how do I make a script on an instantiated prefab reference the object that instantiated it?

Questions & Answers
1

so I’ve got a couple of little guys, right? and the guys periodically makes little things, lets call them breadcrumbs, the guys leaves breadcrumbs as they move around, but the breadcrumbs themselves don’t move so it makes a little breadcrumb trail, and maybe they can pick up the breadcrumbs too. the two guys shouldn’t be able to pick up each others breadcrumbs though, only ones that they themself dropped. so the breadcrumbs have a script to check when they get near a guy and get picked up, so they need to know which guy dropped them in the first place to know who is and isn’t able to pick them up, but how do I let them know which guy dropped the breadcrumb in the first place?? also, I’m pretty new to unity so if this question seems super obvious, that’s why

2

@aBunger

This is probably the easiest and possibly worst way to handle it (idk but whatever lol)
basically just do the following:

using JetBrains.Annotations;
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using UnityEngine;

public class BreadcrumbThingy : MonoBehaviour
{
public GameObject BreadCrumb_Prefab;

public GameObject Spawner;

// There are different ways to handle it.
// You could set a gameobject via a bool right when the prefab is spawned, this is how it would work;

// From the bread crumb's perspective:

public void SetSpawner(GameObject Spawner_To_Set)
{
    // This void is called to the breadcrumb after it is spawned.
    Spawner = Spawner_To_Set;
}

public void OnTriggerEnter(Collider other)
{
    if(other.gameObject == Spawner)
    {
        // Pick up the breadcrumb because we are trying to be grabbed by the spawner buddy.
    }
}

// From the spawner's perspective:

public void DropBreadCrumb()
{
    // Spawn the breadcrumb.
    GameObject Spawned_Breadcrumb = Instantiate(BreadCrumb_Prefab, transform.position, transform.rotation);

    // Now that we have spawned it, get the script on the breadcrumb.
    BreadcrumbThingy Breadcrumb_Script = Spawned_Breadcrumb.GetComponent<BreadcrumbThingy>();

    // Then set the spawner if the breadcrumb script is not null.
    if(Breadcrumb_Script != null)
    {
        Breadcrumb_Script.SetSpawner(gameObject);
    }
}

}

Hope this helps, this is untested but should work!

3

You can give a unique ID to each guy. When any guy drops a breadcrumbs, assign that id to breadcrumbs’s spawner_ID field (off course, you have to make spawner_ID field in breadcrumbs script). Assign it when you instantiate breadcrumbs game object.