Component refs lost on play

Questions & Answers
1

I have an editor script that connects game objects up in the editor like so:

static void Editor_JoinWithCable()
{
	var sel1 = UnityEditor.Selection.gameObjects[0];
	var sel2 = UnityEditor.Selection.gameObjects[1];

	DoorController dc = sel1.GetComponent<DoorController>();
	Circuit cc = sel2.GetComponent<Circuit>();

	var prefab = Resources.Load("Cable");
	var cable = (GameObject)UnityEditor.PrefabUtility.InstantiatePrefab(prefab);
	Vector3 pos = (dc.transform.position + cc.transform.position) * 0.5f;

	// cc.TriggeredObjects is: TriggerInput[]
	var arr = cc.TriggeredObjects.ToList();
	arr.Add(cable.GetComponent<TriggerInput>());
	cc.TriggeredObjects = arr.ToArray();
	// dc.Inputs is: TriggerInput[]
	arr = dc.Inputs.ToList();
	arr.Add(cable.GetComponent<TriggerInput>());
	dc.Inputs = arr.ToArray();

	UnityEditor.Selection.activeGameObject = cable;
	UnityEditor.SceneView.RepaintAll();
}

It links up the objects as expected in the editor, but when I run the game, all the links are lost and I end up with null refs in the relevant arrays.

Only thing I can think is that Unity doesn’t like scripted links to components rather than game objects for some reason…? Or scene serialisation issues :-/

2

You’ll need to call EditorUtility.SetDirty() in your editor script to make sure Unity actually knows those values have changed. Alternatively, use SerializedObject/SerializedProperty to do it and you’ll also get Undo for free.