MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Lots and Houses

Lots and Houses

Introduction

So you want to share your lot that you've slaved over decorating and building for all to bask in your greatness? It's easy to do as long as you comply with all the necessary requirements. The less guesswork, the better! Please take the time to read through these guidelines as some key items have changed and may affect your upload. Pay close attention to what is required, and your upload will spend less time in the moderation queue. Thanks!

Custom Content

Check/Remove Content with Clean Installer

Before uploading your lot, you MUST scan it with Clean Installer. Many people do not realize that by having custom content in your Downloads folder, it can attach itself to your lot files -- even if you didn't USE that content in the lot itself! Clean Installer can scan your file, list the contents of it, and allow you to remove those contents.

The image above is demonstrating using a sim in a sims2pack but the same works for lots - uncheck the unwanted content (in our example two unwanted meshes are being removed) and then click Save As and save a new sims2pack file with a new name.

Never save over your original sims2pack file - there's a bug in Clean Installer with that and you'll just end up with a corrupt file.

For more information on using Clean Installer, please see the guide on the Clean Installer site, here. If you are having trouble using Clean Installer, including errors or issues with empty packages, please see MTS2's Clean Installer Support Forums for help.

• If you cannot use Clean Installer: Using a Mac? On Vista and it won't run? Your options are, unfortunately, pretty limited. You can ask a friend who can use Clean Installer to clean the lot for you (and hope they do it right) or take out your Downloads folder when building lots and make them with no custom content so you don't have to worry about things being included (see the below info under "Clean Lot" for more info on why this actually may be a good thing. We're very sorry if you're stuck in this situation and would like to use custom content in your lots, but we cannot allow users to freely upload lots with whatever content happens to have been included.

Content that CANNOT be Included

Please use Clean Installer to remove all items of the below types from your sims2pack file before uploading.

• Hacks: Lots containing hacks are not accepted. Most Sims 2 players do not realize that lots can contain hacks. Usually they are meant for just one game version and can cause problems if users have later expansions that the hack(s) are incompatible with. Users also usually do not want hacks they did not mean to download as they can change major elements of gameplay in undesired ways.

• Pay Items: As per the news item July 2007, do not use pay items in your lots. A pay item is an item that if you went to the original creator's website, you would have to donate money for access to the item (it doesn't matter if you can get it for free through a file sharing site - it's still a pay item). Do not use pay items in your photos of the lots, even if they are not included. Links for "optional" or "recommended" content may be included as long as they are free sites only. See this news item for more details: Site News - New Creator Rules re: Paysite recolours, General Rules and Others
  • This includes ALL items from TSR - whether they are currently free or not - due to the regular changes of what is free or pay on TSR. Featured Artists are under paid subscription, and Select Artists or Non-Select Artists have their own terms of distribution, most of which are not clearly posted. Select Artists or Non-Select Artists can become Featured Artists at anytime, therefore preventing their items from being downloaded freely in the future. This includes all FA's free items. If a TSR artist has uploaded the same/similar item here or elsewhere, and they have allowed redistribution, please credit the appropriate thread and not the profile. This is subject to change in the future.

• Non-Redistributable Content: Even if an item is free, certain creators do not wish their content included in lot/house uploads. This may be due to the content being experimental/problematic/requiring additional instruction, or they may simply not wish to have their content distributed that way. It is your responsibility to check the policies of each and every creator whose content you are including to see if it may be included. Items where their policy is not clear/does not exist are not allowed - if you get specific permission from the creator for such items you need to state it in the text of your post. If you cannot include an item due to policies, lack of permission, or ambiguity in the policies, you need to remove it, even if it's free. Free, non-redistributable items MAY be linked to in the post in a section you can put in bold called "Required but Not Included" - if you remove these items from the sims2pack file and then link downloaders to where they can be found, if they download and install the required items, they will show up properly on your lot. For a quick list of policies for a lot of major sites, see: Creator Policies

• Careers: Lots containing careers are not accepted. They can cause similar problems to hacks due to incompatibility, and users generally want to download only the careers they want - not ones you happened to pack along with your house.

• Sims: Lots containing sims are not accepted. If your lot has a family in it, please remove it with Clean Installer. Most people don't want to download a lot that is infested with someone else's sims, and there's actually a lot of problems that can come along with downloading other peoples' sims if they have not had their memories cleaned properly before packaging. If people want to download sims, they can download them separately.

• Redundant Recolours: If you scan your lot with Clean Installer and find that it has 50 recolors for the same item, remove the recolors that are not used in the lot. When you use other people's custom content, remember that you are literally borrowing it from them. Don't borrow 50 recolors when you're only actually using one. There's also no need to give someone tons more files than they need to fill up their Downloads folders - they can do that just fine on their own.

• Items You Cannot Credit/Link: If you cannot remember where you got an item and cannot provide a link to it, you can try asking at our Where Can I Find? Forum on Sims2Community (sister site of MTS2 - separate registration required) to see if anyone knows where the item is from - make sure to provide a picture and a description of the item so people can help you track it down. If you still cannot find where it was from, you should remove it from the sims2pack. Please see the below note under "Content that CAN be Included" under "Terrain Paints" for the exception to this rule!

Content that CAN be Included

You may include items of the following types with your lot/house upload:

• Free, Redistributable Content: If a creator says that you may include their items in lot/housing uploads, and the item is a free download, you are welcome to include that item in your sims2pack file for upload on MTS2 if you have used it on the lot. For a quick list of policies for a lot of major sites, see: Creator Policies

• Content You Have Made Yourself: If you have made content yourself that you have used in the lot, you certainly may include that item in the lot as well. If it is a new mesh you need to include all of the regular information in the text of your post (poly counts, where it shows in the catalog, etc.) you would expect for a new mesh.

• Terrain Paints: Do NOT remove any terrain paints from your sims2pack. This is the one exception to the non-redistributable policies/pay/must provide credit rules. If you remove terrain paints from a lot it can cause it to crash for downloaders. Due to this, all terrain paint creators should expect their content to be included no matter what. Please provide a link and credit for these items whenever possible, if a terrain paint is not clearly marked with a creator's name/website, you may still include it and it will not be grounds for rejection.

If your lot contains custom content, you MUST include a LINK and CREDIT for EACH and EVERY custom content file included in the upload.

When uploading to MTS2 the custom content wizard will require that you indicate the creator of each item, enter a description, and provide a link to the creator's site, profile, or original upload thread. The beauty of this system is that once one person has entered the info for an item (or if it was uploaded to MTS2 originally) then nobody else has to enter that info again - it automatically gets added as credit if that item is included later.

As builders, we must all show the utmost respect for the people who create our furnishings for us. Providing a simple "Thanks" and a "Link" is the least we can do to show our appreciation for including someone else's hard work in our files. Nobody wants their work stolen, used without permission, or used without being credited.

Keep in mind that if your lot contains content that someone else made, and that artist does not approve, your lot will be removed at their request. You would be allowed to upload a new version of the lot that does not contain their content. For a quick list of policies for a lot of major sites (including an easy reference on ones that freely allow including their content), see: Creator Policies

Crediting Custom Content

(go get screenshots)

Clean Lots

It's sometimes easier if people choose to upload clean lots. A clean lot, simply, is a lot with no custom content whatsoever - or a bare minimum of custom content.

Why upload a clean lot?

• If you've only used a small amount of custom content but you couldn't include it, so a small shopping list will be easy for downloaders to follow
• If the content you have used is very popular content - stuff from Holy Simoly, for example, and everyone already has it anyway.
• If you are on a Mac or cannot use Clean Installer so you cannot be sure your lots are free of unshareable/unwanted custom content.
• Many users prefer downloading clean lots as they like to download custom content separately, and tend to remodel/redecorate houses when they get them anyway. They'd prefer a nice, well-built clean slate that they can customize without a bunch of random custom content that they aren't going to use anyway.
• The files are smaller so it's quicker for you to upload and quicker for people to download.
• It's a lot easier on you in uploading - you don't have to check a ton of policies and track down links for everything.
• It's a lot easier on the staff that moderate house uploads - it takes a lot of time to check all the content links and policies and stuff on included content, and houses with little to no custom content often get approved quicker as a result.

To create a clean lot, use Clean Installer to rid your lot of ALL custom content - except terrain paints (see above under "Content that CAN be Included" under "Terrain Paints"!). OR you can simply remove your Downloads folder before building and use all Maxis items. If you intend to create clean lots this second option is likely best in most circumstances.

If you remove content from the sims2pack, you still need to provide links and credits for all those items which are Required but Not Included for your lot when it was built. Basically, you'll need to make a shopping list for downloaders. Otherwise, if you used custom wallpapers and floors they'll have bare walls and floors - and if you used custom objects they'll have Maxis defaults in place of those objects (random statues and plants and ugly Maxis furniture everywhere! eeww!). Downloaders want to get what they came for - tell them what they'll need so the lot will look as you intended it! If you've used a lot of custom content, you don't want to have a HUGE shopping list for downloaders so please don't pack your lot with tons of custom content, remove it with Clean Installer, and then make people download a whole bunch of stuff separately - they're likely to just skip past your lot to find something easier to download.

Screenshots

Required Screenshots

MTS2 has certain required screenshots for all lot/house uploads. Please make sure you include at least one of each of the required screenshots or your lot will not be accepted!

1. Exterior: Show the entire lot. Make sure the roof is on!

2. Interior Floor Plans: Show the basic layout or floor plan of the lot.

2b. For Each Floor/Level: If the lot has multiple levels, please show the floor plan of each level.

• As Packaged: If you have had to remove content because it's pay or cannot be redistributed, or you have uploaded a clean lot with a "shopping list" of required but not included items, please include at least one screenshot to show how your lot looks the way people will download it!

Screenshot Don'ts

Don't make any of these mistakes when preparing and uploading your screenshots.

Neighborhood View: Please do not include screenshots taken from Neighborhood view. Screenshots taken from Neighborhood view are low detail and distorted, making it difficult for people to see what your lot actually looks like.

Thumbnails/Small Pics: If you are using the game's camera to take pictures, please upload "Screenshots", not "Thumbnails" from your Storytelling folders. Small thumbnails leave out the fine detail that larger screenshots can show, and they are not clickable for larger versions.

More than 8 Pics: There is a limit of 8 attached screenshots per thread. Please plan your pics accordingly. You can still include 4 additional pics hosted elsewhere inline (see below) and you may combine several screenshots into one image by making a collage.

More than 4 Inline Pics: If you want to include images via the IMG tags (inline pics), please limit it to 4 images. This is being courteous to members who are still on dial-up or slower broadband connections. You may include a link to your photobucket or imageshack account if you wish to show off more images. Remember, you can still attach up to 8 images via Manage Attachments but regardless of if you use the attached images or from elsewhere, the maximum allowed inline is 4 - for a total of 12 possible pics.

• The maximum size for inline pics is 800x600 pixels, so the page will display properly and not scroll horizontally for people with lower resolutions.
• You can always have those pics link to larger pics, if you so choose, which you can host at an image site hosting service.

HUD: Please no screenshots containing the game HUD (Heads Up Display, or the blue in-game menu).