How many custom thumbnails do you need?

[AmiPolizeiFunk 446]

Hi all. What is the minimum list of thumbnails required to fully control all of the images in your asset publication? Right now I'm doing <all of them> to make sure none get left out, but I'm pretty sure they're not all needed.

 

My noob list of all of them:

1. First clickable folder during asset creation (top right)
   1. asset_thumb.png

   2. asset_tooltip.png

2. Second clickable folder during asset creation (bottom right)

   1. thumbnail.png

   2. snapshot.png

   3. tooltip.png

3. Clickable folder whilst sharing asset to Steam Workshop

   1. PreviewImage.png (can be 512x512 for Steam Workshop thumbnail)

 

Which ones of these do you actually need?

[Avanya 2,605]

• 3a is by far the most important as it's the one that has to peak interest on the Workshop.
• 1a and 2a fill the same spot, so there's no point in doing both. 1a is typically generated from the preview of the model when importing (I'd recommend having Daylight Classic on for this so it's lit properly), while 2a is a snapshot taken while saving. This is pretty important too as it's the thumbnail we'll see in game. I'm usually pretty happy with the automatical 1a (with proper lighting), but for some cases something else is needed.
• 1b and 2c are kinda the same - they're even the same I think, just in two different folders. This one is less important. It's the one that shows when you hover over an asset, where there's also a little flavor descriptions. Adding it can add a more complete and professionel feel to your asset, but can be left out just fine (I do that for larger collections of items).
• 2b is used to create 3a, so it can be an easy way to reuse that image, though since the workshop squeezes rectangular images on the front page it might be worth having 2 different.  This image is the one people will see in the content manager, when enabling/disabling assets.

Personally I do pretty much all of them, but half the reason for that is some slight OCD tendencies.  As long as you have a good preview picture and the thumbnail properly shows your asset, then the rest are optional. If they take you a long time to do or you don't enjoy making them, then I'd suggest you leave them.