How do I add to a dictionary through the editor and then create gameobjects using that dictionary

Unity Engine
1

Hi, so I am programming a 2D RPG in which I need to create items (obviously) and I have set up two generic scripts to define this.
Item.cs:
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.UI;

public class Item
{
public Image artwork;
public new string name;
public string description;
public int price = 0;
public string damageText;
public string healthText;
public ItemType type;
public ItemRarity rarity;

public Item(Image artwork, string name, string description, int price, string damageText, string healthText, ItemType type, ItemRarity rarity)
{
this.artwork = artwork;
this.name = name;
this.description = description;
this.price = price;
this.damageText = damageText;
this.healthText = healthText;
this.type = type;
this.rarity = rarity;
} // Constructor
}

And then I also have Items.cs:

using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class Items
{
private static Dictionary<int, Item> itemDictionary = new Dictionary<int, Item>();

public static void addItem(int id, Item item)
{
itemDictionary[id] = item;
}

public static Item getItem(int id)
{
return itemDictionary[id];
}
}

How would I make it so I can edit the Items dictionary and define new items and ids with that in the editor along with all of the stats listed in Item.cs?

2

The Unity inspector does not have any built-in ability to edit Dictionaries. You could create your own custom UI for doing this, but that’s probably not something you want to tackle if you’re new.

Instead, I suggest you consider using ScriptableObjects for your items. This will allow you to save each individual Item object as an asset in your project folder.

If you really need a Dictionary, you could then write a script that would load those items when your game starts and stick them into a Dictionary for reference.

By the way, if you’re going to post code, please use code tags.

1 Like
3

Please use code tags.

Unfortunately, Unity Editor’s Inspector currently does not support Dictionaries out of the box.

This may help, but I have never tried it.

1 Like
4

IIRC Serialization callback page in manual has an example, how you can setup a dictionary to show up in inspector. It uses 2 lists, one for keys and another for values.