MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Sims

Sims

So you've made a Sim and you want to share it on MTS2. Below are guidelines you need to follow before you can share your Sim in the Downloads forum.

Sim Upload Standards

As a site primarily devoted to learning how to mod the game, MTS2 is committed to excellence in uploads - we have certain standards for your submission to be accepted to this site. Please read these standards carefully to make sure your sim upload is up to MTS2 standards.

Celebrity/Character Sims

Celebrity Sims/Sims modeled after real people or characters from games/anime/etc. must bear enough of a resemblance so that they are immediately recognizable. If your sim is off by more than one feature (ex. eyes, nose, lips, shape of face) then it will be rejected. Please utilize our Creator Feedback forum for great tips on how to get your sim looking perfect.

If you are making a face mask or special skintone for your celebrity so they bear a closer resemblance through texturing, please consider doing it via the Dependent Skintones Method which will greatly reduce the filesize of your upload and will reduce the amount of bloating of peoples' Downloads folders.

Duplicate Celebrities/Characters

We will no longer be taking celebrity sims on the site that have been done repeatedly. We do not need 50 Angelina Jolie sims... and while we appreciate your contributions, there is no need to continue to upload the same sims over and over. Only if your sim is remarkably PERFECT will we consider it. But please try to create celeb sims that have not been made before. You can see the list of "do not make more of these celebrities" here: We Are No Longer Accepting This Celebrity.

Unique Faces for the "Other" Category

When it comes to sims, having a pretty sim or one with nice content is not enough. Anyone can take a Maxis face with a few tweaks here and there, add some pretty content, and make an attractive sim - we're looking for unique, interesting sims with unusual facial features. We would rather see sims that look more like real people - not so pretty but interesting - than another "hot model" type sim with a bland face that anyone could make.

There is no reason for anyone to download a random sim that they could have made themselves with a few minutes and the same content. Please make a real effort to make interesting, unique faces that not just anyone could put together. This includes anime/cartoon sims, and some effort should be made to give them a unique look, and to differentiate characters by more than just content.

Here are two illustrative comparisons (male and female) of what we are looking for in sim uploads (please click for larger versions):

Sim 1: An attractive sim, with all custom parts, and an interesting, unique facial sculpt that took a lot of tweaking and playing with to create. This is a good example of what we are looking for in terms of uniqueness, and assuming all other guidelines were followed, a sim like this would likely be accepted.

Sim 2: An attractive sim, with all custom parts, with a face that is mostly Maxis, with a little tweaking here and there. Anyone could make this sim with the same content and a few minutes in Body Shop. Even if the other guidelines were followed, a sim like this would likely be rejected.

Sim 3: Sim 1, but with all Maxis parts and no makeup. Perhaps not as attractive as Sim 1 or Sim 2, but still quite interesting. With a little makeup and a custom part here and there and the rest of the guidelines followed, this sim is still unique in facial shape and would likely be accepted.

Sim 4: Sim 2, but with all Maxis parts and no makeup. Just... a sim. All the custom content on Sim 2 doesn't make this sim acceptable, as the face shape is very plain and not unique.

Creators of sims are highly encouraged to strip your sims down to all non-defaults (take out your default replacement eyes and skin), no makeup, and Maxis content... and see if the sim you created really has an interesting, unique face... or if they just look special because of the content they're wearing.

Please do not be offended if your sim uploaded to the Other category gets rejected for a bland face sculpt. MOST sims uploaded to that category get rejected for that reason. We only accept the very best of the best.... If you like making sims, we highly encourage you to branch out into creating Celebrity or Character sims or to try making some content for your sims. "Other" sims wearing content made by the sim creator do have a greater likelihood of being accepted than sims where you've just put a bunch of other peoples' content on a pretty face.

Where to Upload

Please make sure you upload to the correct category. Click here to see what forums we have for offer. Self-sims do NOT go in the Downloads forum - please do not upload sims of yourself or people you know... you may share them by email but due to the limited demand for downloading random users' self-sims, we do not allow non-staff self-sims posted in the Downloads forum.