Vertex/Getting started

Vertex · Getting started · Editing · Custom content · Map logic · Game integration

Start Vertex from your game's SDK launcher, or open a standalone Vertex installation. The editor does not need a separate .NET installation.

Connect a game

If the SDK launcher has already registered your game, select that game when creating a map. Otherwise choose File → Open game SDK… and select the installation's .vertexsdk file. Keep the full SDK folder intact: the connection refers to its catalogs and compiler.

You can also choose an SDK under Settings → Game and resources. The game connection supplies the materials, models, entities, and build actions. An unavailable catalog leaves existing map data in place, but you must reconnect it before editing those properties or building.

Grimwar users should follow Grimwar SDK setup. Other games supply their own setup requirements.

For a game you are developing, follow Create a .vertexsdk file. That guide shows which two text files to create, where to save them, and how to connect them to your Unity project.

Create or find a map

1. Create a new map from the welcome screen.
2. Save it in a folder you own, outside the SDK installation. Choose a readable filename such as arena_mycustommap.vertex.
3. Under Settings → Map details, set Title to the name players should see, such as My Custom Map.
4. Start with a floor and a few walls, then follow Editing.

To find maps in an existing checkout, choose File → Welcome… → Open repository… and select its root folder. Vertex scans for valid editable maps and adds them to the list. It skips generated builds, backups, and invalid files. This scans local files; it does not download a repository.

Use Open for an individual .vertex file. A built Unity scene or installed add-on folder is not the editable Vertex source.

Names and IDs

The filename determines the public map ID. arena_mycustommap.vertex uses arena_mycustommap; underscores stay underscores. Use lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores. Spaces and punctuation are normalized to underscores.

Title is the display name and can change without changing the ID. Save As / Copy… lets you choose another filename and therefore another map ID. Treat that as a new map when an existing release or another package already depends on the old ID.

Objects inside a map also have persistent internal IDs. Vertex manages those for copying, references, and prefab updates. Give entities readable names in the hierarchy for your scripts.

Keep the source

A typical source folder contains:

arena_mycustommap/
  arena_mycustommap.vertex
  arena_mycustommap.vsig
  thumbnail.png
  content.json
  Content/

The script, thumbnail, and content files appear when you use those features. Keep any attached SDK resources and local prefabs in this folder too. Share or back up the folder, not just the map file. Save As carries supported companion sources with the map.

Reusable materials, models, and sounds can stay in shared libraries outside this folder. See Grimwar custom content for those workflows; maps reference the library assets they use.

Vertex keeps protected save backups and offers File → Recovery and diagnostics… for recovery. Recovery snapshots do not include unsaved script edits. Save your scripts before closing the editor or moving the source folder.

Machine-specific SDK and executable paths stay in local preferences or <map>.vertex.local.json. Collaborators choose their own installed SDK and game paths.

Build and play

Use the Build controls supplied by the selected SDK. Play in Game builds the current source, installs the result, and launches the configured game. Export add-on builds without launching it. Open current output finds the generated package.

A failed or cancelled build leaves the previous output available and does not launch it as though the new build succeeded. Read the first build error, correct the source or setup, and build again.

See Grimwar mapping for that game's targets and playtest steps.