Sign in and chat

To play online you log in to a lobby server. A lobby server lists the battles, carries the chat, and holds your account. Coilbox can be logged in to several servers at once.

Each game community runs its own server, so pick the one your game's players use. You need an account on that server, and you can create one from coilbox.

The servers coilbox knows

Coilbox comes with these servers. You find them under Settings > Multiplayer > Lobby servers, in the Servers list.

• Recoil Official
• Tech Annihilation
• Metal Factions
• Beyond All Reason
• Beyond All Reason (Tachyon)
• Zero-K
• Spring Official

A server marked Alpha works in coilbox, but not fully yet. Some servers carry a warning under their name. Read it before you pick one. For example, you cannot register a new account on Spring Official.

Add another server

If your community runs a server that is not on the list, add it yourself.

1. Open Settings > Multiplayer > Lobby servers.
2. Select Add custom server.
3. Give it a Name, then type its Host and Port. The server's owners can tell you these.
4. Tick Use TLS if the server's owners say it uses TLS.
5. Select Add server.

To change or remove a server you added, select it in the list. Built-in servers cannot be changed.

Create an account

1. Open Multiplayer > Login in the sidebar.
2. Select Register a new account.
3. Pick the Server, then type a Username and a Password.
4. Type your Email. Some servers send a code to it to confirm your account.
5. Select Register.

Coilbox adds the new login to your list and saves its password. Registering does not log you in. Select the login to log in.

You can also register from Settings > Multiplayer > Lobby servers, with Register under Accounts.

Log in

If you already have an account on a server, add it as a login first.

1. On the Login page, select Add a login. Settings opens at Lobby servers.
2. Select Add login.
3. Pick the Server and type your Username and Password.
4. Select Add login.

Then, on the Login page, select the login. Coilbox connects and takes you to the Battles page.

The first time you log in, a server may ask for more:

• Accept the server's terms. Read them and select Accept.
• Enter verification code. Type the code the server emailed you and select Confirm.

Select Disconnect on either one to stop.

Forgotten password

1. Select Forgot password? on the Login page.
2. Pick the Server and type the Email on your account.
3. Select Send code.
4. Type the code from the email under Code and select Reset password.

The server then emails you a new password. Open your login under Settings > Multiplayer > Lobby servers and type the new password into Password.

Some servers do not reset passwords through coilbox. For those, select Open to reset it on the server's own page.

Stay logged in

The people icon at the top right of the window shows whether you are online. A green dot means you are connected. Select it to see each server you are logged in to.

From there you can:

• Turn on Away, to tell other players you are not at the keyboard.
• Open Chat.
• Select Add another login to log in to one more server.
• Select Log out, or Log out of all when you are on more than one server.

Settings > Multiplayer > Lobby servers has more choices, under Connection:

• Connect automatically on startup logs you back in to every server you were on when coilbox last closed.
• Reconnect automatically rejoins your channels and your last battle if the server drops you.
• Set me away when idle marks you as away after Minutes before away with no input.

To always log in with one account when coilbox starts, open that login and tick Connect on startup.

Use more than one server

You can be logged in to several servers at the same time, with one account on each. To add one, select the people icon, then Add another login, and pick the login.

If you pick a second account on a server you are already on, coilbox logs the first one out. The login shows "Logs out" and the other name before you select it.

The Battles page and the Chat page show each server in its own section. On the Chat page, each section is named after your account and the server.

Your saved logins and passwords

Your logins are listed under Accounts in Settings > Multiplayer > Lobby servers. Select a login to open it.

Coilbox keeps each password in your computer's keychain, not in its own files. That is Keychain on macOS, Credential Manager on Windows and the Secret Service keyring on Linux. The Password field says "Saved in keychain" when one is stored.

In an open login you can:

• Type a new password into Password.
• Tick Connect on startup.
• Choose Auto-join channels, the channels coilbox joins each time you log in. Channels you join from chat are added here by themselves.
• Select Remove login. This removes the login and its saved password from this computer. Your account on the server is not deleted.

Select Done to close the login. Changes save as you make them.

To change your password or email on the server itself, open Settings > Multiplayer > Account. It has Change password, Change email and Resend verification email for the account you are logged in to.

Chat

Open Multiplayer > Chat in the sidebar. Chat appears there once you have logged in.

The left side lists your conversations for each server:

• Battle. The chat of the battle you are in.
• Channels. Rooms anyone on the server can join.
• Friends. People you have added as friends.
• Direct messages. Private conversations with one person.

A number beside a conversation counts the messages you have not read. Select a conversation to open it.

Send a message

Type in the box at the bottom and press Enter to send. Shift and Enter starts a new line.

• Type @ and the start of a name to pick a player from a list.
• Type : and the start of a word to pick an emoji, or select Emoji.
• Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, Code, Quote and Bullet list format your message.

Join a channel

1. Select Browse channels, the + beside Channels.
2. Select Join beside a channel. Each one shows how many people are in it and its topic.

To join a channel that is not listed, type its name in Join or create a channel and select Join. If no channel has that name, the server creates it.

To leave a channel, open it and select Leave channel at the top.

Send a direct message

1. Select New direct message, the + beside Direct messages.
2. Search for the player and select their name.

You can also select a player's name in a channel's member list.

The member list

In a channel or battle chat, select Toggle members at the top to show or hide who is in it. A dot beside each name shows whether they are Online, Away, In battle or In-game.

Select a name to message that player. Select the menu at the end of their row for more:

• Add private note, a note about them only you can see.
• Ignore, to hide their messages.
• Follow, on a friend, to join the battles they join and leave when they leave.

Friends

To add a friend, open a direct message with them and select the star at the top. They appear under Friends. On servers that support it, the person icon on their row sends them a friend request. Requests sent to you show in Friends with a tick to accept and a cross to decline.

Highlights

Coilbox can flag a message that mentions you. Open Settings > Multiplayer > Chat highlights.

• Highlight my username flags messages that say your name.
• Under Highlight words, select Add word and type a word to watch for. Select the bin beside a word to remove it.

A flagged message flashes the window and plays a sound. Choose the sound under Settings > Sound.

Ignore a player

Ignoring a player hides their channel messages and direct messages from you. Each account has its own ignore list.

To ignore someone from chat, open a direct message with them and select Ignore at the top. Or use Ignore in the menu on their row in a member list.

To manage the list, open Settings > Multiplayer > Ignored users. If you are on more than one server, pick the account first.

• Type a username and select Ignore to add one.
• Select the bin beside a name to stop ignoring them.

Read old chat

Coilbox saves your direct messages and channel chat on this computer. To read them, select Chat logs in the Multiplayer menu. You do not need to be logged in. You can also select Chat logs at the bottom of the Chat page.

Pick a conversation on the left to read it. Type in Search this log to find a word or a player.

How servers differ

Servers do not all offer the same things.

• Beyond All Reason (Tachyon) has no password. You sign in on the server's own page in your browser, from the login's Sign in with your browser button. It has no chat channels, only direct messages and battle chat. You cannot register on it from coilbox. Its support in coilbox is incomplete, so use the Beyond All Reason entry instead.
• You cannot register a new account on Spring Official, because its verification emails are not delivered.
• Zero-K sends no verification code when you register, and the email is optional.
• Friend requests only work on servers that support them. On other servers, Friends is a list kept on this computer.

When you are ready to play, see Multiplayer battles.