The SilentVault infrastructure is build on top of Voucher-Safe technology. While each Voucher Publisher provides a centralized payment clearing mechanism (so that payments are nearly instantaneous), multiple Publisher networks are also supported. Presently, there are two such networks: @vouchi.com, which is used for live (real money) wallets and payments, and @voucher-safe.org, which is used as a testing network with play money.
By default, SilentVault clients connect to the main live network, and consequently any wallets you create there will be of the form "yourname-nnnn@vouchi.com", where yourname is the identifying handle you picked, and nnnn is the sequence number. However if you wish to test out the system using play money, you may do so by connecting to the OFS gateway associated with @voucher-safe.org and creating a test wallet there.
In the main Spark client, you can simply check the "Test Network" box. This will automatically select the proper gateway access point, which is ofs.voucher-safe.org:5233.
In the minimal web application client, you will need to select this manually. To do this, click on Connection in the top menu bar, go to "OFS Gateway," and select ofs.voucher-safe.org:5233, which should be the last one on the list. (The others are all alternate paths into the live network.) Note that a connection will automatically be attempted as soon as you change this control.
Once you have selected your gateway and connected, you will see a login page. You can tell which network you are currently connected to by examining the drop-down target to the right of the wallet ID entry field. If it says "@vouchi.com," you are on the live network, and conversely if it says "@voucher-safe.org" you are on the test network.
The Voucher-Safe test net works analogously to the Bitcoin test net, and similar test networks for other crypto-currencies such as Litecoin. That is, all wallets created there are unique to the test net, and do not exist on the live network. Similarly, while there are a number of test voucher issuers defined, no real value of any kind circulates on @voucher-safe.org.
You can fund your test network wallet by going to the Exchanges tab, connecting to the SVX, and using the Buy menu item to purchase vouchers. Because this is a test network, you do not actually have to pay for them with bitcoin, or anything else. Currently you can mint yourself any quantity of SBC (Silent Bitcoin), SLC (Silent Litecoin), and SSV (Silent Silver). Other issuers also exist, including TESTGOLD, TESTUSD, and TESTEURO. However you will need to obtain these from someone who already has some, as the test SVX does not "sell" them. (You could try offering your test SBC in exchange for these asset types, for example.)
Note that there is no way to transfer wallet contents between Voucher Publisher networks, and that each network has its own separate namespace for wallet IDs. Each OFS gateway likewise has a separate namespace for user Jabber IDs.