Revision as of 01:29, 6 July 2010

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!

Quality

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.

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

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.

Required Screenshots

• 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.

• 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!

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.

Tip:

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

Big Enough

Your pics should be large enough to see the detail of what you've made.

Tips:

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.

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.

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.

Package Files Only

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 extract the .package file from the .sims3pack.

ZIP or RAR

You will need to put your .package file(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 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

• 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.