---
date: 2026-06-03
type: session
tags: [session, dots, netcode, art, urp, entities-graphics, materials, presentation, home-base, visual]
permalink: gamevault/07-sessions/2026/2026-06-03-visual-upgrade-homebase
---

# Session 2026-06-03 — Art import + home-base visual upgrade (Synty/BefourStudios → URP)

## Goal

The operator imported a large art/VFX asset bundle (commit `e362aae`, ~4,830 files) and asked to **inventory it and use it to make the project look visually better**, with more Synty packs coming later. Scope was set via a 4-question gate: **render pass + curated home-base dressing**, enemies/player stay primitives (no character meshes in these packs), VFX deferred, theme = **clean orbital base**. Locked in [[DR-010_Art_Import_URP_Conversion_Visual_Upgrade]].

## Inventory (what was actually imported)

- **BefourStudios/Art** (orbital-base modular kit — domes, batteries, crates, plants, modular blocks, lights, solar, storage), **/SciFiEngineersRoom** (interior), **/BioHorrorSciFiEnvironment** (organic/decay). ~560 prefabs, hundreds of FBX + PBR textures (`T_*_B/_N/_ORM`).
- **GabrielAguiarProductions VFX = NOT in the repo** — only 3 PDF docs committed; zero `.unitypackage`/`.vfx`/prefabs. VFX deferred until imported.
- **No character meshes anywhere** — packs are environment/props only.
- **Pipeline mismatch:** the art is **HDRP-authored** (`Shader Graphs/S_General`, HDRP/Lit; `_DISABLE_SSR_TRANSPARENT`, `RayTracingPrepass`) while the project runs **URP 17.4 + Entities Graphics** → source materials render **magenta** under URP. Meshes + textures are fully usable; materials must be re-authored to stock URP/Lit (`933532a4…`, the same shader the project's working prototypes use → Entities-Graphics-compatible). Blank auto-generated `MI_*` URP stubs exist but carry no textures.

## Process

- **Plan-gated** (read-only): 3 Explore agents inventoried the packs + current visual/render setup; a Plan agent pressure-tested the execution sequence (corrected several of my assumptions by reading files). Operator approved.
- **Implementation = sequential via MCP** (single editor, domain-reload-ordered; NOT a parallel swarm): a reusable Editor converter, ghost-prefab mesh swaps (PrefabUtility round-trip), subscene dressing (open additive → place → save → re-bake), and a SampleScene render pass.
- **Adversarial review workflow (3 lenses: code / netcode / conventions)** over the diff. It **earned its keep** — caught 2 blockers + 1 major that the dark lighting masked in the screenshot. All fixed; minors triaged.

## Done

- **`Assets/_Project/Scripts/Editor/EnvArtTools.cs`** (new; Assembly-CSharp-Editor, `#if UNITY_EDITOR`) — reusable HDRP→URP material converter for future packs. Reads source texture refs across HDRP/Lit + ShaderGraph property names (`_BaseColorMap`/`_BaseTexture`→`_BaseMap`, `_NormalMap`/`_NormalTexture`→`_BumpMap`), **type-guards every color/float/texture read** (verify `ShaderPropertyType` before `GetColor`/`GetFloat`), low metallic (no reflection probe ⇒ high-metallic reads black), source-flag-gated emission, alpha-clip from source flags. `ConvertCurated()` menu item + `RemapRenderersToEnv(go)`. GUID-preserving overwrite (refs survive re-runs). Outputs to `Assets/_Project/Materials/Env/` (20 materials).
- **Ghost prop mesh swaps** — `Storage.prefab` → `SM_Storage_LOD0` (scale 0.6), `UpgradePickup.prefab` → `SM_Battery_LOD0` + emissive `M_Env_PickupGlow` (scale 2.5). GhostAuthoring/LinkedEntityGroup/gameplay authoring preserved; only mesh+material+scale changed.
- **Two server spawners patched to preserve baked scale** (`UpgradePickupSpawnSystem`, `SharedStorageSpawnSystem`): `LocalTransform.FromPosition()` hard-sets Scale=1, which silently discarded the prefab scale — now they read the prefab's baked `LocalTransform` and only override Position.
- **Gameplay subscene dressed** — `EnvDecor` root of 13 collider-stripped, unpacked static props (dome backdrop, modular blocks, batteries/charger, crates, plants, light poles, solar panels) with URP materials; existing `Wall_North/East`/`Pillar_Center` re-skinned (colliders/positions kept) with tiled `M_Env_Wall`. No GhostAuthoring on scenery.
- **SampleScene render pass** — cool key light @1.45–1.75; dark-space procedural skybox; flat dark ambient; exp fog @0.006 (keeps the z=26 dome visible); `Ground` re-skinned to tiled `M_Env_Floor`; **`PostFX_DarkSciFi` profile populated** (Bloom / ACES Tonemapping / ColorAdjustments / Vignette) and made the single active global volume (overlapping `GlobalPostFX` disabled).

## Validation

- **EditMode 74/74 green** (unchanged; the spawner edits compiled clean — note: EditMode test *init* timed out once on the unfocused editor, passed on retry with `init_timeout=180000`).
- **Runtime (single in-editor client, 6.4.7):** both worlds boot, **11 ghosts replicate** server↔client; player input → prediction → replication works and the **character is blocked by the east wall** (static PhysicsWorld survived the dressing); ghost **scales now apply** (Storage 0.60, pickups 2.50, others 1.0). Console clean of code/Burst/material/bake errors (only "Server Tick Batching" warnings — the documented unfocused-editor symptom; decor adds **zero** server-sim load). Screenshots `Assets/Screenshots/result_clean_base.png` (after) vs `baseline_editmode.png` (before) confirm the jump.
- **Adversarial review (3 lenses):** **2 blockers + 1 major, all fixed** (below); remaining findings are minor/future-pack robustness, addressed or noted.

## Diagnosis notes (for future me / future Synty packs)

- **The art is HDRP, the project is URP.** Source `M_*` materials render magenta. Convert to **stock URP/Lit** via `EnvArtTools` (do NOT switch the project to HDRP — it would break Entities Graphics). Meshes + `_B/_N/_ORM` textures are reusable as-is.
- **A screenshot under dark lighting MASKS material bugs.** The adversarial review caught a **black-`_BaseColor` blocker** on ~16/20 materials: `HasProperty("_BaseColorMultiply")` was true (it's a *float* on `S_General`), `GetColor()` on a float returns (0,0,0) and logs a "doesn't have a color property" warning — the very warning I'd dismissed as cosmetic. **Always `shader.GetPropertyType(idx)`-guard before `GetColor`/`GetFloat`;** the real tint is `_AlbedoTint`. Verify material *values*, not just the render.
- **Source emission needs the `_Emissive` (0/1) flag gate.** `S_General` carries a non-zero default `_EmissiveColor` even when emission is off → reading the color unconditionally made crates/dome/walls glow. Emit only when `_Emissive>0.5` AND the name marks a light fixture; flat color emission can't reproduce the source's emission mask anyway.
- **`VolumeProfile.Add<T>()` does NOT persist the override as a sub-asset** — on save the `components` list serializes 4 `{fileID:0}` nulls (works in-session, gone after reload). Must `AssetDatabase.AddObjectToAsset(component, profile)` for each, then `SaveAssets`. Verify on disk (non-null refs + N+1 MonoBehaviour blocks).
- **`LocalTransform.FromPosition()` resets Scale to 1** — any ghost spawned via it ignores its prefab's authored scale (and Scale *is* a replicated `[GhostField]`, so it's consistent-but-wrong, not a desync). Read the prefab's baked `LocalTransform` and override only Position to keep authored scale.
- **High metallic + no reflection probe + dark skybox = near-black surfaces.** Keep converted env metallic low (0.1–0.2); rely on albedo + direct light. (A baked reflection probe would let metallic read correctly later.)
- **Metallic without reflections looked "too dark" before the tint bug was even found** — two compounding causes (black albedo + high metallic); fixing both gave a bright, readable base.
- **Editing a subscene via MCP:** `manage_scene load … additive` opens the authoring scene (the baked-entity view it was showing goes away — empty game view is expected), edit + `SaveScene`, then `close_scene` so the SubScene re-bakes from the saved file on Play. Verify placement via `execute_code` enumerating the scene roots, not the game view.
- **HUD-free beauty shot:** a **positioned `game_view` capture** (`view_position`/`view_rotation`) uses direct camera rendering, which *excludes* Screen-Space-Overlay UI — so the gameplay death overlay doesn't bleed into the render. (`scene_view` rejects positioned capture.)
- **`execute_code` is a method body** (no usings; fully-qualify). Reusable converter logic belongs in a committed Editor script, not repeated `execute_code` blobs — the operator is importing more packs.

## Open / deferred

- **VFX** — import the GabrielAguiar `.unitypackage`s, then wire the **Shuriken** packs (projectiles/explosions/shields/auras) into the existing client `ParticleSystem` pool; the **VFX Graph** packs (hits/beams) need separate URP setup.
- **Characters** — player/enemies are still primitives; swap for real models when a character/Synty pack arrives (the prefab+material pattern generalizes).
- **Decor LODs bake into both worlds** — the 13 props' full LOD hierarchies are in the shared subscene, so the server carries renderable+`MeshLODGroup` entities for nothing. For more decor, move pure cosmetics to a client-only/cosmetic subscene or flatten to LOD0.
- **Higher material fidelity** — current converter uses uniform metallic/smoothness (ORM channels don't map to URP); a per-channel ORM→URP repack (or a small ORM ShaderGraph) + a baked reflection probe would deepen the look.
- **More dressing** — mine `S_OrbitalBase.unity` for a fuller layout once the pipeline is proven; the BioHorror pack fits future "corrupted" arena zones (mixed-theme option from the scope gate).

## Next

Either **import + wire the VFX** (biggest feel win, needs the operator to import the packs) or **deepen the environment** (more orbital-base dressing + a reflection probe + ORM fidelity). The reusable `EnvArtTools` converter + the duplicate-and-reskin prefab pattern are the foundation for every future Synty pack.