A New Player's Introduction to
the RoAClient

The RoAClient is a MUD client written for use with any type of MUD, but with features specifically designed for use with an RoA MUD, which Aurealan Realms is. It is free Windows application that will run on Windows 95/98/98se/2000/NT/XP and will also run under WINE in Linux, although that is not covered in this introduction. See the RoAClient Forums for information on using the RoAClient in Linux.

Step 1: Downloading the RoAClient.
The RoAClient's homepage is located at http://www.rhoneware.com/RoAClient/. On the left-hand side, there is a button marked "Download". Clicking that will take you to the actual download page. There is a link entitled "RoAClient version 4.7 Pre-Installer" which you can click on and begin the downloading procedure. Save it to your desktop, or anywhere else where you can find it again.

Step 2: Installing the RoAClient
Once you've downloaded the program, simply double-click on it to begin the installation. NOTE: If the program asks if you want to install files over existing files, SAY NO. You can seriously damage your Windows installation if you just randomly copy over files, so don't do it! Be sure to read everything the program tells you as you're installing, and don't just blindly click away at the buttons as they pop up. :)

Step 3: Setting up a character.
Now that the RoAClient is installed, there should be both an icon on the desktop and in the start menu under "Programs." When you start the program for the first time, you'll be presented with the RoA New Profile Wizard. This is where you name the character profile you're going to create. This can be anything you like, but is usually the name of the character. Yes, this means you have to have decided what you're going to call this character before you even get on the MUD, but... ;) Enter in the name in the Profile box and hit "Next."

The next step is where you enter in the address for the MUD, the telnet address. For Aurealan Realms, the IP Address is aurealanrealms.org and the port # is 4000. If, for some reason, you can't connect to aurealanrealms.org, you can use csc.aix.cc instead.

The next step is to enter in your character's name and password. If you used your character's name for the Profile name, it's ok to use it here too. In addition to putting in your name and password, you should check the "Save Password" box too. This can be useful when using the autoconnection function later.

At this point, you're done setting up a character. Click "Finish" and the RoAClient window for your new profile will open. This is the window you'll use to connect to Aurealan Realms. But before you do, there are a few things you may want to do:

  1. Click "View" and click "Toolbar (RoA)", then click "View" again and unclick "Toolbar (norm)". This will swap the normal toolbar for the toolbar used for RoA MUDs. Just hover over the various buttons to see what they do.
  2. Click "Options", then "Appearance", then "Term Font...". This will open up a window where you can select what Font you're going to use. Our recommendation is that you select "Courier New" at 10 or 12-point font. You can also select your default color from this menu as well. Our recommendation is white or light grey.
  3. Click "Options", then "Appearance", then "Input Font...". This will open up a window identical to the "Term Font" window. This is for your input line (in the RoAClient, you type on a separate line from the rest of the screen, so you don't get interrupted as you're typing things when the screen moves) and should be set to the same font/size/color as in the "Term Font" window.

Now you're ready to connect to the MUD. In the main MUD window, you'll see a green M and a green C on the screen. This is why it's important to have put your character name and password in during setup. The Green M connects you to the MUD itself, just click on it. The Green M will disappear, and a red M will appear next to it. You'll then see the opening screen of AR come up. From there, just follow the directions in the AR introduction page. Once you're fully into the MUD, either through creating a new character or logging on with an old one, click the green C. It will vanish and a red C will appear in its place. You're now both logged into the MUD and into the AR Client Router. You can play the MUD without clicking on the green C, but if you do click on it, you'll have access to many more options and features.

That's the basics of how to get online using the RoAClient. For more information on features and options contained within it, please refer to the RoAClient help menus.

Good luck, and good mudding! -Zhalith, head of Aurealan Realms