Sims 3 Package Reducer (S3PR) by OhRudi

Software to easily reduce, compress and decompress Package-Files for the Sims 3

Overview

• This software reduces the size of Package-Files drastically, very usefull if you have tons of CC
• It removes thumbnails (THUM) and icons (ICON) resources from Package-Files and compresses or decompresses them
• Thumbnails are safe to remove, the game regenerates them (see image explenation)
• Icons are safe to remove, the game doesn't use them, nor does CC-Magic
• Compressing reduces the Package-File size drastically, but it's no performance gain for your game, because your game has to decompresses them while playing
• Decompressing expands the Package-File size by three times. It's a performance gain while playing, cause your game needs them decompressed anyway
• I'd recommend compressing your individual CC files, but decompressing the merged CC files, such as the builds from CC-Magic
• DO NOT compress mods (like NRaas and other Script-Mods), only compress CC
• Works only for Package-Files, not for Sims3Pack-Files
• Works only for Windows (did test for Windows 10 & 11), not for Mac, did not test on Linux

How to compile

# WITHIN THE S3PR PROJECT ROOT

# pull tags from github
git pull origin main --tags --force

# get latest git tag/release
$versionNumber = (git tag --sort=-v:refname | Select-Object -First 1) -replace '^(v|V|version|VERSION|Version)', ''

# compile into a single file
# paste latest git tag (version number) into config
# this version number is then displayed in the UI
# the compiled exe is under: S3PR_GUI\bin\Release\net10.0-windows\win-x64\publish
dotnet publish .\S3PR_GUI\S3PR_GUI.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true /p:PublishSingleFile=true /p:AssemblyVersion="$versionNumber" /p:Version="$versionNumber" /p:FileVersion="$versionNumber" /p:InformationalVersion="$versionNumber"

How do I use the Console Application?

Important Notice: Everything is the same, but if you're into automation, you can use S3PR via the console.

Usage:
S3PR.exe [options] <paths to folders or files...>

Options:
-r, --search-recursive     Search directories recursively when looking for Package-Files.

-t, --remove-thumbnail     Remove thumbnail resources from Package-Files.

-i, --remove-icon          Remove icon resources from Package-Files.

-c, --compress-file        Compress Package-Files.

-d, --decompress-file      Decompress Package-Files.

-s, --silent               No Console Output.

-h, --help                 Show this help message and exit.

Arguments:
<paths...>                 One or more files or folders to process.

Further Explenations

Further explenations and releases of this software you can find on ModTheSims, Simblr, or Tumblr

Technical Details

• It's published under the GNU General Public License (GPL-3.0)
• Feel free to fork the code and change it in any way you like, cause this source is code meant to be public, free and open
• I used Visual Studio 2026 with .NET 10.0 and WinForms API to create the GUI

Big thanks to ...

• Sims 3 Easy Extractor & Merger Tools by phantom99 (their project and open source code inspired me to do this)
• Sims 3 Package Interface by Peter L Jones
• Sims 3 Recompressor (S3RC) Tool by J. M. Pescado
• Pixlr.com which I always use for free image editing
• Seasons Coat with Buttons for teens by sweetdevil, which I used for example pictures
• Set of hairstyles Skysims by Agnelid, which I used for example pictures
• AND to this awesome and still alive community of simmers ^^