MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Meshes/Sandbox

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

Textures
These quality guidelines apply to the texture part of your creation, whether you have made a new mesh and textured it, or if you're recolouring/retexturing a mesh by EA or someone else. 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. Crisp, unpixellated textures:Your textures should look as clear and crisp as textures from the game (or better!). There shouldn't be any blurriness or pixellation to your textures. UVMapping: Ensure you're using a crisp texture and that it is correctly scaled and not distorted. Materials: Most objects have more than one part to them. Make sure you take a good look at the object before you start texturing and use appropriate materials. Not Too Bright: Do not use over-bright colors. Black & White: For black you use dark grey, and for white you use light grey. That way you can still add lighter or darker for shadows and highlights, and your item will look right in the game - true black just looks like a dark hole, and true white is far too bright.
Meshes
If you have made a new mesh to share, then these will also apply to your item, in addition to the textures stuff listed above. 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. 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.

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.

Not Quite Perfect?
Let the people know if there are unavoidable issues or weirdness with your upload that downloaders should be aware of. Nobody's perfect, but you need to let your downloaders know if there is something odd to watch out for.

Information required for new meshes
You will need to include the following for each new mesh you are sharing In-game name Catalog location In-game price Polygon count, and the total count for each GMDC. Tip: Try to keep object prices in line with prices for similar game objects, and categorize items so they show up in a logical place in the catalog.

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

Screenshots

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. Show all objects: Show all objects in your upload. It is a good idea to put them in a room/lot setting with base game objects so that the size of your object is obvious. Show all recolor options: You will need pictures of each and every recolor, but you can use a swatch to show the colors. The picture to the right where the names of the colors and the texture effect in game using a portion of the object is a great way to do this. Keep the following in mind for your screenshots, especially the required ones: Size: 800 pixels wide by 600 pixels tall is a good size for the smallest pic you would want to upload. Your images can be up to 2560x1440 pixels, and 800 kb, so you have lots of space to work with! Lighting: For most things, it's best to take pictures in an interior room with good lighting. For lots, pictures should be taken during a nice sunny day, for floorplans, take the pictures with the lights ON. Clarity: Neither blurry, nor pixellated/crunchy. Do not size up small pictures to make a large one as this will blur them, and make sure not to use too much compression/too low quality when saving your images. Distance: Take your pictures so that your creation fills the screen without anything cut off at top or bottom - neither zoomed in too close, nor zoomed out too far. Distortion: If you resize your images, retain the aspect ratio so they don't get stretched or squashed. Take care when zooming in and out with the camera that you do not create a fisheye effect on your pictures. Photoshopping: Do not apply filters like sharpen, contrast, etc. to the required pictures, as downloaders want to see what your creation will look like in their game, not your skills at using Photoshop. Attached: All required images must be attached directly to the MTS upload, not just inserted using the img tag, so that even if the pics get deleted from your Photobucket (or other host), the upload on MTS is still complete. Show all items: For most areas, if you are uploading a set, you must take all the required pics for each item in the set. If there is an exception, it will be noted. Picture limit: You may upload up to 100 pictures for a single upload thread, so feel free to add some additional pictures just to show off your work to its best. Of course, keep it reasonable - nobody needs 50 pics to show off one sim or hair. Inline pictures: Inline pictures are those that use the [img] tag to show up in with the description text. So that it doesn't take too long to load, please keep this to no more than 4 pictures done inline, unless you put them inside an [infobutton] tag. To do this, see our guide on post formatting. 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. Fraps Gadwin Irfanview 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
Upload your objects as package files.

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. Other content not allowed Items that belong on the adult site: No content posted on MTS can have visible nudity, sexual content, or adult content, and instead must be posted on our adult site, Sexy Sims. This means on MTS, you may not post: Content that contains nudity, which we define as exposing the female nipples, or the butt crack/genitals of either gender, including semi-transparent stuff like a sheer bra. Items that are merely "sexy" like skimpy miniskirts or string bikinis are fine on MTS. Transsexual/transgender items are also not considered adult content unless they contain nudity. Skintones containing genital details - female nipples are okay on MTS but see below regarding screenshots. Images of skintones with uncensored female nipples. Please blur or cover the nipples, butt crack, and genital area when taking screenshots of your skintones. Fine art uploads containing visible nudity. Items with specifically sexual content (sex toys, sexual poses). Items containing swear/curse words Items relating to illegal drugs. Prescription and over-the-counter drugs, alcohol, and tobacco are okay on MTS though. Sexualized children: We do not allow any sexy/sexualized content for baby, toddler, or child sims in any way - no breasts whatsoever on child sims, no "sexy" outfits, etc. If you want to make preteens, make a less developed body for teen sims. Sexualized child content is not allowed at our adult site either. Offensive content: Racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, bigoted, hateful or otherwise offensive content will not be allowed. Again, also not allowed at our adult site. Gore/violence: We do not allow uploads which feature prominent, graphic violence and/or gore. Examples of things we do not allow would include items centred around mass shootings, images showing explicit violent imagery, cannibalism, and infanticide. Limited violence and gore may be featured if not the dominant focus of the upload, and not excessively graphic. Think a PG-13 movie. If uncertain whether your upload crosses this line, we suggest making a thread in the Creator Issues forum asking for feedback from a moderator before uploading. EXE installers: Creators are not allowed to post exe (or other executable) files for any area of the site but Modding Tools. If your content needs to be installed to a certain directory, you can compress your files and leave the directory structure intact, so you can tell people to just install to Program Files, for instance, and the files will go where they need to. Executable installers can easily hold viruses, and are generally not needed for installing most content. Preorder bonus content: Certain items were only available if you preordered certain expansions or stuff packs from certain retailers. It's unfortunate if someone missed out on getting them, but they can't be redistributed here as EA has made it clear that they do not allow it. Unmodified EP/SP/Store content: While it is common practice to modify and use bits and pieces of game content to create custom content, extracting content from an expansion, stuff pack, or Store item and uploading it unmodified is not allowed on this site. You are welcome to upload significantly modified versions of expansion, stuff pack, or Store content, but you can't just be ripping it and changing one tiny thing (or nothing) just so people who didn't purchase it can still use it. Stolen/reuploaded content: This should go without saying, but do not upload content made by others and claim it as your own, in whole or in part. Don't upload the work of someone else without their permission... if they wanted to share it at MTS, they can easily upload it here themselves. Uncredited content/violating permissions: If any part of what you have uploaded (mesh, textures, alphas, bump maps, coding, etc.) comes from somebody else's work, you MUST provide a link and credit in the text of your post, for the original author. State what you've used of theirs, the author's name, and give a link back to them. You must check the author's policies to see if you can use their content in the way you want, and you may not violate any policies stated. If there are no policies or they don't disallow your type of usage, or the site is permanently offline, then you can assume it's okay. Please see here for more details: Updates and Remixes of Creations. Redirects: If you want to move a creation to another site, please remove your upload from MTS, don't just edit the text to point to a different site.

Definitions
Objects are some of the most popular items to make for the Sims game and can be defined as new objects or recolors. Mesh:You have created or edited the 3D shape in a 3D editor such as Milkshape or Blender.

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