VFXVaultApril 18, 2026
1.0.0 - Initial release
VFX Vault 1.0 is a Unity Editor browser: scan the project into a persistent catalog, organize with categories and tags, generate thumbnails, and preview effects from a single UI Toolkit window.
Editor integration
- Dedicated Editor window (UI Toolkit) with sidebar, card grid, and inspector column; minimum recommended size 1140x520.
- Menu items under Nowsome -> VFX Vault: Open, Rebuild Thumbnails, and Open Catalog Asset.
- Packaged typography (Bebas Neue, DM Mono) loaded with the window for a consistent in-editor look.
Catalog and library data
- ScriptableObject catalog stores entries (GUID, path, display name, asset type, category, tags, favorite flag, thumbnail paths and hashes, content hash, missing flag).
- Category tree supports folders and categories, with an "Uncategorized" baseline and package-aware seeding when new content appears.
- User metadata (favorites, tags, assignments) persists with the catalog asset in the project.
Scanning and asset scope
- Indexes prefab assets that contain at least one ParticleSystem anywhere in the hierarchy, including nested or disabled components.
- Adapter-based discovery pipeline; 1.0 ships with the Particle System adapter only.
- Full rescan updates the catalog against the current project; legacy VFX Graph catalog rows are removed automatically on load (VFX Graph prefabs are not indexed in this version).
Imports and awareness
- Asset import and move hooks evaluate new effect roots and can surface a pending-import banner so you choose when to bring new packages into the library.
- Generated thumbnail textures receive consistent import settings (alpha, size, compression) via the package postprocessor.
Thumbnails
- Off-screen preview renders bake transparent PNG thumbnails under the package Generated/Thumbnails folder, with versioning and hashing to avoid stale images.
- Rebuild all thumbnails from the menu, or use in-window rebuild flows with scope options such as library, folder, or category.
- Card grid uses fixed-aspect thumbnails aligned with the baked resolution pipeline.
Browser and preview
- Search, category selection, and favorites-only filtering with cached filtering and responsive refresh scheduling for large libraries.
- Pagination with manual page sizes or automatic page size based on available width.
- Optional live motion previews on cards.
- Inspector preview session with orbit, pan, zoom, play/pause, idle replay for one-shot effects, and preview quality presets (Low, Medium, Full) to balance fidelity and Editor performance.
- Preview reuse pool for recently viewed assets to reduce setup cost when switching selection.
- Utility actions such as ping and open asset for the current selection.