MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Full Neighborhoods

Full Neighborhoods

Have you made a new neighborhood in game and want to share it? This guide will walk you through every step of what we require on MTS. After you've read through this entire article, you may start the upload process, which is a bit different for TS2 Neighborhoods. The correct way to upload a TS2 Hood is through our Creator Issues forum. There you will be able to start a thread and add in as many comment posts as you need to include the lots and their images. After you have completed your thread, create another thread in the same forum asking for your neighborhood (with a link to it) to be moved to Moderation.

Quality

Time and effort

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. 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.

Is Your Neighborhood Unique? (*)
No matter what style or design you choose, your neighborhood 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.

Make Sure Your Neighborhood is Playable (*)
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!

Use 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.

A Sense of Realism(*)

No matter what style or design you choose, your neighborhood should be unique and different. We are looking for quality neighborhoods that have depth to them. It should feel like this neighborhood could really be alive and has some history to it that is as individual as it is. While we are calling this a 'Sense of Realism' we are not trying to exclude fantasy neighborhoods. On the contrary! As long as the neighborhood feels like it could believable exist within its own universe, then it would definitely be considered 'real'.

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.

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.

Main Image (*)
We need a main image for your hood, and it should look like how your neighborhood would be presented on a post card. Please do no show map edges and have it at a low enough angle to look pretty. This is a fantastic shot to use as your thread thumbnail. You should also make sure that this image is the one that shows up in the Neighborhood Picker window in game.

Top Down Image (*)
We also need a top down view that shows the layout of your entire town. Again, it's better not to show map edges if you can help it, but don't cut off any roads. You can also add a key system to this image to help users match up your lot descriptions.

Detail Pictures (*)
Show at least THREE other pictures of some of the views people will see in your world. This should be nice scenic views, taken from a lower angle (a sim's eye view, or a low player's eye view). You can of course take more pictures to show off all the pretty sights.

Individual Lot Pictures (Full Map) (*)

If you have built on the included lots, you will need to give a full set of info and pictures for at least 10 lots - 5 residential and 5 community. You may choose which 10 lots you show, but we suggest you choose lots that are representative of the overall style of the world. We have this requirement so both MTS staff and people who may download your lot can see that your lots are good quality. The pictures you must include for individual lots are: 'Front View: One picture from the front of the lot, taken from a sim's eye view. Floor Plans: At least one overhead floor plan type picture of each floor/level. If your lot has three levels plus a basement, you will need to do four floor plan pictures. Comparison Picture: If your lot is based on a real-life or fictional lot (for example, a replica of the Falling Water house, the Disney Castle, or the house from the Munsters), you will need to include at least one comparison picture of the lot it is based on. For examples of the types of pictures required, what information you must require, and for much more information on taking good pictures, please see our Lots and Houses Upload Guidelines.

Sim Pictures (*)

If you are including sims with a save file, you will need to give a full set of info and pictures for at least 5 sims. You may choose which 5 sims, but as with lots, we suggest you choose ones that are representative of your creator style and quality. This is so MTS staff and downloaders can see that your sims are good quality. The pictures you must include for individual sims are: Neutral Face: One picture of the sim from straight-on (not a profile or 3/4 view) with the sim wearing a neutral expression (no big smiles, wide open mouth, etc.) Full Body: One picture of the sim from head to toe, preferably in a neutral pose (just standing there or walking), not animating wildly. Comparison Picture: If your sim is based on a real-life or fictional person (a celebrity, character from a movie, tv show, anime, comic, etc.) and not made up out of your own imagination, you will need to include at least one picture of that real-life or fictional person for comparison purposes. Please make sure it is a large picture so we can see their face clearly, and similar to the "neutral face" picture of your sim. A picture with them making a big smile, yelling, etc. is not going to help us see that it's a good likeness.

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.

Maximum Number of Inline/attached screenshots

Inline screenshots are images that appear in the text of the upload that load for the viewer along with the rest of the text. Inline screenshots can either be linked from the attached screenshots, or from an external hosting site like Tinypic, Photobucket, or Flickr. Attached screenshots are screenshots that have been attached to the upload using the "manage attachments" feature on MTS. They display as small thumbnails until clicked on. You may host your inline screenshots elsewhere like Photobucket, Tinypic, or Flickr - however, these screenshots hosted elsewhere must be additional "bonus" screenshots. All of the screenshots we actually require for your upload need to be attached 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 may now upload up to 100 pics! Of course, please keep it to a reasonable quantity... only things like huge sets, full worlds, etc. should have that many pics! 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 item. For the bonus photos, we recommend you use a spoiler tag to hide the images, then people can click on it to see them. Their pages will load faster if all the images aren't downloading at once. [spoiler=interior rooms]http:// wheveremypictureis/picture.jpg[/spoiler] The 'interior rooms' can be replaced by whatever grouping you want to present, 'hidden garden', 'pool views', 'master suite', 'kids room', etc. You may place as many photos within a spoiler grouping as you'd like.

Content not allowed

The following listed items are those that are not allowed on MTS in any category. Please note that MTS is a privately owned and operated fansite, and that all content is hosted at the discretion of the MTS staff. Uploads detailed below, and any other content deemed undesirable may be removed at the sole discretion of MTS staff without further notice. The following items are inappropriate for posting on this site, and will not be allowed: Adult Content/Nudity:MTS is not an adult site. We do have an adult site affiliated with MTS, Sexy Sims 2 where adult content may be uploaded. But because MTS is a PG-13 site, no adult content may be uploaded to MTS itself. Any item containing visible nudity - that is, screenshots showing female nipples or genitals of either gender. This includes fine art containing those types of nudity. Items of a sexual nature (sex toys, genital addons, sex worker careers, etc.) and skintones with anatomically correct genitals are also not allowed here. Please upload items of this type to our adult site. If you are uploading a skintone that is "barbie" below the waist, please blur or censor the areas that would be covered by a bikini for your uploaded screenshots, even if your sims do not have anatomical details like nipples in the blurred areas. Likewise, uploads at SXS must be adult in nature - items which are okay for MTS must be uploaded to MTS. Illegal Drugs: Items relating to illegal drugs do not belong on MTS. You -may- post items relating to prescription and over-the-counter drugs, as well as alcohol and tobacco on MTS, but items related to illegal drugs should go on our adult site. Sexualized Children: Toddler sims are portrayed around 2-3 years old, and child sims appear to be about 7-8 years old. We do not allow any content that sexualizes children in any way - no breasts whatsoever on child sims, no revealing/adult outfits or sexy anything. 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, bigoted, hateful, or otherwise offensive content will not be allowed. Again, also not allowed at our adult site. Personal Soapbox Content: Content that is made not so much to be fun content for pixel dolls but a way for you to promote your personal beliefs (positive, negative, or otherwise) will not be allowed here. We do allow religious and political content that is well-done and presented in a historical context, but items whose value as game content doesn't outweigh the trouble of dealing with the arguments it will cause will not be allowed. This is also not allowed at the adult site. EXE installers: Non-moderators are not allowed to post exe (or other executable) installers 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. Screenshots or Uploads with Pay Content: Uploads should not feature pay items in their screenshots, and uploads should not include or require any pay content. At MTS, we promote the use of free content, and our policies reflect that. Please use all free or game content in your screenshots and uploads. See here for more details: Regarding Pictured or Required Pay Content Preorder Bonus Content: Certain items were only available if you preordered certain expansions or stuff packs from certain retailers. If you missed out on these items, we're very sorry, but redistributing them is a violation of international copyright law and will not be allowed on this site. 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. Please do not link to sites with Store or expansion/stuff pack content for free either. Converted Game Content: You can freely modify Sims 2 or Sims 3 meshes and textures for use in Sims 2/Sims 3, and EA doesn't seem to mind TS2 to TS3 or TS3 to TS2 conversions of game/store content. However, you may not use meshes and textures from any other game to make Sims 2/3 content to upload without permission from the original creator - i.e. the company that made the game you're taking pieces from. As it is extremely unlikely any company would give permission for such use, unless they contact a moderator first saying it's okay for you to do, any content using bits and pieces from other games will not be allowed here. Stolen/Reuploaded/Uncredited 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. If any part of what you have uploaded (mesh, textures, alphas, bump maps, coding, etc.) comes from another user's work, you MUST provide a link and credit in the text of your post, for the original creator. State what you've used of theirs, their creator name, and give a link back to them. Please check the creator's policies to make sure you can do this - if they're still active and contactable, get their permission if their policies require it or don't state anything. If they've gone inactive/disappeared, you may be allowed to upload a modification of their work with credit. We will follow the creator's wishes if they have policies stated. Please see here for more details: Upload Policy Changes: Updates and Remixes of Broken/Abandoned Creations Artistic karma is important to us, as it should be to you as a creator - it's so easy to offer a link and credit to people who have contributed in a substantial way to your work, so please make sure you do so when you post here.

Required Lots

A new change has been implemented here. Instead of requiring full images of every lot included in your neighborhood, we are loosening back to what we require of TS3 Worlds. You are only required to show 10 of your lots now. Please remember though, that they are still subject to all of the TS2 Lots Guidelines. Your moderator also will be looking at the images from your neighborhood to make sure you aren't just doing 10 good lots and all the rest sub par. It is within their right to ask for images of any additional lots to check on quality.

Sims and Blank Templates

Required Blank Templates (*)

Before you start building your neighborhood, you need to install clean and empty neighborhood templates. This will allow you to create a neighborhood free from any default sims and random townies. This is a requirement. If you choose to include sims, you may do so after, but the blank templates are a requirement. Most of the templates are available for download on MATY, so do a google search for them.

Optional Included Families(*)

If you choose to include families in your neighborhood, remember that ever sim will be required to follow the MTS Sims 'Other' guidelines. It is a good idea to first make a backup of your neighborhood without any of the families in it in case the sims themselves are the reason why your neighborhood is not being accepted. This will give you the chance to create new families and try again, or simply upload without them. After a sim has been added to a neighborhood, it is impossible to remove all it's data from the neighborhood, so if your sims are the only problem with your neighborhood, you can't just delete the characters and try again. It will mess up the neighborhood, and we will not accept it. So PLEASE BACK UP YOUR WORK!

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.

Unique Neighborhood Number (*)

One of the most important things is to make sure that your neighborhood has a unique number. If two neighborhoods have the same number, one of them will not appear in the user's game. MTS has created a Neighborhood Number Repository so you can be sure that your neighborhood does not conflict with any existing neighborhoods. If/when your neighborhood is approved, your number will be added to the list to protect you from future neighborhoods clashing. After creating your neighborhood, it will likely have a very low number. You will need to rename all of the neighborhood files and folders to your new number. This can either be done by hand, or with a bulk renaming tool. In your upload you will have to also have to list your number.

Uploading

When you have the required screenshots and you are about ready to upload your world, you'll be ready to do the following last steps:

Title (*)
You probably already have a name for your hood - it makes a good title for your upload. Good world titles: "Oceanside Bay: Small Tropical Hood" or "Garland Falls" - your name for the hood, plus maybe some short descriptive text. Bad world titles: "My first hood!" or "My first upload!!!!1"

Description (*)

You need to write a decent description for your upload. You don't have to write a novel here, just at least a few sentences about world's theme, history, landscape, people, whatever. Let people know you've put some careful thought into your creation. If your English is not good, you can ask for help writing a description in Creator Feedback. Good description: "Oceanside Bay is a cozy seaside community, with windswept cliffs falling into crystal blue water, studded with wide sandy beaches. As a fishing and seafaring society, Oceanside Bay's residents reflect their love for the sea in their homes' styles and furnishings. Living in such a small town, everyone is close knit, but they like it that way - and your sims will too!" Bad description: "Plz download and thank!!!" or "Just look at the pictures and download!!!"

Lots (*)

Number: Total number of lots, and lot sizes and quantity of each (example: 50 total lots - 25 of 20x20, 15 of 40x40, 10 60x60) Community Lots: None / All / Some (list) Residential: Number of residential lots, and lot sizes and quantity of each (as above). (Full Map Only): For the 10 representative lots (5 residential, 5 community) you've chosen to include pictures for, you need to also include the standard required info for them. That means you need a description of the lot in text, describing its purpose, features, style, etc. You will also need the lot size (25x30, 64x64, etc.) and the lot price (the price of the lot, both furnished and unfurnished). For more on where to find and how to provide this info, please see: Lots and Houses Upload Guidelines.

Sims (*)

If you are including a save file with sims, please include some basic information for the 5 representative sims you have chosen to take pictures of: Description: A basic text description of their personality, history, hopes and dreams, whatever. Again, you don't have to write a novel, but at least give us an idea of who the sim is meant to be. Age, Career, Location, Etc.: Toddler/Child/Teen/Young Adult/Adult/Elder? If they have a job, what is it? What lot do they live at? Are they married? Since sims included in a world are already living their lives, give some basic info on who they are and what they're doing.

Custom Content (*)

If you have used any custom items in your world, you MUST provide full links and credit for ALL items used in the world. This means any custom build items, objects, patterns, or content used on any included sims must be linked and credited. Make sure to state whether or not the content is included or not (as downloaders need to know if they need to download it all separately or not). If you do include content, it must be okay with that content's creator. Please check their policies.

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.

Expansion Packs or Stuff Packs required?

Particular items may be added with expansion or stuff packs, and depending on how your creation is made and the item you based it on, your creation may not work for users who do not own that expansion/stuff pack. You need to be sure of which packs are necessary for the items you have made. If users don't have the EP, your stuff may not work! If you are unsure of whether or not your creation will require an expansion or stuff pack, you can ask about it in the appropriate Create forum (under the Create menu on MTS) before uploading. Make sure you only mark the EPs/SPs required that your upload actually needs! Don't just mark them all! For specifics, please read: MTS2:Creator_Guidelines/Compatibility

Split RARs (*)

For a complex neighborhood, it's likely that your upload will be over the 10 mb file limit that we have at MTS. You will need to upload your creation in parts. To do this, you will need an archive program like WinRAR that can compress a file but split it into multiple pieces. To create a split RAR/ZIP: 1. Find the sims3pack file for the world you have created. 2. Right-click on the sims3pack file and choose "Add to archive" from the menu. 3. On the box that comes up, give your file a name where it says Archive name. 4. Select ZIP or RAR (RAR is preferred). 5. Change "Compression Method" to Best. 4. Under where it says "Split to volumes, bytes" type 9 mb. Leave the other settings alone. 5. Click OK to create your file(s). This may take a few minutes. When it's done, you will have one or more RAR files, ready to upload.

Include Install Instructions (*)

Because a broken rar is not something our downloaders usually face, you will need to include instructions on how to put them back together. You may use this text, or write your own. Download all the files. Remove the MTS_Creator_(numbers) from their names and you should be left with Hoodname.part1.rar and Hoodname.part2.rar and so forth. Unrar them together, to do this, highlight all the files together and open them at the same time in WinRar. Then place the resulting folder into your Neighborhoods folder. Place any CC into the Downloads folder.

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 neighborhood is ready for uploading, use the Creator Feedback Forum to get feedback on it.