Getting Started

Installation

1. Download the release .zip from Superhive.
2. In Blender, open Edit > Preferences.
3. In Get Extensions or Add-ons, open the menu and click Install from Disk...
4. Select the downloaded .zip.
5. Enable Asset Forge.

The add-on appears in the Asset Browser sidebar under the Asset Forge tab. If you don't see the sidebar, press N in the Asset Browser to toggle it.

Where It Appears

Asset Forge lives entirely in the Asset Browser sidebar. Open any Asset Browser area and look for the Asset Forge tab on the right side.

The panel is organized into sections:

• Reports — Dry run toggle and action results (top)
• Material Assets — Texture sources, build options, Make Material Assets
• Object Assets — Scope, hierarchy controls, Make Object Assets
• Preview Setup — Environment, camera, setup preview
• Render Preview — Quick and Eevee rendering with batch controls

Quick Start

Building Material Assets

1. Open the Asset Browser and expand the Asset Forge panel.
2. In Texture Sources, set your Texture Root folder or enable manual folder overrides for specific map types.
3. Expand Texture Naming Keywords if your textures use non-standard naming conventions.
4. In Build Options, choose a Shader (Principled BSDF or Diffuse), a Material Preview shape, and an Overwrite Policy.
5. Click Make Material Assets.

Tip

Enable Dry Run first to preview what will be created, skipped, or overwritten without changing anything.

Creating Object Assets

1. Save the .blend file.
2. In the Object Assets section, choose a scope: Selected Objects, Selected Collection, or All.
3. Under Apply Transforms to Asset Copies, keep None enabled or choose Location, Rotation, and/or Scale to bake those components into the generated copies.
4. Adjust Parents, Children, and Assembly placement if you need specific catalog organization.
5. Click Make Object Assets.

Rendering Previews

1. In Preview Setup, configure your Environment (lighting type, HDRI, background) and Camera (projection, padding).
2. Wait briefly for the setup preview to update automatically, then inspect the camera and lighting rig.
3. In Render Preview, choose Quick (fast Workbench-based) or Eevee (full render).
4. Choose whether Selected reads from the Outliner / Viewport or the Asset Browser.
5. Pick a batch scope (Selected, Collection/Catalogue, or All) and render.

Note

Setup preview generates automatically and refreshes after camera, lighting, preview mesh, thumbnail size, padding, or background settings change. It uses the selected Quick or Eevee preview mode.

First-Time Tips

• Save your .blend first. Object asset catalog writing and rendered previews both require a saved file.
• Start with Dry Run. Enable it before your first material build to see what the scanner finds without committing.
• Check the report panel. After every action, the report at the top of the panel shows what happened - expand Selected Report or Issues for details.
• Most texture packs just work. The scanner uses common PBR naming conventions by default. Only adjust keywords if your textures aren't being detected.