quick setup

For more experienced users of ARES and Companion, the Setup experience offers 'Quick' and 'Minimal' options for quickly configuring several common settings on one screen. As a reminder these settings are explained on this page.

ENTER NAME: The unit's name must be a short (ideally one word) descriptor that only uses ASCII characters (that is, those found on a US standard keyboard). Together with the unit's prefix it is call the callsign, and appears as such whenever you type in chat. This name will be used in various prompts, as well as to set the names of your devices. The prefix can be removed, but we encourage units to accept that they are mass-produced machines. A good robot knows its place, and does not try to pretend to be equal to a real person.

GENDER: The "M", "N", and "F" buttons automatically apply standard English-language pronouns, (he, they, or she) speech markers (chat tones), and a matching announcer voice preset. The lower-case buttons are similar but override the unit's mental pronouns (the ones it uses to describe itself) with "it" for a more objectifying experience. The "o" option sets the neuter voice and uses "it" pronouns for all purposes. Zealous units should read the Unit speech standard to ensure stylistic consistency.

MENU & ALERT FONT: ARES uses a custom text-on-a-prim engine for presenting menus and some status messages to the unit. Choose your favorite—and try opening the main menu after each change to see how it looks. (The font does not automatically refresh on menus and alerts that are already open.)

SCREEN HEIGHT: Since ARES is a HUD first and foremost, it needs to know exactly how tall your viewport is in pixels so it can display sharp and clear graphics. (SL does not provide a way of determining this automatically.) If you are unsure of the exact value, you can press the ‹ BACK TO CALIBRATION button to determine the height through trial and error.

The exact height can also be measured directly by taking a screenshot of your viewer (Print Screen) and opening it in a graphics program. Measure from the bottom of the main menu bar to the very bottom of the inside of the window, including any bits covered by translucent assets.

If you have a 4K screen and find ARES to be too small to see comfortably, try dividing the height by 2. Unfortunately since SL textures are limited to 1024x1024, not every part of the interface will look good at this size.

MOUSELOOK HEIGHT: Since most viewers hide the menu bar when entering first-person perspective, you must also determine the height of your viewer when the menu bar is hidden, or ARES will be blurry in mouselook mode. Fortunately, it is not necessary to calibrate this value; open Help › About from the main menu and scroll down to 'Window size'. The second number (usually 1027 px on Windows) is the correct height.

DEGREELESSNESS MODE: Press the orange 'DEGREELESSNESS' button to turn on invulnerability. While degreelessness mode is enabled, your system integrity (health) will never decrease. This is useful for protecting yourself from griefers. In ARES, the risk of danger is considered a key part of the experience, so there is no way to remove the damage system. You can turn this mode on and off at any time by typing @iddqd in local chat.

OOC MODE (out-of-character): Press the orange 'OOC' button to turn on out-of-character mode. Like degreelessness mode, this will protect you from damage, but also goes a step further and prevents electromagnetic radiation from interfering with you. If you have the Sexuality add-on installed, it will also prevent you from getting aroused. You can turn this mode on and off at any time by typing @ooc in local chat.

To set your system lighting colors, use the NS Color (Bismuth) HUD, included with your ARES package.