Asset Studio (Portraits, Weapons, Audio)
The Asset Studio is the in-game customization hub for swapping art and audio without touching any files by hand. It is the no-code path to a custom look: drop in your own character heads, weapons, sound effects, voice lines, music, and ambience, group them into a pack, and share that pack as a single file.
This is the easiest mod you can make. No JSON, no scripts.
Opening it
Open the Asset Studio from the game's HUD. It is a full-screen panel with two parts:
| Area | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Left rail | Your list of packs, plus pack actions (new, delete, import, export). |
| Right panel | Tabbed asset categories for the active pack. |
Packs
Everything you import belongs to a pack. A pack is a self-contained bundle of your assets that you can enable, disable, export, and share as one unit.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| New pack | Start an empty pack to fill with your assets. |
| Import pack | Load a pack from a .zip file (for example one a friend made). |
| Export pack | Save the active pack as a .zip to share or back up. |
| Delete pack | Remove a pack you no longer want. |
TIP
Exporting to .zip is how packs are shared. Someone else imports your .zip and immediately has your assets. No file copying, no install steps.
Categories
The right panel is organized into tabs, each holding related asset categories:
| Tab | Categories |
|---|---|
| Visuals | Pawn heads (portraits), weapons |
| Sounds | Combat sound effects, voice lines |
| Music & Ambience | Music tracks, ambient loops |
To add an asset, pick the category and import your file. The studio places it into the active pack under that category. The category list is data-driven, so it can grow over time.
Importing assets
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Select or create the pack you want to add to. |
| 2 | Choose the tab, then the category (for example Pawn Heads). |
| 3 | Import your file(s). |
| 4 | The asset joins the pack and is used in-game. |
Art sizing guide
Your art is normalized by the game, but keeping source files near the intended size keeps memory use sensible. Rough guidance for weapon sprites:
| Asset | Suggested source canvas | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pawn head | Square, around 128x128 | Rendered small on the map. |
| Knife, handgun | 96x64 | Short weapons. |
| Bat, rifle, shotgun | 128x64 | Long weapons, the common case. |
| Oversized special weapon | Up to 160x80 | Reserve for genuinely large weapons. |
Avoid importing very large source images (for example 1500px-wide art). The game can scale them down, but the oversized source still costs memory after loading.
Names
Generated pawns pull from name pools. A pack-driven or mod-driven name list lets your characters have names that fit their theme. In a folder-based mod this is a names.json with male and female pools; see Entities & Identities.
When to use the Asset Studio vs a folder mod
| Use the Asset Studio when | Use a folder mod when |
|---|---|
| You only want to reskin: art, audio, names | You want new entities, goals, actions, or tuning |
You want a one-click shareable .zip | You want to change how the game behaves |
| You do not want to edit any files | You are comfortable editing JSON |
The two combine well: a folder mod adds a new entity type, and an asset pack gives it a custom look.
NOTE
The exact set of categories and the import flow may expand. This wiki is the live reference; check back for new asset types.