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Post by brittpinkiesims on Aug 2, 2016 21:39:33 GMT -5
Hi everyone! So, I've always only posted my CC either here or mainly on my Tumblr/personal website. Now that I've gotten more into making mods (traits & buffs, and soon custom events), I've been thinking about posting them on ModTheSims. I'm a bit hesitant about it because I'm not sure what it'll be like...do any of you post your content there and are you able to tell me what some of the pros and cons are? For me, without knowing a whole lot about it, mind you, I'd say: Pros More visibility for my mods Built-in comments section for feedback/troubleshooting Free hosting through their site Cons/worries Mods have to be approved through their queue before being uploaded Someone else technically has control over my content Less flexibility with what I'm able to post (just guessing here, really)? Downloads have to be exclusive to MTS (also not sure about this, can anyone clarify)? What do you guys think? I still would post my CC on my own sites, but maybe my gameplay mods would be better placed there? If anyone could address my cons list, that'd be great
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Post by rafael on Aug 2, 2016 22:46:23 GMT -5
brittpinkiesims Mostly i post my stuff in our own page. Cause i don´t have to think about, any pros and worries.
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Post by Spirashun on Aug 2, 2016 23:16:29 GMT -5
Pretty sure downloads don't need to be MTS-exclusive. The one thing I posted there I also released here and on my simblr & they didn't say anything so I assume they don't care? I've never heard of them having problems with that.
The biggest annoyance I had was with their queue system and overall community. While you receive an approval/rejection after submitting your content fairly quickly (usually within a day or two) and they're very clear about reasons for rejection if any, I found them to be kind of picky in terms of describing what the object is. You need to have screenshots that clearly show every component of your object they deem significant and have a thorough explanation in the description. It sounds reasonable but I'm not about to go ingame, retake pictures, and re-edit them just because MTS wasn't satisfied with the picture set I used here & on tumblr. One example was with some boxer-briefs I recolored, they required me to take pictures of the back since I lowered the waistband a bit from EA's. Like I get where they're coming from but I can't be bothered tbh.
Also the forum goers tended to be kind of rude in my experiences, even a few of the staff members.
But I think overall it's a decent option, and I still go there to browse the new downloads every once in a while!
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Post by anska on Aug 3, 2016 4:37:14 GMT -5
Out of curiosity I looked at the creator guidelines of MTS, which are apparently still the ones for Sims 2. The way I read it, your are not supposed to re-upload creations made by other people to MTS and that you shouldn't uses MTS to simply link to creations actually stored someplace else. They don't seem to mind, if you upload your own stuff elsewhere too. However, you might run into a conflict with their guidelines if you, for example, intend to use one of your cc items converted from the Harry Potter games as a event reward, as they seem to object to items converted from none-Sims-games. At least that is how I would understand the "Converted game content" bit in the guidelines.
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Post by esmeralda on Aug 3, 2016 5:47:19 GMT -5
I've been uploading there since 2009 and can confirm that the 'Pros' given by brittpinkiesims are correct and are why I upload there .
Re the 'Cons': Only your first 10 uploads have to be moderator-approved; after that, you can upload directly to your profile page. Until about 3 years ago when they dramatically relaxed their standards, every upload used to be scrutinised by a moderator and they were extremely strict. Now, once you have 10 approved uploads, you have 'Creator Bypass' status and the only reason your uploads will be rejected is if someone complains to the staff about poor quality or other problems, in which case it will be removed until you fix the problems.
Re less flexibility with what you can upload: No nudity/X-rated content, pirated stuff, stealing other creators' work and other obvious no-nos. Oddly, they do allow uploads that duplicate another active creator's work while not downright stealing the actual physical item, which happened to me recently and was quite surprising. And as the previous poster mentioned, no converting content from some other game to a Sims game, the only exception being if you can get written permission from the other game's publisher. (This is for legal reasons - MTS could get sued for IP/copyright infringement if they allowed game asset conversions without the IP owner's permission.)
Re screenshots & descriptions: Clear screenshots and thorough explanations used to be required, but that seems no longer the case. I regularly see things in their Downloads area with just one or two small dark screenshots and/or scanty explanation. These are often new creators who don't have Creator Bypass, so that stuff is actually being approved by moderators. However, to be considerate to prospective downloaders, it's only fair to supply large, clear, well-lit screenies from all sides. If I see a potentially interesting item in the Downloads but the uploader 'couldn't be bothered' to provide screenies that give a thorough view of it, then I pass it by - I 'can't be bothered' to download it, install it and fire up my game just to see what it looks like!
Re rudeness: I haven't seen much of that. Some threads in the off-topic discussion area get heated, especially if it's a Debate thread, and there's some 'I hate TS4' trollery by TS3 fans in the Sims 4 Discussion section, but overall it's mostly friendly. Re rude staff members, there was a moderator who was known for being rude, but they've apparently retired. There's practically no staff presence on the forums at all nowadays, for better or worse.
All things considered, you have nothing to lose by just giving it a try and see how it goes for you.
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Post by Julie J on Aug 3, 2016 8:27:14 GMT -5
I struggled to get things approved and worked hard to eventually get my queue bypass. I put the odd item there and my early Sims 3/Sims 4 items are there but mainly share here and my tumblr. I do post my naughtier items to MTS's adult site SexySims - not many mods there active anymore now there's just Delphy
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2016 10:30:54 GMT -5
I had Posted there in the past, along with their' former Adult site, Sexy Sims2.
(I skipped Sims3, it did not - "Float my Boat".)
I went to Upload a Clothing Mod when S4S was just starting and it was a, "Run around", Routine. "Sims 4 is too new, this must be checked thoroughly'...blah, blah, blah.". Waited a Week and then Dropped my Sims2 Mods and left the Site for Good. You figure, being a Member of a site for a long time would ease the Upload routine...but, along with the passing of Time - New Moderators / New Routines.
Just remember, MTS is MAKING MONEY off of Anything that you Upload there and You don't Owe them a Damn thing, keep that in mind. You mentioned in another Post that you like Attention - MTS will give you that.
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Post by freeasabird on Aug 3, 2016 12:58:07 GMT -5
I have posted on MTS and as above I got a lot of runaround. They have the weirdest rules, I was refused items due to the texture being inappropriate for the objects even though they were a copy of my real life bedroom furniture. I was also informed that I had sharpened an image which when I checked I had, it was for my benefit and I had forgotten to undo the action, this annoyed the hell out of me as I always posted in game pics that I tried hard to be totally accurate. I stopped posting when a block black nursery recolour was accepted which broke about 3 of their own rules. For me personally I dislike having someone else decide if my somewhat unusual approach to texturing is good enough, I feel that if I have got it wrong someone who plays with the toys I make will let me know. I did get a lot of attention which astonished me (and still does). I also didn't like asking for help there as it was just too...tight :-/ Everything I have learnt for the Sims 4 has been thanks to the people here which is why I like posting my stuff here; its my way of saying "Look what I have learnt to do!" & "Thank you."
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Post by orangemittens on Aug 3, 2016 14:12:13 GMT -5
I posted at that site when I was creating things for Sims 3 and the experience was so off-putting it's difficult for me to express the level of distaste I have for that place using only polite language. Every single upload was nit-picked to death for reasons that had nothing to do with the quality of the item. For example, if your picture doesn't use colors the moderator likes, if the catalog price isn't what they think it should be, if a pose pack doesn't have a "theme" they think it should conform to or whatever ridiculous thing they can pull out to hassle you with, then your item will be sent back for you to "fix" (read re-do to suit the queue mod's personal preferences). My experience was that the MTS queue was little more than a thinly disguised Request Section for the queue mods. Of course, since they're queue mods it isn't really a request - it's a demand, and it's often couched in language that isn't very pleasant or respectful of the fact that you're *sharing* and not getting paid. It often isn't sent to you by someone who has the slightest idea what they're talking about, and it's very, very rarely sent by someone who bothered to look at your item in their game. The queue mods aren't people who are experts at creating whatever it is you're uploading, and they do not game-test items. All decisions are based solely on your screenshots and description and their likes, dislikes, and mood. During the period that I was uploading and even more recently, the number of creators posting at MTS has diminished significantly and traffic there seems to have fallen as a result. My personal feeling is this has happened because they anger too many people in the queue...even people with so-called bypass status can have items pulled for "fixing" retroactively and I know of cases where that has occurred. And for the privilege of giving them something they use for ad-revenue you get to put up with all this. One of the reasons we opened the Creator Studios here was to provide a place where creators have the freedom to follow their vision without some queue mod telling them what to do. Gameplay mods are certainly welcome here My personal feeling is that quality creators get attention because they post quality items. Tumblr and the various Sims 4 "finds" sites do a very good job of helping get your name out there, and the Creator Studios here have shown significantly increased traffic since they opened although naturally, as the new kid on the block, the news that they're here still hasn't reached everyone. Downloaders will head to where the downloads are. They'll see your items at the major finds sites no matter where you post them, although if you're worried that they won't be most, major finds sites have a place where you can post a message about your new stuff to be sure they get it posted on their site.
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Post by esmeralda on Aug 4, 2016 5:52:17 GMT -5
OM, I absolutely understand your misgivings about that site. My previous post was couched in non-biased terms for the purpose of giving straightforward info, not to 'judge' one way or another. I have to say that in the past, I'd never had anything but super-positive experiences in nearly seven years as a creator there. The upload moderators were always friendly and fair towards me when sending submissions back with 'Changes Required'. I even learned from some of their suggestions. It may be because I made different categories of items than you did, I got a different set of moderators and mine did know their subjects.
But, the recent event I mentioned above about duplicating one of my creations changed all that. They not only allowed a duplicate of one of my most major projects which took me weeks of hard work, but they made the other person's version a Featured Item! As a popular creator (and who brings them ad revenue via my many page views), it was a humiliating slap in the face for my hard work. I raised a query with staff but was responded to with waffle that didn't address the issue. The site owner kindly took the time to reply after the unsatisfactory moderator response, to say that they would take more care with what they feature in the future - but, the damage is done.
So yes, as I said previously, creators can give the site a try because it gives you huge international exposure and they host your files, and you may well get on fine there, but there are definite potential downsides.
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Post by freeasabird on Aug 4, 2016 6:14:58 GMT -5
OM you said everything I wanted too but was stuck for polite language. That said the creators I have spoke to there are really nice people. Its just the admin that behave like gods
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Post by orangemittens on Aug 4, 2016 8:31:15 GMT -5
freeasabird, as you mentioned in your post about uploading here, I initially uploaded there to say "thank you" because that site hosted the tools I used to make things for Sims 3, and the guy who made the tool helped when I was learning to make things for that game. I wasn't uploading to get more exposure or anything else, and I had my own site. What I did was save a special thing here and there, an item I thought was one of my best things, and I shared it only there to say "thanks." Since the upload process, including the annoyingly detailed screenshot requirements, is a PIA it was definitely an "out of the goodness of my heart" kind of thing from my point of view. I don't upload to get a huge following. I upload to share and have fun, so it was something I was doing for them - not for myself. After being treated with incredible rudeness in the queue, after seeing, as you saw, that the rules apply to some people but not others, and after have my "gift" thrown callously in my face one too many times, I spoke up about it in their Creator Issues section. There I was told that the rules are something for creators to follow but for moderators to interpret as they choose. Indeed, they freely change the rules without warning and apply them unevenly (and retroactively) to the benefit of their clique and the detriment of everyone else. I was left with the strong impression that it's a point of pride among several of their moderators to make sure nothing gets through the queue on the first round as this shows how "elite" the queue is (insert rolleyes here). After trying to reason with these people, it just got to the point where site loyalty (for lack of a better word) was starting to feel a bit too much like masochism. Life is too short for constant aggravation associated with an activity I do for fun. In my opinion, the admins don't behave like gods, but they do behave like asses, and I just ran out of patience dealing with a bunch of rude, ignorant people whose sole claim to "importance" is that they're an MTS queue mod. As far as posting at MTS to get exposure goes, I think two things about that. In my experience, and this is what I think was most likely going on with your unfortunate situation, esmeralda, the special awards for and special treatment of certain uploads are handed out mostly to people who are friends with the MTS mods/staff. Those people are the ones who will reap the full benefit (a dubious benefit now as site traffic seems to be falling) of any ability the site has to bring people to your downloads page. The site makes no effort to "advertise" the work of most creators so traffic to those pages is, most likely, coming from the same sources it would if they posted anywhere else. That is, people see your item on a "finds" site and click on the link to land on your page. Further, if you can actually get them to admit they broke their own rules, all you'll get is an "oh so sorry" but they won't fix their violation and they'll do it again to you or someone else. Given all that, we wanted to have an area here where creators would be free to follow their own heart when creating and uploading things to share with the community. If everyone says, well I can get more exposure at this site where they treat me like poo, so I'll put up with that instead of posting where they treat me nicely, then that site will continue to throw its weight around and be mean to people, and the nice site will languish. On the other hand, if people say I'll join in the Creator community at Studio forums then a different upload site model has a chance to get going and increase traffic. MTS did not spring from the foam a full-blown downloads site with heavy traffic. Creators made it that way out of a forum-based upload site, and creators can make any site popular by supporting it and supporting others who support it. Every unique upload here brings a new visitor who wouldn't have come otherwise. Many new visitors tell a friend, and that's another potential visitor. Every visitor to one Studio may visit others and so on. Since it's new I cannot promise floods of adoring downloaders, but, at least, I can say no one will tell you what to do in your own creative place.
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Post by sammoyke on Aug 6, 2016 5:29:27 GMT -5
when i played sims 2 modthesims was my goto i never played s3 but i was playin s2 when s3 was still popular and even with the sims 2 being so old they still had new content available for it daily. It wasnt really until sims 4 that tumblr and s4s became my new place to find content. To be frank mod the sims doesn't have a piddley thing for sims 4, i assumed at the time when i first started playing s4 that it would be back on top in a few months/ a year after s4 had more time to release more stuff but modthesims just never seemed to offer any content that was good hell most of it is barely subpar for sims 4 . Its mostly recolors and very little new meshed objects or mods. They ahve a few utlities programs but nothing ive ever needed to personally have . Their "top items" are usually the same everytime i go there is never anything new and the top items offered are generally offered on the creators sites and i end up finding them at their site first anyway. Lana CC is like my messiah of sims finds and this forum is the only social group i give a poo about i dont visit forums other than this one anymore cause people on them were always dicks and the people here are not . I think if you want popularity./recognition for your item, submit it to Lana and post it here.
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Post by brittpinkiesims on Aug 6, 2016 20:39:14 GMT -5
Thanks for all the comments and feedback everyone! I've been reading what you all had to say, and definitely think I'll just stick to my own Tumblr/website, and posting here. As I said in my original comment, I never was planning to put any of my recolors or conversions on MTS, I was curious about whether or not my game play mods (Harry Potter traits and buffs, custom events, etc.) would be better suited there, as it seems to be more an archive for game mods (not recolors/objects...I feel like MTS hasn't had anything good as far as objects go in a long time. Plasticbox is/was the only real creator of new meshes there for TS4 and she is on hiatus, so...). I know when I think of actual game play modifications, I think of Mod The Sims first, as it's always been the place where you could find custom careers, or tuning mods, or whatever. I know lots of Simmers are probably the same. So I wasn't sure if people would have an easier time finding my game play mods on MTS, or if I should just post them with the rest of my things (which do get posted on the main TS4 blogs, and archived on Lana's site...that's not the issue here ). Anyway, I think OM's point is a really good one: So maybe MTS was known in the past for being the best place to find game play mods, but maybe people will start coming here for them. Or looking on Tumblr, or wherever they're hosted. I don't know. At any rate, regardless of how it works out, I'd rather not post at MTS given a lot of the feedback I've had from you all, and the general misgivings I had about it in the first place. On another note, I will say that I've gone to their forum a few times and had bad experiences; either no one answers your questions at all, or when they do, the moderators have been pretty rude and unhelpful, just saying, "Read the Sims 4 custom content manual." Which is like reading a bunch of gibberish if you're a beginner. I went there initially because I needed help with a script mod, and thought because there are so many people there who do it, someone would help me. I was wrong, haha. I have to say everyone here is 1000% more helpful and we have people that are knowledgeable on all aspects of creation here, so there's no need to even go to the MTS forum at any point either, now.
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Post by esmeralda on Aug 7, 2016 5:15:27 GMT -5
I have to disagree that plasticbox was the only creator of new meshes for TS4 there, ha ha. But you are right in saying that MTS was known in the past for being the best place to find stuff and that it is not so much any more. Many of their popular creators have left to have their own Tumblrs instead of posting there, and as in my above-mentioned 'duplicated work' incident, they have also driven popular creators away by treating them insultingly - I am still trying to decide whether to stay or to remove all my creations after what happened in my own case. It is noticeable that there is less and less noteworthy stuff in the Downloads area now as more of the experienced creators leave.
Their Creation Forum used to be a place of bustling activity and enthusiasm with both regular members and many moderators/admins posting back and forth, and it was a lot of fun in those days. But as you say, nowadays when you post there with questions, often nobody replies. A lot of that is down to the fact that most of the previously active moderator/admin staff have left. I've answered many questions there, not least because usually nobody else does and I like to try to help others - but to be fair, that door swings both ways and I find that about 99% of the time, when I answer someone's question they never come back and let me know if my advice worked or even to say thank you. In any case, at least you'll no longer have to deal with rude moderators there - the rude ones have left, but, so have most of the good ones!
Whereas, this site has much more activity going on, and people always get quick and helpful replies in the Creator forums here, from members and staff alike. So it's really a no-brainer as to where to come to get help with your questions.
(ETA: Ah, I see you've posted a new question both here and at MTS's Creation forum - anyone want to place bets on which site you're most likely to get an answer? LOL)
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