Organizing Asset Store assets

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Hi all,

I’m wondering how to best organize assets from the Asset Store. Not within a specific project, but for selection to include in projects.

The problem that I find is that the unity packages that I get from the Asset Store often contain a variety of different types of assets, for example a single package may contain both 3D models and animations, or in the case of a sample project a bit of everything. And even in the case of homogenous packages, you don’t want to have to open up dozens of packages to see if they contain a horse (for example).

Sometimes I import a package into a project only to realise that I imported the wrong one (e.g. the wrong sky system). The package files are often sprinkled throughout your project, and are difficult to remove.

Is there some sort of tagging and management system? Or do people extract the files out of the unity packages and just categorize and manage them themselves?

Any assistance with my confusion would be appreciated.

JT

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I categorize the various packages myself. I came up with this system out of self defense because I have a habit of downloading any half-interesting free product so I can dissect it and learn from it.

I have one file I keep which lists my purchases and has minimal information about what is in the packages, as well as sample shots to remind me which package it is. In this same document, I will make notes if a package imports itself into annoying places. I put “review” type information in there, which are my own notes on the package and what it may be useful for.

I also tend to create projects for looking at my assets. For larger packages, one package per asset. For small freebies, I may put several similar items into the same project. (Like I may load the half a dozen free spaceships I got at one point into a project, putting each one in its own scene.)

For music files, I go a step further. I have them all unpacked in one Unity project so I can go to that directory and then play individual pieces without ever opening Unity. As I listen to things, I write down my impressions of what the music is like, it’s style, and what it might be useful for. I also note things like long silences or poor looping so that I’m aware of how easy the music will be to drop into a prototype.

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