Scene Text Format

.slscene is a human-readable serialized scene format. You normally edit scenes through the Vespera Editor; this page exists so tools and advanced users can understand what is on disk.

A current scene begins with:

sectorline_scene 15

The number is the scene schema version, not a release-history lesson. Loaders use it to parse the file correctly.

What a scene stores

Scene Text can contain:

scene/world and sector data;
stable entity IDs;
entity names, enabled state, tags, layers, and parent relationships;
Transform data;
built-in component blocks;
prefab source references;
C# script attachments and exposed-field overrides;
scene-owned sprite clip resources;
stable asset references plus fallback paths where applicable.

Stable IDs

Scene entity IDs are stable within authored scene state. Runtime-created entities get their own IDs. Prefabs intentionally do not force a scene ID onto an instance; instantiation allocates a fresh one.

Asset references

Vespera serialized references generally prefer a stable asset ID with a project-relative fallback path. Do not strip the ID simply because the path looks readable—the ID is what allows a controlled move to preserve identity.

Transactional loading

Scene loading validates the parsed content before replacing the live scene. Invalid cross-references or malformed structure should fail the load rather than partially replacing good live state.

Should I edit `.slscene` by hand?

Usually, no. The editor provides validation, undo/redo, stable-reference repair, prefab workflows, and component-aware authoring.

Hand editing is appropriate when:

building your own tooling against the documented format;
investigating a minimal parser problem;
repairing a copy after you understand the exact invalid record.

Keep a backup before doing it.