What OSM data contains
OSM vector data is geometry plus tags. Geometry describes points, lines, and polygons. Tags describe what those shapes mean, for example highway=primary, natural=water, building=yes, landuse=forest, or railway=rail.
MapToPlay stores processed OSM data as vector assets. When those assets become editor layers, vector mapping collections decide which feature tags belong to which layers and categories.
OSM provider mode
In provider mode, MapToPlay fetches public OpenStreetMap data for the project area and queues an OSM processing task. The result is a vector dataset projected into the project coordinate space.
The project setup flow includes optional preprocessing. It can merge connected road and waterway segments and split polygons such as fields or forests around roads and rivers. This makes the imported features easier to edit and export as separate map elements.
Uploaded vector files
Upload mode accepts OSM-style files such as .osm, .xml, and .pbf. Use it when you have curated data, local corrections, a smaller extract, or data from a tool outside MapToPlay.
Uploaded vector data still goes through processing before it becomes an asset. Processing normalizes the geometry into the project coordinate system and records metadata so the Editor and export pipeline can use it consistently.
Mapping tags into layers
Raw OSM tags are not enough by themselves. The Editor needs to know whether a feature should become a road layer, water layer, building layer, field category, forest category, or something else. That is the job of Vector Mapping Collections.
When you create or reset vector layers, the selected mapping collection can be stored on the layer metadata. Future exports can use that metadata to resolve modifier targets, feature categories, textures, and game-specific output behavior.