Best way to serialize a ScriptableObject reference using NetworkWriter/Reader

Questions & Answers
1

It’s easily possible to send GameObject references in the new networking system, but is there a similarily easy way to send references to ScriptableObjects?

We are using custom NetworkMessages, and the NetworkWriter doesn’t seem to have an appropriate overload for this.

Our ScriptableObject references are always referencing asset files, so it doesn’t need to work with dynamically created ScriptableObject instances.

2

Not sure about build-in solution, but we using the code below for serializing gameObject prefabs (little more complicated though), it also works for ScriptableObjects:

    public class SomeScriptableObject : ScriptableObject, ISerializationCallbackReceiver {

        [SerializeField]
        string id;

        public string Id {
            get { return id; }
        }

        public void OnBeforeSerialize() {
            SetupGuid();
        }

        public void OnAfterDeserialize() {}

#if UNITY_EDITOR
        void OnValidate() {
            SetupGuid();
        }

        void SetupGuid() {
            if (Application.isPlaying) {
                return;
            }
            var assetPath = AssetDatabase.GetAssetPath(this);
            id = AssetDatabase.AssetPathToGUID(assetPath);
        }

#else
        void SetupGuid() {}
#endif
    }

What it does is saving asset id during Edit time in a string. you can send this string to another peer and lookup your SerializedObject by it. Of course, both peers must be built from the same project for their assets ids to match.

I don’t know, but assume that Unity is doing something similar in its new NetworkIdentity.