MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Sims 3 Worlds/Sandbox - Revision history

Leesester: /* Quality */

2013-11-23T16:48:58Z

‎Quality

HystericalParoxysm at 13:49, 22 November 2013

2013-11-22T13:49:17Z

HystericalParoxysm at 12:04, 22 November 2013

2013-11-22T12:04:19Z

HystericalParoxysm at 11:31, 22 November 2013

2013-11-22T11:31:40Z

HystericalParoxysm at 11:25, 22 November 2013

2013-11-22T11:25:04Z

HystericalParoxysm at 10:26, 22 November 2013

2013-11-22T10:26:41Z

HystericalParoxysm at 10:11, 22 November 2013

2013-11-22T10:11:27Z

HystericalParoxysm at 19:09, 21 November 2013

2013-11-21T19:09:36Z

HystericalParoxysm at 12:00, 21 November 2013

2013-11-21T12:00:17Z

HystericalParoxysm at 11:59, 21 November 2013

2013-11-21T11:59:43Z

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 * '''Rabbit holes - Decorated:''' Rabbit hole lots require decoration to make them look part of their neighborhood - benches, trees, terrain paint, etc., not just the rabbit hole building placed on an empty lot.
-* '''Lots - Quality:''' The standards for the houses you build in a full map are the same as if you were uploading them separately to MTS.  Please review our [[MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Sims 3 Lots and Houses|Lots and Houses Upload Guidelines]] fully!
+* '''Lots - Quality:''' The quality standards for the houses you build in a full map are the same as if you were uploading them separately to MTS.  Please review our [[MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Sims 3 Lots and Houses|Lots and Houses Upload Guidelines]] quality section fully!. For lots screenshots in world uploads please see the screenshots section further down this page.
@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
 * '''Quality:''' If you are doing a full map and including sims for a populated world (including sims is completely optional!), please make sure that your sims meet the [[MTS2:Creator_Guidelines/Sims_3_Sims|MTS Creator Guidelines for Sims]].  This means unique faces for random "other" sims, and good likenesses if you're trying to make them look like real people.  The standards for sims uploaded with a world are the same as if you uploaded them separately, so make sure they're good!
 |}
 ==Files==

@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 * '''Proper Routing:''' Routing for both the camera and sims should make sense - areas that look like they'd be off-limits should actually be non-routable, and areas that look accessible should be easy to reach, with no random non-routable spots.  You can find more information on routing in the [http://www.thesims3.com/content/global/downloads/caw/help_en.pdf CAW Help Document].
-* '''Aesthetically Pleasing:''' Your decorating should add to the overall beauty and theme of your neighborhood, with good choices and placement of items - neither too many nor too few.
+* '''Decorations:''' Your decorating should add to the overall beauty and theme of your neighborhood, with good choices and placement of items - neither too many nor too few.  Try to keep your decorations to a particular style - use trees and flowers that make sense for the type of region you're building.  Giving your neighborhood a particular unique flavour and style makes it more charming and realistic than just using one of everything, or a random pyramid because it'd look cool.
-−
-* '''Thematic:''' Try to keep your decorations to a particular style - use trees and flowers that make sense for the type of region you're building.  Giving your neighborhood a particular unique flavour and style makes it more charming and realistic than just using one of everything, or a random pyramid because it'd look cool.
 * '''Spawners:''' You should have a good variety of spawners for gems, beetles, butterflies, etc., with some sort of logical placement.

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:04, 22 November 2013
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	* '''Proper Routing:''' Routing for both the camera and sims should make sense - areas that look like they'd be off-limits should actually be non-routable, and areas that look accessible should be easy to reach, with no random non-routable spots. You can find more information on routing in the [http://www.thesims3.com/content/global/downloads/caw/help_en.pdf CAW Help Document].		* '''Proper Routing:''' Routing for both the camera and sims should make sense - areas that look like they'd be off-limits should actually be non-routable, and areas that look accessible should be easy to reach, with no random non-routable spots. You can find more information on routing in the [http://www.thesims3.com/content/global/downloads/caw/help_en.pdf CAW Help Document].
−
−	* '''Layering:''' Correctly done, layering increases world performance. Don't just dump everything on one layer! Items you have placed in your world (lots, decorations, effects, etc.) should be layered and grouped in a logical way.

	* '''Aesthetically Pleasing:''' Your decorating should add to the overall beauty and theme of your neighborhood, with good choices and placement of items - neither too many nor too few.		* '''Aesthetically Pleasing:''' Your decorating should add to the overall beauty and theme of your neighborhood, with good choices and placement of items - neither too many nor too few.

@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 * '''Flat lots:''' Use the Flatten Terrain tool before placing a lot, so that you are always putting lots on a completely flat patch of ground (unless you have a very good reason to not have a flat lot, like a beach lot or one built into a hillside).   This makes it easier to place and share lots.
-*[[Image:Lotedges.jpg|right|300x300px]]'''Lot edges:''' Ensure that all your lot edges match the surrounding terrain.  You will to carefully check each of the four edges of every lot, and ensure there aren't odd vertical lines like ||||| at the seam between lot and world (click on the image to the right for an extreme example).  You may need to flatten edges or re-place the lot to fix this.
+*[[Image:Jaggedlotedges.jpg|right|300x300px]]'''Lot edges:''' Ensure that all your lot edges match the surrounding terrain.  You will to carefully check each of the four edges of every lot, and ensure there aren't odd vertical lines like ||||| at the seam between lot and world (click on the image to the right for an extreme example).  You may need to flatten edges or re-place the lot to fix this.
 * '''Near roads:''' Lots should be placed next to a road in most cases, unless you have a very good reason not to do so.  Make sure you use the grid tool so your lots are aligned right up against the roads too, without a gap.

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:25, 22 November 2013
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	* '''Flat lots:''' Use the Flatten Terrain tool before placing a lot, so that you are always putting lots on a completely flat patch of ground (unless you have a very good reason to not have a flat lot, like a beach lot or one built into a hillside). This makes it easier to place and share lots.		* '''Flat lots:''' Use the Flatten Terrain tool before placing a lot, so that you are always putting lots on a completely flat patch of ground (unless you have a very good reason to not have a flat lot, like a beach lot or one built into a hillside). This makes it easier to place and share lots.
		+
		+	*[[Image:Lotedges.jpg\|right\|300x300px]]'''Lot edges:''' Ensure that all your lot edges match the surrounding terrain. You will to carefully check each of the four edges of every lot, and ensure there aren't odd vertical lines like \|\|\|\|\| at the seam between lot and world (click on the image to the right for an extreme example). You may need to flatten edges or re-place the lot to fix this.

	* '''Near roads:''' Lots should be placed next to a road in most cases, unless you have a very good reason not to do so. Make sure you use the grid tool so your lots are aligned right up against the roads too, without a gap.		* '''Near roads:''' Lots should be placed next to a road in most cases, unless you have a very good reason not to do so. Make sure you use the grid tool so your lots are aligned right up against the roads too, without a gap.

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 A basic map is one that does not include any buildings, but has all the rest of the neighborhood in place.  Everything that needs Create a World to do has already been done, and what's left is to build the houses in-game.  Some players really just want a blank canvas upon which to build (like SC4 maps for TS2) so this is the most basic type of neighborhood/world map you can upload here to MTS.  But even for a basic map there's still quite a bit that needs doing. Below are the '''minimum requirements''' for a world upload:
-* '''Natural terrain sculpting and painting:''' Your terrain should look plausible – not just flat and boring, or jagged for no reason. Terrain paints should blend in a logical way from one to another - a smooth blend from grass to sand, for example.  Mountains should be dark and mountainy, grassy areas green and grassy. If you're building a non-realistic world (like an alien or fantasy environment), plausibility just as important as with a terrestrian one.
+* '''Terrain sculpting:''' Your terrain should look plausible – not just flat and boring, or overly jagged.
-* '''No auto-paint:''' Please do not use the option to auto-paint your world in CAW - or if you do, don't just stop there.  It creates a very blotchy grass-and-stone look which may be a decent start for certain areas, but a world left auto-painted just looks lazy and unfinished.
+* '''Terrain painting:''' Terrain paints should blend in a logical way from one to another - a smooth blend from grass to sand, for example.  Mountains should be dark and mountainy, grassy areas green and grassy. If you're building a non-realistic world (like an alien or fantasy environment), it needs to still look plausible and nice.  Please do not use the option to auto-paint your world in CAW - or if you do, don't just stop there.  Auto-paint creates a very blotchy grass-and-stone look which may be a decent start for certain areas, but auto-paint alone is not enough.
-* '''Optimized:''' You should not use more than 8 different terrain paints per chunk, for improved performance.
+* '''Optimized:''' You should not use more than 8 different terrain paints per chunk, for improved performance, and you should organize your lots and world objects into logical layers for better performance.
 * '''Custom textures (optional):''' If you make your own terrains, road, or sidewalk textures, they should be seamless without repeating too much visually, have the right scale, and look good in-game.

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 * '''Custom textures (optional):''' If you make your own terrains, road, or sidewalk textures, they should be seamless without repeating too much visually, have the right scale, and look good in-game.
-* '''Intersections:''' Place intersections where your roads meet, and at the end of any dead end road. Cars/vehicles will not be able to turn around otherwise.
+* '''Road network:''' Place intersections where your roads meet, and at the end of any dead end road. Cars/vehicles will not be able to turn around otherwise.  Use the road tools to give your roads and sidewalks a smooth grade (i.e. if you were driving down it, your car wouldn't tilt dramatically from side to side but would stay mostly level).  If you have a very steep cliff or hill, you may need to make your roads wind back and forth instead of going up near-vertically.
-−
-* '''Smooth graded roads:''' Use the road tools to give your roads and sidewalks a smooth grade (i.e. if you were driving down it, your car wouldn't tilt dramatically from side to side but would stay mostly level).
-−
-* '''Roads not too steep:''' If you have a very steep cliff, you may need to make your roads wind back and forth instead of going up near-vertically.
 * '''Good amount of lots:''' Even a small world should have enough lots for several residential homes, rabbit holes, and community lots.  Extra lots in various sizes allow players to add their own buildings.  Too many lots is better than not enough.

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 '''Lots:'''
-A full set of lots (all the rabbit holes, all the community lots, wide range of residential lots) is often preferred by downloaders.  But as building a full world with everything is a BIG job, we just ask that the lots which you have included are complete.  This means:
+A full set of lots (all the rabbit holes, all the community lots, wide range of residential lots) is often preferred by downloaders.  But as building a full world with everything is a BIG job, we just ask that the lots which you have included are complete, whether that's 10 lots or 100.
 * '''Rabbit holes - Decorated:''' Rabbit hole lots require decoration to make them look part of their neighborhood - benches, trees, terrain paint, etc., not just the rabbit hole building placed on an empty lot.
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 '''If you have built lots for your world''' as part of a full map, you will also need to have:
-* A '''front picture showing the whole lot''' for at least 5 residential and 5 community lots.  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 world can see that your lots are good quality.  You may also include additional pictures like floorplans, backside picture, comparison picture if a lot is based on a real life building. But those are completely optional!
+* A '''front picture showing the whole lot''' for at least 5 residential and 5 community lots (if you have less than 5 of either type, you can just show however many you have).  You may choose which 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 world can see that your lots are good quality.  You may also include additional pictures like floorplans, backside picture, comparison picture if a lot is based on a real life building. But those are completely optional!
 '''If you have made sims for your world''', you will also need to have:

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 You must provide full links and credit (for example: "Modern Fencing by Simmer123 at (link)" - what the thing is, who made it, and a link) for all items used in your world.  This means all custom build items, objects, plants, patterns, required mods, or custom content on sims.  If you do include content, it needs to be okay with the content's creators, so you will need to check their policies.  You must indicate whether the content is included or not (so downloaders know if they need to get it separately).  We suggest you do this with large, bold headings of "Included" and "Required but not included" so it's clear.
-Included content will be:
+'''Included content:'''
 * Items installed as sims3packs that are included with your world's sims3pack.
 * Package files you manually added to the archive alongside the sims3pack (usually content you've made yourself for your world.
-Required but not included content is:
+'''Required but not included content:'''
 * Items installed as sims3packs that were included with your world's sims3packs, but that you cleaned out of the world file.  You can remove unwanted content from the sims3pack using [http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=390235 CUSTARD].
 * Package file custom content made by others which downloaders will need to get separately.

@@ Line 50: / Line 50: @@
 !style="text-align:left" | Full map
 |-
-| A full map is a complete and decorated map including residential and community buildings - not just a blank slate but similar to Sunset Valley or Riverview: a complete neighborhood except the sims.  Creating a full map is a really, REALLY big job.  Be aware that it is in no way required to build anything in a world you want to share, or to include sims with it - you can just do a Basic Map!
+| A full map is a complete and decorated map including residential and community buildings - not just a blank slate but similar to Sunset Valley or Riverview: a complete neighborhood except the sims.  Creating a full map is a really, REALLY big job.  Be aware that it is in no way required to build anything in a world you want to share, or to include sims with it - you can just do a Basic Map!  For first-time creators, we strongly recommend to upload a few lots first before you attempt to create a full map - same goes for sims, if you plan to include sims with your world.  Make sure you understand how to create lots that meet our standards BEFORE you try and upload fifty of them at once as part of your world.  It may be a good idea to upload some of your world's lots separately first, so you can just link to them rather than having to include all their info with your world.
-−
-For first-time creators, we strongly recommend to upload a few lots first before you attempt to create a full map (and also sims, if you plan to include sims with your world).  Make sure you understand how to create lots that meet our standards BEFORE you try and upload fifty of them at once.  Changing one lot so that it meets our standards is relatively easy; having to change fifty of them all at once will only lead to frustration.
-−
-'''The standards for the houses you build in a full map are the same as if you were uploading them separately to MTS.  Please review our [[MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Sims 3 Lots and Houses|Lots and Houses Upload Guidelines]] fully!'''
 Everything required for a Basic Map is also required for a Full Map, plus the following:
@@ Line 61: / Line 57: @@
 '''Lots:'''
-* '''Rabbit holes - Full set: '''Rabbit holes provide places for your sims to do important tasks as well as attend school and their jobs.  There are 16 different rabbit holes - make sure you include them all to have a nicely functioning neighborhood and be able to get all jobs.  If you choose to omit some of them, it should make sense for the theme of the neighborhood, and you should make sure there are some empty lots so players can add them back in if desired.
+A full set of lots (all the rabbit holes, all the community lots, wide range of residential lots) is often preferred by downloaders.  But as building a full world with everything is a BIG job, we just ask that the lots which you have included are complete.  This means:
-* '''Rabbit holes - Decorated:''' Rabbit hole lots require decoration to make them look part of their neighborhood - benches, trees, terrain paint, etc. - if you're going to tell people where the rabbit holes should be, you should make an effort to decorate the lot so it's integrated into the rest of the neighborhood's style.
+* '''Rabbit holes - Decorated:''' Rabbit hole lots require decoration to make them look part of their neighborhood - benches, trees, terrain paint, etc., not just the rabbit hole building placed on an empty lot.
-* '''Community buildings - Full set:'''  You should build all or most of the various community buildings (art gallery, gym, etc.) which are not rabbit holes.  If you don't build them all, you should leave empty lots for the player to build or place their own.
+* '''Lots - Quality:''' The standards for the houses you build in a full map are the same as if you were uploading them separately to MTS.  Please review our [[MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Sims 3 Lots and Houses|Lots and Houses Upload Guidelines]] fully!
 '''Sims:'''
@@ Line 147: / Line 142: @@
 |-
+|
-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.
+You must provide full links and credit (for example: "Modern Fencing by Simmer123 at (link)" - what the thing is, who made it, and a link) for all items used in your world.  This means all custom build items, objects, plants, patterns, required mods, or custom content on sims.  If you do include content, it needs to be okay with the content's creators, so you will need to check their policies.  You must indicate whether the content is included or not (so downloaders know if they need to get it separately).  We suggest you do this with large, bold headings of "Included" and "Required but not included" so it's clear.
-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.
+Included content will be:
-* '''Included custom content:''' List custom content that has been included within the world file or the archive, with links to the download page. Items like this are:
+* Items installed as sims3packs that are included with your world's sims3pack.
-** Sims3pack CC used and not cleaned out from the file
+* Package files you manually added to the archive alongside the sims3pack (usually content you've made yourself for your world.
-** Package-files you have manually added to the archive (usually content you made for that particular world)
-* '''Required, but not included custom content:''' List custom content you have used on the world, but not included within the world file or the archive, with links to the download page. Items like this are:
+Required but not included content is:
-** Sims3pack CC you have cleaned out the world file
+* Items installed as sims3packs that were included with your world's sims3packs, but that you cleaned out of the world file.  You can remove unwanted content from the sims3pack using [http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=390235 CUSTARD].
-** Package-file CC
+* Package file custom content made by others which downloaders will need to get separately.
 If you made your world without CC, you of course don't need to list any. A note: "No CC" or "Made without CC" is nice to have, but not mandatory.
-* '''Overrides for textures, etc.:''' If you have included override resources into your world file, such as texture recolors, please list what objects/textures are overridden, so that the downloaders may avoid conflicting files.
 |}
 ==Screenshots==