Laying out the titler

World Building › Titler lays out the text over every character’s head: which lines it has, in what order, in which colours, and when each one shows. You need superadmin, admin or sim_settings.

Players still write their own title, alt name and info (see Your titler). You decide where those go and what else shows around them.

Start safely

Until you switch a layout on, titlers are the classic ones built from the switches under Server › Settings › HUD settings, in the Hud-Titler group.

The first time you open the page, its layout is an exact copy of your current titler, made from those same switches. Switching it on changes nothing until you change a line. Start from the classic titler puts that copy back at any time.

The banner at the top says whether the layout is on:

• Save keeps your changes without switching anything.
• Save and switch on / Switch off turns the layout on or off. Each titler changes the next time it’s redrawn, for example when someone changes mode, levels up or takes a turn in a fight.
• Undo changes goes back to what’s saved.

Lines

The list runs from the top of the titler down. Drag a line by its handle, or use the arrows, to move it. Add line, the copy button and the bin add, copy and remove lines. A titler can have up to 40 lines.

Click a line to edit it.

Text and fields

A line is words with fields in curly brackets, which fill in for each character. Press Insert field to put one where the cursor is. Some examples:

Line	Shows
{full_name}	Sergeant Vex (Ana Vexley)
Level {level} {class}	Level 4 Fighter
[{id_number}]	[P-1042]
{group} - {rank}	Security - Corporal
HP {hp}/{hp_max} {hp_bar}	HP 24/30 |▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░|
Wanted: {wanted}	Wanted: unlawful magic

The fields, by group:

• Name: full_name (title, alt name and name, as the classic titler shows it), name, alt_name, display_name, title
• Character: level, class, race, species, rp_mode (IC, OOC or AFK)
• Groups: group, rank, id_number (P- for an Inmate group, S- for a Staff group), inmate_number, staff_number
• Bars: hp, hp_max, hp_bar, energy, energy_max, energy_bar, mana, mana_max, mana_bar
• Fight: team_line, team, party, armor, position (row, stance and cover), statuses
• Effects: buffs, debuffs, cooldowns, wanted, corruption, addiction
• Roleplay: infamy, kia, info, pvp, rating, depth, intimacy

The Insert field menu explains each one. A line that names a field that doesn’t exist is marked red and can’t be saved.

Colour

A titler line is always one colour in Second Life. Choose:

• Default colour: the layout’s default, set at the top of the page.
• Group colour: the character’s group’s Titler color from Staff › Groups. In a line repeated for each group, each line takes its own group’s colour. Characters with no group get the default.
• Team colours: one colour for team 1 and one for the other teams, for the party line.
• This colour: a colour you pick for this line.

When it shows

• IC / OOC / AFK: the modes the line shows in.
• Fight: in and out of fights, only in a fight, or only out of one.
• Who: players and NPCs, only players or only NPCs. NPCs, drones and turrets use the same layout.
• Group types: limit the line to characters in a group of these types, such as Inmate or Staff. Leave it on “Everyone” otherwise.
• Only when: show the line only while something is true: downed, stat points to spend, in a party, staging, in a sparring match, sneaking, marked KIA, wanted, or their character sheet in review, sent back or denied.

Other options

• Repeat: “For each of their groups” draws the line once per group, with {group} and {rank} being that group’s. “For each line of their info” draws one titler line per line of their info, with {info} being that line.
• Hide when its fields are empty: on by default. The line disappears when every field in it is empty, for example the party line when they’re not in a party. A line with no fields always shows.
• Grey while sneaking: the line turns grey while they sneak, in character and out of a fight. The classic name line does this.

The preview

The preview draws a real character’s titler with the layout you’re editing. Nothing is saved or sent in-world. Type a name under Preview as, then switch between IC, OOC and AFK, and out of or in a fight. A character who isn’t in a fight gets sample party and position lines so you can see them.

It also checks Second Life’s limits:

• One line: about 254 bytes, less 2 for every line below it. Symbols such as ▓ take 3 bytes and emoji take 4. A line that’s too long has a dashed outline, and Second Life cuts its end off. Hover a line for its size.
• The whole titler: the HUD passes it on in one message of up to 1,024 bytes. Over that, the titler doesn’t update at all, so the preview warns you in red.
• Lines your titler object shows: your worn titler has a set number of text prims. Put that number in Titler lines at the top. Lines past it are struck through in the preview, because they won’t appear.

Long info is the usual reason a titler goes over. Try previews with your players who write the most.

The options players pick

World Building › Titler choices holds the options players pick for PvP, Rating, Depth and Intimacy, on the HUD’s titler settings and on the website. Each sim has its own. You need superadmin, admin or sim_settings.

• Add an option with a name, which is what shows on the titler, and an optional description. Players see the description under the name when they pick.
• Rename or describe one with the pencil. Characters on it keep it under its new name.
• Reorder with the arrows. Players see them in this order.
• Hide one with the eye. Nobody new can pick it, but characters already on it keep it.
• Remove one with the bin. You choose where its characters go: another option, or none, so they pick again. Their saved titler presets move with them.
• New characters start on sets the option each new character gets, or none.

For example, to make Depth Short-Form, Paragraph, Multi-Paragraph and Match: add the four, then remove Casual, Story-Driven and Sex-Driven, moving each one’s characters to the new option closest to it, or to none.

A list marked switched off doesn’t show on titlers or the HUD on your sim. Turn it on under Server › Settings › HUD settings, in the Titler group.

Changes are logged as “Titler Choices Changed”.

Ideas

• ID numbers for some groups only: [{id_number}] with Group types set to Inmate and Staff.
• A short titler in fights: give your info and roleplay lines Only out of a fight, and add HP {hp}/{hp_max} with Only in a fight.
• Rank under the name: {rank} of {group} in Group colour, just below {full_name}.
• A downed warning: ✝ DOWN ✝ in red with Only when: Downed.

Changes are logged as “Titler Layout Changed” under Logs.