The first time you log in, 3DXChat drops you straight into a location with your character on screen. Almost everything you need sits in the four corners of the display, and the middle is left to the world.

Reading the screen

A community guide to the interface describes the layout like this:

• Top left: a camera icon for screenshots, your character name, and your XGold balance. The balance belongs to the account rather than to one character.

• Top menu: a Get XGold button, and an Add Virtual Partner control that shows which of your connections are present, as small flags.

• Bottom left: Select Location and Character Editor, plus a cloud icon for the time of day.

• Bottom right: clothes, chat, profile, settings and menu.

• Right edge: the character controls, where you choose what your avatar is doing.

Moving and acting

Movement is mouse-led. A left click sets where the character walks to. When something can be interacted with, a green star appears; click it and the action plays, and the character returns to where it was standing when the action ends.

The same guide lists the keys that matter on a first evening: Escape opens and closes the menu, F1 opens settings, Enter brings up the chat window, and F5, F6 and F7 switch between the free camera, the third-person camera and the first-person view.

Settings, and a smooth first session

Settings sit behind F1 and behind the settings button in the bottom-right cluster. If the client is stuttering or failing to connect rather than simply looking rough, the cause is usually outside the settings screen: official support points at graphics drivers, the Microsoft runtimes the game depends on, and firewall or antivirus rules.

See also

• Keyboard controls and shortcuts

• Movement, actions, and interaction basics

• System requirements and installation