TS3BuildTool

A small C# utility for The Sims 3 modding that automatically imports your compiled script and resources into a Sims 3 .package file immediately after building in your IDE.

How it works

1. Compile: Build your project normally in your IDE.
2. Locate & Replace: The tool scans your Mods folder for an existing package. If found, it deletes it to ensure a clean slate. If it's a first-time build, it preps a fresh path (defaulting to a Packages subfolder unless -defaultPath is used).
3. Import Resources: It reads your nameMap.xml and automatically packs all declared assets from your resources folder (including subfolders).
4. Inject Script: Your newly compiled DLL is embedded into the S3SA resource.
5. Localize: The tool detects any string tables (.stbl) in your resource directory, automatically mapping and injecting them with the correct language codes based on their filenames.

Setup

1. Download the latest release from the Releases page.

2. Extract the Tools folder directly into your project's solution directory.

3. Extract the Resources folder from the ZIP into your Project directory (next to your .csproj file).

   • This folder contains nameMap.xml and nameMap.xsd.
   • Keeping them here allows some IDEs to provide autocomplete and documentation popups automatically.

   See Project Structure Example section below

4. In your Mod project, go to Properties > Build Events > Post-build event and paste:

   "$(SolutionDir)Tools\ts3buildtool.exe" -modName="YourModName" -dllPath="$(TargetPath)" -projectDir="$(ProjectDir)"

5. Change modName to your preferred filename; this name is used as the name for the created package file.

6. (Recommended) Ensure Resource Changes Trigger Rebuilds: By default, IDEs only track C# file modifications for builds. If you modify a resource file (like an XML) without changing any code, your IDE might skip the build entirely, preventing the tool from running and package building. To fix this, open your .csproj file and add the following item group:

   <ItemGroup>
     <UpToDateCheckInput Include="Resources\**\*"/>
   </ItemGroup>
   

Project Structure Example

.
├── YourSolution.sln
├── Tools/
│   └── ts3buildtool.exe    <-- The tool
└── YourProject/
    ├── YourProject.csproj
    ├── Resources/          
    │   ├── nameMap.xml
    │   ├── nameMap.xsd
    │   ├── XML/            
    │   │   └── Tuning.xml
    │   ├── UI/
    │   │   └── Layout.layout
    │   ├── Strings/
    │   │   ├── MyMod_ENG_US.stbl
    │   │   └── MyMod_FRE_FR.stbl
    │   └── Icon.png
    └── Scripts/
        └── MyModScript.cs

nameMap.xml Example:

<resources>
    <!-- S3SA (Script) to be added -->
    <resource name="YourNamespace.YourClassName" type="0x073FAA07" />
    
    <!-- XML containing a [Tunable] field -->
    <resource name="YourNamespace.YourClassName.YourStaticConstructor" type="0x0333406C" />
    
    <!-- Standard Resources -->
    <resource name="Tuning" type="0x0333406C" />
    <resource name="Layout" type="0x025C95B6" />
    <resource name="Icon" type="0x2F7D0004" />

    <!-- STBL Wildcard for Localization -->
    <resource name="*.stbl" type="0x220557DA" />
</resources>

Localization (STBL) Support

The tool can automatically pack multiple string tables for your mod and generate the correct Instance IDs based on the locale language code and your mod's name hash.

How to use:

1. Name your files correctly: Save your .stbl files so they end with a valid Sims 3 locale code (see the table below).
   • Example: YourModName_ENG_US.stbl or YourModName_POL_PL.stbl
2. Update your XML: Add <resource name="*.stbl" type="0x220557DA" /> to your nameMap.xml.
3. Build: The tool will automatically find all matching .stbl files in your resources folder (and subfolders) and inject them with Instance IDs aligned to your mod's base hash.

Supported Locale Codes

Append one of the following codes to the end of your filename before the .stbl extension. (Note: The tool is case-sensitive, so lowercase codes like _eng_us.stbl will not work).

Locale Code	Language
_ENG_US	English (US)
_CHS_CN	Chinese (Simplified)
_CHT_CN	Chinese (Traditional)
_CZE_CZ	Czech
_DAN_DK	Danish
_DUT_NL	Dutch
_FIN_FI	Finnish
_FRE_FR	French
_GER_DE	German
_GRE_GR	Greek
_HUN_HU	Hungarian
_ITA_IT	Italian
_JPN_JP	Japanese
_KOR_KR	Korean
_NOR_NO	Norwegian
_POL_PL	Polish
_POR_PT	Portuguese (Portugal)
_POR_BR	Portuguese (Brazil)
_RUS_RU	Russian
_SPA_ES	Spanish (Spain)
_SPA_MX	Spanish (Mexico)
_SWE_SE	Swedish
_THA_TH	Thai

Command Line Arguments

The tool uses named parameters, so the order of arguments does not matter.

Parameter	Description	Example
modName	The filename of your package (without .package).	-modName="Arro_MCR"
dllPath	Path to the compiled assembly. Use the IDE macro.	-dllPath="$(TargetPath)"
projectDir	(Optional) Explicit path to the project directory containing your resources folder. If omitted, the tool attempts to auto-discover it based on the tool's .exe location.	-projectDir="$(ProjectDir)"
defaultPath	(Optional) Sub-folder in the Mods directory to create the package if not found.	-defaultPath="Packages/MyMod"
skip	(Optional) Folders to ignore when searching the Mods directory (comma or semicolon separated).	-skip="Backups,Old"

Credits & Legal

• This tool uses the s3pi library (Copyright © 2009 Peter L Jones).
• Distributed under the GPLv3 license as a derivative work.