Asset Loading, Routing, And VFS
What This System Is
Asset loading, routing, and VFS define how authored files, generated outputs, loose disk assets, and packaged standalone assets resolve to the runtime paths used by Bevy and engine systems.
How Authors Use It
Authors work with normal asset paths in scenes, catalogs, UI layouts, and paperdoll profiles. During export, those paths are packed or referenced through virtual paths so standalone builds can load the same logical asset ids.
Rules And Invariants
Asset domain descriptors own lookup policy. Virtual paths must be normalized. Standalone-preferred domains should load from the VFS first and fall back to loose disk only when the domain allows it. Dependency signatures must include the files that affect runtime output.
Validation And Debugging
Use asset preflight, pack export reports, and event-console asset debug dashboards. If an asset works in the editor but not standalone, compare the VFS manifest, exported settings, loose-disk fallback, and packaged dependency signature.
Examples
A scene references a tilemap image and an audio cue. Editor loading can use loose files; standalone loading should resolve the same logical paths from the exported pack. Run standalone asset preflight after changing domain routing.