ArcGlyph User Guide

Getting Started

1. Launch ArcGlyph. You’ll see a splash screen with the ArcGlyph logo.
2. Grant Passthrough permission (first run only). Accepting lets ArcGlyph overlay circles in your real space.
3. Once permission is granted you’ll see your room—ArcGlyph waits quietly until you create your first circle.

Summoning Your First Circle

1. Raise your left hand with the palm facing you.
2. Pinch (touch thumb to index finger) quickly.
3. A new circle appears at your fingertip. Its edge shows the label “New Spell” and six buttons surround it.

Default: Every new circle starts as a Creature spell with a random procedural creature already loaded. Keep it, or open Spells → Remove Spell to swap it for something else.

Reminder: A quick poke is a click. That same gesture is used to press every button in the interface.

The Main Circle & Its Buttons

Every circle starts with the same six tools, arranged clockwise:

Navigation rule of thumb:
• Back always returns you to the previous layer.
• If a button glows, it’s toggled on.

Color Customization

Selecting Color opens a larger circle with:

• Centre – Back.
• Inside rim – 5 Saturation steps on the left (100 % → 0 %).
• Inside rim – 5 Value steps on the right (100 % → 0 %).
• Outer ring – 12 Hue buttons: Red · Orange · Yellow · Chartreuse Green · Green · Spring Green · Cyan · Azure · Blue · Violet · Magenta · Rose.

The chosen colour tints the circle edge, its text, and any link lines that originate here.

Labelling Circles

Press Label to open the circular keyboard.

Keyboard Anatomy

• Back – returns to the main circle.
• Caps Lock, Symbol 1, Symbol 2 – toggle between lowercase, uppercase, and symbol sets.
• Delete – removes the last character.
• Space – inserts a space.
• Letter layout follows the frequency‑ordered sequence etaoin shrdlu (vowels and common consonants first for fast typing).

Type a new name; it instantly replaces the “New Spell” placeholder.

Moving & Minimizing Circles

Move Mode

• Choose Move.
• Pinch on the blank centre (or make a fist) and drag anywhere in your room.
• Press Back to lock its new position.

Minimize

• Press Minimize to collapse to a single labelled dot.
• Click that dot to expand back to the full circle.

Pro tip: Minimize counters you want visible but rarely adjusted.

Spells Overview

Inside Spells you’ll see:

• Back – returns to the main circle.
• Remove Spell – clears the current spell (links & delays stay).
• Link – connect circles (see Linking Circles).
• Measure: Show link lengths in real space. Pick a simple unit (e.g. cm or m); change anytime.
• Delay – make this circle (or its signals) wait before acting.
• Core spells you can add:
  1. Counter
  2. Delayed Counter
  3. Alarm Counter
  4. Stopwatch
  5. Pomodoro
  6. Information (Clock, Date, Battery, Online, Signal, Moon, Weather*)
  7. Bell
  8. Recorder
  9. Toggle
  10. Hide
  11. Freeze
  12. Hostile
  13. Pocket
  14. Creature
  15. Fruit
  16. Cosmetic
  17. Container
  18. Ring

*Weather appears only when device Location is enabled—see “Weather (optional)” below.

Switching or Replacing a Spell

1. Pick a different spell in Spells.
2. You’ll see a prompt with Back and Remove Spell.
3. Choose Remove Spell to clear the current one.
4. ArcGlyph then replaces it with your new choice or opens that spell’s configuration.

Linking Circles

1. Open Spells → Link.
2. Press Start Link (button brightens).
3. On the target circle open Link and press Accept Link. A coloured line appears between them.
4. Toggle Send to have this circle transmit its clicks; toggle Receive for it to react to incoming signals.
5. Delete Links removes all existing links from this circle.

A gradient line fades from the colour of the sender to the receiver, making networks easy to trace.

Measure: Turn on to show the real-world length of each link. Pick a unit once (e.g. cm or m); you can change it anytime.

Applying Delays

Open Spells → Delay.

• Centre – Back and Delete (clear last digit).
• Middle ring – pick the unit: Seconds · Minutes · Hours · Days.
• Outer ring – digits 0‑9. Pinch digits in order to build the number (e.g. 0 → 0 → 5 gives “005”).

Delays affect:

• The circle’s own centre button (it won’t react until the countdown reaches 0).
• Outbound signals: a linked circle receives the click only after the delay expires.

Spell Reference

1. Counter

• Use: Tap to increment the number.
• Links: With Send toggled, a tap here triggers linked circles.

2. Delayed Counter

• Setup: Choose a delay (seconds/minutes/hours/days) then press Start.
• Behaviour: Counts down, sounds an alarm, then switches to counting up on each tap (and restarts the countdown).

3. Alarm Counter

Setup wizard:

1. Hours (0‑12)
2. Minutes (0‑59)
3. AM / PM
4. Active Weekdays (toggle any of the seven).
5. Press Start.

Behaviour: At scheduled times it rings until tapped; each tap also adds 1 to the count.

4. Stopwatch

• First tap starts counting up.
• Second tap stops.

5. Pomodoro

• Delay A – work session length.
• Delay B – break length.
• After you set both delays, the centre shows State 1 (work) counting down.
• When it reaches 0 it rings, then flips to State 2 (break) automatically.
• Rinse and repeat for continuous Pomodoro cycles.

6. Information Spells

These update automatically; they do not react to taps unless linked.

Weather (optional)

How to enable:

1. On your headset, turn Location on (system settings). If you previously denied location for ArcGlyph, allow it in the app permissions.
2. Open Spells → Information. You’ll see a Weather tile appear.
3. Tap Weather to add it. It updates automatically.

If Weather isn’t visible, Location is still off or permission isn’t granted.

7. Bell

• Tap to start ringing.
• Tap again to silence.
• Handy as a manual alert or synced chime when linked.

8. Recorder

• Record: First press starts recording; press again to save the clip.
• Start: Spawns the spell. A ▶ button appears in the centre.
• Play: Tap the centre button to replay your saved audio.
• Stop: Halts any current recording or playback.
• Delete: Permanently removes the recording from storage.

9. Toggle

• Use: Tap to switch between On (bright) and Off (dim).
• Links: Always sends a signal on tap, regardless of state.
• Tip: Pair with two Hide circles to flip between constellations.

10. Hide

• Use: Tap to hide all target circles (they become invisible & untouchable).
• Propagation: If a target is itself a Hide circle, its entire hide-tree is also hidden.
• Un-hide: Tap any hidden circle (or its parent Hide spell) again to reveal.
• Links: Ignores Send/Receive flags of targets; hide action happens instantly.

11. Freeze

• Use: Tap to pause all creature movement and actions.
• Links: Sends a freeze signal to linked targets when Send is on.
• Tip: Pair with Toggle to switch a freeze field on/off.

12. Hostile

• Use: Tap to toggle Hostile Mode for creatures (they fight each other until turned off).
• Links: On tap, forwards a signal; useful for synced arena starts.

13. Pocket

• Use: Opens a pocket space to store other circles.
• Open/Close: Tap to show/hide contents. Hidden contents are inactive.
• Links: Pocket can send/receive; contents ignore links while closed.

14. Creature

• Use: Turns the circle into a summoning circle that spawns a procedural creature.
• Behaviour: Creatures navigate your room and react to obstacles.
• Links: Sends a signal on tap; useful to coordinate with other spells.

15. Fruit

• Use: Spawns a procedural fruit. Creatures eat fruits and generally grow larger.
• Effects: Different fruits have different effects when eaten.
• Note: There is no golden berry.

16. Cosmetic

• Use: Spawns a grabbable accessory (bracelet, hat, band) instead of a circle.
• Placement: Hold the accessory and bring it near a creature; creatures close to the circle briefly freeze so you can place it precisely.
• Edit: You can reposition/adjust after placing. Color comes from the circle unless you change it.

17. Container

• Use: Absorbs energy from nearby creatures and sends signals.
• When: Emits a signal when it absorbs energy (useful to trigger other circles).

18. Ring

• Use: Creates a movable, resizable ring tinted with your circle’s color.
• Effect: Creatures are compelled to go through rings—great for courses and checkpoints.
• Tips: Use Move to position; change color from Color for signaling paths.

Creatures

Creatures, fruits, Cosmetic, and related tools are all added through the Spell menu.

Summoning Creatures

• New circles already have a random creature assigned (it’s a Creature spell by default).
• Tap to spawn another creature of the current type in your space. They move and react to obstacles.
• To change the spell entirely, open Spells → Remove Spell and pick a different spell.

Fruits

• Add the Fruit spell to spawn a procedural fruit.
• Creatures eat fruits; effects vary by fruit, and generally make them larger.

Cosmetic

• Add the Cosmetic spell. It spawns a grabbable accessory (no summoning circle).
• Hold it near a creature to snap on; creatures close to the circle freeze briefly to help placement.

Ring

• Add Ring from Spells to create a colored ring.
• Use Move to position/resize. Creatures will try to pass through it.

Combine (route)

• Open Spells → Combine. Bring creatures close to the circle to select them; nearby creatures freeze while selected.
• 0 creatures: creates a random creature.
• 1 creature: creates a copy.
• 2+ creatures: combines them into a new creature.
• When you finish, this circle becomes a Creature spell containing the result.

Sample Workflows

• Chained Timer Board: Link a Delayed Counter (5 min) → Bell → Counter. When the timer ends it rings the bell and increments your tally.
• Morning Routine: Use three Alarm Counters (wake‑up, coffee, stretch) set to different times and colours. Link them to play in sequence or all at once.
• Focus Sessions: Create a Pomodoro circle, then link its Send to a Bell so you get an audible cue for work-and-break transitions.
• Freeze Field Toggle: Link a Toggle → Freeze to switch a safe “still life” on/off for photos or inspection.
• Arena Start: Link a Bell → Hostile so the bell marks the moment creatures turn hostile.
• Pocket Scene Switch: Keep a set of creature tools inside a Pocket. Open to reveal and use; close to hide and pause everything.
• Container Trigger: Place a Container near an active creature zone and link it to a Counter to log each absorption.
• Fruit Growth Board: Use Fruit spells near creatures and link their taps to a Counter to track feedings.
• Combiner Cue: Link Combiner → Bell so a chime plays when two nearby creatures successfully combine.

Quick Paths

• Creature / Fruit: Main circle → Spells → Creature or Fruit. (Circle becomes a summoning circle.)
• Cosmetic: Main circle → Spells → Cosmetic. (Spawns a grabbable accessory.)
• Combine (route): Main circle → Spells → Combine. (Finish to get a new Creature.)
• Ring: Main circle → Spells → Ring. (Move/resize; creatures go through.)
• Weather: Turn on device Location → Main circle → Spells → Information → Weather.

Tips & Troubleshooting

• Lighting: Hand-tracking works best in even, bright rooms.
• Stay in view: Keep your hands inside the Quest 3 cameras’ field.
• Accidental pinches: If circles appear unintentionally, use Close → Close to remove them.
• Battery check: Add a Battery information spell to watch headset charge.
• Colour coding: Reserve hues for categories (e.g. red = timers, blue = info).
• Creatures & space: Give them room to move. Reduce the number of creatures if performance drops.
• Recorder audio: For Recorder, speak close to the headset microphones for clearer sound.
• Container range: If a Container isn’t reacting, place it closer to active creatures.

Glossary