Asset Browser

Overview

Try it before you type it. Outward ships 2737 sounds, 114 VFX, 185 projectiles, 268 blasts and 102 animations, and SideLoader XML only knows them by name. Asset Browser plays each one in game, from your own character, and writes the one you pick as a line ready to paste into your XML. It also tries the 47 item VFX of Custom Effects on a weapon it spawns in your hand.

How to use

Press a key to hear or see an asset; its name and details show in the notification. The default keys:

Configuration Manager

General:

• Turn off the Master switch if you want it installed but idle
• Set a Filter to browse only the assets whose name contains it — cleared when the game restarts
• Turn on Enable item VFX, Enable animations and Allow harmful animations
• Change the Jump size
• Change the Auto-stop seconds
• Change the Projectile lifespan and Projectile force
• Move where a preview spawns with VFX position, Projectile position and Blast position, as X / Y / Z

Keys:

• Rebind any key

Item VFX

Off by default, because it swaps the weapon in your hands. Turn on Enable item VFX and ITEM VFX joins the Home cycle after VFX.

It shows each of the 47 item VFX on a plain weapon in your hand, every field at its default, so what you see is what the XML gives. Left / Right switch between 15 weapons, from the Iron Sword to the Round Shield. The keep key writes the current one as a <VFX> line, ready for an item's SL_ItemVFX.

Your own weapons go to your pouch or bag and come back when you leave the mode, press Delete or turn it off. The preview weapon is never saved.

Animations

Off by default, because it drives your own character. Turn on Enable animations and ANIMATION joins the Home cycle.

Six of the 102 are hidden because they have real results: DeathIndirect, EnterBed, ExitBed, EnterInnBed, ExitInnBed and SetAsleep. Allow harmful animations un-hides them if you want to browse them anyway.

WARNING: DeathIndirect kills your character.

The casts from AxeLeap onward are not spells but weapon attacks, and the game runs them through a different system. These are labelled (weapon attack) and some need weapons in hand. Their keep line carries <Modifier>Attack</Modifier>, which they need to play.

Seven casts only play on the move, the way the game itself plays them: the four bag casts, LanternThrowLeft, LoadFromRight and DrawArrow. These are labelled (mobile) and their keep line carries <Modifier>Mobile</Modifier>.

GatherWater and ShootProjectile are labelled (unused): nothing in the game casts them. Gathering water plays PickupGround.

A (refused) note on a spell cast means the game turned it down.

Keeping what you find

Everything played is written to BepInEx/LogOutput.log, so the log doubles as a record of what you auditioned. The keep key writes a line ready to paste into an XML:

KEEP  <Sounds>SFX_SKILL_BoonSpell</Sounds>
KEEP  <VFXPrefab>VFXAetherBomb</VFXPrefab>  (or <StartVFX>VFXAetherBomb</StartVFX>)
KEEP  <VFX>Hailfrost</VFX>  (SL_ItemVFX, inside <VFX>)
KEEP  <BaseProjectile>TrogArchMageBoon</BaseProjectile>
KEEP  <BaseBlast>BlastFire</BaseBlast>
KEEP  <BaseBlast>HyppoFlamethrower</BaseBlast>  (cone)
KEEP  <Animation>Rupture</Animation>  (SL_PlayAnimation, or CastType on an item)
KEEP  <Animation>LanternThrowLeft</Animation>  <Modifier>Mobile</Modifier>  (SL_PlayAnimation; on an item, CastType and <CastModifier>Mobile</CastModifier>)

The same lines, without the KEEP prefix, are appended to BepInEx/AssetBrowserKept.txt next to the log, under a dated heading for each session — so a browsing session leaves a file to paste from rather than a log to search.

Sound groups

Sounds are grouped as the game stores them, by the prefix of their name:

• VFX, projectiles, blasts and animations have no grouping, so the group keys do nothing in those modes
• In ITEM VFX the group keys switch the weapon
• With a Filter set, groups holding nothing that matches are skipped

Notes

• Long sounds are cut after 5 seconds (Auto-stop seconds), and stepping to the next entry cuts the previous one first, so loops and ambience do not pile up
• Only one VFX preview exists at a time; the previous is stopped and destroyed before the next
• VFX previews do pass your character, so prefabs that read it behave as they would in game — some re-anchor to you and ignore the offset, and some emit from your equipped weapon's mesh, so they look different depending on what you are holding
• A VFX preview is parented to your character's root, at the feet. A status effect anchors 1 metre higher, so a prefab carrying its own vertical offset sits 1 metre higher in game than it does here. Set VFX position Y to 1 while browsing and the preview matches what a status effect will show
• Blasts show their shape after the name — (cone), (ground), (lingering), (turret) and so on. The shape lives in the prefab, not in the effect that fires it. 207 of the 268 are plain spheres and are left untagged
• Projectiles are fired forward from your character — speed, arc and trail only show in flight. Projectile lifespan and Projectile force set how long and how fast. 21 of the 185 are mines, which sit still by design
• Projectiles and blasts are fired with no effects attached and no owning character. All 185 projectiles and all 268 blasts were fired at enemies and none dealt damage
• All weapon attack animations were used on enemies with equipped weapons and none dealt damage

Compatibility

• Requires SideLoader and Custom Effects
• Tested in single player; it plays existing assets and changes no game state, apart from the weapon ITEM VFX lends you

Thanks and credit

• Thanks to my dear friend Rogismund, who sits through the most tedious co-op sessions hunting online bugs with me
• Thanks to Sinai for SideLoader and for all their incredible work
• Thanks to Joh-Benji and Proboina for all the help they have given me!
• Thanks to the entire modding community that has tirelessly made (and is making!) my favourite game go from epic to legendary

Contacts

• Join our Outward modding community Discord server
• If you have any bugs to report or want to give feedback, here's my Discord workshop channel

1.6.0

• Added item VFX browsing
• The GatherWater and ShootProjectile animations are labelled (unused) — nothing in the game casts them
• Fixed seven animations that all showed the same generic motion — PutInBagLeft, PutInBagRight, TakeFromBagLeft, TakeFromBagRight, LanternThrowLeft, LoadFromRight and DrawArrow now play as the game plays them, labelled (mobile)
• Fixed animation keep lines — mobile casts and weapon attacks now carry the <Modifier> they need to play
• Now requires Custom Effects

1.5.0

• Added a Filter — type a word and browse only the assets whose name contains it, in every mode. fire turns 268 blasts into 15, and 2737 sounds into 44. Sound groups with nothing matching are skipped, and every count says what it matched
• The filter is cleared when the game restarts
• The keep key also writes to BepInEx/AssetBrowserKept.txt, beside the log — the same lines, ready to paste, under a dated heading for each session. They still go to the log too

1.4.0

• Added animation browsing — Character.SpellCastType, 102 entries. Off by default: turn on Enable animations and Home cycles SOUND → VFX → PROJECTILE → BLAST → ANIMATION
• Animations with real consequences are hidden — DeathIndirect and the five bed casts. Allow harmful animations un-hides them
• Added VFX position, Projectile position and Blast position, as X / Y / Z on one row
• 61 of the 268 blasts are not plain spheres, so those blasts now show their shape after the name — (cone), (ground), (lingering), (circular), (activation), (delayed hits), (no physics, max target), (cone, lantern), (turret), (no physics)
• Removed the Blast radius setting. It is hit detection only and previews carry no visual effects
• Renamed Enabled to Master switch. BepInEx sees it as a new setting, so it resets to on when you update
• Some config entries were reworded

1.3.0

• Added blast browsing — SL_ShootBlast.BlastPrefabs, 268 entries. Home now cycles SOUND → VFX → PROJECTILE → BLAST
• Blast radius is configurable

1.2.0

• Sound previews now show the clip length, the number you need for a Delay in XML

1.1.0

• Added projectile browsing — SL_ShootProjectile.ProjectilePrefabs, 185 entries. Home now cycles SOUND → VFX → PROJECTILE
• Changed default keybindings due to some debug binding overlap

1.0.0

• Initial release — sounds and VFX