Connecting to the Server
The first step after running GGO should be to connect to the main game server. The game server will not always be up; but it should usually be up, running and available. To connect to the game server, click on the "Connect" button in the top left corner, under "Game Server".

The "Game Server Connection Status" should display that it's firstly attempting to connect, then connected, logging in, and downloading the game list. If you get this, you should be successfully connected!

Changing your Username/Nickname
If you would like to be personally unique on GGO, you can have your own username and nickname. Please note that while there can only be one unique username on the game server at a time, people can have the same nicknames (but not in the same game room - this is reviewed later in this document).

To change your username, go to the text box on the main window, type in your desired username, and click on "Change". If your username is not unique, a message box will pop up saying so.

Joining a game
If you would like to join a game, or join the occasionally-up GGO help room (hosted by me, Jevon), you will have to view the game server game list. This only works if you are successfully connected to the game server (detailed above).

To view a list of games, when you are connected, click on the "Show Games" button in the right hand side on the main window. A dialog box will pop up, and if you are connected, it will show a list of all the games to join. Simply select the game you want, and click Join when it is selected. Please note that if the game is passworded, you will have to enter in a valid password to connect.

Hosting a game
To have a game that people can connect to and play in, you will need to host a game. If you host the game while you are connected to the game server, and do not TCP Host (TCP connections are reviewed below), the game will show in the server game list, which people can view and join to using the procedure above.

To host when connected, click on the "Host Game" button on the right hand side of the main window, type in what you want your game to say, and click "Host".

TCP Connections: TCP Host, TCP Join
If you cannot connect to the game server, or you don't want your game listed on the game list, you can play your games by using TCP connections. These methods have the same functionality as normal hosting and joining games (above), but they simply bypass the server.

To TCP Host, click on the "TCP Host" button on the main window. To join a TCP game, click on the "TCP Join" button on the main window, and enter in the IP address of the host game. The IP address is displayed on the host's computer when they host.

Play Window
The play window is where you would play all of your games. Hosted, joined and offline games are played in this box. In the top left corner, you have the treeview - displaying your Objects, Tools, Users and more. At the middle left you have a game status text box, which displays status notices during the game. At the bottom left corner you have some chat options.

The big text box in the middle of the window is your chat window. This is where game chat is displayed. Your chat and your players' chat is displayed here. At the bottom of the screen is your chat box, which is where you type your chat. At the top of the screen you have dice buttons, which, when pressed, roll dice macros (equivalent to rolling certain dice).

To chat, type in what you want to say, and press enter. To do actions, type in "/me (your action)". For more aliases about chatting, see the Build History, included with your copy of GGO.

Options
Please note that a lot of options about Galaxy Games Online can be changed. You can change your play window font, your nickname, your username, connection options, and a lot more other features. To view your options, either click on "Options" on the main window, or double click "Settings" in the treeview on the play window.

Character Sheets
Character sheets are basically objects, in which you can have character information. These are equivalent to pieces of paper in real life, called character sheets, where player information is stored. Character sheets are very easy to create.

To create a character sheet, right click on the "Objects" in the treeview in the play window (see above), go to New, and select one of the element types. All character sheets start from a base "Sheet" element. In this element, you can store small strings (numbers, words or phrases), number pairs (pairs of number, for example, health, mana, etc), and any other element (including other sheets).

To save a character sheet, right click a base sheet, and click on "Save". Select and enter in the filename of the location to save the character sheet to, and the entire character sheet will be saved.

To load a character sheet, right clicn on the Objects (or on a sheet, frame, or Tabber object), and select "Load". Find the character sheet you want, and the entire character sheet will be loaded into your game.

For an example character sheet, load the "sample" character sheet included with every copy of GGO (Right click objects > Load > and select "sample").

More help?
Need any more help? Feel free to connect to GGO, and join any game. Games with users that include "Zach", "Noa", "Jevon", "Jachra", and "Fynnagin" or "Fynn", on GGO, are friendly and these people wouldn't mind helping you. :)