Difference between revisions of "MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Sims/Sandbox"
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! style="text-align:left" | Quality | ! style="text-align:left" | Quality | ||
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− | | Sims based on a person or character must be recognizable as who they are meant to be. Any other sim, not based on an existing person, must have a unique face sculpt, not resembling the default faces. | + | | Sims based on a person or character must be recognizable as who they are meant to be. Any "other" sim, not based on an existing person or character, must have a unique face sculpt with all the features sculpted, not resembling the default faces. |
If you have made custom content for your sim, it must be of good quality too, and follow our [[MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Body Shop|Body Shop Creator Guidelines]]. You may need to provide additional pictures or information for your custom content (like polygon counts if you've made a mesh), so be sure to check there! | If you have made custom content for your sim, it must be of good quality too, and follow our [[MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Body Shop|Body Shop Creator Guidelines]]. You may need to provide additional pictures or information for your custom content (like polygon counts if you've made a mesh), so be sure to check there! | ||
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! style="text-align:left" | Screenshots | ! style="text-align:left" | Screenshots | ||
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− | | Take some nice big (800+ pixels-ish on the smallest side is a good size to aim for), clear pictures of your sim | + | | Take some nice big (800+ pixels-ish on the smallest side is a good size to aim for), clear pictures of your sim. Your pictures should be in-game (not in Body Shop), and you can either take your pictures in Create-a-Sim or (even better), put your sim on a lot, indoors, and in a well-lit room so they look their best. |
− | * A '''close-up picture of the sim's face''', with the sim wearing a neutral face expression (like a mugshot) - not smiling, laughing, etc. | + | You will need to include at least: |
+ | |||
+ | * A '''close-up picture of the sim's face''', from the front, with the sim wearing a neutral face expression (like a mugshot) - not smiling, laughing, etc. | ||
* For sims based on a person or character, a '''comparison picture''' of the real person, ideally similar to the close-up picture of your sim. | * For sims based on a person or character, a '''comparison picture''' of the real person, ideally similar to the close-up picture of your sim. | ||
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| You are responsible for providing accurate descriptions, links, and credits for all pieces of custom content included with or pictured on your sim. This is to give credit to the creators for their hard work, and to make sure downloaders can get anything that isn't included by downloading it separately. | | You are responsible for providing accurate descriptions, links, and credits for all pieces of custom content included with or pictured on your sim. This is to give credit to the creators for their hard work, and to make sure downloaders can get anything that isn't included by downloading it separately. | ||
− | You must look inside the .sims2pack file to see what is included. You will need to remove any content that the creator says you can't share. You will also need to collect credits and links for any content you have included in your screenshots, even if it didn't package with your sim | + | You must look inside the .sims2pack file to see what is included. You will need to remove any content that the creator says you can't share. You will also need to collect credits and links for any content you have included in your screenshots, even if it didn't package with your sim (like default replacement skintones or eyes), as well as any required meshes for hair, clothing, or accessories. This is usually the most labor-intensive part of uploading sims, so it may be a good idea to organize your content before making sims to share, so you know all the custom content you might want to use is is shareable and identifiable. |
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Now you need to: | Now you need to: | ||
− | * Figure out what everything inside is, and track down who made it so you can give them credit for their creation, and a link back to their site, their profile, or the original thread where you downloaded the item. A proper link and credit should look like this: "Long Wavy Hair by Nouk: http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=427745" - what the item is, the creator's name, and a link. | + | * Figure out what everything inside is, and track down who made it so you can give them credit for their creation, and a link back to their site, their profile, or the original thread where you downloaded the item. A proper link and credit should look like this: "Long Wavy Hair by Nouk: http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=427745" - what the item is, the creator's name, and a link. It's okay to link to dead sites if the creator's site is offline and you can't easily find an alternate link through Google. |
* Provide links to any custom meshes required for the included clothing, hair, or accessories to show up. Without the mesh, the item will not work properly in-game, and the mesh may or may not have packaged in the sims2pack. | * Provide links to any custom meshes required for the included clothing, hair, or accessories to show up. Without the mesh, the item will not work properly in-game, and the mesh may or may not have packaged in the sims2pack. | ||
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− | You will be asked to provide this information in the MTS upload process. While MTS does save links entered previously by other creators, some of those links may not be correct. It is your responsibility to make sure that all of the links for your upload | + | You will be asked to provide this information in the MTS upload process. While MTS does save links entered previously by other creators, some of those links may not be correct. It is your responsibility to make sure that all of the links for your upload go to the right place. |
− | Start a text file on your computer where you can type everything out as you locate the parts. This can be the most tedious part, depending on how descriptive the original creators were in their | + | Start a text file on your computer where you can type everything out as you locate the parts. This can be the most tedious part, depending on how descriptive the original creators were in their descriptions and filenames. They are generally good clues, though. It's a good idea to start your text file by typing in the custom items you know are on your sim (skin, hair, lipstick, etc.), so you know when you have a credit and link for each item, and then a section for any required meshes and the links to those. Then you can begin filling in each item as you find out where it came from. |
− | * Search MTS or [http://www.google.com Google] with the information you can find on the item (from the | + | * Search MTS or [http://www.google.com Google] with the information you can find on the item (from the description or filename) to track down the source. |
* The [[Content Lists|Table of Custom Contents]], the [[Content List|Content List]] on the SimsWiki, can be extremely useful in finding content, especially if it's in a particular theme. | * The [[Content Lists|Table of Custom Contents]], the [[Content List|Content List]] on the SimsWiki, can be extremely useful in finding content, especially if it's in a particular theme. | ||
− | * If all your searching fails and you can't find the item on your own, try the [http://www.modthesims.info/fd.php?f=556 Where Can I Find Forums] at MTS. You can search these forums, which are great resources of previously asked-for content, and if you can't find what you're looking for, you can post asking if someone knows where it came from. Give as much information as possible, like a screenshot, the | + | * If all your searching fails and you can't find the item on your own, try the [http://www.modthesims.info/fd.php?f=556 Where Can I Find Forums] at MTS. You can search these forums, which are great resources of previously asked-for content, and if you can't find what you're looking for, you can post asking if someone knows where it came from. Give as much information as possible, like a screenshot, the description, filename, and any more info you can to help people help you track it down. |
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+ | '''Look inside your sims2pack:''' | ||
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+ | To see what's inside the sims2pack file, you'll need Clean Installer. [http://sims2pack.modthesims2.com/ Click here] to go to the Clean Installer website, where you can download it for free. There is also a Quick Start Guide, FAQ, and Manual at the Clean Installer site to help you get started using it. Once you install Clean Installer, it should associate itself with .sims2pack files, so when you double-click on any one of them to open it, Clean Installer will come up and tell you what is inside. | ||
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+ | [[Image:Opensims2pack.jpg|right]]To open your sim in Clean Installer, go to your Desktop. You should find a new file there, with the same name that you gave your sim in Body Shop when packaging. It should have an icon like the one shown. Right-click on this file and choose Open.<br style="clear:both" /> | ||
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+ | [[Image:Simcontentsci.jpg|right|300x300px]]Clean Installer will open and you will see a list of the contents of the sims2pack file, including what description the creator may have entered when they made the file, in the "Name" column.<br style="clear:both" /> | ||
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+ | [[Image:Citooltip.jpg|right]]You can check the filename for a particular item by floating your cursor over it.<br style="clear:both" /> | ||
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+ | ! style="text-align:left" | Expansions Required | ||
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+ | | When uploading your sim, you'll be asked to tick which expansion packs (EPs) and stuff packs (SPs) are required for your sim. Unless the content used on your sim from an EP/SP is absolutely essential to the overall look of the sim and they would look totally wrong without it, do not tick any EPs/SPs. This is because all sims can be used in the base game, and if someone is browsing MTS to show only uploads that use the EPs/SPs they have ("compatible" uploads) then they will not see your sim, even though they could still use it with just a change of hair or clothes. You can still mention "Hair is from Open for Business, clothes are from Apartment Life" so people without those packs aren't surprised when they go to use your sim in-game. | ||
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[[Category:MTS2 Creator Guidelines]] | [[Category:MTS2 Creator Guidelines]] |
Revision as of 08:21, 17 October 2013
Sims 2 Sim Upload Guidelines
When uploading a sim for The Sims 2 to Mod The Sims, we have some basic requirements to ensure that your upload is good, shown well, and has the correct info and files needed for people to use it in their games.
Quality |
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Sims based on a person or character must be recognizable as who they are meant to be. Any "other" sim, not based on an existing person or character, must have a unique face sculpt with all the features sculpted, not resembling the default faces.
If you have made custom content for your sim, it must be of good quality too, and follow our Body Shop Creator Guidelines. You may need to provide additional pictures or information for your custom content (like polygon counts if you've made a mesh), so be sure to check there! |
Title & Description |
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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. |
Screenshots | ||
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Take some nice big (800+ pixels-ish on the smallest side is a good size to aim for), clear pictures of your sim. Your pictures should be in-game (not in Body Shop), and you can either take your pictures in Create-a-Sim or (even better), put your sim on a lot, indoors, and in a well-lit room so they look their best.
You will need to include at least:
You may, of course, include other pictures like a full-body picture, posing pictures, whatever, to show off your sim how you like, but please make sure to include at least the above. Do not apply filters like sharpen, contrast, etc. to the required pictures, as downloaders want to see what your sim will look like in their game, not your skills at using Photoshop.
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Packaging your sim |
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Your sim must be "packaged" (placed correctly in a .sims2pack file) to upload to MTS. This needs to be a sims2pack of just the sim itself, not the sim living on a lot (as importing sims on a lot can cause major, permanent, unfixable issues in downloaders' games!).
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Credits and links for custom content |
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You are responsible for providing accurate descriptions, links, and credits for all pieces of custom content included with or pictured on your sim. This is to give credit to the creators for their hard work, and to make sure downloaders can get anything that isn't included by downloading it separately.
You must look inside the .sims2pack file to see what is included. You will need to remove any content that the creator says you can't share. You will also need to collect credits and links for any content you have included in your screenshots, even if it didn't package with your sim (like default replacement skintones or eyes), as well as any required meshes for hair, clothing, or accessories. This is usually the most labor-intensive part of uploading sims, so it may be a good idea to organize your content before making sims to share, so you know all the custom content you might want to use is is shareable and identifiable.
Now you need to:
Start a text file on your computer where you can type everything out as you locate the parts. This can be the most tedious part, depending on how descriptive the original creators were in their descriptions and filenames. They are generally good clues, though. It's a good idea to start your text file by typing in the custom items you know are on your sim (skin, hair, lipstick, etc.), so you know when you have a credit and link for each item, and then a section for any required meshes and the links to those. Then you can begin filling in each item as you find out where it came from.
To see what's inside the sims2pack file, you'll need Clean Installer. Click here to go to the Clean Installer website, where you can download it for free. There is also a Quick Start Guide, FAQ, and Manual at the Clean Installer site to help you get started using it. Once you install Clean Installer, it should associate itself with .sims2pack files, so when you double-click on any one of them to open it, Clean Installer will come up and tell you what is inside. To open your sim in Clean Installer, go to your Desktop. You should find a new file there, with the same name that you gave your sim in Body Shop when packaging. It should have an icon like the one shown. Right-click on this file and choose Open.Clean Installer will open and you will see a list of the contents of the sims2pack file, including what description the creator may have entered when they made the file, in the "Name" column. You can check the filename for a particular item by floating your cursor over it.
You may need to remove custom content from your sims2pack file if it is:
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Expansions Required |
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When uploading your sim, you'll be asked to tick which expansion packs (EPs) and stuff packs (SPs) are required for your sim. Unless the content used on your sim from an EP/SP is absolutely essential to the overall look of the sim and they would look totally wrong without it, do not tick any EPs/SPs. This is because all sims can be used in the base game, and if someone is browsing MTS to show only uploads that use the EPs/SPs they have ("compatible" uploads) then they will not see your sim, even though they could still use it with just a change of hair or clothes. You can still mention "Hair is from Open for Business, clothes are from Apartment Life" so people without those packs aren't surprised when they go to use your sim in-game. |
Uploads not allowed on MTS | ||||
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These items are not allowed on MTS in any category.
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Zip, Rar, or 7z |
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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.
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