Difference between revisions of "MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Sims 3 Game Mods"

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''These guidelines were last modified 18 May 2012''
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=Sims 3 Game Mod Upload Guidelines=
  
=Sims 3 Game Mods=
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When uploading game mods 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. This allows both moderators to check your uploads for quality, and for downloaders to see if your item is something they want to add to their games.
 
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==Introduction==
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Made a cool new mod for The Sims 3 and want to share?  Please read the following guidelines carefully so you understand what we require for MTS uploads.
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==Quality==
 
==Quality==
  
This is by far the most important factor in all uploads, but also the hardest to quantify.
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{| class="nicetable" style="width:100%"
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|-
 +
|
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* '''Tuning Mods - Versions:''' Whenever possible, tuning mods should be done in different flavours.  For example, don't just double a value, but offer it half, tripled, and none.  This is both due to the ease of making multiple flavours, and to make it easier for downloaders to find a flavour they want to use in their games.  If you have a good reason for doing one specific tuning value rather than flavours, make sure you state it in the text of your post.
  
{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
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* '''Usefulness:''' Your mod should be useful to the player and do not repeat functions available through game cheatsFor example, buy pricing mods or mods that unlock items available in buydebug add no value as they are already available or the player can use motherlode.
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! style="text-align:left" | Usefulness (*)
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|-
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|Is the mod you've created something people will actually want?  Does it make sense?  Will people get a lot of use out of it?  When uploading a mod, make sure you have a good description but also that it's useful to a lot of peopleSimple XML tuning mods do not come under this category (see below).
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<br style="clear:both" />
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{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
 
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! style="text-align:left" | Not just a cheat or exploit (*)
 
|-
 
|At MTS, we are not interested in hosting "get everything for free with no effort at all!" type hacks/mods.  We do not host mods that make it so rare/special items (like seeds, fish, etc) are free or only a few simoleons, or make it so sims are millionaires by default, or get tons of lifetime reward points without earning them - these things are of limited usefulness and are really just cheats.
 
  
If you create a mod that, for instance, makes it so a hard to obtain item is buyable, then make the price make sense - it should still be expensive (and thus not super easy to obtain).
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==Information==
<br style="clear:both" />
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|}
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{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
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{| class="nicetable" style="width:100%"
 
|-
 
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! style="text-align:left" | Not just a single change (*)
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|
|-
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You will need to include certain informationSome of these are only applicable for certain types of mods:
|With the advent of the XML tuning guide, and the Mod Generator, it's extremely easy for players to make their own modsPlease do not be tempted to upload mods that only change a single variable in a single file, and be double aware of mods that are also "cheats".  Neither of these two types will be accepted.
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<br style="clear:both" />
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|}
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{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
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* '''Mod Function:''' State clearly what your mod does. What is it for? What does it change in game? Where should they expect to see the changes? You need a good description of exactly what it's for and what it does.
|-
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! style="text-align:left" | Multiple versions (*)
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|-
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|If you create a mod that you change the time or amount of something, rather than just changing it to some random arbitrary number, try making it half (or double) and then a quarter (or 4x), etc. and upload multiple versions so people can choose the type they want.  For XML tuning mods, this is super easy and takes no more than a few minutes to do, so there's no reason to not let people pick and choose from the version they want.
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<br style="clear:both" />
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|}
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==Screenshots==
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* '''Mod Type:''' State clearly what kinda mod your mod is. Is it a resource override (aka default replacement), recategorizer or hider, slider, XML tuning, or a full script mod?
  
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.
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* '''Tuning Mods - List values:''' List the default values and what you changed them to.  Example: "The default chance of this is set to 1.0 - I have with this value set to 2.0, 1.5, 0.5, and 0.1."
  
{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
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* '''Special instructions:'''  If your mod needs something extra to install/use, please add an instruction on how to install/use your mod. This is especially important for .ini file mods!
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! style="text-align:left" | Illustrate your mod (*)
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|-
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|We know it can be difficult to capture something useful in-game for many game mods, but we do require -some- sort of illustrative in-game screenshot.  In fact, with no screenshots, your upload won't even show up in the Downloads section.
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<br style="clear:both" />
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|}
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{{Guidelines-Screenshots-BigEnough}}
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* '''Post formatting:'''  Please format your description in a readable format. Lists, headings, and proper use of bold text where appropriate is a lot easier to read and follow than a giant block of text.
{{Guidelines-Screenshots-Tips}}
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==Uploading==
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* '''Conflicts:''' Please list out any known conflicts and state with what kind of other mods your mod may conflict.
  
Once you have your creation made and screenshots taken, you need to make sure you have all the fiddly bits in order when uploading.
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* '''Overrides - Overriden Resources:''' If you have overriden (default replaced) an item, make sure to clearly state what you've overriden.  The resource name itself is helpful to include, though not absolutely necessary.
  
{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
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* '''Built with Game Version:''' Please state the related base game version you built your mod with in your upload post! People need to know if they can run your mod in their game. If you made sure that your mod is compatible with other game versions as well, you can, of courselist those too.
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! style="text-align:left" | Essential Files Only (*)
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|-
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|Please don't upload a Resource.cfg with your mod, extra readme.txt stuff, images, or a full subfolder structure. Just the essential files, as simply as possible. Don't clutter up the file with a bunch of stuff that will just confuse downloaders.
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<br style="clear:both" />
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|}
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{{Guidelines-InfoFiles-ZipRar7z}}
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* '''Slider information:''' If you have made one or more custom sliders, then you must list in which area of the sliders panels they can be found, what age(s) and gender(s) they're for, and what they're called in-game.  Example: "This slider is for young adult and adult males and females, shows up in Eyes > Eyebrows and is called 'Thumb Length'"
  
{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
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* '''Updates and Remixes - Credits:''' If you have uploaded a remix or update of someone else's mod, you need to credit the original creator and link to the original upload.  Please add the creator's name, and a clickable link to the page where the original mod can be found, or (if the original page is down) the creator's profile or website.
|-
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! style="text-align:left" | Upload in Sets (*)
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|-
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|If you have created several mods in a set, or similar mods 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.
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<br style="clear:both" />
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|}
 
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{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
 
|-
 
! style="text-align:left" | Good Title (*)
 
|-
 
|You'll need a good title for your upload – something descriptive, like "Autonomous Woohoo" or "Buyable Omniplant Seeds" work well for a title.  "My first upload!!!" or "cool mod!!"  is not.  Make sure that if your mod ''disables'' a feature, that you have "No" in the title - ie "No Autonomous Sprinkers"
 
<br style="clear:both" />
 
|}
 
  
{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
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==Screenshots==
|-
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! style="text-align:left" | Good Description (*)
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{| class="nicetable" style="width:100%"
 
|-
 
|-
|For mods, a good description is essential - perhaps more so than any other area on the site.
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| You must have '''some sort of picture:''' To get your upload to show in the Downloads section on MTS, it has to have at least one image attached to the thread.  If you can, try to get an in-game picture that is somewhat illustrative of the thing you're changing (if you're doing to change the behavior of vampires, a picture of a vampire would be a good choice), but at least go with something vaguely related (a picture of plumbbob would be far preferable to a picture of your dog).
  
People need to know:
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Just keep in mind:
  
* '''What your mod does:''' What is it for? What does it change in-game?  Where should they expect to see the changes?  You need a good description of exactly what it's for and what it does.
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* '''Size:''' Your images can be up to 2560x1440 pixels, and 800 kb, so you have lots of space to work with!
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* '''Picture limit:''' You may upload up to 100 pictures for a single upload thread, so feel free to add some additional pictures just to show off your work to its best. Of course, keep it reasonable - nobody needs 50 pics to show off one small thing.
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* '''Inline pictures:''' Inline pictures are those that use the <nowiki>[img]</nowiki> tag to show up in with the description text.  So that it doesn't take too long to load, please keep this to no more than 4 pictures done inline, unless you put them inside an <nowiki>[infobutton]</nowiki> tag.  To do this, see our guide on [http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=487310 post formatting].
  
* '''What type of mod it is:'''  Is it a texture replacer, XML tuning, or a full script mod?  This is VERY important since it will affect what your mod will conflict with.
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{{Guidelines-Screenshots-Tips}}
 
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* '''If it overrides something:''' Please make ''sure'' that you list the default values and what you changed them to. For example, if you upload a mod to make showers take less time, please state the original time that it would take a Sim to shower, along with your changed values (and see the note about multiple versions).
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* '''Any special instructions:''' Does anything in particular need to be done to install your mod?  This is ''very'' important for .ini file mods!
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Please format your description in a readable format.  Lists, headings, and proper use of bold text where appropriate is a heck of a lot easier to read and follow than a giant block of text.  On the flipside, don't just put in a one-liner.  Explain something about mod and why you made it.
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<br style="clear:both" />
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|}
 
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{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
 
|-
 
! style="text-align:left" | Conflicts (*)
 
|-
 
|Game mods - especially overrides - can conflict with other mods, so users need to have an understanding of what your mod might conflict with before downloading. '''If your mod is an override, please state the name and type of the resource(s) it overrides.''' In any case, please outline with what kinds of mods your mod may conflict. Even if your mod is the kind of mod that doesn't conflict with other mods, that's still an important information that user should know.
 
  
Examples:
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==Files==
:"''This mod overrides the Buffs _XML and will conflict with every mod that does the same.''"
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:"''This mod overrides the following resources:''
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:*''Active Career - Ghost Hunter DMTR''
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:*''Active Career - Interior Designer DMTR''
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:''It will conflict with all mods that do the same.''"
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<br style="clear:both" />
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{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
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{| class="nicetable" style="width:100%"
 
|-
 
|-
! style="text-align:left" | State supported game version (*)
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|
|-
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* '''Right files:'''  Mod files must be in .package format. Do not upload a simple xml, obj, or other game format.
|In TS3, certain coding is changed with patch versions, which may render previously-working items broken. You may also need a certain patch and later to use certain features. This is especially applicable to modded objects that have extra scripting, but may also apply to features added in later patches such as additional sliders in Create-a-Sim, new build tools, or other features.
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Please state the related base game version you built your mod with in your upload post! People need to know if they can run your mod in their game. If you made sure that your mod is compatible with other game versions as well, you can additionally state these as well of course.
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* '''Essential Files only:''' Your upload should not be cluttered with extra files that it doesn't need to work, such as resource.cfg, a full subfolder structure, or a complete cloned object for one resource override. Please just stick to the essential files, as simply as possible.
<br style="clear:both" />
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|}
 
|}
  
==Minor Mods==
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{{Guidelines-InfoFiles-ZipRar7z}}
  
A mod is considered a minor mod if it consists of simple tweaks of otherwise unaltered XML resources of the game. Mods that disable autonomous interactions are considered minor mods for example. There's only little effort required, no new content and no "creative act".
 
  
If you're uploading a minor mod, you don't need to abide by any special rules. We do however treat minor mods differently if they become outdated by a patch. Please keep the following guidelines in mind:
 
  
{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
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==Other==
|-
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! style="text-align:left" | You don't own minor mods. (*)
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|-
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|Making a minor mod is a straightforwarded process that can usually only be done in one specific way. So every modder would pretty much come up with the same end product. Thus we consider that creators can't really claim ownership of minor mods.
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As a consequence we don't consider it reasonable to require modders who make a new version of a minor mod to give credit to modders that made previous versions.
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{| class="nicetable" style="width:100%"
<br style="clear:both" />
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|}
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{| class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:100%"
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|-
 
|-
! style="text-align:left" | If you don't update when your minor mod becomes outdated, other modders can take over. (*)
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! style="text-align:left" | Upload in sets
 
|-
 
|-
|If you uploaded a minor mod, no other mods that do the same will be approved as long as your mod supports the most recent game version. However, if your mod becomes outdated by a patch, you're expected to update your mod within a period of 14 days. Aftwards another minor mod with the same functionality as yours may be approved, thus rendering your mod obsolete. Download threads of obsolete mods will be archived. The download and thanks counts of archived threads will persist, but the threads themselves will be inaccessible.
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| If you have created several mods in a set, or similar mods 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.
<br style="clear:both" />
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|}
 
|}
  
Please read the guidelines regarding [[MTS2:Creator_Guidelines/Updates_and_Remixes_of_Broken_or_Abandoned_Creations|Updates and Remixes of Broken or Abandoned Creations]] for further information.
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{{Guidelines-NotAllowed}}
 
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==Additional Stuff==
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* If your upload is rejected or marked as changes required and you're not sure why, ask in [http://www.modthesims2.com/forumdisplay.php?f=492 Creator Issues].
 
  
* If you want some feedback before uploading, post info about your mod in the [http://www.modthesims2.com/forumdisplay.php?f=473 Creator Feedback Forum] to get feedback on it.
 
  
 
[[Category:MTS2 Creator Guidelines]]
 
[[Category:MTS2 Creator Guidelines]]
[[Category:Sims 3]]
 

Revision as of 18:23, 30 November 2013

Contents

Sims 3 Game Mod Upload Guidelines

When uploading game mods 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. This allows both moderators to check your uploads for quality, and for downloaders to see if your item is something they want to add to their games.

Quality

  • Tuning Mods - Versions: Whenever possible, tuning mods should be done in different flavours. For example, don't just double a value, but offer it half, tripled, and none. This is both due to the ease of making multiple flavours, and to make it easier for downloaders to find a flavour they want to use in their games. If you have a good reason for doing one specific tuning value rather than flavours, make sure you state it in the text of your post.
  • Usefulness: Your mod should be useful to the player and do not repeat functions available through game cheats. For example, buy pricing mods or mods that unlock items available in buydebug add no value as they are already available or the player can use motherlode.


Information

You will need to include certain information. Some of these are only applicable for certain types of mods:

  • Mod Function: State clearly what your mod does. What is it for? What does it change in game? Where should they expect to see the changes? You need a good description of exactly what it's for and what it does.
  • Mod Type: State clearly what kinda mod your mod is. Is it a resource override (aka default replacement), recategorizer or hider, slider, XML tuning, or a full script mod?
  • Tuning Mods - List values: List the default values and what you changed them to. Example: "The default chance of this is set to 1.0 - I have with this value set to 2.0, 1.5, 0.5, and 0.1."
  • Special instructions: If your mod needs something extra to install/use, please add an instruction on how to install/use your mod. This is especially important for .ini file mods!
  • Post formatting: Please format your description in a readable format. Lists, headings, and proper use of bold text where appropriate is a lot easier to read and follow than a giant block of text.
  • Conflicts: Please list out any known conflicts and state with what kind of other mods your mod may conflict.
  • Overrides - Overriden Resources: If you have overriden (default replaced) an item, make sure to clearly state what you've overriden. The resource name itself is helpful to include, though not absolutely necessary.
  • Built with Game Version: Please state the related base game version you built your mod with in your upload post! People need to know if they can run your mod in their game. If you made sure that your mod is compatible with other game versions as well, you can, of course, list those too.
  • Slider information: If you have made one or more custom sliders, then you must list in which area of the sliders panels they can be found, what age(s) and gender(s) they're for, and what they're called in-game. Example: "This slider is for young adult and adult males and females, shows up in Eyes > Eyebrows and is called 'Thumb Length'"
  • Updates and Remixes - Credits: If you have uploaded a remix or update of someone else's mod, you need to credit the original creator and link to the original upload. Please add the creator's name, and a clickable link to the page where the original mod can be found, or (if the original page is down) the creator's profile or website.


Screenshots

You must have some sort of picture: To get your upload to show in the Downloads section on MTS, it has to have at least one image attached to the thread. If you can, try to get an in-game picture that is somewhat illustrative of the thing you're changing (if you're doing to change the behavior of vampires, a picture of a vampire would be a good choice), but at least go with something vaguely related (a picture of plumbbob would be far preferable to a picture of your dog).

Just keep in mind:

  • Size: Your images can be up to 2560x1440 pixels, and 800 kb, so you have lots of space to work with!
  • Picture limit: You may upload up to 100 pictures for a single upload thread, so feel free to add some additional pictures just to show off your work to its best. Of course, keep it reasonable - nobody needs 50 pics to show off one small thing.
  • Inline pictures: Inline pictures are those that use the [img] tag to show up in with the description text. So that it doesn't take too long to load, please keep this to no more than 4 pictures done inline, unless you put them inside an [infobutton] tag. To do this, see our guide on post formatting.


Files

  • Right files: Mod files must be in .package format. Do not upload a simple xml, obj, or other game format.
  • Essential Files only: Your upload should not be cluttered with extra files that it doesn't need to work, such as resource.cfg, a full subfolder structure, or a complete cloned object for one resource override. Please just stick to the essential files, as simply as possible.
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.


Other

Upload in sets
If you have created several mods in a set, or similar mods 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.
Uploads not allowed on MTS
These items are not allowed on MTS in any category.
Pay/Pirated Content

Everything required or recommended for an upload must be freely available, without having to pay.

  • No uploads requiring pay content: We do not host content (for example, recolours of a pay hair or object mesh) that absolutely require pay content to function in-game.
  • No optional pay, pirated, or stolen content: Even for optional or recommended content not absolutely required for the creation to work (for example, hair on a sim or a couch on a lot), this means:
    • No content you must pay for. This means you cannot use items that are pay, donation, subscriber only, "special gift", etc. type content, anything accessible only when you pay money or subscribe.
    • No content from sites that are repositories of unmodified content when it is still available from the original creator, whether these items are pay or free (no Booty or Simscave, torrents, sites full of stolen content or similar, but the Graveyard and sites that offer recolours or modifications with the mesh are okay).
    • No EA content simply converted to base game use with no other changes.
    • No pirated EA Store content. EA Store content, linked to the legitimate EA Store, is okay though. TS2 store content may be included, with proper credit, since the store is no longer available.
Other content not allowed
  • Items that belong on the adult site: No content posted on MTS can have visible nudity, sexual content, or adult content, and instead must be posted on our adult site, Sexy Sims. This means on MTS, you may not post:
    • Content that contains nudity, which we define as exposing the female nipples, or the butt crack/genitals of either gender, including semi-transparent stuff like a sheer bra. Items that are merely "sexy" like skimpy miniskirts or string bikinis are fine on MTS. Transsexual/transgender items are also not considered adult content unless they contain nudity.
    • Skintones containing genital details - female nipples are okay on MTS but see below regarding screenshots.
    • Images of skintones with uncensored female nipples. Please blur or cover the nipples, butt crack, and genital area when taking screenshots of your skintones.
    • Fine art uploads containing visible nudity.
    • Items with specifically sexual content (sex toys, sexual poses).
    • Items containing swear/curse words
    • Items relating to illegal drugs. Prescription and over-the-counter drugs, alcohol, and tobacco are okay on MTS though.
  • Sexualized children: We do not allow any sexy/sexualized content for baby, toddler, or child sims in any way - no breasts whatsoever on child sims, no "sexy" outfits, etc. If you want to make preteens, make a less developed body for teen sims. Sexualized child content is not allowed at our adult site either.
  • Offensive content: Racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, bigoted, hateful or otherwise offensive content will not be allowed. Again, also not allowed at our adult site.
  • Gore/violence: We do not allow uploads which feature prominent, graphic violence and/or gore. Examples of things we do not allow would include items centred around mass shootings, images showing explicit violent imagery, cannibalism, and infanticide. Limited violence and gore may be featured if not the dominant focus of the upload, and not excessively graphic. Think a PG-13 movie. If uncertain whether your upload crosses this line, we suggest making a thread in the Creator Issues forum asking for feedback from a moderator before uploading.
  • EXE installers: Creators are not allowed to post exe (or other executable) files for any area of the site but Modding Tools. If your content needs to be installed to a certain directory, you can compress your files and leave the directory structure intact, so you can tell people to just install to Program Files, for instance, and the files will go where they need to. Executable installers can easily hold viruses, and are generally not needed for installing most content.
  • Preorder bonus content: Certain items were only available if you preordered certain expansions or stuff packs from certain retailers. It's unfortunate if someone missed out on getting them, but they can't be redistributed here as EA has made it clear that they do not allow it.
  • Unmodified EP/SP/Store content: While it is common practice to modify and use bits and pieces of game content to create custom content, extracting content from an expansion, stuff pack, or Store item and uploading it unmodified is not allowed on this site. You are welcome to upload significantly modified versions of expansion, stuff pack, or Store content, but you can't just be ripping it and changing one tiny thing (or nothing) just so people who didn't purchase it can still use it.
  • Stolen/reuploaded content: This should go without saying, but do not upload content made by others and claim it as your own, in whole or in part. Don't upload the work of someone else without their permission... if they wanted to share it at MTS, they can easily upload it here themselves.
  • Uncredited content/violating permissions: If any part of what you have uploaded (mesh, textures, alphas, bump maps, coding, etc.) comes from somebody else's work, you MUST provide a link and credit in the text of your post, for the original author. State what you've used of theirs, the author's name, and give a link back to them. You must check the author's policies to see if you can use their content in the way you want, and you may not violate any policies stated. If there are no policies or they don't disallow your type of usage, or the site is permanently offline, then you can assume it's okay. Please see here for more details: Updates and Remixes of Creations.
  • Redirects: If you want to move a creation to another site, please remove your upload from MTS, don't just edit the text to point to a different site.
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