TUTORIAL - Interactions 7 (Patreon)

A couple of days ago we were looking at 3 interactions from the Yoga mat, and you may or may not have noticed a difference in them. They were all different from each other... the first and biggest difference I noticed right away is the basic_content:

Our first interaction has a n="basic_content" t="flexible_length"

The greeting one has a n="basic_content" t="one_shot"

And lastly, the idle one has a n="basic_content" t="looping_animation"

What is this, and in what are they different?

Of course, when we don't know something, we don't guess, we ask the TDESC:

Well, the basic content defines the very nature of the interaction, and the options I can put in it are different depending on the type of content I select. The type of content I can use is also different between different kinds of interactions, not all of them support all the types of content. For example, I'm looking at the TDESC for Interaction:

And there is no flexible_length... but if I move on the one for Super Interaction:

There it is. So how do I know what I need to put there? What's supported and what's not?

Your best bet is always starting from the interaction that's the most similar to what you want to achieve, for starters. Your second best bet when tuning an interaction and need to know if something can go there or not is:

1.

Never never never ignore this line. First thing you need to know: what are you dealing with?

2.

Look at Maxis tuning in interactions with the same class, instance and module as the one you're working on, see if you can find what you want to do.

3.

Use the TDESC.

Now, to go back to our 3 interactions, let's see what's different.

Let's start from the greeting pose:

The fact that is "one_shot" is pretty self explanatory. Basically, the basic content in here only has an animation reference (the animation played by the interaction) and nothing else. This animation here has a beginning, and an end...

Once done with the animation, the interaction moves to the outcome, the result of the interaction (that is not even obligatory) and then exits. Now this one, exits by pushing anther interaction as a continuation, but it could also just give a loot, with a buff, and stop, or nothing at all, and stop.

Let's then follow the path to the next interaction:

This is a looping animation, pretty self explanatory too... this animation in in loop.. it can go on forever unless something else happens to stop. What this something else that stops this interaction is, is tuned in the conditional actions:

Notice that this is not necessarily an exit condition! If I want to start a storm during this idle, I can: 

Our sims powerful chi aside, in this interaction nothing else is happening:

After two minutes max it ends, and what's next?

This is something our main Super interaction decides:

This has a flexible_length, with a staged content, made by other interactions. It's the most complicated of them all, and we'll see it better in another tutorial. 

Most important thing at this point... can I do this?

The answer is NO. Pay attention to the place and the content of things before moving them around, the option may not be supported (looping animation basic content doesn't take one shot animations).