattern correctly in TS3. The picture to the right is a good example of how to do your channel and tiling pictures.

Please remember, for your required pictures:

No photoshopping: Do not apply filters like sharpen, contrast, etc. to the required pictures, as downloaders want to see what your object(s) will look like in their game, not your skills at using Photoshop.

Screenshot tips

Camera Controls:

Take some time to just play around with the camera. It can take a while to get used to the camera controls, and even once you are experienced in their use, it may be challenging to get the shot you want with the constraints on the controls.

If you haven't taken many sim pictures before, here is a list of camera controls:

TAB : Puts the game into Cameraman mode, allowing better and more control of the camera, and removing the blue user interface. Make sure you are in live mode before going into Cameraman mode or you will see grid lines on the ground and floating where floor tiles may be placed. TS3 Note: You will only be able to go into cameraman mode once per load if you are in buy/build mode (without a family moved in). You can either exit to the neighborhood and return to take more pictures, or instead just move a family in for taking your pics.

W and S : W moves the camera forward. S moves it backward.

A and D : A moves the camera left. D moves it right.

Q and E : Q lowers the camera. E raises it.

+ and - : Zooms in and out.

Windowed Mode:

TS2: In order to take your pictures using the methods described here, you will need your game running in a window, so you can easily switch to other applications without causing major instability and lag. Instructions on setting up Windowed Mode for Sims 2 may be found here: Game Help:Windowed Mode. Windowed mode should be perfectly safe - in fact, some users actually report better game performance when running in a window. Your mileage may vary.

TS3: In Sims 3, you can use windowed mode by simply choosing it in your game's options. Full instructions can be found in Game Help:TS3 Windowed Mode. Windowed mode will allow you to use Print Screen or FRAPS or whatever screenshotting program you desire, without getting dark pictures. If you choose to NOT use windowed mode for TS3, you must use the C key to take pictures using the in-game camera - taking pictures fullscreened in TS3 without using the C key will result in icky dark screenshots.

C Key vs. Print Screen:

TS2: In order to take nice big pics, you should not use the game's screenshot system, using the C key or the camera button on the game's controls to take your pictures. Even on the highest picture settings, pictures will still be small, with a very high level of JPEG compression, making them blurry and crunchy. Instead, use Print Screen or a screenshot program.

TS3: The C key camera is much improved in TS3, making it possible to use to take pictures for upload and still have nice big, pretty pictures. You can still use a screenshot program or print screen if you desire, but you will need to run your game in Windowed Mode (see above) to keep your pictures from getting dark.

Using Print Screen: If you have enough RAM to run Photoshop or another graphics editing program at the same time as TS2/TS3, you may want to take screenshots yourself, without the use of a program to store them for you.

To do that, simply press the Print Screen or PrntScn key on your keyboard - it's usually off toward the right, over the arrow keys, above Insert and Delete. This will copy your current screen to your Windows clipboard, as if you had selected and copied it as an image.

Then open any graphics editing program, create a new document the size of your monitor's resolution, and paste into that document. Your screenshot should appear in the document.

Screenshot Programs:

There are many programs available, free and pay, that will take screenshots for you by using a hotkey, and save them to a folder - just like The Sims 2 with the C key, but with options for much better quality settings.

A quick Google search for 'free screenshot program' will also bring up many other options, which may have other features that are of interest to you.

Optimizing, Editing, and Compressing Images:

Many simmers struggle with getting their images to be clear, crisp and under the maximum file size while keeping the image size larger than 800px by 600px. After getting your images from the in game camera or using a print screen program you will need to resize them and compress them into a jpeg image. Many graphics programs have a built in optimizing feature. Here are a few common ones:

Photoshop *Pay
Gimp *Free
IrfanView *Free
Paint.net *Free

Files

Zip, Rar, or 7z

To upload your file(s) to MTS, you will need to compress them into an archive file, which makes them smaller and allows you to include many files in one download. The archive file formats we currently accept are .zip, .rar, and .7z.

For instructions on compressing your files into an archive, please see: Creator Guidelines: Creating Archive Files.

Do not include multiple archives with the same contents - that is, please don't put your files in both a .zip as well as a .rar because some people only want .zip files. Choose one format.

Do not double-compress your files... a .rar file inside another .rar file (or any other archive inside another) doesn't compress it anymore, and it makes it so we can't see the contents without downloading, and also just makes an extra step for the people downloading.

The file size limit on MTS is 50 mb. If you exceed this limit you will need to split your archives. This should probably never come up except for large worlds for The Sims 3, or huge sets of smaller items.

File Types
You may upload your objects as package files. You may also offer downloaders both types so they can choose which they prefer.

Other

Uploads not allowed on MTS

These items are not allowed on MTS in any category.

Pay/Pirated Content

Everything required or recommended for an upload must be freely available, without having to pay.

No uploads requiring pay content: We do not host content (for example, recolours of a pay hair or object mesh) that absolutely require pay content to function in-game.

No optional pay, pirated, or stolen content: Even for optional or recommended content not absolutely required for the creation to work (for example, hair on a sim or a couch on a lot), this means:
- No content you must pay for. This means you cannot use items that are pay, donation, subscriber only, "special gift", etc. type content, anything accessible only when you pay money or subscribe.
- No content from sites that are repositories of unmodified content when it is still available from the original creator, whether these items are pay or free (no Booty or Simscave, torrents, sites full of stolen content or similar, but the Graveyard and sites that offer recolours or modifications with the mesh are okay).
- No EA content simply converted to base game use with no other changes.
- No pirated EA Store content. EA Store content, linked to the legitimate EA Store, is okay though. TS2 store content may be included, with proper credit, since the store is no longer available.

Helpful Links

For more information on making low-poly meshes, see: guide about low poly modeling

Modular Stairs Scripts Repository :Modular Stair Number Repository

Scriptorium: Scriptorium

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 * '''Texture Quality:''' Your textures should have some detail to them - not just a flat single-colour bucket fill, but with highlights and shadows in the right places.  Even for flat, smooth items, you should have some detail. Ensure your UV/Texture has a crisp texture and is correctly scaled and not distorted.
-* '''Color Enabled and Subsets:''' Very few objects should not be recolorable (foods, and fences), so please make sure that yours is. We have a [http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=103379 great tutorial] for how to make objects CEP ready. Also consider giving your object two subsets, especially if the object has different materials like a wood chair with a cloth cushion.
+* '''Color Enabled and Subsets:''' Very few objects should not be recolorable (foods, 'hood objects and fences), so please make sure that yours is. We have a [http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=103379 great tutorial] for how to make objects CEP ready. Also consider giving your object two subsets, especially if the object has different materials like a wood chair with a cloth cushion.
 * '''Unique GUID and Script Numbers:''' New meshes need to have a unique GUID number. Some of the Build Mode items do not use GUIDs, instead they are installed with a unique script file. Modular stairs and Fireplaces with chimneys require a scriptfile. Check out the helpful links for more information.
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 |}
 ==Information==

Difference between revisions of "MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Meshes/Sandbox"

Revision as of 12:41, 26 October 2013

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Guidelines for Sims 2 Meshes

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