Revision as of 00:34, 2 July 2009

Creator Guidelines - Neighborhood Maps

Have you made a new neighborhood map using SimCity 4 and want to share it? This guide will walk you through every step of what we require on MTS2. 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.

At the end of the guidelines after full explanations of each item is a checklist, so you can make sure you've done everything you need to.

Quality

The first thing moderators look for when moderating uploads is quality - simply, is the item good or not?

Time and Effort

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.

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.

Uniqueness

No matter what style or design you choose, your CAS screen should be unique and different. We already have plenty of perfectly flat grid neighborhoods available, so try to do something interesting that other people haven't already done before.

Useablity

A neighborhood that's lumpy all over with few if any flat, buildable areas, and very few roads is really not going to be very useful for anyone. Remember, you're creating something that people are going to actually use in their game, so it should be as useable as possible!

Realistic Shapes

We don't need any heart shaped, spiral shaped, star shaped, etc. neighborhoods. Getting creative with your terrain sculpting is fine, but remember to strive for realism.

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.

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.

Screenshot Basics

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: 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.

Big Enough

Your pics should be large enough to see the detail of what you've made. Remember, MTS2 allows images up to 1280x1024 pixels and 195 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.

And please don't take smaller 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.

Required Pic

A good overview shot. Example is Enchanted Cove by enchantedw0lf.

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.

Inline/Attached Screenshots

Please do not post more than 4 inline screenshots (images that appear in the text of the thread). Having a lot of images that have to load on the thread makes browsing downloads very slow and can make the thread jump around as they keep loading.

You may host your inline screenshots elsewhere like Photobucket.com - however, these screenshots hosted elsewhere must be additional screenshots, and you must make sure to actually attach your required screenshots 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 can attach up to 8 screenshots to the thread itself, with the 4 additional inline screenshots hosted elsewhere (or attached) for a total of 12 possible screenshots. This should be plenty to show what you've made, even for fairly large sets. 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 outfit, or the like.

No Pay Content

Do not use pay content in your screenshots!

You MUST use free or Maxis content in your screenshots! MTS2 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.

As of 21 July 2007, MTS2 no longer allows the use of pay content in screenshots. For more information, please see the Site News article on the subject.

Adult Content/Nudity

MTS2 is not an adult site. We do have an adult site affiliated with MTS2, Sexy Sims 2 where adult content may be uploaded. But because MTS2 is a PG-13 site, no adult content may be uploaded to MTS2 itself.

Other Adult Content

Content with swear/curse words or sexually suggestive themes may not be uploaded to MTS2. Please upload these items to the adult site instead.

Items relating to illegal drugs do not belong on MTS2. You -may- post items relating to prescription and over-the-counter drugs, as well as alcohol and tobacco on MTS2, but items related to illegal drugs should go on our adult site.

For more information and a further list of items we do not allow on MTS2, see: Uploads Not Allowed on MTS2.

Right Info/Right Files

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

Right Files

You will need to upload:

• One .sc4 file. This file will have the name of your neighborhood. For example, "EnchantedCove.sc4"
• At least one .png file. This should be the default neighborhood picture for your neighborhood and should be named the same as the neighborhood. For example, "EnchantedCove.png"

For your neighborhood to work properly with different terrain types, you will also need to include:

• Four additional .png files, taken of your neighborhood using the different terrain types. These will be named the same as your neighborhood, with an underscore, and the terrain type. For example, "EnchantedCove_concrete.png", "EnchantedCove_desert.png", "EnchantedCove_dirt.png", and "EnchantedCove_lush.png".

ZIP or RAR

You will need to put your neighborhood's files - the .sc4 file as well as the .png(s) - into a RAR or ZIP file to upload here. Please see here for instructions on doing so. Please do not include both a ZIP and RAR with the same contents - just choose one.

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.

Upload in Sets

If you have created several similar neighborhoods 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.

Expansion/Stuff Packs Required?

Expansions and stuff packs are not required for neighborhood maps. They are all base game compatible. Do not mark any EPs/SPs as required for your neighborhoods.

Good Title

You'll need a good title for your upload - something descriptive... like, "Mystery Cove" or "Seaside Resort" is good. Something non-descriptive like, "My First Upload!" 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, "This neighborhood map features plenty of flat area to build overlooking a seaside view, with areas along one road suitable for beach lots." Something like, "This is my first upload... I don't know what to put here..." really doesn't make it sound like you've put any effort into it - and will reflect poorly on your creation. You don't have to write a novel, just something that makes it sound like it's worth taking a closer look at.

Checklist

This is a checklist of everything gone over above so you can be sure you've done everything you need to do to ensure your submission is correct. This is just for your own use - checking these boxes doesn't actually -do- anything, just is an easy way to keep yourself organized.

Quality

Time and Effort - You have spent a substantial amount of time and put a good deal of effort into creating your neighborhood.
Uniqueness - Your neighborhood represents a unique, interesting overall look.
Useability - Your neighborhood is useful and useable, with plenty of flat, buildable space and roads to put lots on.
Realistic Shapes - Your lot is a realistic, regular terrain and not in any silly shapes.

Screenshots

Big Enough - Your screenshots are large enough to clearly see what you have made - limits are 1280x1024 pixels and 195 kbs.
In-Game - Your screenshots are taken from within the game, and are not just pictures of your textures.
Required Pic - You have included at least one overview picture showing your whole neighborhood.
No Over-Photoshopping - Your screenshots show the neightorhood as it appears in-game, with no additional filters applied which change the look of the image, and any added text does not cover your creation.
Inline/Attached Screenshots - Your inline screenshots are no more than 800x600 pixels, you don't have more than 4 of them, your required screenshots are actually attached to the thread, and you don't have more than 8 screenshots attached.
No Pay Content - You do not have any pay content in your screenshots.

Adult Content/Nudity

No Adult Content - Your content doesn't have any swear words, nudity, or illegal drugs.

Right Info/Right Files

Right Files - You have an .sc4 file, and at least one .png file.
ZIP or RAR - You have compressed your files into a zip or rar archive (but not both).
Upload in Sets - If you have created a set or several similar/related maps, you have uploaded them all together in one thread, rather than on separate threads.
Expansion/Stuff Packs Required - You have not marked any expansions or stuff packs as required.
Good Title - You have given your creation a good, descriptive title.
Good Description - You have given your creation a nice description that makes people want to download it.