MTS2:Features - Revision history

Whiterider at 19:35, 11 April 2010

2010-04-11T19:35:06Z

Whiterider at 15:59, 6 March 2010

2010-03-06T15:59:59Z

Whiterider at 17:48, 4 January 2010

2010-01-04T17:48:48Z

Whiterider at 17:48, 4 January 2010

2010-01-04T17:48:23Z

Show changes

Whiterider: /* Uploading */

2009-12-07T19:35:40Z

‎Uploading

Whiterider at 18:26, 5 December 2009

2009-12-05T18:26:03Z

Whiterider: I refuse to accidentally delete this damn thing again

2009-12-05T16:43:50Z

I refuse to accidentally delete this damn thing again

New page

Over the past five years, Delphy has improved, modded, and generally screwed with MTS to bring it to a point where it is largely unrecognisable as a vBB forum. As a result of this, there are a great many nifty features which new, or even very old, members may not be aware of. This article will list those particularly useful features which are often overlooked. For the purposes of this article, the features will be divided into groups roughly according to which "type" of user is most likely to wish to use them - there is, however, some overlap.

<div style="text-align:center">'''[[MTS2:Features#Creators|Features for Creators]]'''

'''[[MTS2:Features#Downloaders|Features for Downloaders]]'''

'''[[MTS2:Features#Community|Community Features]]'''

'''[[MTS2:Features#The Lost & Confused|Features for the Lost & Confused]]'''

'''[[MTS2:Features#Everyone|Features for Everyone]]'''</div>

----

{|align=right
|__TOC__
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=Creators=
==Profiles==
Everyone likes a pretty profile, and MTS aims to allow customisation to the point where profiles are close to being individual mini-websites. As such, we have plenty of customisation options for creator profiles. Most of these options can be found under ''User Links -> [http://modthesims.info/profile.php?do=editprofile Edit Profile]'', and are only available to uploaders with one or more approved uploads (unless otherwise stated).

'''<big><big>• Custom profile title</big></big>'''

The first step to making your profile distinctly you-ish is to name it. The custom profile title option is under Additional Information in your edit profile screen, and allows you to set a name which will display in the breadcrumbs - as seen on [http://www.modthesims.info/member.php?u=4407 Numenor's profile], Numenor Moddings.

'''<big><big>• Custom styles/colours</big></big>'''

Once you have one approved upload, you can choose any of MTS' colour themes to display your profile in, as seen by [http://www.modthesims.info/member.php?u=13790 daysies'] use of the Hello Kitty theme. If you have ten or more approved uploads, you can set up custom colours yourself, using hex codes. See [[:Image:Profilecolour.jpg|here]] for a screenshot showing which lines in your edit profile options affect which parts of your profile (it's an eyesore, solely for demonstration purposes - please make sure the colours you choose are readable and don't hurt the eyes, or you may find the colours reset.).

'''<big><big>• Subdomain</big></big>'''

Want to put on airs? MTS provides all creators with automatic subdomains, which lead to their profiles - such as [http://oepu.modthesims.info opeu.modthesims.info]. Do be aware that the subdomain may not work if you have special characters (@, &, * etc) in your user name.

'''<big><big>• Policy boxes</big></big>'''

Attaching your redistribution policies to the bottom of all your upload posts is all well and good, but displaying them on your profile is even better. ''User Links -> [http://www.modthesims.info/mypolicies.php My Policies]'' allows you set up preset policies using checkboxes, which will display underneath your downloads on your profile, as seen on [http://www.modthesims.info/member/EsmeraldaF EsmeraldaF's profile]. If the checkboxes don't go into enough detail, you can also put your policies in the About Me box in your profile options - this displays at the top of your profile, as seen on [http://www.modthesims.info/member/Lethe_s Lethe's profile].

'''<big><big>• Journal</big></big>'''

Creators can start journals, which can be used to keep your rabid fans up-to-date between uploads. Journal entries can also be commented on by the aforementioned rabid fans. To start a journal, go to ''User Links -> [http://modthesims.info/journal.php?do=startjournal Edit Journal]''; journals can be public, or you can choose which members can access your journal. If you have a journal, it will show up in the Journal tab of your profile, as seen on [http://modthesims.info/member.php?u=3555 V1ND1CARE's profile].

'''<big><big>• Guestbook</big></big>'''

If you have a journal, then you have the option to make a journal post a guestbook using the checkbox on the new journal entry page. This will then show up as a separate tab, for people to leave general comments for you. See it in action on [http://modthesims.info/member.php?u=1 Delphy's profile].

'''<big><big>• 3 Personal Picks</big></big>'''

Everyone has a favourite upload of theirs, and you can set up to 3 uploads as personal picks, using the checkbox when you edit an upload post. These will show up above your regular downloads on your profile, as seen on [http://www.modthesims.info/member.php?u=69604 sims2cri's profile].

'''<big><big>• Articles</big></big>'''

You thought creators are just people who upload, huh? If you have some expertise but don't want to upload here, or if you're an uploader who wants to share their knowledge, then you can post tutorials in the Create forums - as well as being a huge contribution to the site, these will show up on the Articles tab on your profile, seen here on [http://www.modthesims.info/member.php?u=106294 Flabiliki's profile].

===Featured Creators===

Featured creators are the absolute best we have on MTS - so they get a couple of extra pretties.

'''<big><big>• Banner</big></big>'''

Featured Creators can upload a banner which displays at the top of their profile, and at the top of all their download pages, such as [http://modthesims.info/member.php?u=340624 Fresh-Prince's] banner.

'''<big><big>• 8 Personal Picks</big></big>'''

Featured creators can also choose eight personal picks, instead of the regular three.

==Learning to create==
Tutorials
CFF
Create forums
#create and #ts3mod

==Finding content==
Content Lists
Hair gallery
WCIF

==Uploading==
Picks & Features
Thanks posts
Feedback
Scorecard
Stats
CI
Modding Groups
Quality Standards
Upload Wizard + Keywords/tagging
Visibility + orange name
Header stats
Constructive moderation system

=Downloaders=
==Downoad browser==
Download browser
Filters & searching
Game selection/default
Download view - info; pics, EPs & files; install instructions; comments; easy to find meshes
Thanks/feedback posts & thanks button
High quality
Recolour linking
Recommendations
Picks & Features
No pay stuff!

==Non-MTS Downloads==
WCIF
Finds
Content List
Content Updates

==Keeping track==
Favouriting
Creator RSS

=Community=
==Creativity==
Contests, stories, pics and movies
Story view
Creativity tab

==Chatter==
Community sections
Social groups
Finds & Content updates
IRC
Yearbook
Social networking

=The Lost & Confused=
Game Help
Wiki Tutorials
Site Questions & Issues

=Everyone=
Achievements
Styles
MyMTS
"Share this"
Image resizing
100% free
New Posts subscription groups
Quote hiding
Responsive reporting system
Tutorials and jazz
Friendly mods!
Panties
Space ponies
M&Ms

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Over the past five years, Delphy has improved, modded, and generally screwed with MTS to bring it to a point where it is largely unrecognisable as a vBB forum. As a result of this, there are a great many nifty features which new, or even very old, members may not be aware of. This article will list those particularly useful features which are often overlooked. For the purposes of this article, the features will be divided into groups roughly according to which "type" of user is most likely to wish to use them - there is, however, some overlap.
+Over the past five years, Delphy and the staff have improved, modded, and generally screwed with MTS to bring it to a point where it is smooth and generally easy to use, packed with systems and and options, and largely unrecognisable as a vBB forum. As a result of this, there are a great many nifty features which new, or even very old, members may not be aware of. This article will list those particularly useful features which are often overlooked. For the purposes of this article, the features will be divided into groups roughly according to which "type" of user is most likely to wish to use them - there is, however, some overlap.
 <div style="text-align:center">'''[[MTS2:Features#Creators|Features for Creators]]'''
@@ Line 101: / Line 101: @@
 '''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Hair gallery</font></big></big>'''
-There's a huge amount of hair out there, and sim creators will know well how impossible it may seem to find just the right hair for your sim. Thus, we have the [[Hair Gallery]]: a gallery of all sorts of hairs from some of the best-known, and less well-known, creators in the community. Sims 3 version coming soon!
+There's a huge amount of hair out there, and sim creators will know well how impossible it may seem to find just the right hair for your sim. Thus, we have the [[Hair Gallery|Sims 2]] and [[TS3 Hair Gallery|Sims 3]] hair galleries: collections of all sorts of hairs from some of the best-known, and less well-known, creators in the community.
 '''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">WCIF</font></big></big>'''
@@ Line 319: / Line 319: @@
 '''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Site Questions & Issues</font></big></big>'''
-Do you have a question about, or a problem with, MTS itself? Go to ''Site -> [http://modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=24 Site Questions & Issues] - and all shall be revealed (or fixed)!
+Do you have a question about, or a problem with, MTS itself? Go to ''Site -> [http://modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=24 Site Questions & Issues]'' - and all shall be revealed (or fixed)!
 =Everyone=
@@ Line 352: / Line 352: @@
 Everything on MTS - not just the CC, but the forums, the features, the chat, and everything else you can think of - is 100% free. We will never, ever charge a penny for anything except mousemats and tshirts.
-'''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">New Posts subscription groups</font></big></big>'''
+[[Image:Newposts.jpg|thumb|280px|Custom new posts views.]]'''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">New Posts subscription groups</font></big></big>'''
 '''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Quote hiding</font></big></big>'''
 '''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Responsive reporting system</font></big></big>'''
 '''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Friendly mods!</font></big></big>'''
 '''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Panties</font></big></big>'''
-'''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Searching</font></big></big>'''

@@ Line 170: / Line 170: @@
 The Filters are an exceedingly useful system to help you browse only what you're looking for - which is useful on a site with so much content.
-[[Image:Downloadquickpreview.jpg|thumb|right|The Download Quick Preview lightbox.]]
+[[Image:Downloadquickpreview.jpg|thumb|right|The Download Quick Preview lightbox.|300px]]
 '''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Download Quick Preview</font></big></big>'''
@@ Line 231: / Line 231: @@
 Have you seen it, got a picture of it, know exactly what it is - but have no idea who made it or where you can download it? Or are you looking for something very specific, which you can't find anywhere? The [http://modthesims.info/fd.php?f=556 Where Can I Find...?] forums are for just such a situation; post what you're looking for, and members who spend far too much time downloading stuff will see if they can find it somewhere for you.
+[[Image:Find.jpg|thumb|right|An entry in the Finds list.|300px]]
 '''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Finds</font></big></big>'''
@@ Line 263: / Line 263: @@
 ==Creativity==
 '''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Non-Sims Creativity</font></big></big>'''
@@ Line 272: / Line 273: @@
 '''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Creativity tab</font></big></big>'''
 ==Chatter==
 =The Lost & Confused=
-Game Help
+Are you lost? Confused? Do you need help? Do you have no fracking clue what's going on here? Read on!
-Wiki Tutorials
-Site Questions & Issues
 =Everyone=
-Achievements
+Some features aren't specifically geared towards any particular type of member - the following are useful, fun, or just awesome for everybody.
 Styles
-MyMTS
+'''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Achievements</font></big></big>'''
 "Share this"
-Image resizing
+Everyone likes to show off, and at MTS we make that easy - the Accomplishments tab of your profile shows little trophies for doing various things to get involved with the site, as well as details of any Creator Challenges you've entered. You can get achievements for all sorts of things, ranging from creating certain types of content, writing tutorials or FAQs to posting a story or movie, or just doing something singularly spectacular - and new achievements are still being worked on.
 % free
-New Posts subscription groups
+Can you catch 'em all?
 Quote hiding
-Responsive reporting system
+'''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Styles</font></big></big>'''
-Tutorials and jazz
-Friendly mods!
+Don't like blue? What are you, some kind of blue-hating alien heathen?!
 Panties
-Space ponies
+If you don't like the style of the site, or you just fancy a change; we have a whopping '''12''' different styles for you to choose from, all listed in the handy Style Quick Chooser at the bottom of every page. And if you don't like the way the Downloads browser is laid out, you can change that too; just click the ''More Options'' link next to the Style Chooser and customise to your heart's content.
-M&Ms
-Searching
+You can also totally redesign your MTS front page to suit you, using [[MTS2:Features#MyMTS|MyMTS]]!

@@ Line 133: / Line 133: @@
 Usually, if you need to communicate with the mods about your upload in the queue, you can use the text box under the "I'm ready for this to be reviewed by a moderator" checkbox. However, if this isn't possible, or if you have another question about about the uploading process, we have a forum specifically for that purpose - the [http://modthesims.info/fd.php?f=492 Creator Issues forum]. This forum is private; that is, only you and the staff can see threads you make, so we can discuss issues which you don't want aired in public.
-'''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Keywords/tagging</font></big></big>'''
+[[Image:Filters.jpg|right|thumb|MTS has an advanced download filtering system, to help downloaders find exactly what they're after.]]'''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Keywords/tagging</font></big></big>'''
 '''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Thanks/feedback posts</font></big></big>'''
 '''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Scorecard</font></big></big>'''
-'''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Modding Groups</font></big></big>'''
+Everyone likes statistics, don't they? By clicking on ''User Links -> [http://modthesims.info/scorecard.php Scorecard]'', creators can quickly see a bunch of neat information on how many thanks and downloads they've received, and when; as well as which of their downloads are most popular, which have the highest thanks to downloads ratio, and a load of other cool stuff. Your scorecard is private, so only you can see which of your creations has been downloaded by 6 out of 10 aliens.
 =Downloaders=

@@ Line 261: / Line 261: @@
 =Community=
 In addition to a buttload of awesome downloads, MTS has a friendly and thriving community, which does everything from talking about sims, to debating politics, to sharing artwork - and plenty more. Most of this you can find easily enough browsing the community section, but there a few things which may not be immediately obvious.
 ==Creativity==

@@ Line 65: / Line 65: @@
 Featured creators can also choose eight personal picks, instead of the regular three.
 ==Learning to create==
-Tutorials
+The site is ModTheSims, after all - we're all about learning to customise the game exactly to your liking. So, enjoy our collection of resources designed to help you learn to mod!
 CFF
 Create forums
-#create and #ts3mod
+'''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Tutorials</font></big></big>'''
 ==Finding content==
-Content Lists
+Sim and lot creators in particular will know well the pain of trying to find exactly the right bit of content for a project. But all is not lost!
 Hair gallery
 WCIF
 ==Uploading==
-Picks & Features
-Thanks posts
+'''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Visibility</font></big></big>'''
-Feedback
-Scorecard
+One of the most attractive features of MTS for creators is visibility. MTS is the most popular site in the sims community, and while we don't have the specialisation that is the forte of some smaller sites, you'd be hard-pushed to find someone in the sims community who hasn't heard of us. Uploading to MTS exposes your work to thousands of viewers every day; there are usually around 2500-3000 people browsing MTS at any one time, and if you have your own website, then downloaders who find your stuff on MTS are in turn more likely to visit your site as well. For those who don't have their own website, MTS is a simple way to upload your work on a free site where you have total control of your content, and which is designed to give the best experience possible for downloaders; without you having to learn html, css, php, or whatever other crazy moon language is used to write websites nowadays.
-Stats
-CI
+'''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Quality Standards</font></big></big>'''
-Modding Groups
-Quality Standards
+MTS is well known for having high standards of quality, and it's obvious how this benefits downloaders. However, its is also a positive thing for creators; for one there's no chance of quality uploads getting lost in crap, but most importantly high standards encourage creators to improve. At MTS we believe that creators should always be trying to improve their skills, and having such high standards enables us to push creators to do the best work they can - which in turn inspires other creators to push themselves further.
-Upload Wizard + Keywords/tagging
-Visibility + orange name
+'''<big><big>• <font color="indigo">Picks & Features</font></big></big>'''
-Header stats
-Constructive moderation system
+One of the ways we try to encourage creators to make awesome stuff is by showcasing uploads that are awesomefab. Featured items are the absolute best of the best, perfectly implemented, or technologically incredible uploads - things that make the mods' jaws drop, and are all hand picked and tested by staff. Picks are uploads which are not quite incredible to be featured, but still pretty bloody excellent; the most popular items on MTS.