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HystericalParoxysm
Original Poster
world renowned whogivesafuckologist
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MTS2 has been around for several years now, and over that time, we've changed a lot! The site has undergone constant improvement, and you may have missed some of the features that we've added. I've actually been pretty surprised myself going over all of the changes over the years, and every time I added something to this list, I seemed to find three more things I'd forgotten about... I'll bet many of these features, most people aren't aware of! We'd like to invite established MTS2 creators, first-time beginner creators, tutorial writers, downloaders, and anyone looking for a new home for themselves and their creations to take a look at the cool features we have to make MTS2 more user-friendly and fun for everyone! ![]() Create and share custom content you've made? We love creators, and have done a lot to make MTS2 better for them! Profile Customization: Creators are creative people, and we know how fun it is to really make your profile feel like your own. Thus, we've set up a number of cool features to allow you to customize your profile. Policies on Your Profile: Want people to know easily what they can and can't do with your uploads? No need to post the same policies on every single upload thread or in your signature - you can put policies box on your profile so everyone can see at a glance exactly what you allow with your creations. Automatic Subdomain: Want to link people to your creations? It's easy, with the automatic subdomain feature. Coloured Name: If you have any uploads at all here on MTS2, you automatically get an orange name, and a little paint palette icon under your name, showing everyone at a glance that you're a creator. You can see an example on Helaene's profile. Visibility: MTS2 is the most popular fansite around, getting many more unique visitors and pageviews per day than any other fansite - and those stats are still on the rise despite Sims 2 being several years old! Features and Picks: We've got two different ways to highlight special uploads here at MTS2:Journal: After you've uploaded at least one item, you can create your own journal which shows up on your profile. There, you can post upcoming works in progress, thoughts about your creations, or just what you had for lunch that day. Guestbook: If you've ever wanted a guestbook, we've made it easy by offering a guestbook to all creators. Just create a journal entry and tick the box to make it your guestbook. Then people can post comments to your profile just like a regular guestbook. Thanks vs. Feedback: Most creators love the "Thanks, this is great!" type comments, but it can get in the way of seeing other comments that may be reporting issues with an upload. So when someone posts a comment on your uploads, they can choose to post it as Thanks (just expressing their love for your upload) or as Feedback (reporting an issue, providing important info, or constructive criticism). When looking at an upload thread, you can filter out the thanks posts so you can just see the feedback posts. Feedback View: Once you have several uploads, it can be tedious to check each one for feedback. To make it easier to see what the recent comments are on your uploads, we have a Feedback View. Just click on the User Tools dropdown on the top right, and choose "Feedback View" to view all of your uploads (and tutorial threads) in a neat format that makes it easy to see if you have feedback or questions you need to respond to. Nifty Stats: If you're the sort that likes to look at interesting stats and figures, you'll love our Scorecard feature! You can find a link to the scorecard on your own profile page, under your name and avatar - "View My Scorecard" Modding Groups: Want to create with a friend and upload together? MTS2 makes it easy with modding groups - what basically functions as a shared profile, allowing you and one or more other creators to upload together. The profile also links back to each member's individual profile. For an example, see The Mod Squad, which has a list of the creators on the team starting after the downloads about 1/4 of the way down the page. Go to any of those creators' profiles and you'll see that it links back to the Mod Squad profile in the "Mod Group Member" box, along with any other modding groups they're a part of. Tutorials and Support: MTS2 is, above all else, about learning. Our Create Section encompasses all areas of modding The Sims 2, from the simplest of recolours to the most advanced hacks, and everything in between. We have a wide range of tutorials to teach you pretty much anything you might want to know... And when questions arise, we have question-and-answer forums where you can get help and support on whatever modding questions you might have, from some of the most experienced and knowledgeable creators in the community. Create Chat: We have a 24/7 live IRC channel available specifically for creators! Here, you can get help with issues you're having related to your creations (or at least get pointed in the right direction for help, if nobody present knows how to fix your issue), opinions on what you're working on, and a shoulder to cry on when things inevitably get frustrating. High Standards of Quality: MTS2 is well known for having some of the highest standards of quality in creation in the community. All uploads go through a moderation process, where they are examined by our staff (who are experienced creators themselves) and compared against our Creator Guidelines. This ensures that all uploads to MTS2 are high quality, well-presented, and in the right format. Quick and Easy Uploading: Our Upload Wizard system walks you through every step of uploading, with helpful tips and info at every stage to make sure you know what to do. Crediting content made by others for things like sims and houses is easy with our PackageDB, which saves previous entries by other uploaders so you may not need to look up links at all yourself. Creator Feedback: Once you've made something, we've got a great Creator Feedback Forum where you can post pictures of your work and get feedback from downloaders and creators of all skill levels. Especially useful for beginners, but helpful for everyone, it's a great resource to get many more sets of eyes examining what you've made and helping you tweak it till it's perfect! ![]() Easy Browseability: MTS2 has undergone constant improvement to make it easier to use for downloaders to help find what they want. We have an excellent Downloads section which has sub-categories for specific areas of content. You can also take a look at the filters under "Search & Filter" which allow you to filter content by many criteria including needed expansion packs, meshes vs. recolours, and more. Clear Info on Downloads: We know how confusing it can be to download sometimes, especially if you're not computer-savvy. So we've tried to make it easy for you, by offering user-friendly methods for seeing what you're downloading. Excellent Content: All downloads go through our moderation process, so you can be sure that what you see is what you get, that the content is top quality, and that any additional details or information you might need to know will be included. We're proud to be known as a source for some of the best content the community has to offer. Favourite Creators/Favourite Downloads: If you see a creator whose work you enjoy, you might wonder whose work they like. MTS2 lets you do this, using the Favourite Creators and Favourite Downloads links. Recommended Downloads: You'll find a list on download pages, over on the side, of recommended downloads... that is, users that thanked the download you're currently viewing also thanked the ones displaying. This works similar to sites like Amazon's recommendations, allowing you to view related content - or at least, content that others have liked. List of Recolours: When viewing a new mesh upload, if there are other recolours of the mesh on MTS2, you'll see a list of thumbnails for the newest recolours available for the mesh, as well as a link to view the rest. This lets you find more recolours for a mesh easily. Download Tracking: Want to go back and double-check something on a download thread? Forgot to thank a creator for their cool stuff? MTS2 keeps track of your downloads (all of them in the past 30 days) and allows you to easily return to the download threads. To access this feature, click on the User Tools dropdown at the top right and then "My Downloaded Items." It will also show you a pretty graph of your downloading habits for the past 30 days. ![]() Run by Names You Know! MTS2 is owned and operated by Delphy, who has been in the Sims 2 community since its beginning and has helped the modding community along by assisting in figuring out the Sims 2 file formats and creating useful tools such as the Meshtool and Delphy's Download Organizer. The other two administrators - me and Tiggerypum, are well-known creators and tutorial writers and have been around in the community for years too. We also have a great staff made up of creators, tutorial-writers, and all-around excellent helpers - again, names you know, who have been around for quite a while. You can see a list of all of our current staff here. Always Free! MTS2 will -always- be free to download, use, host uploads, etc... We will -never- become a pay site! Not Going Anywhere! Several people have asked recently if MTS2 will be shutting down once Sims 3 is out. Rest assured, we'll still be here! While we won't be doing an MTS3 exactly, we may expand to offer a similar site experience for Sims 3, while keeping the same MTS2 you know and love for all the Sims 2 downloads, tutorials, etc. Live Chat: MTS2 has almost always had a 24/7 live chat. In addition to the creation-related channel mentioned above, we also have a general, social chat for all manner of topics. It is attached to MTS2, but really, it's not a sims chat at all - more a place where you can get to know new people and talk about all manner of other things. Many people have made great new friends (and more) in our live chat and we have quite a few people who are in there every day, all the time. It has become a home for many of us, a place where we can vent, laugh, discuss current events, and enjoy ourselves. Game Help: MTS2 has become well-known in the community for having excellent Game Help FAQs and support. Whether your problem is minor or your game has exploded into flames, we're willing to help. Check out our Game Help section, here. MyModTheSims2: MyMTS2 allows creators and downloaders to view MTS2 in a whole new (and customizable) way. This is best seen rather than described... to get YOUR MTS2, see: http://my.modthesims2.com/ Increased Usage: MTS2 has more users now than it ever has - not only in sheer number of registered users, but pageviews and unique visits per day. Despite the age of the game, we're still growing strong, and committed to providing a continuing level of quality and excellence. A Thriving Community: MTS2 is also not just the MTS2 site. We have a separate site which includes social forums - for discussion of the game, Sim pictures, stories, movies, and contests, as well as off-topic stuff like debating current events, talking about your other hobbies, chatter about computers and software, and sharing your other creative pursuits with others. I'm sure I'm forgetting at least half a dozen things and will likely need to edit this as I'm reminded of stuff - even as staff, it's hard for me to remember all the nifty things that have been added over the years! But I hope this little summary will be a fun tour for some of you who weren't well-acquainted with all the parts of MTS2. Whether you've been around for years, or have just joined, we hope you enjoy all we have to offer. ![]() |
my simblr (sometimes nsfw) “Dude, suckin’ at something is the first step to being sorta good at something.” Panquecas, panquecas e mais panquecas. |
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Last edited by Delphy : 7th Jan 2009 at 9:08 PM.
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1174 users say thanks for this.
[ Click here to view a longer list ] |
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#2 |
leefish
Sesquipedalian Pisciform
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Hi I have a question - I have only 8 uploads, but I now have the option to create a journal but it says if I have less than 10 uploads or am not prominent member of community (I am very new) then it will be deleted - I don't want to put lots of effort into a journal and then find it deleted.....can I start a journal - I have nearly 9 uploads and another one planned..... |
More downloads by Leesester, BoilingOil and others at Leefish.nl | My Stuff at Leefish.nl | LeeFish RSS | Sims4 News Blog | TumblinLeefish |
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#3 |
Tashiketh
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leesester, Yep you can have one. I'll change the message about prominent people - thats a legacy from the old days. ![]() |
Story books are full of fairy tales, of Kings and Queens, and the bluest skies. |
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#4 |
Rapsheba555
Mad Poster
Join Date: Jul 2006 |
I bet that took a lot of work to type up. ![]() |
"When life gives you lemons, see the lemons, feels the lemons, BE THE LEMONS!"
Take a look-see, hmm...? Go on, click them: The Super Mario Project, Nintendorks Island-Celebrating 2 Years Online! |
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#5 |
pokedude9777
Field Researcher
Join Date: Feb 2008 |
Wow! I didn't even know of half of those features! Thanks for the info! |
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#6 |
QBUILDERZ
Captain Louie
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Wow! thats cool :D that must have taken forever, too! |
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#7 |
Echo
Retired Duck
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Heh, I like all the name dropping in the examples. ![]() |
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#8 |
Simonut
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HP, thanks so much for this important information, but if I read you correctly the banner above your profile is only for creators who are feature? If I read this right, I wish it was for a pickup load as well. Some creators who are good may get look over. But all in all I think it is good. But I guess I can wish. ![]() |
"Nothing in life is a Surprise it just happen to come your way at the time". |
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#9 |
draik12
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Wowsers. MTS2 HAS changed since I first joined! That list must have taken forever to type up, and I'm sure a link could be sent to new members so they know what on earth they can do on the site. Great work, and I'm sure MTS2 will still be growing strong when TS3 is well into its prime. |
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#10 |
Tashiketh
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draik, actually thats not a bad idea - I shall include it in the Welcome PM. ![]() Also, that *is* a long list... and I pretty much coded most of it by hand too. :P |
Story books are full of fairy tales, of Kings and Queens, and the bluest skies. |
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#11 |
verenaheu
Alchemist
Join Date: Feb 2007 |
Continuously improving, permanently updating, busy as a bee, you and your/our staff is all that all the time! ![]() ![]() |
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#12 |
lamammaforever
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It's reassuring reading that in these days, I feel this home is safe ![]() Thank you all for being there behind and on the scene. Delphy, I also would like a banner even if I'm not featured (Audluvsvegas designed a so lovely one for me and it's so sad in its solitary corner on my desktop! ![]() |
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#13 |
twerplina
Lab Assistant
Join Date: Jan 2005 |
To HP, Delphy, and all the other wonderful creators of MTS2, thank you!! This post by HP not only summarizes the great features of the site; it also points to all the creativity provided by so many talented folks! As an avid downloader I am continually amazed and grateful. ![]() |
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Vera Marina |
This message has been deleted by Vera Marina. |
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#14 |
Deluxe Designs
Wiki Wizard
Join Date: Jun 2007 |
Thanks for spending time putting that up, really helpful for everyone! :D |
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#15 |
Petchy
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Love it, So much I never knew in depth - Love it! ![]() Thank you guys ![]() |
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Last edited by PETCHY14 : 28th Nov 2008 at 6:42 PM.
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#16 |
Simonut
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Delphy, HP, I can not help if I am a "RICH" brag ( joke ) I want what I want, hahaha lol please a nice banner for us who get stars, I am still wishing lol. |
"Nothing in life is a Surprise it just happen to come your way at the time". |
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#17 |
jon119
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I think I have to say that this site is so gorgeous and really means something to me! All the moderators and creators do an awesome job ![]() If there's something similar for the Sims 3 I'll be very happy but it will not be the same... By the way, are there already some plans to make something like MTS3 (I know that Delphy won't do it) by some of you??? It really troubles me not to know anything about the things to come. |
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#18 |
Tashiketh
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jon119, thats covered in the post. ![]() Simonut / lamamma, the problem with giving picked creators banners too is that leaves very little difference between a picked one and a featured one. If you want a banner on your profile you could always add one to your "About me" box. |
Story books are full of fairy tales, of Kings and Queens, and the bluest skies. |
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#19 | |
jon119
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Oh, obviously I didn't read your post thouroughly enough... Quote:
But that simple sentence is just great to hear ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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#20 |
reflects
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Definitely bookmarking this for when I need a refresher! |
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#21 | |
Simonut
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Quote:
Ok did not know I could, do that, Delphy what about a banner with little stars for pick upload only, would that make a different between the features? meaning the features would have more choices of banners, but pick upload could only get the stars banner unless later they get feature. Just another idea. If so I will have my head butler sent you a check to get it started (lol ) I really love this site so much and I really respect all the work Delphy, that you and the staff here at MTS2 continue to do. ![]() | |
"Nothing in life is a Surprise it just happen to come your way at the time". |
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#22 |
Tashiketh
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Featured creators actually get to create thier own banner and upload whatever they want (so long as it fits the size requirements). They don't get to pick from a list. ![]() |
Story books are full of fairy tales, of Kings and Queens, and the bluest skies. |
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#23 |
lamammaforever
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Thank you Delphy, I didn't catch that I can put a banner in the *about me* box, it's something to try! I totally understand what's behind and can't disagree ![]() BtW, the sentence about a Sims3 section is another good point to elaborate (even if I don't know yet if Sims3 will be worth to buy and play, but I guess that a sort of curiosity will lead me to do that anyway, and I'm glad to know that I can find here a place for it too). |
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#24 |
girlfromverona
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Awesome overview, HP! A couple of questions, though: I've got a few uploads here but I don't have the orange name and palette icon - does that happen automatically or do I need to change a setting? Also I can't seem to get the Custom Profile Title to work. Any help would be appreciated! |
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#25 |
plicka
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Wow i didn't know what half of them features were and now I do, loads of nifty stuff to play with now, thanks a lot! |
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