Difference between revisions of "MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Sims 3 Worlds/Sandbox"
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=Guidelines for Sims 3 Worlds/Neighborhoods= | =Guidelines for Sims 3 Worlds/Neighborhoods= | ||
− | + | When sharing worlds for Sims 3 at Mod The Sims, we have some basic requirements to ensure that your creation is good, shown well, and has the correct info and files needed for people to use it in their games. This allows both moderators to check your uploads for quality, and for downloaders to see if your item is something they want to add to their games. | |
− | + | ==Quality== | |
+ | This section contains the basic information on how your world should be made. Let your imagination run wild when creating your world, but remember that it will take a lot of effort for your vision to come to life. Any concept can be done well, or done poorly, and your result depends on you. Even the wildest alien world should still look good and make sense - weird for weirdness sake as a gimmick really doesn't work well for something that will be used as much in the game as a neighborhood/world. Use your imagination, but put enough work into the expression of your idea to make it look plausible. | ||
− | + | Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of everything that should be done for a "good" world - this is just what we can moderate for. For a full guide to world creation, see: [[Tutorials:Creating Sims 3 Worlds|Creating Sims 3 Worlds]]. | |
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− | + | ===Basic Map=== | |
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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: | |
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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. | + | |
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− | But even for a basic map there's still quite a bit that needs doing. Below are the '''minimum requirements''' for a world upload: | + | |
{| class="nicetable" style="width:100%" | {| class="nicetable" style="width:100%" | ||
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* '''Custom Terrain Textures (Optional):''' If you make your own terrains, they should be seamless without repeating too much visually, have the right scale, and look good in-game. | * '''Custom Terrain Textures (Optional):''' If you make your own terrains, they should be seamless without repeating too much visually, have the right scale, and look good in-game. | ||
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* '''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. | * '''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. | ||
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* '''Custom Roads/Sidewalk Textures (Optional):''' If you make your own textures, they should be seamless without repeating too much visually, have the right scale, and look good in-game. | * '''Custom Roads/Sidewalk Textures (Optional):''' If you make your own textures, they should be seamless without repeating too much visually, have the right scale, and look good in-game. | ||
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Well-thought-out placement of lots is essential to a useful and well-functioning neighborhood. | Well-thought-out placement of lots is essential to a useful and well-functioning neighborhood. | ||
− | * '''Plenty of Lots:''' Place at least enough lots for several residential homes, all the rabbit holes (make sure they're big enough to fit even the largest rabbit holes!), and some community lots. Add a few extra in various sizes so players can add their own buildings. Too many lots is better than not enough. | + | * '''Plenty of Lots:''' Place at least enough lots for several residential homes, all the rabbit holes (make sure they're big enough to fit even the largest rabbit holes!), and some community lots. Add a few extra in various sizes so players can add their own buildings. Too many lots is better than not enough. |
* '''Standard Sizes:''' Lot sizes should be a multiple of 5: 10x25, 20x20, 30x50, 40x40, 50x60, etc. (the exception being the 64x64 lots the game uses as its largest size), so that players can easily move buildings around. Look at the bottom right corner in CAW when dragging out a lot to see the size - no guesswork. You -can- have other lot sizes for things like community lots or to fill in gaps, but try to make your residential lots multiples of 5 whenever possible. | * '''Standard Sizes:''' Lot sizes should be a multiple of 5: 10x25, 20x20, 30x50, 40x40, 50x60, etc. (the exception being the 64x64 lots the game uses as its largest size), so that players can easily move buildings around. Look at the bottom right corner in CAW when dragging out a lot to see the size - no guesswork. You -can- have other lot sizes for things like community lots or to fill in gaps, but try to make your residential lots multiples of 5 whenever possible. | ||
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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]. | ||
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* '''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. | * '''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. | ||
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Beetles, butterflies, fish, gems, ores, and space rocks all appear in the game because the neighborhood/world creator has placed spawn points for them. The [http://www.thesims3.com/content/global/downloads/caw/help_en.pdf CAW Help Document] contains a list of all of the Spawners and what they produce. | Beetles, butterflies, fish, gems, ores, and space rocks all appear in the game because the neighborhood/world creator has placed spawn points for them. The [http://www.thesims3.com/content/global/downloads/caw/help_en.pdf CAW Help Document] contains a list of all of the Spawners and what they produce. | ||
− | * ''' | + | * '''Spawners:''' You should have a good variety of spawners with some sort of logical placement. |
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<br style="clear:both" /> | <br style="clear:both" /> | ||
− | ==Full Map== | + | ===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. | 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. | ||
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<br style="clear:both" /> | <br style="clear:both" /> | ||
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==Files== | ==Files== | ||
{{Guidelines-InfoFiles-ZipRar7z}} | {{Guidelines-InfoFiles-ZipRar7z}} | ||
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<br style="clear:both" /> | <br style="clear:both" /> | ||
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==Information== | ==Information== | ||
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{{Template:Guidelines-InfoFiles-TitleDescription}} | {{Template:Guidelines-InfoFiles-TitleDescription}} | ||
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{| class="nicetable" style="width:100%" | {| class="nicetable" style="width:100%" | ||
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** If you are including a save file with sims, or have pre-populated your world, please include some basic information for the 5 representative sims you have chosen to take pictures of. | ** If you are including a save file with sims, or have pre-populated your world, please include some basic information for the 5 representative sims you have chosen to take pictures of. | ||
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{| class="nicetable" style="width:100%" | {| class="nicetable" style="width:100%" | ||
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* '''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. | * '''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. | ||
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− | + | ==Screenshots== | |
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− | + | {{Guidelines-ScreenshotsBigClearEtc}} | |
The screenshots you take will show off the world you have made and allow people to see what they're downloading. Take some nice big (600+ pixels-ish on the smallest side is a good size to aim for), clear pictures to entice downloaders into using your lovely new creation. Please do not take the pictures in Create a World*. | The screenshots you take will show off the world you have made and allow people to see what they're downloading. Take some nice big (600+ pixels-ish on the smallest side is a good size to aim for), clear pictures to entice downloaders into using your lovely new creation. Please do not take the pictures in Create a World*. | ||
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In exception to the other screenshot guidelines, please take one picture in CAW to show how the lots are located in the world. | In exception to the other screenshot guidelines, please take one picture in CAW to show how the lots are located in the world. | ||
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{{Guidelines-Screenshots-Tips}} | {{Guidelines-Screenshots-Tips}} | ||
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==Other== | ==Other== | ||
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{{Guidelines-NotAllowed}} | {{Guidelines-NotAllowed}} | ||
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+ | {| class="nicetable" style="width:100%" | ||
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+ | ! style="text-align:left" | Upload Preparation | ||
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+ | Because worlds are so complex, it may be easier for you to compose your upload in MTS's [http://www.modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=612 Creator Feedback Forum] first, where you can start collecting your pictures, information, etc., work on your text formatting, and make sure you've got it all together. Then it's just a matter of copy-pasting when you go to upload! You can also ask for testers there, if you want some folks to take a look at your world in-game and let you know that everything works right. | ||
+ | |} | ||
* If your upload is rejected or marked as changes required and you're not sure why, ask in [http://www.modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=492 Creator Issues]. | * If your upload is rejected or marked as changes required and you're not sure why, ask in [http://www.modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=492 Creator Issues]. | ||
* If you're not sure whether your world is ready for uploading, use the [http://www.modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=473 Creator Feedback Forum] to get feedback on it. | * If you're not sure whether your world is ready for uploading, use the [http://www.modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=473 Creator Feedback Forum] to get feedback on it. | ||
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[[Category:MTS2 Creator Guidelines]] | [[Category:MTS2 Creator Guidelines]] | ||
[[Category:Sims 3]] | [[Category:Sims 3]] |
Revision as of 10:32, 20 November 2013
Contents |
Guidelines for Sims 3 Worlds/Neighborhoods
When sharing worlds for Sims 3 at Mod The Sims, we have some basic requirements to ensure that your creation is good, shown well, and has the correct info and files needed for people to use it in their games. This allows both moderators to check your uploads for quality, and for downloaders to see if your item is something they want to add to their games.
Quality
This section contains the basic information on how your world should be made. Let your imagination run wild when creating your world, but remember that it will take a lot of effort for your vision to come to life. Any concept can be done well, or done poorly, and your result depends on you. Even the wildest alien world should still look good and make sense - weird for weirdness sake as a gimmick really doesn't work well for something that will be used as much in the game as a neighborhood/world. Use your imagination, but put enough work into the expression of your idea to make it look plausible.
Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of everything that should be done for a "good" world - this is just what we can moderate for. For a full guide to world creation, see: Creating Sims 3 Worlds.
Basic Map
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:
Terrain |
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Roads and sidewalks |
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A good transportation network means sims can get around your world/neighborhood with ease; a poorly done one means routing issues and a lot of stomping and complaining. Even for a rustic neighborhood, you should still have some roads for playability's sake - you can always use custom textures to make them seem like wide dirt paths.
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Lots |
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Well-thought-out placement of lots is essential to a useful and well-functioning neighborhood.
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Performance |
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Decoration |
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Additional items added such as rocks, landscaping, and effects can really give your neighborhood character and a unique and interesting feel.
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Spawn points |
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Beetles, butterflies, fish, gems, ores, and space rocks all appear in the game because the neighborhood/world creator has placed spawn points for them. The CAW Help Document contains a list of all of the Spawners and what they produce.
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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.
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). 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.
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 Lots and Houses Upload Guidelines fully!
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.
What is also required when making a full world upload is listed below:
Lots |
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Sims |
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Files
Zip, Rar, or 7z |
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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.
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Split RARs | ||
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For a complex neighborhood, it's possible that your upload will be over the 50 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.
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Information
Title & Description |
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Give your upload a descriptive title and write a text description for your upload, describing what you're uploading. Your title and description must be in English or provide an English translation. If you are not a native English speaker, using Google Translate is okay. You can also ask for help writing your description in the Creator Feedback Forum. |
Required information |
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It's important that you include certain information so that players know what to expect when they use your creation! Part of this is also so the MTS moderation staff knows your world has been made right. You may want to copy-paste the headings here to use as a template. This information should be in the text description for your upload.
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Custom content |
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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.
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.
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Screenshots
Keep the following in mind for your screenshots, especially the required ones:
- Size: 800 pixels wide by 600 pixels tall is a good size for the smallest pic you would want to upload. Your images can be up to 2560x1440 pixels, and 800 kb, so you have lots of space to work with!
- Lighting: For most things, it's best to take pictures in an interior room with good lighting. For lots, pictures should be taken during a nice sunny day, for floorplans, take the pictures with the lights ON.
- Clarity: Neither blurry, nor pixellated/crunchy. Do not size up small pictures to make a large one as this will blur them, and make sure not to use too much compression/too low quality when saving your images.
- Distance: Take your pictures so that your creation fills the screen without anything cut off at top or bottom - neither zoomed in too close, nor zoomed out too far.
- Distortion: If you resize your images, retain the aspect ratio so they don't get stretched or squashed. Take care when zooming in and out with the camera that you do not create a fisheye effect on your pictures.
- Photoshopping: Do not apply filters like sharpen, contrast, etc. to the required pictures, as downloaders want to see what your creation will look like in their game, not your skills at using Photoshop.
- Attached: All required images must be attached directly to the MTS upload, not just inserted using the img tag, so that even if the pics get deleted from your Photobucket (or other host), the upload on MTS is still complete.
- Show all items: For most areas, if you are uploading a set, you must take all the required pics for each item in the set. If there is an exception, it will be noted.
- Picture limit: You may upload up to 100 pictures for a single upload thread, so feel free to add some additional pictures just to show off your work to its best. Of course, keep it reasonable - nobody needs 50 pics to show off one sim or hair.
- Inline pictures: Inline pictures are those that use the [img] tag to show up in with the description text. So that it doesn't take too long to load, please keep this to no more than 4 pictures done inline, unless you put them inside an [infobutton] tag. To do this, see our guide on post formatting.
The screenshots you take will show off the world you have made and allow people to see what they're downloading. Take some nice big (600+ pixels-ish on the smallest side is a good size to aim for), clear pictures to entice downloaders into using your lovely new creation. Please do not take the pictures in Create a World*.
Do not apply filters like sharpen, contrast, etc. to the required pictures, as downloaders want to see what your creation will look like in their game, not your skills at using Photoshop.
You will need to include at least:
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Lot pictures |
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If you have built on the included lots, you will need to post 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 world can see that your lots are good quality. Please include
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! |
Sim pictures |
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If you are including sims with a save file, or pre-populating your world, you will need to show 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. Please include
You may, of course, include other pictures like a full-body picture, posing pictures, whatever, to show off your sim how you like, but please make sure to include at least the above. For sims based on a person or character, you can include a comparison picture of the real person, ideally similar to the close-up picture of your sim. |
Additional screenshots |
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You may wish to take optional extra pictures to show off your world. Additional pictures are good! Show people all kinds of interesting stuff, all the little details you've put in. Even if you're making a Basic Map, you may wish to compose your upload in Creator Issues as is advised for Full Maps - you can add additional pictures attached to subsequent posts in the thread, which will show up on the Comments tab. |
*Worlds with empty lots |
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In exception to the other screenshot guidelines, please take one picture in CAW to show how the lots are located in the world. |
Screenshot tips |
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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:
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.
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. 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.
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: |
Other
Uploads not allowed on MTS | ||||
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These items are not allowed on MTS in any category.
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Upload Preparation |
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Because worlds are so complex, it may be easier for you to compose your upload in MTS's Creator Feedback Forum first, where you can start collecting your pictures, information, etc., work on your text formatting, and make sure you've got it all together. Then it's just a matter of copy-pasting when you go to upload! You can also ask for testers there, if you want some folks to take a look at your world in-game and let you know that everything works right. |
- 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 world is ready for uploading, use the Creator Feedback Forum to get feedback on it.