Getting Started Building
This doc goes over the steps to creating your first space in Mona!
Getting started is easy!
If this is your first time in Mona, either as a beginner or an experienced developer, this page is your starting point to building a Mona Space!
If you are a beginner to Unity, we understand that this can be intimidating. Feel free to join the discord to join the fantastic community and ask any questions you may have.
There are just three parts to the building process :
Setting up your project in Unity
Creating your Space
Testing and sharing your Space
After that you can submit and mint your space to sell! Let’s dive in step-by-step!
Install Unity 2022.3.6f1
Install the Unity Hub if you haven't already. It's free! Download this from https://unity.com/download.
Click here to install Unity 2022.3.6 after installing Unity Hub to get the 2022.3.6 directly, or use the Archive page for Windows, MacOS, or Linux links.
We currently require all builders to use Unity version 2022.3.6f1.
When installing, make sure to add Build support for WebGL. If not installed, you’ll run into a WebGL related error when building.
If you need any help, Join our Discord, and we'll help you through the process!
Download Mona Template SDK
We have a ready-to-use Mona SDK for Unity. Download it here.
Download the SDK by pressing 'Code', then 'Download Zip', or cloning the repository.
Open the Template SDK in Unity.
Unzip the Mona SDK into the preferred location on your computer. This folder is the project.
Open the Mona SDK folder to your Unity Projects using the 'Open' Button in Unity Hub.
If the Space is not opened automatically, click on the project to open it. Note that this may take up to 5 minutes to import.
Remember to backup often. To do this, you can simply make a copy of your project folder (Ctrl + C, then Ctrl + V works) and then open the duplicate folder in Unity to continue.
Load Mona Scenes
After opening the project, load the template scenes using 'Mona > Load Space Scenes' in the Mona menu at the top. This will open three scenes: Space, Artifacts, & Portals.
Make sure to delete the 'Untitled' scene in the Hierarchy window by right clicking it, and selecting 'Remove Scene'.
Mona projects should have 3 Scenes loaded in your Hierarchy - Space, Portals, and Artifacts.
Do NOT rename or delete any of these scenes.
Make sure to remove any other scenes before exporting.
Each scene will have an object in its root. Do not delete or rename these objects either.
Each root object has a specific tag, 'Space,' 'PortalLayer,' and 'ArtifactLayer.' These are the only objects that use these tags.
If you collapse your hierarchy, it should always look like the following:
Create your space
Now it’s time to start creating. Because Mona is based on WebGL in a browser, you must consider limitations when building. Keep note of the polygon count, material count, and texture size to start.
If you are coming from a non-game background such as architecture, fashion design, or similar, it will be important to optimize your assets considerably before using them in your space. You’ll want your space to run on as many devices as possible, so make sure to check out our tips on Space Limitations. We consistently add resources to the docs and YouTube channel to give you the best results possible.
If you want to really optimize your space, check out the Optimizing your Space for more information about this part of the process.
Import assets
Import your assets such as 3D assets, textures and sound from your preferred creation tools (i.e., Blender, Maya, photoshop, etc.) into Unity. To import, you can use any of the following :
Drag and drop your assets from your desktop into the Unity Project window directly.
Right mouse click in the Project tab window and use 'Import New Asset' and select your assets to import.
Use the 'Assets > Import New Asset' menu item in the top toolbar to import your assets.
We recommend using the _AddYourArtHere folder located inside the Assets folder in the Project window to store your assets, but this is not compulsory.
Supported file formats:
Supported 3D file formats: .fbx (recommended), .obj
Supported 2D file formats: .png (recommended), .jpg
Supported Audio file formats: .mp3
Add Assets to your Unity Scene
Once your assets are imported into the Project folder, you can add them to your Space by dragging them directly into the Hierarchy window or the Scene itself.
There are 3 locations in which you can import your objects depending on what that asset is for:
Space Scene (Environment assets)
This scene is your main environment. You will spend of your time creating assets within this scene. If you mint your space, these assets will not be able to be modified.
For example, if you built a Gallery space, you'd add the assets for the walls, ceiling, and floor into the Space scene.
Mona spaces have a certain hierarchy required to make it work, these include :
All Space assets must be under, or a child of, the 'Space' gameobject under the Space scene. This object has the 'Space' tag.
If the Space scene or Space GameObject is deleted or renamed, the space will not work in Mona.
If the Space gameobject tag is removed or changed, the space will not work in Mona.
Portals Scene (Portal Assets)
Adding portals to your space allows the user to travel to other minted Mona spaces. The creator, or owner of a space once minted, can decide which minted space the user can go to.
Portals have a specific hierarchy and tags to function correctly, check out the Portalsdocumentation for more information.
Each Portal asset must be under, or a child of, the 'Portals' object under the 'Portals' scene. This object has the 'PortalsLayer' tag.
If the Portals scene or Portals GameObject is deleted or renamed, the Space will not work in Mona.
If the Portal tags are removed or changed, the portal will not work in Mona.
Artifacts Scene (Artifacts Assets)
Artifacts are Canvases that can be used to display images or live streams and assets that link to external websites and can be modified by the creator or owner of the space once minted in the future.
Artifacts have a specific hierarchy and tags to function correctly, check out the Artifacts documentation for more information.
Each Artifact asset must be under, or a child of, the 'Artifacts' object under the 'Artifacts' scene. This object has the 'ArtifactsLayer' tag.
If the Artifacts scene or Artifacts GameObject is deleted or renamed, the Space will not work in Mona.
If the Artifact tags are removed or changed, the Artifact will not work in Mona.
Test your space
Once your space is to your liking, click on the 'Playground' button at the top of Unity - It's that easy!
This will open your project 'Exports' folder and the Mona Playground URL for you to drag your playground files into the field in the middle of the page. You can also use the 'Mona > Build Playground Files' menu option.
If you need to locate the Playground Folder, it can be found in the 'Exports' folder in your Unity project folder. If you need to find the playground website, you can find it at https://monaverse.com/playground.
Make sure that your device meets the minimum requirements.
For more information go : Explorer's Frequently Asked Questions.
Submitting and Minting your Space
Adding a Space to your Wallet
You will need a digital wallet to upload the space onto your wallet drafts. This allows you to share the space with others, create a hangout space for others to join you, and/or allow the space to be minted.
Connect your wallet to the Mona website. For information on how to do this, go to Setting up a wallet.
Next, go to the 'Drafts' section and select '+ Create' to start a new space draft.
This next page will ask for the following information:
Artist Name (required)
Space Title (required)
Space Short Summary (required)
Space Long Summary (optional)
Properties (recommended)
On the next page, you will see a number of categories to upload files. The two you need to be able to send to others are :
Playable Files - This is used for the Playable Files you have used when testing. These must be less than 250Mb.
Preview Image (optional) - This is the image that is used when loading the space. 1920x1080 screenshot of the space without an Avatar or Mona UI.
Once you’ve uploaded the Playground Files, use the 'Preview' button to share the URL of your space and/or create a Hangout link (on the UI navigation bar) to send to others.
Submit your space
To mint your space, you’ll need to submit it for Quality Assurance (QA).
The QA process takes up to 72 hours for the first review. You will be notified of any adjustments that need to be made by email.
You must make the updates and reply to the QA email directly.
Do not resubmit the QA Submission form otherwise tracking your space will become more difficult for the QA Team.
To go through QA, you’ll need a few more things:
Portals - This links all the Portals to their destinations.
Canvases - This adds what images and links are used with canvases.
Preview Render - This is the video used for promotion of your space on the Mona site. 1920x1080 video of your space without an Avatar or Mona UI.
Mintable File - This is required when minting your space. Select “Build Mintable File” in the Unity Mona menu, it must be less than 2Gb)
After all the files are uploaded, you must submit this form. If you do not do this, the QA Team will not know that it is ready to evaluate.
If cleared by the Mona team, you can Mint your space!
For more information on this process go to Submitting your Space.
Mint Your Space
Note that after you mint your space, the Space scene assets cannot be updated. The space owner can update the destination of portals and edit Artifacts and Canvas links.
After your space has been cleared, we’ll notify you by email. Use the Mint button to upload your space to the Mona marketplace to sell.
There are some fees involved with this step. More information on these can be found inMint Your Space.
That’s it!
And that's how you get started in Mona!
You can check out the docs in the Create your Space docs for more detailed information on creating a Mona space.
To add more features to a space, check out the following categories such as the Improve your Space section or Adding Interactivity to the space with Reactor or Visual scripting.
You can also look into ways to optimise your space to make sure that it runs smoothly with more complex assets in the Optimise your Spacesection.
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