Bolt won't work for me

I have tried installing Bolt so I can more easily begin to learn basic code, but when I try to install it, the following error comes up:

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object

There’s way more information but it’s just too much. I can’t even get it to start. Apologies if this isn’t where I should post something like this, I’m new so I don’t know where to go for now.

For those of you who don’t know, Bolt is just an extension you can get for free at the asset store that lets you code using visual aids (boxes and arrows).

Hi @CEO1999 ,

I’m sorry you are running into issues using Bolt. I suggest you reach out in the Visual Scripting forum to get help sorting this out.

Bolt has been superceded by Visual Scripting (see Package Manager) since Unity 2021.

The Bolt asset mentions this in its description:

Meaning: unless you’re using Unity 2019 or 2020 you should not be using Bolt but Visual Scripting.

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Fantastic! I had no idea Unity already had its own version of Bolt by default. I must have missed the description. Now, how do I access visual scripting and what do I do with Bolt now? Do I just uninstall it or keep it around? Thanks for your help.

Just create a new project with Unity 2021.3 or newer. Visual Scripting is already installed. The asset store and the Unity Learn site have an excellent tutorial, I think it’s called “Visual Crypting” and it features a cat.

Okay, but Unity 2021 doesn’t have a functioning version of IntelliSense. I searched for days to try to get that crap working, and the only solution anybody was able to offer was to uninstall Unity 2021 and go back to Unity 2019. That worked. So what the hell do I do if I need both a functioning IntelliSense Auto-complete AND a Visual Scripting option???

On the website, it said that Visual Scripting for Unity 2019 was available as a free download in the asset store, but it wasn’t. When I finally found an obscure link to the download page, it said:

“Bolt | Now is Unity Visual Scripting & is built-in to Unity 2021 & newer
Visual ScriptingUnity Technologies
Unfortunately, Bolt | Now is Unity Visual Scripting & is built-in to Unity 2021 & newer is no longer available.
This package has been deprecated from the Asset Store. This means that new purchases of the package are not allowed and that only users who already purchased or downloaded the package before it was deprecated, are allowed to download it.
In most cases, package deprecation happens because the publisher is unable or unwilling to support the package anymore. We suggest looking for alternative packages or contacting the publisher directly.
If you’ve already purchased it and need to download a copy, you can do so here.”

But when I downloaded Unity 2019, I didn’t know I had to download Bolt/Visual Scripting separately, so I don’t already own that.

How can I get a version of Unity that both has a functioning IntelliSense Auto-Complete AND a Visual Scripting option???

Have you tried Unity 2022 with VS 2022?

If Unity 2019 works with Intellisense but 2021 doesn’t it may simply because the VS version is unsupported, or you haven’t checked for updates of the VS IDE package which is required for proper integration of Unity in VS.