HELP Slot files, what's their purpose?

Surprise, surprise! BO has a question.


What is the purpose of a slot file? And, more specifically, when does one need a slot file?

The situation is this: I'm trying to create an object. Sims can NOT interact with it, and it won't serve as a surface, either. Is there any reason why there would need to be a slot file in the package for this object?

And the same for a Token. Tokens are invisible items whose sole purpose it is to serve as a 'container' for certain information. No sim ever needs to interact with it. Does a slot file serve any purpose for such an item?

Thanks in advance for any insight anyone might be able to offer.

I would like to say for the record that I do not officially know what I am talking about but it is my understanding that if you do not need to interact with the object or make it have effects than you probably do not need for it to have slots.

Quote:Objects in the Sims 2 can have 3 sorts of slots: container slots, routing slots and target slots. Container slots and routings slots are the most common type of slots. A container slot can hold something: another object or a sim. A routing slot gives the coordinates where a sim should go to, if it wants to use an object. Target slots are less common, they are used for things like effects. In this tutorial we will mainly focus on container slots and routing slots. -TSR

Good luck BO!

I don't know much about these things, either, but this InfoCenter thread at MTS expands on the info Xander found:

Quote:There are three different kinds of slots; Routing Slots, Container Slots, and Target Slots.

Routing Slots define a location for a sim to walk to, for example to make sims walk in front of an object to use it.

Container Slots are invisible containers that can hold objects, FX and sims. Example of a container slot would be one that holds a sim a chair or bed.

Target slots define a target location for animations to use, but also can hold FX. An example of a target slot would be one that tells an animation for a sink where the knobs are. The slots are defined in the slot file, which uses the Resource Node for bone data, and then applied to actions in the Behaviour Functions.

[...]

Slots by themselves don't do very much, but are applied in the Behaviour Functions to do many things. The exception is that container slots can have things placed in them via Buy Mode without behaviours.

I can also say that for my deco objects or lamps, I've never had to use any kind of slots. My skilling statue, on the other hand, uses "go to routing slot", since I want the Sims to stand close to it and face it before they start contemplating the teachings of Surak.

Ah, so that would seem to mean that, since my object will not be operated by sims, is not supposed to contain anything AND won't spawn any effects, it can do without slots, and I can thus do without any slot files?

I already hoped (and somewhat suspected) it would be like this, but it's good to have some confirmation. I didn't want to risk destroying any games by unjustly removing slot files. Thank you both for your help; it's very much appreciated!