Using Gems to Add Modular Features and Assets
Gems are packages that contain code and assets to augment your game projects. With the Programming with Gems, you can choose the features and assets that you need for your game project without including unnecessary components. For example, you might add the Boids Gem to create entities for a flock of birds to place in your game. For a list of all gems included in Lumberyard, see Gems Available in Lumberyard.
Lumberyard features two types of Gems:
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Code & Assets – Contains assets as well as code that performs certain functions upon the assets.
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Assets Only – Contains only assets and no code.
All Lumberyard gems are located in the following directory:
lumberyard_version\dev\Gems
The gems that you enable are automatically detected and built through the integrated Using the Waf Build System.
Note
To enable Code & Assets Gems, you must select the Compile the game code option in Lumberyard Setup Assistant. This option is not required for Assets Only gems. For more information, see Running Lumberyard Setup Assistant.
You can enable gems with the Project Configurator or the command line (Lmbr.exe).
