Asset

Base class for all asset types in Ceramic.

Assets represent loadable resources like images, fonts, sounds, etc. This class provides common functionality including:

• Path resolution based on density and variants
• Reference counting for memory management
• Hot reload support
• Asset lifecycle management

Asset subclasses should override the load() method to implement specific loading logic for their asset type.

Instance Members #

Default is false, automatically set to true when any of this instance's observable variables has changed.

Asset kind identifier (e.g., 'image', 'font', 'sound'). Used to categorize assets and determine loading behavior.

Asset name without extension or variant. Setting this triggers path recomputation.

Optional variant suffix for the asset. Useful for loading different versions of the same asset (e.g., 'large', 'small').

Full asset identifier including variant if provided. Format: 'name' or 'name:variant'

Resolved file path for this asset. Automatically computed based on name, variant, density, and available files.

All available file paths for this asset across different densities. Useful for preloading multiple resolutions.

Asset target density matching the best available file. Automatically set based on screen density and available asset files. Default is 1.0.

The Assets instance that owns this asset. When the owner is destroyed, all its assets are destroyed too.

Optional runtime assets configuration for dynamic asset loading. Used to compute paths when loading assets from custom directories.

Asset-specific loading options. Content depends on asset type and backend implementation. Common options include premultiplyAlpha for images, streaming for sounds, etc.

Sub-assets owned by this asset. Some assets (like bitmap fonts) create this to manage their dependencies. Automatically destroyed when the parent asset is destroyed.

Reference count for memory management.

• Call retain() to increase (claim ownership)
• Call release() to decrease (release ownership)
• Asset can be safely destroyed when refCount reaches 0

var texture = assets.texture('hero');
texture.retain(); // refCount = 1
// ... use texture ...
texture.release(); // refCount = 0, can be cleaned up

Current loading status of the asset. Observable property that triggers updates when status changes.

• NONE: Not loaded
• LOADING: Currently loading
• READY: Successfully loaded
• BROKEN: Failed to load

Load the asset. Subclasses must override this method to implement actual loading logic. Should set status to LOADING during load, then READY or BROKEN when complete. Must call emitComplete() when finished.

Destroy this asset and clean up resources.

• Removes from owner Assets instance
• Destroys any sub-assets
• Should not be called directly if refCount > 0

Compute the best file path for this asset based on available files and screen density. Automatically called during initialization and when properties change.

Increase the reference count by 1. Call this when you start using an asset to prevent it from being destroyed. Must be balanced with a corresponding release() call.

Decrease the reference count by 1. Call this when you're done using an asset. When refCount reaches 0, the asset can be safely destroyed.

Warning: Calling release() when refCount is already 0 will log a warning.

Create a new asset.

Private Members #

Event when any observable value as changed on this instance.

Emitted when the asset finishes loading.

Event when status field changes.

Called when screen texture density changes. Subclasses can override to handle density changes (e.g., reload at new resolution).

Called when watched asset files change on disk. Subclasses can override to implement hot reload behavior.

String representation of the asset for debugging.

Metadata #