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Field Researcher
Original Poster
#1 Old 27th Mar 2012 at 7:35 PM Last edited by ThomasRiordan : 28th Mar 2012 at 9:36 PM.
Default Tutorial: Adding A Custom Book Title To The Game Q&A
This tutorial has now been added to the Wiki Adding A Custom Book Title To The Game

Feel free to ask questions here and hopefully I can help you.
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Instructor
#2 Old 27th Mar 2012 at 11:53 PM
Thanks, it worked My sims can now read Harry Potter.
If I wanted to, could I delete their books and replace them with all of my own? (ie Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Jane Eyre)
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#3 Old 28th Mar 2012 at 2:35 AM
You probably could but it's not recommended. I've attempted to replace other things like charities by deleting the original ones and it caused problems in places that made no sense like the adventures board and for some reason made the mailbox unclickable when without the mod NRAAS would show up when using Twallan's mods . I'd imagine the books would too since they're needed for careers and opportunities so not having the original books in there it'd probably cause all kinds of errors so I wouldn't recommend doing it unless you feel really brave.
Test Subject
#4 Old 23rd Jul 2012 at 7:03 PM Last edited by BKMeinEngel : 23rd Jul 2012 at 7:21 PM.
Can I create severall new books at once? And, when I set it to the language of my game, Dutch, so 05, I cannot enter ok anymore, is there any way to fix this?
Test Subject
#5 Old 13th Oct 2013 at 9:03 AM
Wow, no replies for 14 months, eh? LOL! I'm testing my luck here then :P
I tried to do this, but ALL the books that existed in the game disappeared. Is it because this method is outdated or...
If anyone is still lurking around, please help me thanks!
Lab Assistant
#6 Old 26th Oct 2013 at 9:51 AM
MikaelIMP, I just redid this following the tutorial and it works fine for me (other than needing a couple tweaks for current genres). The only thing I can think of that might make ALL the books vanish instead is if you went by the exact line numbers in Notepad++ or pasted in the wrong spot (ie before a book was closed). The tutorial does include what all fields are needed for a new book and where abouts to add things if your books XML isn't the exact same as the Showtime Patch version.

Hope you get things figured out!
Field Researcher
#7 Old 5th Feb 2015 at 8:59 PM
I have just started trying to create new books for my game with The Sims 3, and have been following the tutorial, but have been having problems. Whenever I save my Books file after I have added the books I want in the game, I get a script error involving Twallan's Written Word mod. It says "System.Collections.Generic.KeyNotFoundException: The given key was not present in the dictionary." What does that mean? And also, how can I fix it so that my books show up, and do not cause problems? Thank you.
Guest
#8 Old 8th Feb 2015 at 5:26 PM
Great! That worked! Thanks!

Comment on these steps:
h.) Right click on the Books.xml and choose export to file. Remember where you save it. You'll be needing it in the next part of the tutorial.

i.) Uncheck the filter active checkbox or simply close and reopen S3pe.

Step 2 - Building The Package

a.) Click on file and then new to make a new package in S3pe.

b.) Click on resource and then import choosing from file as your choice and picking the Books.xml you just exported.

c.) Check the use resource name checkbox on import. This will save you alot of trouble later on when you need to update the resource which EA seems to add a new Jimmy Sprocket book every expansion pack.

d.) You should now have two files in your package. Books.xml and a Key file with no name. Go ahead and save your package.

I usually just export to package, and give it a new package name. That generates a key file and puts the xml file in that package. So step 1 from h) through all of step 2 become one easy step.

It works for me, anyway.
Suggested Edit (you should try this first, I could be delusional...)
h.) Right click on the Books.xml and choose export to file package. Enter a file name and click open. Remember where you save it. You'll be needing it in the next part of the tutorial.

i.) Uncheck the filter active checkbox or simply close and reopen S3pe.

Step 2 - Building The Package

a.) Click on file and then new to make a new package in S3pe.

b.) Click on resource and then import choosing from file as your choice and picking the Books.xml you just exported.

c.) Check the use resource name checkbox on import. This will save you alot of trouble later on when you need to update the resource which EA seems to add a new Jimmy Sprocket book every expansion pack.

d.) You should now have two files in your package. Books.xml and a Key file with no name. Go ahead and save your package.


It dawns on me that I can make a Schaum's Outline (TM) versions of the skill books - quicker and cheaper. It also appears to restrict which worlds that the books can be bought - I've seen people come back from Hong Kong with a lot of cheap texts.
Guest
#9 Old 8th Feb 2015 at 5:43 PM
Quote: Originally posted by magdalenepoet
I have just started trying to create new books for my game with The Sims 3, and have been following the tutorial, but have been having problems. Whenever I save my Books file after I have added the books I want in the game, I get a script error involving Twallan's Written Word mod. It says "System.Collections.Generic.KeyNotFoundException: The given key was not present in the dictionary." What does that mean? And also, how can I fix it so that my books show up, and do not cause problems? Thank you.


My first guess would be that the string table has the wrong hash of the title in the XML file. Mind you, I am often embarassingly wrong... so take everything I say with a grain of salt.

You have to put the entire string into the textbox of the string table editor...

Gameplay/Excel/Books/BookGeneral:BOOKNAME
Gameplay/Excel/Books/BookGeneral:AUTHORNAME

Where BOOKNAME or AUTHORNAME is the unique name, without spaces, you've giving the book in the XML file. That name is just a marker, if you look through the Book.XML file for other examples, you can see that some have "ImproveBotSkill3" but in the string table that's something about what to do in the robot revolution or something like that. Remember, the unique name in the XML file can't have spaces. It is just used to create a hash that identifies the location in the string table.
Field Researcher
#10 Old 19th Aug 2015 at 6:04 PM
Thank you, stuart-grey, for your response and for your help. I admit I had used spaces in the unique name in the XML file when I attempted to create custom books before. Now that I have read through the tutorial again, and am not using spaces, I hope I have better luck. Also, can the game tell between real books and books you made up yourself for it, such as when creating custom books for it? I am asking because I thought at first when this happened that the game was rejecting the book titles I had made up for the custom books I created myself, and did not create from actual books. Again, thank you.
Lab Assistant
#11 Old 14th Nov 2015 at 12:37 AM
Does anyone know if you can edit the book covers (material states) yet? If you can cool if not cool I was just wondering if anyone knew.

Hiya, I'm a Sims Modder, Gamer, and YouTuber, my info is below.
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Inventor
#12 Old 14th Nov 2015 at 5:59 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Emie937
Does anyone know if you can edit the book covers (material states) yet? If you can cool if not cool I was just wondering if anyone knew.


This old tutorial works but it might conflict with other books mods. To avoid problems, use CCLoader mod to load custom books into the game.
Field Researcher
#13 Old 17th Nov 2015 at 7:26 PM
douglasveiga: How do you use CCLoader to load custom books into The Sims 3?
Icy Spicy
#14 Old 17th Nov 2015 at 7:45 PM
Quote: Originally posted by magdalenepoet
douglasveiga: How do you use CCLoader to load custom books into The Sims 3?



There is some info about it in this thread

Main CCLoader Thread
Field Researcher
#15 Old 17th Nov 2015 at 7:54 PM
icemunmun: I will check those threads out. Thank you.
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