MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Sims 3 Pets

Sims 3 Pets

Introduction

Created a lovely cat, dog, or horse that you want to share? Please read the following guidelines carefully so you know what we expect for uploading your animal to MTS.

Quality

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

Creativity/uniqueness (*)

Quite simply, have you put some work into creating a unique, interesting pet? Could someone else recreate the same thing in a few minutes of work, or have you really put some true effort into it? We want unique, original, and quality uploads, so take some time and really put some work into it. Pet uploads should NOT look like the standards Maxis breeds that came with the game - as it is easy to customize coat colours, please don't just tweak the coat on an existing breed and upload it as a variant. Please also check the existing MTS uploads to see if someone has already made a pet breed of the type you're making. We don't need 15 different Golden Retriever dogs if the one already uploaded is quite good.

For animals based on real breeds/creatures (*)

Your pet must bear an immediately recognizable likeness to the animal you're trying to create. If you're creating an existing real-life breed (for example, a German Shepherd dog) then your animal must conform to the real life standards for that breed in terms of body shape, coat, etc... We understand there are limits to the options available in Create-a-Pet, so sometimes you can get close but not exactly perfect... But if a breed or creature has something distinctive about it that you just can't do in Create-a-Pet, it may be best to try a different breed rather than to create a pet missing its necessary distinctive features.

Alien creatures/weird coat colours (*)

Please do not just upload a standard cat/dog/horse with green fur or purple spots or what have you. Animals with strange coat colours for no particular reason will be rejected; it takes very little effort to make such a thing, and if folks want them they can easily do so themselves in-game. If you are making an "alien" pet, please take some time and effort to make not only the coat but also the body shape truly unique and well-done. The overall look must be both unique and aesthetically interesting to be accepted - not just "lol I made an ugly purple cat, it's an alien."

Cartoon pets (*)

We do accept pets that are based on animals from cartoons, movies, anime, etc... We do understand there are limits to what can be done with pets, but at the same time, we also expect that if you make a pet based on a cartoon, etc., that it needs to bear an immediately recognizable resemblance to that pet. If you cannot achieve an immediately recognizable resemblance, or if you find after working on it that it really just looks, for example, like a generic white cat, then please do not upload, as it will be rejected.

For "other" pets, not based on a real breed/creature (*)
An animal doesn't have to be based on a specific breed or existing creature to be uploaded - you can just make up a "mutt" dog or whatever. However, it does need to be unique and interesting, not resembling the existing breeds, and not something someone else could make in 5 minutes.

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 1280 pixels wide by 1024 pixels tall, and a file size limit of 250 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.

Enough Light (*)
All required pictures should be taken in an enclosed room, with good lighting! Please don't take your screenshots at outside (day or night), or inside with no lights on. Pictures taken inside with good lighting are best to show off the shape and texture of your pet.

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.

Distance (*)
Please take your screenshots so that your pet fills the screen, not zoomed out too far or zoomed in too close.

Good angle
Remember to take your screenshots at an angle that shows off what you've made. Screenshots taken from a "sim's eye view" generally work best, while pictures taken from a high overhead or "player's eye view" tend to not show your creation very well. Remember, you can always take multiple pictures to show your item from different angles.

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. Please do not post more than 4 inline screenshots. Having a lot of images that have to load on the thread makes browsing downloads very slow and can make the thread jump around as they keep loading. 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 can attach up to 12 screenshots to the thread itself, with the 4 additional inline screenshots hosted elsewhere for a total of 16 possible screenshots. This should be plenty to show what you've made, even for fairly large sets. 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.

Screenshot Tips: Camera controls, Windowed mode, C key vs. Print Screen, Screenshot programs, Editing/Optimizing

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 250kb 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

Required Screenshots

We require certain screenshots for pet uploads - if you do not include these screenshots, your animal(s) will not be approved! For all required screenshots, horses must not be wearing any tack (saddles, bridles, etc). Cats and dogs with long fur must not be wearing a collar.

Note: All required pictures must be taken in game and not in Create-a-Pet! If you only include CAS pictures, your animal will not be accepted!

Face Closeup (*)
At least one face closeup of the pet wearing a neutral expression. This means no wide open mouth, frowns, etc. - just a basic "mugshot"

Full Body Shot (*)
At least one full body shot from head to toe, from the side. Please try for a basic pose - walking, standing, etc., rather than something that doesn't show the full body very well. We need to be able to see the sculpting you have done to the body, and what you've done with the animal's coat.

Comparison Picture (*)
Additionally, if you are uploading an animal based on a real-life breed, specific creature, or animal from a cartoon, movie, tv, etc. you must include at least one good comparison pic of the animal yours is based on.

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.

SIM File Only (*)

When you save your pet in-game (in the Create-a-Pet screen), please use the button to save your pet to the bin and then upload the .sim file which is created in your My Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\SavedSims folder - NOT the .sims3pack created in Exports when you "share pet". Why? The .sim file is about half the size, and can just be tossed into SavedSims when people download it rather than having to double-click and run the launcher to install. The Launcher doesn't work for everyone!

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.

Custom Content (*)

If your Pet is shown with ANY custom content, then you will need to provide links and credit for ALL pieces of custom content shown on your pet! This is not optional! Downloaders will need to follow the links you give as a "shopping list" to get your pet to look as it should in-game. Make sure to provide links and credit for any: Eyes Collars, Bridles etc Coat Markings Custom Sliders A link and credit means writing something like: "Inscrutable Eyes for Cats by Cmomoney: http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=461562" - it states the item (eyes, collar, whatever), the creator's name, and gives a direct link to where it can be found. You may use content from the EA Store on your pet, but again, you need to link and credit it as such, so people can get it.

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. Please 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 - please just choose one. Also, please 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.

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!

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