PrefabRenderer:FAQ and Troubleshooting

FAQ

Why does my prefab still open as text?

The 3D view is an optional editor. Prefab files always open in the text editor first. Use the Open Prefab Preview button or one of the other ways on Using the 3D View.

Can I edit the prefab in the 3D view?

No. The view is read only. Edit the JSON and the view updates while you type.

Do I have to save to see my changes?

No. Unsaved edits are shown about 300 ms after you stop typing.

Does the extension change my files?

No. It only reads the prefab, the asset folders and Assets.zip.

Does it work without Hytale installed?

It opens, but vanilla blocks cannot be found and are drawn magenta. Blocks from a mod folder are still drawn, as long as they only use textures and models from that folder.

Does it work on Windows and macOS?

Yes, but the default path of Assets.zip is the Linux Flatpak location. Set hytalePrefabViewer.assetsZip to the path of your installation. See Commands and Settings.

Why does the prefab look different in the game?

Lighting, biome colors, random rotations, connected blocks and animations are not reproduced. See Limits on Rendering.

Is a large prefab a problem?

Blocks of the same type are drawn together in one batch and hidden faces between solid cubes are skipped, so prefabs with hundreds of thousands of blocks stay usable. Use the Y slice to look inside.

Troubleshooting

Everything is magenta

The vanilla assets were not found. Open the Warnings section of the sidebar. If it says Vanilla assets not available, set hytalePrefabViewer.assetsZip to the full path of your Assets.zip. The view redraws as soon as the setting changes.

Only my mod's blocks are magenta

The mod folder was not found.

• Check Asset sources in the sidebar. The mod's resources folder should be listed.
• If the prefab is not inside the mod's resources folder, add the folder to hytalePrefabViewer.assetFolders.
• If you added or changed block files after opening the view, press Reload assets.

Unknown blocks

A block that cannot be resolved is drawn as a magenta cube and listed under Unknown blocks with one of these reasons:

Reason	Meaning
Item not found	No Server/Item/Items/**/<ItemID>.json in any asset source
Invalid item definition: ...	The item file is not valid JSON
Item has no BlockType	The item exists but is not a block
Cube without Textures	The first Textures entry is not a texture definition
DrawType ... without CustomModel	The draw type needs a model, but CustomModel is not set
Model not found: ...	The .blockymodel file is missing or cannot be read
Unsupported DrawType ...	The block has neither Textures nor a usable CustomModel

Warnings

These problems do not stop the block from being drawn. They are listed under Warnings and shown as Problem when you select the block:

Warning	Meaning
Texture not found: ...	A texture is missing. That face or model is drawn magenta.
CustomModelTexture missing	A model block has no texture. The model is drawn magenta.
Unknown state "..."	The state is not in State.Definitions. The base block is drawn instead.
Asset folder not found: ...	A folder in hytalePrefabViewer.assetFolders does not exist
Vanilla assets not available (...)	Assets.zip is missing or could not be opened

The view shows an error message

• Invalid JSON: ...: the prefab file has a syntax error, for example while you are still typing. The view recovers as soon as the JSON is valid again.
• Not a prefab: missing "blocks" array: the file has no blocks array.
• WebGL is not available in this webview: VS Code cannot create a 3D context, for example when hardware acceleration is turned off.

The view stays empty

If the view only shows ∅, the prefab has no blocks or fluids that can be drawn. Air, Empty and filler cells are skipped.

Changed textures do not show up

Textures, models and block definitions are cached. Press Reload assets in the sidebar.

More detail

Open View → Output and select Prefab Renderer. Set the log level to Debug with Developer: Set Log Level... for more information.

Please report problems by email to info@mutigeraffe.com.