1. What is MSU Resource Search?
MSU Resource Search is a tool where you can browse, preview, and export game resource assets from MapleStory Universe. Using MSU Resource Search, you can search across tens of thousands of in-game assets — including Monsters, NPCs, Items, Skills, and Backgrounds — and preview their animations directly in the browser. Each resource can be exported as a spritesheet or accessed via CDN link for use in external projects.
MSU Resource Search is currently in Beta, and the asset library is continuously updated.
You can access it at resource-search.msu.io.
2. MSU Resource Search Layout
The MSU Resource Search interface is divided into three main areas:
- Search & Filter Panel (left): Contains the search bar, category filter tabs, and the resource result grid.
- Preview Panel (center): Displays the animation preview of the selected resource, along with its action tabs, sound information, and playback controls.
- Resource Detail Panel (right): Shows metadata for the selected resource, including type, category, display name, animation info, and tags.
3. Searching for Resources
3.1. Search Bar
Enter a keyword in the search bar at the top of the page and click the Search button (or press Enter) to find resources by name. The result count will be displayed below the filter tabs.
To clear the current search, click the X icon inside the search bar.
3.2. Category Filter Tabs
You can filter results by resource category using the tabs below the search bar:
| Tab | Description |
|---|
| All | Shows all resource types across every category |
| Monster | In-game monster characters (e.g., Snail, Blue Snail) |
| NPC | Non-player characters (e.g., Roger, Athena Pierce) |
| Item | Equippable and usable in-game items |
| Skill | Skill icons and animations (e.g., Blessing of the Fairy) |
| Background | Map background images with dimension info (e.g., 96×48) |
Multiple category tabs can be active at the same time. Click an already-selected tab to deselect it.
3.3. Resource Result Grid
Search results are displayed as cards in a scrollable grid. Each card shows:
- A category badge (e.g., Monster, NPC, Item, Skill, Background) in the top-left corner
- The resource thumbnail (animation preview image)
- The resource name below the thumbnail
- The asset ID with a copy icon in the bottom-left
- For Background resources, the image dimensions (e.g., 96×48) are displayed as an additional badge
- A Copy asset ID button (the icon in the bottom-right corner of each card) that copies the resource’s asset ID to the clipboard
Click any card to select that resource and load it in the Preview Panel.
4. Previewing Resources
When you select a resource from the result grid, the Preview Panel in the center of the screen.
At the top of the Preview Panel, you can see:
- The resource name and asset ID badge (click the badge to copy the ID)
- The resource type (e.g., Animation) and category (e.g., Monster, Skill)
- The frame count (e.g., 16f)
- The CDN button and Export button on the right side
4.2. Action Tabs
Below the header, action tabs let you switch between different animation states for the selected resource. For example, a Monster resource may have the following action tabs:
- stand — Idle standing animation
- move — Walking or moving animation
- hit1 — Hit/damaged animation
- die1 — Death animation
Skill resources may have tabs such as icon, iconDisabled, and iconMouseOver. Click each tab to switch the animation playing in the preview canvas.
4.3. Sounds Panel
If the selected resource has associated sound effects, the Sounds panel appears in the top-left of the preview area. Each sound entry shows:
- The sound name (e.g., Damage, Die)
- A Play button to listen to the sound directly in the browser
- A CDN link button to open the audio file URL
- A Copy URL button to copy the audio CDN link to the clipboard
4.4. Animation Playback Controls
At the bottom of the preview canvas, you can control the animation playback:
- Play / Pause button — Toggle animation playback
- Speed controls — Set playback speed: 0.25x, 0.5x, 1x (default), 2x, 4x
- Frame selector — Click individual frame thumbnails at the bottom of the panel to jump to a specific frame. The current frame number and total frames (e.g., 3 / 5) are displayed.
4.5. Canvas Controls
In the top-right corner of the preview canvas:
- Fit to view — Resets the canvas to show the full animation in view
- Zoom in / Zoom out — Adjust the canvas zoom level
- Actual size — Resets zoom to 100%
The current zoom level is shown on the right (e.g., 200%). A ruler (in px) is displayed along the canvas edge for reference.
5. Resource Detail Panel
The Resource Detail Panel on the right side of the screen displays metadata for the currently selected resource.
5.1. Basic Info
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Type | The resource type (e.g., Animation) |
| Category | The resource category (e.g., Monster, Skill, NPC) |
| dname | The display name of the resource |
5.2. Animation Info
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Frames | Total number of animation frames |
| Actions | Total number of action states (e.g., stand, move, hit1, die1) |
5.4. Expanding the Resource Detail Panel
Click the > icon at the top-right of the Resource Detail Panel to collapse it, giving the Preview Panel more horizontal space. Click again to restore it.
6. CDN — Copying the Resource CDN Link
Click the CDN button in the Preview Panel header to copy the CDN URL of the currently selected resource animation to the clipboard. The button briefly shows “Copied!” to confirm the action.
This CDN link points directly to the resource file hosted on MSU’s static resource server and can be used to reference assets in external applications or projects.
7. Similar Resources
At the bottom of the Preview Panel, the Similar Resources section displays up to 11 visually or contextually related assets. Each entry shows the resource’s category badge, thumbnail, name, and a similarity percentage score.
Click any item in the Similar Resources list to select it and load its details in the Preview Panel.
Important NotesAll assets available through MSU Resource Search — including monsters, NPCs, items, skills, backgrounds, sprites, animations, sound effects(where applicable), and associated metadata (collectively, the “Assets”) — are the intellectual property of Nexpace Limited and/or its affiliates and licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other applicable laws. All rights are reserved.
- Eligibility and permitted use: Subject to your compliance with this notice and the terms referenced below, Nexpace grants you a non-exclusive, revocable, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to download, copy, and use the Assets solely for the purpose of developing, prototyping, and creating Synergy Apps (as defined in the MSU Builder Terms) within the MapleStory Universe ecosystem, including the right to incorporate the Assets into such Synergy Apps. To publish, operate, distribute, or otherwise make a Synergy App incorporating any Asset publicly available, you must be a registered Builder and remain in compliance with the MSU Builder Terms.
- Conditions and limits. This license does not permit you to: (a) use the Assets in any product, service, or project that is not a Synergy App within the MapleStory Universe ecosystem; (b) redistribute, re-host, sell, rent, sublicense, or otherwise make the Assets - or any CDN link, URL, or other means of accessing the Assets- available to third parties as standalone files asset libraries, or otherwise outside of your Synergy App; (c) claim ownership of the Assets or remove or alter any ownership, attribution, or proprietary notices; (d) use the Assets in any unlawful, infringing, or brand-damaging manner; or (e) use the Assets, in whole or in part, to train, fine-tune, or develop any machine learning or artificial intelligence model, or to derive, extract or infer any underlying data, source materials, asset taxonomy, or trade secrets. Any use outside the scope of the permitted use above requires the prior written permission of the rights holder. The Assets may embody trademarks of Nexpace, its affiliates or its licensors, or third parties, and no right to use any such trademark as a source identifier
- Incorporated terms. Your access to and use of the Assets is also governed by the asset-use and intellectual-property provisions of the MSU Terms of Service, the MSU Builder Terms, the MSU OpenAPI Terms, and any other applicable MSU terms and legal policies, regardless of whether you are a registered builder. Those terms and policies are incorporated into this notice by reference and are available at MSU Legal Documents. By accessing, previewing, exporting, downloading, or copying a CDN link to any Asset, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to this notice and those terms. If you do not agree, do not access, download or use the Assets.
- Termination and deletion. Your license under this notice is revocable at any time. Upon revocation, termination of your access, rejection or removal of your Synergy App, or upon our request, you must promptly cease all use of and permanently delete all downloaded copies of the Assets in your possession or control, other than Assets already lawfully incorporated into a Synergy App that remains in good standing under the MSU Builder Terms.
This is a provisional notice pending publication of formal Terms of Service for MSU Resource Search. Once formal Terms are published, they will govern your use of the service and the Assets, and continued use will constitute acceptance of those Terms. MSU Resource Search is in Beta and provided “as is”; Assets, features, and access may change or be revoked at any time.Inquiries: contact_builder@nexpace.io[View all MSU legal policies]
