Object reference not set to an instance of an object

Unity Engine
1

Hi I’m quite new to coding and am trying to learn javascript, however I’m stuck on a particular issue:/

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
Boo.Lang.Runtime.RuntimeServices.InvokeBinaryOperator (System.String operatorName, System.Object lhs, System.Object rhs)
Aidamage.Update () (at Assets/Scripts/Part 2 - Survival GUI/Aidamage.js:19)

Basically my game is a survival game, and I’m trying to allow my character to damage my npc, here is my code:

var health = 20;
var newhealth;
var damage = 5;
var wait_time = 2;
var lock = 0;
var rayLength = 10;

function Update()
{
var hit : RaycastHit;
var fwd = transform.TransformDirection(Vector3.forward);

if(Physics.Raycast(transform.position, fwd, hit, rayLength))
{
playerAnim = GameObject.Find(“FPSArms_Axe@Idle”).GetComponent(PlayerControl);

if(hit.collider.gameObject.tag == “enemy” & Input.GetButtonDown(“Fire1”) & playerAnim.canSwing == true) {
newhealth -= 5;
}
if(health == 0){
Destroy(GameObject);
}
}
}

Would anybody be able to help?

2

NullReferenceException errors mean that an object is being used that doesn’t have a value (i.e. it’s null).

Are you sure GameObject.Find(“FPSArms_Axe@Idle”) returns a value object before you use GetComponent(PlayerControl) on it? Try this:

playerAnim = GameObject.Find("FPSArms_Axe@Idle");
Debug.Log("Is this value null: " + playerAnim);

And see what pops up in the console. If it’s null, then you need to fix the name of your object.

3

same issue, Its annoying as it doesnt say what is null.

4

the error has a line number on it, something on that line is null. If you have laid out you code nicely it really shouldn’t be more than a couple of options.