Revision as of 12:37, 22 May 2011

This page was last modified 9:06, 29 June 2010

Sims 3 Custom Walls and Floors

Introduction

Have you created some wall templates that have some really awesome details? Here's MTS's guidelines for sharing custom walls!

Time and effort
Most good creators spend hours upon hours on even simple creations. We understand that not everything has to be that difficult, but we do expect you to not just slap together something in 15 minutes and upload it and expect it to get accepted. Really try to put some serious effort into what you create, and it will show through in the quality. This is probably the hardest one to quantify, but it's something that is obvious whenever upload moderators look at an upload: have you really expended some serious time and effort on a creation? You can't just crank out a bunch of stuff in a short amount of time and expect it to be good. Nor can you spend a while just fiddling with something but not really trying and expect a good result either.

Aesthetics (*)
Is the wall you've created useful? Does it look nice? Is it significantly different than the walls that came with the game? Have you created a new wall set with really nice baseboards and crown moulding?

Seamlessness(*)
Your walls should always be fully seamless, able to tile in multiple pieces without the edges of your baseboard or moudling being visible.

Screenshots

People want to see what they're downloading! Your screenshots sell your upload - if people don't like the look of your screenshots, they're not going to download - and if your screenshots are too bad, you won't get your upload approved.

Big Enough

The larger your pics, the better! Tiny pics won't show enough detail to see what you've made.

Minimum Size: 800 pixels wide by 600 pixels tall is a good size for the smallest pic you would want to upload. You may have smaller pics for thumbnails and the like, but for your required screenshots, please go as big as you can!

Maximum Size: MTS allows pictures up to 2560 pixels wide by 1440 pixels tall, and a file size limit of 800 kbs - so you can have nice, big, pretty pics. You may have to resize your pictures or apply compression to get them to fit within that limit.

Please don't just take a small pic and size it up in your graphics program to get bigger pics - this only makes the dimensions larger but doesn't add any detail and just gives you a blurry, pixellated larger pic, not a nice clear one.

Well-lit

Make sure you take your pictures during the daytime in bright sunlight, in a well-lit room, etc., - make sure your screenshots are nice and bright enough that people can see what you've made. Nighttime shots or those in a dark room really don't show off your creation very much.

At the same time, make sure you don't use too much light: if you put light-coloured item under a bright light, it can wash out and lose a lot of the detail of what you've made.

Good angle
Remember to take your screenshots at an angle that shows off what you've made. Screenshots taken from a "sim's eye view" generally work best, while pictures taken from a high overhead or "player's eye view" tend to not show your creation very well. Remember, you can always take multiple pictures to show your item from different angles.

Show the whole thing
Make sure that your screenshots show the whole item, top to bottom, left to right. Your item should be centered in the image, with nothing cut off the edges. You CAN use cropped or closer pictures to show detail and/or for your thumbnail shot, but make sure you have at least one pic that shows everything.

Close enough
Take your pics from close up! Don't take your pics from across the lot or far away - this won't show what you've made. Get nice and close, on the same level as a sim.

No over-Photoshopping
While it can be tempting to get artistic with your screenshots in Photoshop, please don't. Screenshots need to be just as things look in the game, with no extra filtering such as contrast, sharpen, blur, saturation, etc. Also, please don't too crazy when it comes to adding text - make sure your text is in blank areas of the picture or covers an absolute minimum of your creation. Remember, you're showing off what you've made for the game, not your skill in Photoshopping your pics.

Maximum Number of Inline/attached screenshots

Inline screenshots are images that appear in the text of the upload that load for the viewer along with the rest of the text. Inline screenshots can either be linked from the attached screenshots, or from an external hosting site like Tinypic, Photobucket, or Flickr.
Attached screenshots are screenshots that have been attached to the upload using the "manage attachments" feature on MTS. They display as small thumbnails until clicked on.

You may host your inline screenshots elsewhere like Photobucket, Tinypic, or Flickr - however, these screenshots hosted elsewhere must be additional "bonus" screenshots. All of the screenshots we actually require for your upload need to be attached to the thread itself. If your Photobucket account runs out of bandwidth or you delete the pics, people still need to be able to get the required screenshots on your thread.

You may now upload up to 100 pics! Of course, please keep it to a reasonable quantity... only things like huge sets, full worlds, etc. should have that many pics! Remember, you can always collage several different images together into one image if you have a bunch of stuff to show off, or want to show multiple angles of an item.

For the bonus photos, we recommend you use a spoiler tag to hide the images, then people can click on it to see them. Their pages will load faster if all the images aren't downloading at once. [spoiler=interior rooms]http:// wheveremypictureis/picture.jpg[/spoiler] The 'interior rooms' can be replaced by whatever grouping you want to present, 'hidden garden', 'pool views', 'master suite', 'kids room', etc.

You may place as many photos within a spoiler grouping as you'd like.

No pay content in screenshots
Do not use pay content in your screenshots! Do not use pay hair in your screenshots! You MUST use free or EA/Maxis items in your screenshots! MTS promotes and supports free content, and using pay content in screenshots is basically like free advertisement for paysites. This includes pay content you found elsewhere for free - if it was pay originally, it's still promoting pay content. We strongly recommend taking pics with neutral backgrounds, just showing off what you've made and nothing more. Not only does this look nicer for uploads, it also eliminates any possibility that you may inadvertently include pay items in your screenshots. As per the news item of November 2010, do not use pay items in your upload. A pay item is an item that you'd have to donate money to access if you went to the original creator's website. It doesn't matter if you can get it for free through a file sharing site - it's still a pay item. Don't use pay items in your screenshots either, even if they are not included. Links for "optional" or "recommended" content may be included as long as they are free sites only. If you need free hair for a model in your pics, MTS has an extensive collection of free hairstyles in our Downloads section. You can also look in the TS2 Hair Gallery or TS3 Hair Gallery for more free hairstyles to find something you'll like. We STRONGLY recommend that you credit the hair (and other content) used in your screenshots in the text of your upload post. With hundreds of hairstyles out there, it's very difficult for our upload moderators to know every hairstyle on sight, and if we have to hunt down where the hair is from to see if it's pay or free, it may take longer for your upload to be approved. Make it easy on us and at least say something like, "Hair from XM Sims (free)" in the text of your post under a little section for model credits.

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

Required Screenshots

Show Everything (*)
We require certain screenshots for custom wall uploads - if you do not include these screenshots, your walls will not be approved! You need to show at least one picture of EACH and EVERY preset included in your wall/floor, showing them on at least a 4 tile wall/floor.

Multiple Colors (*)
You will need to show your wall/floor in the DEFAULT colours and at least one OTHER set of colours. This should be a pattern that shows the tiling of your wall/floor. The recommended pattern is one from the base game so that the downloaders and the moderators can judge your wall/floor with a familiar pattern. If you use a poorly made cc pattern we won't know if the issue is your wall/floor or the cc pattern!.

Uploading

Once you have your creation made and screenshots taken, you need to make sure you have all the fiddly bits in order when uploading.

Package format only - no sims3packs
On MTS the preferred format is .package files. We do not accept uploads with .sims2packs/.sims3packs except in those areas where it is absolutely necessary (worlds and lots). Converting to Package: If your item is created in .sims3pack format, it is very easy to convert to a .package file. Just use Delphy's Multi-Sims3pack Extractor utility to get the .package file(s) out of your .sims3pack. Please do not also include a .sims3pack version of your files attached to your upload here at MTS. You may, however, upload .sims3pack versions elsewhere and link to them in your upload... i.e. "If you would like a sims3pack version of this item, you can get it here: (link)" - this is not meant to advertise your creations elsewhere, just allow those who may want a sims3pack version to get it.

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.

Upload in sets

If you have created several items in a set, or similar items in the same sort of theme at the same time, please upload these together in a single set, all on one thread (instead of all separately, one by one, on different threads). This is easier for everyone: on our upload moderators, as they only have one thread to review rather than several... on you, as submitting a single thread is much quicker and easier than several... and on downloaders, as they can get everything they want all in one place rather than having to hunt around.

If you are doing a huge set, you can always break the set up into pieces, posting more screenshots along with the downloads as comments in the thread, as is done here and here. To do that, create a new thread in the Creator Issues Forum and arrange your thread there, using the first post as an introduction, and attach your uploads and images to subsequent posts in the thread. When you're done, PM a moderator to have it moved to the upload queue. For more information, read the message that displays when you go to post in Creator Issues.

Good title
You'll need a good title for your upload which describes what it is, and interests people in downloading it. Good titles: Mission-Style Living-Room Set 10 Simmer Way (Large family home) Fluffy Party Dresses Bad titles: My First Upload! Lipstick

Good description
In the main text of your upload, you'll need to write a good description of what you have made. The description must be about what you have made - what it is, what its features are, etc... You don't have to write a novel here, just a few sentences to get people interested. Please make sure this description is in English, don't over-use smileys/emoticons, and if necessary, run it through spellcheck and proofread for typos. Good descriptions: This is an edit of the Mission furniture without the silly wooden armrest which makes this lovely set more versatile and suitable for any Arts & Crafts or Mission style home. Here are five dresses perfect for a special occasion. Each is different, with special details, and they come in blue, purple, pink, white, and green. This is a sim of actress Angelina Jolie, famous for her roles in Girl Interrupted and Tomb Raider. Bad descriptions: This is my first upload... I don't know what to put here... My English is bad... just look at the pictures I really liked this dress so I made a sim to wear it!! I hope you like her!

In-game Description/Price (*)
In-game name of walls Number of channels - minimum of 2 is required In game location and price Number of presets included - only one is required

Additional Stuff

If your upload is rejected or marked as changes required and you're not sure why, ask in Creator Issues.

If you're not sure whether your lot is ready for uploading, use the Creator Feedback Forum to get feedback on it.

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 Have you created some wall templates that have some really awesome details?  Here's MTS's guidelines for sharing custom walls!
-==Quality==
+{{Guidelines-Quality-TimeandEffort}}
+{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
+|-
+! style="text-align:left" | Aesthetics (*)
+|-
+|Is the wall you've created useful?  Does it look nice? Is it significantly different than the walls that came with the game? Have you created a new wall set with really nice baseboards and crown moulding?
+|}
-===Aesthetics===
+{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
+|-
-Is the wall you've created useful?  Does it look nice? Is it significantly different than the walls that came with the game? Have you created a new wall set with really nice baseboards and crown moulding?
+! style="text-align:left" | Seamlessness(*)
+|-
+|Your walls should always be fully seamless, able to tile in multiple pieces without the edges of your baseboard or moudling being visible.
-===Seamlessness===
+|}
-Your walls should always be fully seamless, able to tile in multiple pieces without the edges of your baseboard or moudling being visible.
-===Good Default Colours===
-Please show your wall/floor in the default colours, so people can find it in-game.  And please choose some good default colours - nothing too bright or garish, or too dark and hard to see.  You can always take additional pics of your pattern in other colour options.
 ==Screenshots==
@@ Line 29: / Line 27: @@
 People want to see what they're downloading!  Your screenshots sell your upload - if people don't like the look of your screenshots, they're not going to download - and if your screenshots are too bad, you won't get your upload approved.
-'''All of the screenshot images below can be clicked for larger versions.''' You wouldn't want to upload them with as small of pics as are displaying here anyway - we're just using smaller pics so this thread loads quickly and is easy to read.
+{{Guidelines-Screenshots-BigEnough}}
+{{Guidelines-Screenshots-WellLit}}
+{{Guidelines-Screenshots-Angle}}
+{{Guidelines-Screenshots-WholeThing}}
+{{Guidelines-Screenshots-CloseEnough}}
+{{Guidelines-Screenshots-Photoshopping}}
+{{Guidelines-Screenshots-InlineandAttached}}
+{{Guidelines-Screenshots-NoPayContent}}
+{{Guidelines-Screenshots-Tips}}
 ===Required Screenshots===
+{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
+|-
+! style="text-align:left" | Show Everything (*)
+|-
+|[[Image:WallTemplate1.jpg|right|300x300px]]We require certain screenshots for custom wall uploads - if you do not include these screenshots, your walls will not be approved!  You need to show at least one picture of EACH and EVERY preset included in your wall/floor, showing them on at least a 4 tile wall/floor.
+|}
-[[Image:WallTemplate1.jpg|right|300x300px]]We require certain screenshots for custom wall uploads - if you do not include these screenshots, your walls will not be approved!
+{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
+|-
-* '''Show Everything:''' You need to show at least one picture of EACH and EVERY preset included in your wall/floor, showing them on at least a 4 tile wall/floor.
+! style="text-align:left" | Multiple Colors (*)
+|-
-* '''Multiple Colours:''' You will need to show your wall/floor in the DEFAULT colours and at least one OTHER set of colours.  This should be a pattern that shows the tiling of your wall/floor.  The recommended pattern is one from the base game so that the downloaders and the moderators can judge your wall/floor with a familiar pattern.  If you use a poorly made cc pattern we won't know if the issue is your wall/floor or the cc pattern!
+|You will need to show your wall/floor in the DEFAULT colours and at least one OTHER set of colours.  This should be a pattern that shows the tiling of your wall/floor.  The recommended pattern is one from the base game so that the downloaders and the moderators can judge your wall/floor with a familiar pattern.  If you use a poorly made cc pattern we won't know if the issue is your wall/floor or the cc pattern!.
+|}
-<br clear="all">
-===Screenshot Basics===
-You need to make sure you have nice big, clear pictures that show off what you've made.  They can't be too blurry or pixellated, and you need to know how to use the game's camera controls properly, so make sure you review the information on that link thoroughly before continuing.
-<blockquote>
-'''Tip:'''
-</blockquote>
-<blockquote>
-[[Image:RightArrow.gif]] For instructions on:
-* Taking large, clear pictures (bigger than the game will allow)
-* Changing your in-game settings for best graphics quality
-* Camera controls
-See: [[MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Screenshot Basics|Screenshot Basics]]
-</blockquote>
-===Big Enough===
-Your pics should be large enough to see the detail of what you've made.
-<blockquote>
-'''Tips:'''
-</blockquote>
-<blockquote>
-[[Image:RightArrow.gif]] MTS allows images up to 1280x1024 pixels and 244 kilobytes so you should be able to upload nice big pictures.  See the information above under "Screenshot Basics" for info on taking larger pics than the game will normally allow.
-</blockquote>
-<blockquote>
-[[Image:RightArrow.gif]] Don't take small pics and just make them larger in your graphics program - this just gives you a blurry pic that's bigger in dimensions with no additional detail.
-</blockquote>
-<br>
-===No Over-Photoshopping===
-While it can be tempting to get artistic with your screenshots in Photoshop, please don't. Screenshots need to be just as things look in the game, with no extra filtering such as contrast, sharpen, blur, saturation, etc. Also, please don't go too crazy when it comes to adding text - make sure your text is in blank areas of the picture or covers an absolute minimum of your creation. Remember, you're showing off what you've made for the game, not your skill in Photoshopping your pics.
-===Enough Light===
-Your main screenshots should always be daytime screenshots, as they make it much easier to see what your lot looks like.  Make sure your lights are turned on, and your game options are turned up enough that light makes a difference.
-===Distance===
-Please take your screenshots so that your pattern fills the screen, not zoomed out too far or zoomed in too close.
-===Angle===
-When taking your main front view picture, drop down to a low level with the camera, so that you are taking your pictures basically from a sim's perspective.  Many beginners make the mistake of taking pictures from high above, from the normal perspective one would have as a player, which really doesn't show off your creation very well.
 ==Uploading==
 Once you have your creation made and screenshots taken, you need to make sure you have all the fiddly bits in order when uploading.
+{{Guidelines-InfoFiles-Packages}}
+{{Guidelines-InfoFiles-ZipRar7z}}
+{{Guidelines-InfoFiles-UploadinSets}}
+{{Guidelines-InfoFiles-Title}}
+{{Guidelines-InfoFiles-Description}}
-===Package Files Only===
+{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
+|-
-Please upload your walls/flors as .package files. If you use s3oc/s3pe tools, then you have nothing to worry about. However, if you use the TSRW tool then you'll need to [http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=364038| extract] the .package file from the .sims3pack.
+! style="text-align:left" | In-game Description/Price (*)
+|-
-===ZIP or RAR===
+|
+*In-game name of walls
-You will need to put your .package file(s into a RAR or ZIP file to upload here. Please see [[MTS2:Creator_Guidelines/RAR_or_ZIP_Your_Custom_Content|here]] for instructions on doing so.  Please do not include both a ZIP and RAR with the same contents - just choose one.
+*Number of channels - minimum of 2 is required
+*In game location and price
-Please do not double-compress your files - you should not have a ZIP inside a ZIP or a RAR inside a RAR.  This does not compress the files any more and just makes an extra step for downloaders.
+*Number of presets included - only one is required
+|}
-===Upload in Sets===
-If you have created several items in a set, or similar items in the same sort of theme at the same time, please upload these together in a single set, all on one thread (instead of all separately, one by one, on different threads).  This is easier for everyone: on our upload moderators, as they only have one thread to review rather than several... on you, as submitting a single thread is much quicker and easier than several... and on downloaders, as they can get everything they want all in one place rather than having to hunt around.
-When making walls/floors consider making it a complete set, such as having a wall with just a baseboard, a wall with a baseboard and a moulding and a wall with baseboard, moulding and chair rail.
-===Good Title===
-You'll need a good title for your upload – something descriptive, like "Wood Panel Walls" or "Subway Tile Walls" work well for a title.  "My first upload!!!" or "stuff by simmer121!!!"  is not.
-===Good Description===
-You'll need to write up a little basic description of what your upload is... you don't have to get too fancy, but you do need to write something to get people interested.
-For instance, "These patterns are suitable for all manner of fabric items - bedspreads, upholstery, and clothing.  Some are bold, and some are subtle, but all will look lovely in your homes or on your sims," is a good description.
-"This is my first upload!  I don't know what to say here.  My English is not good" is NOT a good description.
-===Technical Details===
-:*Number of channels - minimum of 2 is required
-:*In game location and price
-:*Number of presets included - only one is required
 ==Additional Stuff==

Difference between revisions of "MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Sims 3 Walls Floors Templates"

Revision as of 12:37, 22 May 2011

Contents

Sims 3 Custom Walls and Floors

Introduction

Screenshots

Required Screenshots

Uploading

Additional Stuff

Personal tools

Namespaces

Variants

Views

Actions

Search

Navigation

game select

Toolbox