As of Active Worlds version 3.4, these features and much more can be accessed through the new Branching World Features Dialog.

Pre-3.4 World Features Dialog:

This dialog allowed you to customize many different aspects of your world. It was accessible from the Options Menu.

Title

This sets the name of your world as it appears in the browser's title bar. Also, when a user enters your world, if there is no welcome message specified, the Immigration Officer will use this name when welcoming them. For example, if you set your world title to be "Frank's Home Away From Home", the Immigration Officer will say "Welcome to Frank's Home Away From Home" to anyone who enters your world.

Object Path

The object path specifies the root of a directory on the World Wide Web, which contains the objects for your world. The default is objects.activeworlds.com/aw, which contains the art for AlphaWorld; the original Active World founded in June of 1995. Note that this means that if you do not specify any object path for your world, you will still be able to build. However, in this case you will only be able to use the avatars, objects, and sounds from AlphaWorld.

Home Page

This is the default web page that users see after entering your world. Note that only users who currently have the integrated web browser turned on will see this page, so you cannot assume that all visitors to your world will see it. If a user encounters any other web pages while visiting your world (typically through "create url" or "activate url" actions on objects) they will override the home page.

Welcome Message

This message is displayed to all users who enter your world. Note that when you change this message, everyone currently in the world sees the new message right away. This can be a useful way to quickly put out an urgent message that you want to get to every person currently in your world (e.g."Warning: this world will be shutting down in 5 minutes.")

Search Keywords

This is simply a list of words that describe the topic or topics of your world (e.g. "games", "sci-fi", "art", "shopping", etc.) In the main Active Worlds universe, this field is periodically checked in all running worlds by a bot run by Activeworlds Inc., and used to build a search index for use in the search tab. If you want your world to come up when people search for a particular topic, put that topic here. Otherwise, simply leave this field blank.

Entry Point

This is the location where users entering your world should start out by default. The syntax for the entry point is the same as for the teleport command. If no entry point is specified, it defaults to 0N 0W. To set the entry point to the location where you are currently standing, press the Set to my location button.

Note that care should be taken to avoid setting a world entry point to a position that requires objects (such as a floor or walkway) in place to hold users at that position. If you do, first-time visitors to your world will not have downloaded these objects when they first enter and are likely to fall through to the ground.

Backdrop

This is the name of a JPEG file to use for the backdrop image of your world. If you do not want a backdrop in your world, leave this field blank. The backdrop file is downloaded from the "textures" directory of your world's Object Path.

Ground

This is the name of a RWX or COB file to be used as the ground object in your world. As with the backdrop, you may leave this field blank if you do not want a ground object. The ground file is downloaded from the "models" directory of your world's Object Path.

Note: if you do not specify a ground object, your world will not have any gravity.

Skybox

This is the name of a RWX or COB file to be used as the skybox object in your world. The skybox file is downloaded from the "models" directory of your world's Object Path. See Skyboxes for more details on skybox objects.

Object Password

In order to protect the art files in your world for unauthorized use by another party, you can scramble them using a password. This is done using the "-s" option of the pkzip utility when you are compressing the originals for placement on your object path. To protect your files, scramble all of them using the same password, and then specify that password in this field so that the browser will be able to uncompress them after download. If you are using a password, you do not need to scramble all of your files with it, only the ones you wish to protect. Note that since textures are stored on the object path as JPEG files, there is not currently a way to protect them with a password.

Object Refresh

This is how long it takes (in minutes) for a file on your Object Path to expire. After a file expires, the next time a user visits your world, their browser will check the web site to see if it the file has changed, and then download the file again if it has. As a rule, if the files in your world are changing rapidly you want to keep this value low in order to ensure that all users have the latest copies of all the files. On the other hand, if your object files are not changing, then you want to keep this value as high as possible (for example, many worlds use an object refresh of 10080, which is the number of minutes in one week). The problem with having a low object refresh period is that it increases the load on your web server, and also increases the bandwidth load on your visitors, since their browsers will be checking your web server much more often to see if the files have changed.

Restricted Radius

If your world is open to public building, the Restricted Radius allows you to reserve an area around "Ground Zero" (0N 0W) in which only people with the Special Objects right can build. The radius is specified in meters, and specifies a square area centered around Ground Zero.

Cell Data Limit

This allows you to specify how much data can fit within each cell (a cell is a 10x10 meter area) in your world. Exceeding the cell data limit is what causes the Building Inspector to give his familiar message "Try building somewhere else because this area is full." You can set the limit to one of three available levels:

• Normal: this is the default setting for all worlds. It is enough room for approximately 45 distinct objects (without actions or descriptions) in a single cell. We strongly recommend that this setting be used for any world that is open to building by the public.
  
  
• Large: this setting is for worlds that need an unusually high data limit. It is 70% higher than the Normal setting and is enough room for up to 75 objects in a single cell.
  
  
• Huge: this allows an absurd amount of data to fit into a single cell. The limit is almost 3 times the normal data limit. We very strongly recommend that you do not use this setting unless you know exactly what you are doing. In particular, setting the cell data limit to huge in a public building world is a recipe for disaster. The huge cell data limit can allow over 120 objects to be placed within a single cell. Users will frequently build every cell up to its maximum capacity, whatever that may be. The larger you set the limit, the more objects users will build in one place, and the slower your world will be. This can cause a huge performance drag for your visitors both in terms of bandwidth and frame rate, and completely ruin the experience of your world. Don't say we didn't warn you!

World Rating

This allows you to set the current content rating for your world.

Minimum visibility

This option allows you to set the minimum visible range for all visitors to your world. Users will always see at least this far in your world regardless of their browser settings. Since higher visibilities often mean lower frame rates, this value should only be raised above 40 meters in your world if absolutely necessary. If you set this value too high, visitors to your world will find it frustrating and slow, and they will not come back!

Max. Light Radius

This allows you to set the current maximum value for the radius of light sources in the world. Lights with a radius set higher than this limit will be clipped to this limit.

Backdrop Color

This is the color of the "sky" above and below your world's backdrop image. If your world has no backdrop image, then the entire background of your world will be this color. Most worlds use backdrop colors that closely match the top edge of their backdrop images, so that the backdrop image appears to blend seamlessly into the sky above it.

The backdrop color is also the color used for fog, if fog has been abled in your world from the Lights And Fog dialog.

Repeating ground object

This option is new in Active Worlds 3.2 and allows you to enable or disable the repeating ground. When a ground object repeats, the browser automatically repositions it every 60 meters as you move through the world, so that it remains underneath you at all times. This creates the illusion of an "infinite" ground, which is particularly useful in larger worlds. When the repeating ground is disabled, the ground object is always centered at 0N 0W regardless of where you are currently standing in the world. Note that this means that with this option disabled, it is possible to walk all the way to the edge of the ground object and fall off!

Allow "create url"

This option allows you to enable or disable the use of the "create url" trigger/action combination on objects built in your world. Some people find this action annoying, since a "create url" will cause a web page to appear in your web browser as soon as the object it is attached to comes into visible range. Worlds open for public building usually have "create url" disabled. If your world is not open for public building, then you may want to enable this option so you can use the "create url" command to achieve certain effects.

Allow pass-thru

Disabling this option disables the use of the SHIFT key in your world so visitors can no longer pass through solid objects. World Caretakers can still use the SHIFT key even if pass-thru is disabled.

Allow flying

Disabling this option disables the use of the +/- keys to fly in your world. Visitors will always be subject to gravity and can only walk around on solid surfaces. World Caretakers can still use the +/- keys to fly even if flying is disabled.

Allow local teleports

Disabling this option prevents visitors from using the teleport function to move from place to place instantaneously within your world. Any attempt to teleport, including attempts to teleport into your world from the outside, will bring the user to 0N 0W instead. Local teleports are typically disabled in conjunction with pass-thru and flying in order to create a world that is more "realistic" and which can allow the creation of challenging puzzles, mazes, and other games which could otherwise be circumvented using those functions. Caretakers are immune to this setting. Note: "teleport" commands attached to building objects will still work normally even if local teleports are disabled.

Allow object selection

If this is disabled, users who cannot build in your world will not be allowed to right-click on objects to select them. This is useful for example if you are building puzzles or games and want to prevent users from "cheating" by examining the action fields of objects.

Allow tourist whispers

If this is disabled, tourists will not be able to send whispers to other users in your world. The ability of citizens to send whispers is not affected. Note that tourists are not currently allowed anywhere in the main Active Worlds universe.

Allow avatar collision

This enables avatar-to-avatar collision in your world. This may or may not be desirable depending on the other options you have set. For example, if avatar collision is enabled it is sometimes possible for two people to get "stuck" inside each other's avatars if they both try to occupy the same space at the same time. Normally, if this happens, users can use the SHIFT to disable collision detection and become unstuck. However, if you also have "Allow pass-thru" disabled in your world, this disables the SHIFT key, so they could potentially become permanently stuck.

Enable terrain

This enables the new terrain feature in Active Worlds 3.3. Terrain requires a 3.3 or later world server and browser.

Enable 3-axis object rotationn

This enables the new 3-axis object rotation in Active Worlds 3.3. 3-axis object rotation requires a 3.3 or later world server and browser.