3D array is referenced by two separate game objects

[Kurt-Dekker]

Anytime I have a data structure that is 2D in shape (or higher) I wrap it up in an API and access it exclusively through that API, which lets me centralize the ugly details of its storage, eg., treat the x,y,z,w as true N-dimensional indices, or alternately as a key into a sparse dictionary, rather than splattering [z][y][x]-style dereferences all over my codebase.

That said, what you have above feels like it shouldn’t be a 3D array but rather a meaningful data structure tailored to what data you are representing. The choice of how to structure this is a fairly well-traveled road as far as gamedev goes, with things like ScriptableObjects used for pre-authored data, and other structures used for instance-as-you-play data.

Here are some potentially-relevant resources:

ScriptableObject usage in RPGs:

ScriptableObjects for an RPG with multiple units in your team

The most important concept about ScriptableObjects (SOs) is that they are custom-shaped blobs of data that you can edit inside the Unity inspector. The serialized values inside a SO map directly to that created asset on disk, the instance of the SO. When your game runs, it needs some data. One way to get that data is to hard-code it in the code. That is bad because when you change it, you need to change code. That’s why we have things like a SO to configure existing unchanging shipped code. W…

Creating lookup tables that can be assigned in the inspector.

This looks like a job tailor made for ScriptableObjects! ScriptableObjects are basically structured blobs of predefined data to help you create content for your game. For instance if I had a ScriptableObject called Weapon, it might have these properties: name detailed name description damage toughness weight what it looks like in the inventory what model it uses in game what animations the player uses to swing it I would create many of these Weapons, each one a file on disk (also called an…

Usage as a shared common data container:

Better Data with Scriptable Objects in Unity! (Tutorial)

As for combat specifically, here’s some more discussions:

Combat Coding