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Selecting the right assets

Élisa places assets directly on ground-level surfaces, so be sure that each asset has its pivot point accurately positioned at the base.

Supported asset types:

  • ✅ Meshes
  • ✅ Prefabs (Unity)
  • ✅ Blueprints (Unreal)

Important considerations:

  • Assets with invalid thumbnails or null bounding box dimensions will be skipped.
  • Blueprints dependent on external runtime data may not compute usable dimensions.

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  • 🛑 In Unreal Engine if you’re using Nanite, it’s recommended to temporarily disable it on your meshes before generating the catalog.
    When Nanite is enabled, assets may appear unlit or material-less in the extracted thumbnails.
    You can safely re-enable Nanite after the catalog generation is complete.

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Generating a Catalog

Once your assets are selected in the Content Browser, generate the catalog:

  1. Right-click the selection and choose Generate Catalog.
  2. A dialog prompts you to enter a catalog description - provide a summary to help team members understand the asset pack’s theme and use.
Let an LLM do the writing for you!

Paste your asset pack URL into your favorite chat interface and use this prompt:

“Analyze every item in the catalog and write 3-5 sentences (60-120 words) that capture their shared stylistic and technical DNA. Cover dominant art styles/eras, modelling techniques, color palette and lighting mood, and any typical functional contexts. Omitting all file paths, IDs, prices, or seller names.”

  1. The system will:
    • Analyze bounding boxes, compute sizes, and create thumbnails.
    • Export the catalog as a CSV file.
  2. Once generation completes:
    • Élisa shows a success notification.
    • The catalog is automatically uploaded and set as active - no manual upload needed!
    • Élisa is instantly ready to use the new catalog!

You can download the currently active catalog at any time from the ⚙️ Élisa Settings panel:

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Appending Entries to an Existing Catalog

Currently, Élisa does not support appending new assets directly to an already uploaded catalog via the UI.

If you want to add assets to an existing catalog, follow these steps:

1

Download the current catalog

Go to ⚙️ Elisa Settings and download your Catalog to retrieve the active CSV file. This file contains all currently registered assets.

2

Generate a new catalog with additional assets

In your project files, select the new assets you want to add, right-click, and choose Generate Catalog.
Once the generation is complete, download the resulting .csv from the Settings.

3

Merge the two CSVs manually

Open both .csv files using a spreadsheet editor (Excel, Google Sheets) or a text editor.

  • Copy all rows from the new catalog (excluding the header).
  • Paste them at the end of the original catalog.
  • Ensure the column headers match exactly and remove any duplicate rows if needed.
4

Upload the merged catalog

Return to ⚙️ Elisa Settings and click Upload Catalog.
Select your newly combined .csv file to make it the new active catalog.

Be careful to avoid:

  • Avoid duplicated asset entries across catalogs.
  • Watch out for duplicated index values - each row in the final CSV should have a unique index.
  • Ensure consistent column formatting and no extra blank rows.

Once uploaded, the merged catalog will become active and include both your original and newly added assets.

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Creating your own Catalog CSV from scratch

If you’d like to define a custom asset catalog manually, you can construct your own catalog.csv file. Élisa supports this advanced workflow by reading structured .csv files with detailed asset metadata.

Your catalog.csv should use the following format:

indexdescriptionpathx_sizey_sizez_sizerotation_for_facing_forward
0A quaint cottage featuring a chimney…/Game/Assets/SM_Building_1790.85864.28989.85-90
1A house with a blue roof and porch…/Game/Assets/SM_Building_2968.241345.691517.63180

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Required columns

  • index: A unique row identifier.
  • description: A short text describing the asset.
  • path: The full package asset path from your Unreal project.
  • x_size / y_size / z_size: Bounding box dimensions in centimeters.
  • rotation_for_facing_forward: The rotation in degrees Élisa applies to align the asset’s front side with the +X axis.

Important Notes:

  • All dimensions must be in the Engine units (cm, m, etc…).
  • Descriptions help Élisa provide context or selection feedback during placement.
  • Ensure no header row is missing or misnamed — column names must match exactly.

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Uploading your Catalog CSV manually

If you’ve built your own catalog .csv, you can upload it from the ⚙️ Élisa Settings:

Simply click Upload Catalog to select and load your .csv file:

Once uploaded, the new catalog becomes immediately active. You’ll see its name displayed and can edit its description anytime.