Official 06. Posting Guide for Free Resources

VaMStaff · 2025-07-02T15:46:59-0400

A guide to understanding policies for posting Free Resources on the Hub

Note: Some of these policies affect all resources, both paid and free. For content-specific rules, see this guide. For information on copyright and licensing, see this guide.

Free content is the most valuable content on the Hub. It provides our players with endless possibilities, carefully crafted by our content creators and ready to download and load into VaM.

We welcome all contributions, even from beginners who are just learning VaM. With that said, we want to help new creators to be aware of our policies that help protect players, creators, and the Hub.

Free Content versus Paid Content

Free content is content that is hosted on the Hub website, and in most cases, downloadable in-game either through VaM 1.x, or through additional applications.

Free content can also be downloaded directly from the Hub website and copied to game's designated folder for downloadable content.

Paid content is content that requires a subscription through a paywalled service, such as Patreon.

Neither Free content nor Paid content is produced directly by the VaMHub team, and is offered solely from members of our community, referred to as "Creators".

Content formats

Most downloadable content on the Hub comes in the form of .VAR files for use in VaM 1.x.

Specific categories of alternative types of content are explained in our Categories Guide (link will be added shortly). File formats for VaM2 will be announced at a later date.

For the purposes of this guide, we will mostly be referring to .VAR packaged content.

Specific license considerations

Free Resources may not be licensed PC or PC EA.

Any PC resources being converted to Free resources must be repackaged and updated with a new version that has a new license, or in the case of PC EA must have a valid "Secondary License" and "Early Access Expiration Date".

"PC EA" resources may be converted to free using the "Convert to Free" option in the resource's settings menu.

Converting "PC" resources to Free either requires submitting a new resource, or opening a ticket to ask for help moving the resource.

Free Resources on the Hub may not be licensed "Questionable" or "MISSING".

Free Resources may not contain dependencies that have the "PC" license, even if you are the creator of the PC dependency.

"PC EA" is sometimes allowed in dependencies IF that PC EA resource is on the Hub, and if the "early access expiration date" has already passed.

The upload form "Var Health Report" will indicate if this is the case.

All free resources must be hosted on the Hub

This means that if you are adding a free resource to the Hub, you are required to upload a file. In most cases, this refers to a properly packaged .var file.

We no longer allow free content to be hosted off-site on mega, dropbox, google drive, "free" Patreon posts, etc. Additionally, links to external resource files cannot be shared in the forums or posted in the resource description.

This is separate from the "Hub Hosted" label. A resource receives a "Hub Hosted" label when it and all of its dependencies are hosted on the Hub.

This label is not required for free content but it is recommended.

No advertisements

The Hub was designed with Free content in mind.

MeshedVR, in his infinite generosity and wisdom, provides the Hub completely ad-free, with no fees.

All of the cost for running the Hub and its staff is paid for by MeshedVR.

With that in mind, we require that all Free content remains free of advertisements. This means that you cannot advertise your paid content in the Free categories.

Direct links to paid content, or specifically designing free content with the intention to "bait" or "hook" users into Paid content is not allowed.

Links to, or mention of, a "paid" or "extended" version is not allowed in the description, or in the content itself.

The only exception to this is the Demo + Lite category, a special category for Free demos of paid scenes, or for free scenes that advertise "extended" paid versions.

We will go into more detail about Demo + Lite in an upcoming guide for Paid content.

If your account is more than 30 days old (or more than 30 days have passed since the first resource submission on a very old account) then you may share "Support Me" links in your resource description.

This would be a link to your subscriber page generally, not a link to a specific paid post.

Accounts that have met this age requirement may also post banners for their branding within their resource description.

An image banner that includes your creator name and some some clipped images of your paid content, and a link to your Patreon would be a good example.

As always, the most important advice we can provide to creators who wish to be successful with Paid content is to release plenty of quality Free content that showcases their talents.

Views and downloads for quality Free content are an enormous benefit to marketing yourself as a Paid creator.

Remember, if you put limitations on your Free content, or if your free content has no real value then this will ultimately hurt you as a creator.

What you can include in the VAR

You can include:

Documentation
Screenshots
Scene Save Files
Presets
Audio files
Anything in the custom folder that you created yourself

What you cannot include:

Raw 3d modeling files
Raw, uncompressed images
Any .var files hidden inside your var, or anything in the addonpackages folder
Any archive files (zip, rar, 7z, etc)
Any dependencies (actual files)*
Any content that you did not create yourself*

*You may not package content in the custom folder that you did not create yourself unless you have permission from the original author,
or unless there is a valid license that allows sharing, you have a valid reason, and the content is not a duplicate of existing content.

We are aware that the practice in the past has been to include dependencies in the custom folder as long as they are CC BY, often with the excuse "But what if it gets deleted from the Hub".

This is no longer allowed due to stricter enforcement of existing Hub policies on duplicate content: We do not allow duplicate content to be posted on the Hub.

For example:

If you find a look that is CC BY, you cannot download it, rename it, and then upload it yourself.

If you want to customize a look by another creator, then load that look as a dependency, make your modifications, and upload your version with the original as a dependency.

In cases where content has been re-shared with edits, the moderation team will decide if it satisfies the minimum amount of creativity and quality to be considered "not a duplicate".

Likewise, you cannot take someone else's content and then package it directly in your var without permission from the author and without a valid reason to provide to the moderation team.

This creates a mess of duplicate files in everyone's folders and causes folder bloat. It also, in many cases, causes license violations (intentional or otherwise).

Even though CC rules allow sharing and distribution for most licenses, this does not provide you a pass to circumvent the policies of websites and companies.

Similar to how you cannot share CC BY content if it violates our content standards (for example, no violence or gore), you also cannot share or repackage CC content if it creates a duplicate of content already available.

In the case of content that is "NOT ON HUB", if the content has a valid shareable license we recommend you provide this content to your subscribers elsewhere while including the package as a proper dependency (referenced in the meta.json, not directly included in your VAR's files).

Please keep in mind that we STRONGLY discourage creators from using these dependencies that are "NOT ON HUB".

Content "NOT ON HUB" is often not there for a good reason, and if that content is gone because it is pirated, stolen, or violates our content rules, then you will accept full responsibility for sharing that file.

Sometimes "NOT ON HUB" is an indication that the content is actually Paid content that is currently posted on the Hub and has been pirated (or you purchased it and forgot where it came from).

Content that is on the Hub in the Free category but not currently hosted (no file is available) should be reported to the moderation team so that we may contact that creator and have them upload the actual file.

If you are concerned that a resource for your subscribers may not be available some time in the future and that resource is CC BY, consider providing your own link to download that resource separately on your subscriber page or your Discord server.

You will be required to include it in the list of dependencies and to build your scene without packaging that content directly in your custom folder.

The reasons for this policy are many, but to name a few:

folder bloat
duplicate files on the Hub taking up disk space and bandwidth
potential license violations (there are nuanced rules for direct packaging, such as direct packaging a CC BY-SA dependency means you must now license your content CC BY-SA and cannot put it in the Paid category)
robbing creators of their downloads, reviews and reactions
preventing subscribers from being able to auto-download the most recent version of the dependency
circumventing the Var Health report scanning process and creating more work for the moderation team
breaking the "dependency usage" stats and notifications
content that is "NOT ON HUB" is often not there for a good reason, such as pirated content that will get you banned

Images are required in your description

Your resource cannot be posted without a thumbnail image that is representative of the resource itself.

In the case of most scenes and looks, this would be a screenshot of the actual content (not a brand logo or other unrelated image).

In the case of a plugin, we would prefer a screenshot of the actual plugin, but will allow some "creative" thumbnails if the plugin itself does not have a GUI.

In the description, we require at least one image. This image must be inserted into the description, not just attached (see the How To Post a Resource Guide here (link will be added shortly)).

Images MUST depict the ACTUAL content

We no longer allow screenshots that include content that is not actually in your scene. "Clothing not included" disclaimers are not allowed.

In order to add images to your content, please take an actual screenshot of your scene as it will appear to anyone who downloads your content from the Hub.

If your scene allows for the player to add their own custom presets, consider using VaM's built-in content as a placeholder in your scene.

If you have used a post-processing plugin during your photoshoot, that plugin and its settings must be included in your resource description and you must also include images that do NOT use the post-processing.

We will be providing a way for users to share "fan screenshots" of your content in the near future which will not be held to these strict requirements.

NO AI altered screenshots

Using photoshop or AI to enhance your screenshots is not allowed. All screenshots must be raw and taken from VaM.

No flooding posts or updates

While we do not have a maximum for the number of resources you can post each week, please be courteous to other creators and keep it reasonable. Remember that updating your resource "bumps" it to the top of the most-recent.

Posting "nothing" updates just to bump your content can result in your resource being removed and/or restrictions being placed on your account.

No links to external files in the description

Any files you include with your resource must be attached and scanned when you upload your resource.

Putting links to "additional files" or other content inside the description of the resource is not allowed.

Finally, here are some great examples of excellent Free resource posts:

For Questions or Concerns, please open a support ticket with our team.

We will update this policy guide as new information or clarifications arise.

Official 06. Posting Guide for Free Resources

Body Glitter Cloth - NEW Rainbow Presets - Clothing -

STUDIO - "Candy Cane" - Scenes -

VaM Produce 69 The Second DLC Expansion and the Rise of the Third Season - Scenes -

VAMStory - Plugins + Scripts -

Tifa Lockhart - Looks -

Official 06. Posting Guide for Free Resources

Body Glitter Cloth - NEW Rainbow Presets - Clothing -

*STUDIO* - "Candy Cane" - Scenes -

VaM Produce 69 The Second DLC Expansion and the Rise of the Third Season - Scenes -

VAMStory - Plugins + Scripts -

Tifa Lockhart - Looks -

STUDIO - "Candy Cane" - Scenes -