Avara has several windows: some are used during game play, and others are used to configure and set up games. The windows are the Keyboard Editor Window, the Player Window, the Roster Window, the Instruments Window, and the Game Window. Each one is described below:
Keyboard Editor Window
 
The Keyboard Editor window is used to set the keyboard controls of the game. The top half of the window displays a keyboard map depicting the keyboard you have connected to your computer. In the lower right portion of the window are listed all the controls for the game along with their identifying icons. Each control or key is described in the lower left portion of the window. When a key is set to a particular control, the icon for that control is displayed on the keyboard map.
Getting the Description of a Key or Control
The description area gives you important information about the various controls of Avara. When you click on one of the control icons, you will see the name and description of that control in the description area. Clicking on a key in the keyboard map with your mouse will display the key and the associated control in the discription area. If you stike a particular key on your keyboard, the description area will show you what control or controls are assigned to that key.
Changing Settings
Changing the settings for the keyboard is as easy as dragging and dropping. To assign a control to a key, simply drag the icon for that control from the lower right area and drop it on the desired key in the keyboard map. To remove a control from a key, drag the icon off of the key in the keyboard map and drop it into the lower right area of the window.
There is another way to do this. Click on one of the keys in the keyboard map, and the description area will indicate the key you selected. You can then set the control by dragging the icon into the description area.
You can assign the same control to multiple keys by dragging the control icon to all the keys you want to associate with that control.
Combining Actions
Avara lets you assign multiple controls to a particular key. Suppose you would like the ability to load and launch a grenade in one step. Select the key that you would like to set, and drag the icons for “Load Grenade” and then “Fire Weapon” onto the key. Order is not important. You could accomplish the same thing by dragging multiple icons into the description area after selecting a key. When you use this key during play, a grenade will be loaded and launched with one keystroke.
Saving a Keyboard Layout
It is a good idea to save your keyboard setup. In order to do this, you must be working in the Keyboard Editor window. Choose Save... from the File menu and name your keyboard settings whatever you like.
Player Window
 
The Player window has several elements:
Player Name
This is where you should type the name you will play under, your “Avara handle.” This is how people playing with you know who you are. When you first start Avara, the “Player Name” field is highlighted. Type in your name and select Save... from the File menu to save your Player file. After you save your game, Avara will remember your name and display it as the title of the Player window.
Connect to Server/Start Server buttons
These buttons are used to play Avara as a network game. For more information on playing network Avara, see Chapter 9, Network Avara.
Hull and Weapon Pop-up Menus
You can use these menus to set the hull type and the weapon carrying capacity of your HECTOR. The total weight of the configuration you have selected is displayed to the right of the pop-up menus. Lighter hulls have a lower maximum weapon capacity, so some selections on the menu may be gray to indicate that they are not available for the hull you have selected. If you want to carry more weapons, you need to first select a heavier hull. Be careful though: the heavier you are, the more slowly you will move. For more information on your HECTOR and its weapons, see Chapter 7, The H.E.C.T.O.R.
Missions
The missions that are available for you to play are listed in the lower portion of the Player window. The list of available missions may be longer than can be displayed in the Player window. If this is the case, you can use the scroll bar to the right to see additional missions.
Avara comes with a series of missions built in. Successfully completing a mission makes more missions available to play. To display another set of missions in the Player window, select Open... from the File menu and browse through the folders or drives on your Macintosh to find other sets of missions.
If you wish to play the original missions again, select Use Built-In Missions from the Game menu.
Avara allows players to create new missions or edit existing ones. See Chapter 13, Avara Extras for more information on making your own levels.
If you have not played a particular mission before, a brief description of that mission is shown next to its name. When you play a mission, information about how well you did is saved to your Player file and displayed in the mission section of the Player window. Each time you play a mission, this information is updated.
If you do not want Avara to update your Player file automatically, you need to deselect Save Results Automatically from the Game menu.
To see the description of a mission you have already played, move your cursor to that field and hold down the mouse button. Releasing the button will load the mission. If you do not want to load the mission, move your cursor out of the Player window.
Loading and Playing a Mission
To load a mission, simply click anywhere in the field that describes the mission. After the mission loads (it may take a second or two), information about the mission is displayed in the lower portion of the Roster window. If you want to play a different mission, just click on a new one in the Player window.
You can begin the mission by selecting Start from the Game menu, or by pressing ‚åò-R. The Game window will come forward and the mission will start.
When Avara is running a mission, the mouse is used for operating the HECTOR. If you need to get your Macintosh cursor back or you want to pause the mission, you need to hit the “Pause” key (ESC or Delete by default). When your mission is paused, the cursor comes back allowing you access to the menus and windows of Avara or of any other program. You can load a different mission if you like, or a new set of missions, or you can continue the current mission by selecting Resume from the Game menu, or by pressing ⌘-R.
Roster Window
The Roster window is a storehouse of information about the game in progress. It displays your status, the status of any other players in the game, information about the mission that is currently loaded, communications between you and the other players, and the results of any mission you play.
The lower portion of the Roster window shows additional information about the level that is currently loaded, included the amount of time given to complete the mission.
Much of the information in the Roster window pertains to network games of Avara. For more information on playing Avara as a network game, see Chapter 9, Network Avara.
The Tabs
The Roster window has a number of tabs along the bottom that can be selected to display various information about Avara. To see what is on any particular tab, just click on it with the mouse. Each tab is discussed below.
 
All
The “All” tab shows a list of all the players in a game as well as their status and their individual or team colors. To change the color of your HECTOR, click on the color box to the left of your name. A pop-up menu appears, and you can select a new color. You cannot change the color of your HECTOR in a mission that has already started.
If you are playing Avara as a network game, you will see all of the players’ names on this tab. Avara can accommodate up to six players in a network game.
A player’s status in the game is displayed to the right of his or her name. A (ready) status indicates that a mission is ready to be started. An (active) status is displayed when a mission is running. If a player pauses a mission, the status area shows (paused). Many different status messages can be displayed. Most of them apply to Avara as a network game.
The lower portion of each player field is used to display any text that players type to each other between or during the missions they play.
Chat
The “Chat” tab presents an IRC-style chat window. Players in a network game of Avara can send messages to each other by typing, and all the text is sent to this window. The text sent by individual players is also displayed in other windows and tabs. For instructions on how to use the chat feature of Avara, see Chapter 9, Network Avara.
The Player Tabs
Tabs “1” through “6” display information about each player in the game. In the upper left corner of this tab is a map that displays your geographical location. Avara reads this information from the Map control panel of your Macintosh. To set this information, open the Map control panel, enter your latitude and longitude in the proper boxes, and click on the “set” button. You can also click on the map to select a specific location.
To the right of the map is an area that allows you to insert a picture of yourself (or of anything else). If you have a picture in this location, other players in a network game will see it. It’s a great way to personalize your copy of Avara!
Avara allows you to paste in an image of up to 64x64 pixels. There are many programs available that will allow you to create such an image, but their use is beyond the scope of this manual. Some sample images are included in the Avara distribution to help get you started.
To put an image into the Roster window, you first need to open the image with any image editing program. If you are not sure how to do this, try double-clicking on the image. Once it is open, select the image and then choose Copy from the Edit menu. Now, select your tab in the Roster window and choose Paste from the Edit menu. Your picture should now be in the window! Avara will automatically save this information, and your picture should appear in the same place the next time you run Avara.
Below the map is a square that represents the color of your HECTOR. You can change your color here the same way you did on the “All” tab. Simply click on the square and a menu of colors will pop-up. Select any color you wish.
Your Player Status from the “All” tab is also displayed here, as is your Player Name and whether or not have you are using a registered version of Avara. All the players in a network game can see the information on your tab, and you can see theirs by selecting their tabs.
At the bottom of a Player tab is another field that displays only the chat-text that you type. Each player’s tab will display the chat-text they have typed.
There is more information displayed on this tab in a network game of Avara. For more information, see “The Roster Window Revisited” in Chapter 9, Network Avara.
Custom
The “Custom” tab is used to display information from customized Avara plug-ins. A plug-in might be used to tabulate scores. For more information on plug-ins, see Chapter 13, Avara Extras.
Results
The “Results” tab displays individual and team scores for an Avara mission.
Instruments Window
 
In the Instruments window you will find all of the information that is important to you during a mission. Your score, time, weapons, shield status and other information can be found here. Many monitors are not large enough to display all the windows of Avara with no overlap, but you will want to make sure that you can see your Instruments window while you are playing.
The layout of the Instruments window can be changed to suit your monitor and your preference. By clicking on either of the opposing arrows at the top-left of the window, you can cycle through four different layouts. Some layouts will conserve space by not displaying the console or communications portion of the window. Each of the four layouts will show your score, lives, time, and the status of your energy, shields, and weapons.
Elements of the Instruments Window
There are several elements in the Instruments window. They are broken down into five fields: Power, Weapons/Lives, Console, Communications and Score/Time. Some configurations of the Instruments window do not display every field.
Power: Your power is displayed as a three-part graphic. This graphic is rectangular with a brown stripe laid diagonally across it. This creates two triangles. The left triangle is green and represents your energy. The right triangle is blue and represents the strength of your shields. The brown stripe is actually two separate meters (top and bottom) that indicate how fully charged your plasma cannons are. The middle of this meter represents a zero level of charge for either cannon.
There is a minimum charge necessary to fire your plasma cannons. Your maximum firing rate is determined by how quickly this minimum charge is reached. If your HECTOR has a lot of energy, the weapons charge up faster and you get a higher firing rate.
The green energy meter indicates how much energy your HECTOR has in its store. Energy is used to recharge your shields and plasma cannons. If your energy level reaches zero, your shields and plasma cannons will not recharge until you get more energy.
The blue shield meter indicates how fully charged your shields are. When your shields are fully depleted, your HECTOR is destroyed.
Weapons/Lives: A set of four blue triangular graphics represent the number of missiles, grenades, boosters, and lives you have. Each triangle is separated into four shaded sections or stripes. Each stripe represents one unit, except for grenades where each stripe represents two grenades. As you deplete your stock, the blue stripes will disappear. The triangle will disappear completely when you have used up the stock of a particular item.
Console: The console is where Avara sends information about events in the game. Messages concerning the status of the game, changes in the view range of your HECTOR, changes in network status, or events in a mission are all sent to the Console.
Communications: The communications field contains a small colored square to represent each player in the game. Any chat-text a player types is scrolled across this field. The communications area also indicates the number of lives remaining for each player.
Score/Time: Your score and time in a mission are displayed in the Instruments window so you can see how you are performing in a level.
Game Window
 
The Game window is where your view of the Avara world is displayed. It is re-sizable and you can grow or shrink this window to any size, even to the full size of your monitor. Avara automatically sizes the objects in the scene to the proper scale. Though the window can be made both taller and wider, it is the width of the window that determines the scale of the scene.
The size of this window can affect the performance of Avara. For some Macintoshes, a smaller Game window can lessen the load on the processor and improve the quality of gameplay
For more information on improving gameplay, see Chapter 14, Optimization and Troubleshooting.
