MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Game Mods

This page was last modified 14:51, 30 January 2009

Game Mods: Introduction

Creating a game modification - may it be a Global Mod, an Object Mod or a Config Mod - requires particular care, because these creations are intended to modify, in different ways, the normal functions and appearance of the game or of the sims.

In order to be sure that your upload gets a positive review from the moderators, please read carefully the following Definitions, so to choose correctly the upload category, and the Guidelines, that you must comply to, in order to see your upload approved.

Definitions

Use this info to upload your creation to the right section. Global Mods A "Global Mod" is something that will modify the general game behaviour or appearance, without any further intervention from the user. Some global mods modify the behaviour of the entire game (example: a mod that prevents death, or modifies the age duration); others act upon specific objects or categories (examples: a replacement for the Pollination Technician, or a mod that enables a training interaction on the Maxis cash registers). Technically speaking, the Global Mods are made of resources that use the same GUID's and/or GroupID's originally used by Maxis, thus overriding the original ones. Object Mods An "Object Mod" is a variation of a Maxis object, or a completely new object, that can modify relevant parameters of a sim, or a lot, or another object when used. Examples: a painting that instantly maximizes the sims' needs when looking at it; or a board that allows to freely choose any possible job; or a potion that instantly turns a sim into a vampire, a witch, etc. Again, all these objects must be used or activated, in order to produce the desired effect. Technically speaking, the Object Mods are autonomous objects, that use their own GUID and contain resources assigned to the private GroupID's (0xFFFFFFF and/or 0x1C050000 only). Config Mods This is a special Global Mod that affects the general game behavious by adding or replacing a configuration file (as opposed to normal Global Mods, that only use packages placed in the Downloads folder). Configuration Mods include, for example, camera modifications and alternative lighting systems (such as the Radiance).

Quality

This is by far the most important factor in all uploads, but also the hardest to quantify.

Usefulness (*)
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 people.

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).

Essential Resources only

Either you are creating an overriding Global Mod or an autonomous Object Mod, you must include in the package only the resources that you have actually modified or are anyway required for your mod to work. Useless, unmodified resources left in the package reduce the overall game compatibility of the mod, and only lead to conflicts with other mods, heavier usage of the CPU and longer loading times. Therefore, don't include in your Mod meshes, textures or code already existing in game; on the contrary, you should instruct your Mod to re-use the existing Maxis resources (ask in the Create forums if you don't know how to do that).

English translation

MTS2 is an English-only forum, and all the uploads *must* be fully translated in English; any additional language is welcome, but English is always required. This rule applies to messages, catalog descriptions, pie menus, and also to the screenshots attached to you upload post. If your game is installed in a non-English language, you must use the AnyGameStarter in order to set up a test game in English. UK creators please remember that the game objects use as "default language" the US English , which is completely separated from the UK language. Of course, this rule does not apply to a "Fix" that is supposed to correct an error in a specific non-English language.

Extensive testing

You can't upload a Global Mod without having tested it extensively. While not mandatory, it's strongly suggested to test the mod using the AnyGameStarter, that can create clean test games, optionally excluding one or more EP that you have installed. This last feature is extremely useful if you claim your mod to work in game configurations different than your actual one (e.g. if you claim your mod to be base-game compatible when you do have some EPs installed).

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.

Illustrate your mod (*)
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.

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.

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.

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. Fraps Gadwin Irfanview 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

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.

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!

Correct game compatibility

While uploading the mod, you must check the appropriate icons in the Game Compatibility panel. Unless you can prove (with appropriate testing) that the mod works with less requirements, a Global Mod should be marked with ALL the Expansions that you have installed. We understand that a Global Mod marked as base-game compatible is much more appealing that one that requires 7 different EP's, but it's up to you to find out what are the real game requirements. SimPE has a nice "Compare" function that lets the creator compare a specific BHAV or BCON from the various EP; and you can modify SimPE's "file table" to exclude one or more EP while cloning an object. Use these functions, if you want to create something that can work without the EP that you have!

Additional Stuff

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

• If you want some feedback before uploading, post info about your mod in the Creator Feedback Forum to get feedback on it.