Identity options
Located under the manage menu, the identity menu allows configuration of several different parameters that customize the unit to be uniquely yours.
The name prompt allows the operator to customize the unit's name, one of the two components of its host name. Names must be valid ASCII (i.e., able to be typed on a standard, non-international US keyboard without the entry of any numeric codes.) The unit's name can also be adjusted with the name command. By default, this is the unit's serial number.
The color prompt allows the operator to adjust the colors of illumination used by the controller and devices connected to the light bus. Four formats are recognized:
The unit's colors can also be adjusted with the color command, which additionally features color save and color restore to allow for contextual lighting presets to temporarily override the unit's permanent illumination settings. The menu-based configuration always performs color save.
Multiple colors: As of Companion 8.6.2, the system can manage four distinct, customizable lighting colors simultaneously, referred to as color channels A, B, C, and D. Most first-party devices use the following semantic mappings:
These can be individually set by indicating the color channel name (A, B, C, or D) when using the color command or menu color input prompt; for example, A 1 0 1 in the menu prompt will turn the unit's default color magenta, while color restore D will revert the 'caution' color to its previously-saved value.
Important: If a color name is omitted, all four colors will be affected. Not all products support multiple colors. If you are updating a controller from before multiple color support was implemented, you should request a redelivery of your hardware, as all commercially-available controllers were updated to provide multiple color support at the end of August 2021.
The NS Color ("bismuth") visual overlay device is supplied with all new controllers. It can be used to individually configure each of the four color channels without any text input.
The _flicker-autoconf-tetra firmware from the free Companion Extra Resources kit can be installed in any modifiable accessory to add colored lighting based on linked part descriptions. Visit our primary retail location to obtain the Extra Resources kit. Easy-to-follow instructions are embedded in the source code.
More advanced device creators can also use a standard firmware module from the Companion Software Development Kit to program virtually any device functionality, including colored lighting. The SDK is also available for free from our headquarters on Eisa. See also develop.ns, our information portal for third-party developers.
The authority is a short text string identifying the organization or company to which the unit belongs. It can be cleared by entering the special value NONE. Authority can be adjusted from the command line with the authority command.
The gender menu allows detailed configuration of how the unit expresses itself in actions and speech. The options are as follows:
(With no spaces around the commas.) For example, to recreate the values for the neuter gender, one would enter:
These values are then available for use by personas and Arabesque scripts, as described in Robots 103.
SXD units automatically use feminine physical, inanimate mental, and feminine voice gender settings.
Name
The name prompt allows the operator to customize the unit's name, one of the two components of its host name. Names must be valid ASCII (i.e., able to be typed on a standard, non-international US keyboard without the entry of any numeric codes.) The unit's name can also be adjusted with the name command. By default, this is the unit's serial number.
Color
The color prompt allows the operator to adjust the colors of illumination used by the controller and devices connected to the light bus. Four formats are recognized:
- Hard-coded color names: A standard preset color identified by name. See table below.
- Hexadecimal values: Must be prefixed with #, in the byte order RRGGBB, e.g. #ff8000 = orange.
- Floating point values: This is the native format used by the light bus and similar. R, G, and B values separated by spaces, in the range 0.0 to 1.0, e.g. 1 0.5 0 for orange.
- Eight-bit values: Similar to the floating point value system, but in the range 0 to 255, e.g. 255 128 0 for orange.
| name | example | float | byte | hex |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| company | 0.8 0.9 1 | 204 229 255 | #CCE5FF | |
| red | 1 0 0 | 255 0 0 | #FF0000 | |
| yellow | 1 1 0 | 255 255 0 | #FFFF00 | |
| green | 0 1 0 | 0 255 0 | #00FF00 | |
| blue | 0 0 1 | 0 0 255 | #0000FF | |
| magenta | 1 0 1 | 255 0 255 | #FF00FF | |
| white | 1 1 1 | 255 255 255 | #FFFFFF | |
| silver | 0.75 0.75 0.75 | 191 191 191 | #BFBFBF | |
| cyan | 0 1 1 | 0 255 255 | #00FFFF | |
| amber | 1 0.75 0 | 255 191 0 | #FFBF00 | |
| orange | 1 0.5 0 | 255 127 0 | #FF7F00 | |
| cherry | 1 0 0.5 | 255 0 127 | #FF007F | |
| pastel | 1 0.5 0.75 | 255 127 191 | #FF7FBF | |
| daffodil | 1 1 0.5 | 255 255 127 | #FFFF7F | |
| coral | 1 0.35 0.35 | 255 89 89 | #FF5959 | |
| seafoam | 0.5 1 0.75 | 127 255 191 | #7FFFBF | |
| mint | 0.25 1 0.5 | 63 255 127 | #3FFF7F | |
| blackberry | 0.75 0.875 1 | 191 223 255 | #BFDFFF | |
| pink | 1 0.4 0.6 | 255 102 153 | #FF6699 | |
| acid | 0.5 1 0 | 127 255 0 | #7FFF00 | |
| coffee | 0.7 0.6 0.5 | 178 153 127 | #B2997F | |
| purple | 0.65 0.25 1 | 165 63 255 | #A53FFF | |
| violet | 0.4 0 1 | 102 0 255 | #6600FF | |
| indigo | 0.3 0.2 1 | 76 51 255 | #4C33FF | |
| lilac | 0.784 0.635 0.784 | 200 162 200 | #C8A2C8 | |
| prussian | 0 0.192 0.325 | 0 49 83 | #003153 | |
| wine | 0.447 0.184 0.216 | 114 47 55 | #722F37 | |
| pearl | 1.0 0.7 0.8 | 255 178 204 | #FFB2CC |
The unit's colors can also be adjusted with the color command, which additionally features color save and color restore to allow for contextual lighting presets to temporarily override the unit's permanent illumination settings. The menu-based configuration always performs color save.
Multiple colors: As of Companion 8.6.2, the system can manage four distinct, customizable lighting colors simultaneously, referred to as color channels A, B, C, and D. Most first-party devices use the following semantic mappings:
| color channel | applications |
|---|---|
| A | main lighting color; no condition |
| B | positive status: charging, repair, arousal, etc. |
| C | negative status: very low power, damage, etc. |
| D | caution: medium-low power, slight damage, extreme power usage, etc. |
These can be individually set by indicating the color channel name (A, B, C, or D) when using the color command or menu color input prompt; for example, A 1 0 1 in the menu prompt will turn the unit's default color magenta, while color restore D will revert the 'caution' color to its previously-saved value.
Important: If a color name is omitted, all four colors will be affected. Not all products support multiple colors. If you are updating a controller from before multiple color support was implemented, you should request a redelivery of your hardware, as all commercially-available controllers were updated to provide multiple color support at the end of August 2021.
The NS Color ("bismuth") visual overlay device is supplied with all new controllers. It can be used to individually configure each of the four color channels without any text input.
Modding
The _flicker-autoconf-tetra firmware from the free Companion Extra Resources kit can be installed in any modifiable accessory to add colored lighting based on linked part descriptions. Visit our primary retail location to obtain the Extra Resources kit. Easy-to-follow instructions are embedded in the source code.
More advanced device creators can also use a standard firmware module from the Companion Software Development Kit to program virtually any device functionality, including colored lighting. The SDK is also available for free from our headquarters on Eisa. See also develop.ns, our information portal for third-party developers.
Authority
The authority is a short text string identifying the organization or company to which the unit belongs. It can be cleared by entering the special value NONE. Authority can be adjusted from the command line with the authority command.
Gender
The gender menu allows detailed configuration of how the unit expresses itself in actions and speech. The options are as follows:
- Physical: The pronouns used to describe the unit in actions.
- Mental: The pronouns used to describe the unit when it speaks about itself.
- Voice: The timbre to use in tone markers, i.e. the sounds that accompany speech. (Note that this is separate from the voice used for system messages such as low battery warnings. See the manual chapter on Sound for more detail.) For many controllers and personas, the neuter voice gender is configured to produce beeping sounds instead of vocalizations.
absolute possessive,possessive,subject,object,reflective,name
(With no spaces around the commas.) For example, to recreate the values for the neuter gender, one would enter:
theirs,their,they,them,themself,neuter
These values are then available for use by personas and Arabesque scripts, as described in Robots 103.
SXD units automatically use feminine physical, inanimate mental, and feminine voice gender settings.