As its name suggests, a Communications Hub supports communications between Mesmerizer users , as well as between users of the "CHAOS Communicator", a device that is included with the Communications Hub purchase. A Communicator is intended for the hypnotist or dom to use, to communicate with their sub(s) or their subs' Mesmerizers, wherever they are in SL. The Hub's owner must have owner-level access to the Mesmerizers of the users of the Hub.
The Hub does two things:
- It allows Mesmerizer and Communicator users that are connected to a Hub to take part in "Mesmerizer chat" with other users connected to the same Hub. This is somewhat similar to SL group chat in the current beta version, although I intend to release an update that will allow chat to be optionally targeted to individual users.
- It allows for commands to be sent by a Communicator user to all connected Mesmerizers, thus extending the channel 99 command interface grid-wide.
The Hub needs to be rezzed in-world. Mesmerizer and Communicator users have to "connect to" the hub before they can use it. Connections are persistent - as users log in and out, they will remain connected to the Hub. However, taking the Hub back into inventory will close any connections it was maintaining. Therefore the Hub should be left permanently rezzed to avoid having to require the users to re-connect to it. If left rezzed, connections will persist even across a restart of the sim where the Hub is rezzed.
The Hub maintains a list of users who are permitted to connect to it. Adding a user to that list is a two-step process that ensures that both the Hub owner and the user give permission for the connection. First, the prospective Hub user clicks on the Hub and chooses "Register". This will cause the Hub owner to be notified that a registration is pending their approval. The Hub owner must then click the Hub and choose "Validate", which will present each pending registration for approval or rejection. If the owner approves the registration, the user will be notified by IM that they may now connect to the Hub.
Connecting simply involves clicking on the Hub and choosing "Connect" while wearing the Mesmerizer or Communicator to be connected to the Hub. In normal use, the Hub's owner would wear a Communicator and their sub(s) would wear Mesmerizers, and both the Mesmerizers and the Communicator would go through the registration/validation/connection process.
Once the Communicator and Mesmerizers are connected, Mesmerizer users can take part in Mesmerizer chat simply by speaking on channel 97 - in other words, beginning their chat with "/97". Text spoken on channel 97 will be sent to all connected Mesmerisers and Communicators, and displayed to their users.
The Communicator is very similar, except that it has the ability to mute the transmission on channel 97 chat. The Communicator is a very simple HUD, consisting of a circle surrounded by a ring. The ring shows the state of the connection to the Hub (dark if not connected, green when connected) as well as whether Mesmerizer chat transmission is enabled or muted (the ring will slowly flash green when muted). Muting is useful if multiple Communicators connected to different Hubs are worn - you can direct your chat to a specific Hub by muting all the other Communicators. Muting is toggled on and off by clicking the outer ring. Once connected and not muted, chat is sent by simply speaking it on channel 97.
In addition to Mesmerizer chat, the Hub extends the channel 99 command interface grid-wide. The circle at the center of the Communicator indicates the state of this grid-wide command channel - green is active, red is deactivated. If the Communicator is connected (outer ring is green or flashing green), the command channel can be activated or deactivated by clicking on the center circle. Once activated, the command channel will remain active until no commands have been sent for a minute, after which time the command channel will deactivate itself.
This means that, when the communicator is active, you can control your subs' Mesmerizers via channel 99 wherever they are in SL, just as if they were standing beside you. Most commands operate exactly the same when used remotely; the exceptions are the few commands that display a menu - sit "?", list and delete. When invoked remotely, sit "?" will send a list of potentially-sittable objects and you can re-issue the command specifying the chosen one; list with operate identically to backup when invoked remotely; delete will not invoke list after completion when invoked remotely. Other than those three, all Mesmerizer commands operate identically locally and remotely. This means that you can pose the sub, display images or sounds to them, make them sit, or walk under your control, teleport them from wherever they are to anywhere in SL, and even define new triggers for them, all from the comfort of your virtual armchair.
Note that all connected subs' Mesmerizers will receive any commands you issue on channel 99 through an active Communicator. This is just the same as if the subs were local to you. If you want to send a command to just one sub's Mesmerizer, then precede the command with their name, followed by a colon. For example, to target a channel 99 command to a sub with a username of "Susan Calvin" and a display name of "Sue", you could use any of "Sue:", "Susan Calvin:" or "Susan:" as your command prefix.
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