Things you can do in a room
Walk up to something, press Enter, and see what happens.
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How do I use things in a room?
Many objects in an Open Spatial room do something. Walk up to one, and a dark pill appears under your avatar with an icon, a label such as "Press Enter to ring the bell", and an ENTER ↵ key. Press Enter, or click the pill. On a phone, tap the pill; the text still says "Press Enter".
- Only one prompt shows at a time. If you're sitting or riding, the way out comes first; otherwise the nearest object wins.
- Press Esc, or click the ✕ on the pill (Hide), to hide a prompt until you walk away.
- Prompts don't appear in build mode or while you're playing a game station such as the arcade or the piano.
Everyone in the room can use these objects, guests included.
Prompt labels at a glance
| Object | Prompt | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Balloon Bunch | "Take a balloon" | You hold a balloon. The pill counts up, like "Take another — 3 more to float". With 5 or more you float; you can hold up to 8 ("Hands full"). |
| Hat Stand | "Press Enter to wear the top hat" | You put the hat on. Wearing one already? It offers "Press Enter to swap for the…" or "Press Enter to put the… back". |
| Bell | "Press Enter to ring the bell" | The bell rings and people see "Sam is ringing the bell". |
| Rolling Dice | "Press Enter to roll the dice" | The die rolls and people nearby see the result, like "Sam rolled a 5". |
| Dreidel | "Press Enter to spin the dreidel" | It spins and falls, and everyone sees the letter and what it means. |
| Watercooler | "Press Enter for a question" | An icebreaker question pops up in a speech bubble above the cooler for everyone. |
| Confetti Cannon | "Press Enter to fire the confetti" | Confetti fires. |
| Megaphone Tower | "Press Enter to yell through megaphone" | Your voice carries ten times farther. Press Enter again ("Press Enter to stop yelling") to stop. |
| Disco Light | "Press Enter to start the disco" | The disco starts for the whole room. "Press Enter to stop the disco" turns it off. |
| Floor Lamp | "Press Enter to switch on the lamp" | The lamp turns on, or off with "Press Enter to switch off the lamp". |
| Lava Lamp | "Press Enter to change colour" | The lamp changes colour, and the pill shows the current one, like "Now: Amber". |
| Pickle Jar | "Press Enter to open the jar" | The jar pops open. |
| Challah | "Press Enter to take a bite" | You take a bite, and the pill counts the bites left. Once it's gone ("Nothing left but crumbs"), "Press Enter to bake a fresh challah". |
| Marmosets | "Press Enter to throw a banana" | You throw a banana and the marmosets race for it. |
| Social Button | "Press Enter to view sam on GitHub" | The site opens in a panel (see below). |
| Portal | "Travel to Main Stage" | You travel there right away (see below). |
| Speed Dating Banner | "Press Enter to start speed dating" | A round of speed networking starts. See Speed networking. |
Seats and vehicles are in Sit, ride, drive, and fly. The arcade and piano are in Play games, auditorium seats in Stages, and screen-share TVs in Share your screen.
Balloons, hats, and the megaphone
Balloons. Take one from a Balloon Bunch and it floats above you for everyone to see. Keep taking them: with 5 you lift off the floor, and more balloons climb faster. While you hold any, the pill reminds you: "Jump to let them go". Press Space, or the Jump button on a phone.
Hats. A Hat Stand holds one of twelve hats: top hat, cowboy hat, baseball cap, beanie, party hat, crown, propeller cap, viking helmet, pirate hat, wizard hat, chef's hat, or cat ears. Others see the hat on your avatar. To take it off, click your own avatar and choose Take off the top hat (or whichever hat you wear), or walk back to its stand and put it back.
Megaphone Tower. While you yell, your voice reaches ten times as far as usual, and people see "Sam is yelling through megaphone". It still doesn't reach into private rooms or pods. See How spatial audio works.
The torch
Press T (or Shift+6, or pick Toggle torch in the Actions tray) to switch on a torch. On a computer, the beam follows your mouse cursor across the floor, and everyone around you sees it. Press T again to switch it off. See Reactions & actions.
Billboards: likes and comments
Billboards don't use the prompt. Click one (or tap it on a phone), and the camera flies up to it while a panel opens beside it:
- Click the heart to like it.
- Read comments, sorted Newest first or Oldest first.
- Write your own in "Add a comment..." and click Post (or press Enter). Comments can be up to 150 characters. Guests' comments show a Guest badge.
A billboard with a countdown shows "Starts in…" and then "Live now!". To go back, click anywhere in the room, press Esc, or click Close preview on the "Billboard" pill at the bottom left. See Show content in your room.
Social buttons, portals, and notes
Social buttons. Press Enter (or click the button) to open the linked site in a panel inside the room. Use Open in new tab to open it in your browser. Some sites don't allow this, and you see a preview card instead.
Portals. The prompt names the destination, like "Travel to Main Stage". Press Enter and you're taken there straight away, with no extra step. A portal can lead to a spot in this room, another room, your flat's lobby, or another flat. If the destination was removed, you see "Destination unavailable" and "Sorry, your destination doesn't exist anymore." See Portals.
Info notes. Some objects carry a note from the host. When you stand next to one, the pill shows its name or "Info available". Press Enter to read it.
Sticky notes. You can read the sticky notes other people have left around the room.
Animals, robots, and things you bump into
You can't click the animals and robots, but they notice you:
- Cats, chickens, parrots, and marmosets live in some rooms and move around on their own. Run at a parrot and it flies off, and the birds around it follow.
- Robots have their own moves. Switch on a disco light and they may start dancing. Honk a car horn (K) with a free seat, and a robot nearby may hop in.
Some things react when you walk into them: a trampoline launches you high into the air, a tornado spins you around, a bonfire sets you briefly alight, and balls and rubber ducks get pushed along.