Archetypes

IntermediateDesigner archetype is a master asset that controls the properties of assets you derive from it. Derived assets are useful when you want to create a “remixed” version of an asset. Metal. The Metal asset has properties including color, gloss, and so on. Metal asset, it applies to all three spheres. So, for example, if we change the color property, all three spheres change color. one sphere, but keep its other properties the same. We could duplicate the material asset, change its color, and then apply the new asset to only one sphere. But if we later want to change a different property across all the spheres, we have to modify both assets. This is time-consuming and leaves room for mistakes. The better approach is to derive a new asset from the archetype. The derived asset inherits properties from the archetype and lets you override individual properties where you need them. For example, we can derive the sphere’s material asset and override its color. Then, if we change the gloss of the archetype, the gloss of all three spheres changes. You can derive an asset from an archetype, then in turn derive another asset from that derived asset. This way you can create different layers of assets to keep your project organized:

  1. Archetype    Derived asset        Derived asset

Derive an asset from an archetype

Asset View, right-click the asset you want to derive an asset from and select Create derived asset: derived asset to the project. This asset derives its properties from the archetype asset. Archetype: Select the referenced asset to quickly select the archetype asset:

Overridden properties

Property Grid shows which properties of the derived asset differ from the archetype. Overridden and unique properties are white, and inherited (identical) properties are gray. Diffuse Map property is overridden. The other properties are inherited:

Reset a property to archetype value

Reset to base value.

Clear an archetype

You can remove the link between the archetype and the derived asset. This means the derived asset no longer inherits changes to the archetype; it becomes a completely independent. Asset View, right-click the derived asset and select Clear archetype.

See also

  • Assets
  • Prefabs