blog

Unity tips

2020-11-22

I saw a post by Lazlo Bonin today with a list of questions about how to structure projects in Unity. Here’s my attempt to answer them.

Question Answer
How should I handle dependencies between my components? [SerializeField] private OtherComponent otherComponent; and then assign in the inspector.
How should I implement singletons? No. Use ScriptableObjects instead.
How should I handle cross scene references? Use ScriptableObjects to hold the shared data, then reference from both scenes.
How can I use multiple scenes to my benefit? Scenes are just like prefabs.
How should I organize my code assemblies? Not at all. It’s not worth it.
Where should I put my GUI? In a prefab.
How do I tween (without a plugin)? Use an animation clip.
How can I write coroutines without polluting my code? You probably want async/await at this point.
How should I let my designers trigger some logic? Use Unity events.
How do I make my components look good? Buy Odin Inspector. You won’t regret it.
How can I avoid memory allocation? Use a profiler.
Should this be a class, a struct, an interface? structs for small data. Other than that you’re probably only going to need MonoBehaviours, ScriptableObjects, and some static utility classes.
What classes should I derive from? No.
Should I use inheritance or composition? Composition.
How can I save and inspect dictionaries? Use a list of key-value pairs instead.
What’s the deal with null and UnityEngine.Object? It’s bad. Stay away from it and use implicit operator bool instead.
How do I modify objects from editor scripts and get it to save? EditorUtility.SetDirty(target);
How should I refer to a scene in a build? By name.
What should I use for event handling? Use Ryan Hipple’s runtime sets.
How should I organize the contents of my script file? Group similar things together.
How do I rename things in code without breaking things? Use a proper IDE.
How can I optimize my playmode entry time? Reduce dependencies. Make prefabs and scenes playable standalone.
How should I access “global” assets? By direct reference assigned in the inspector. Addressables for streaming.
How should I load all the stuff required for my game to run from any scene? It should all be ScriptableObjects anyway. No loading.
Where should I put global configuration values? In ScriptableObjects.
How do I execute some logic automatically before my builds? Don’t. You’re solving the wrong problem.
Which static flags should I check? If it doesn’t move, probably all of them.
How many layers do I need? More than you can have.
How do I extend the Unity Timeline? Use PlayableBehaviour.
What input solution should I use? The com.unity.inputsystem package.
How do I reuse values across fields? Use ScriptableObjects as variable holders.
What should I use instead of FindObjectsOfType? Runtime sets.
Where should I test new features in my project? In test scenes.
How do I setup my version control? Use GitHub to generate a project with the right .gitignore file.
How do I troubleshoot Unity when it crashes or freezes? Check the editor log in %LOCALAPPDATA.
How should I split my components? Follow the single responsibility principle.
In which order do build-in events happen? Check Unity’s documentation.
What coding style should I use? The same as everyone else on your team.
Where should I put my editor code? In an Editor folder.

Please watch Ryan Hipple’s excellent talk on game architecture and read this guide on modular design. Both cover most of the questions above in detail.