Raycast 2D successfully shows tag, but stops working once I start comparing it.

Unity Engine
1

For example, this is my current script (I’m still working on it, so the variables are not accurate at this point):

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

public class PlayerNearbyObjectDetection : MonoBehaviour
{
    public bool pushableObjectAtLeft;
    public bool pushableObjectAtRight;
    public bool pushableObjectAtTop;
    public bool pushableObjectAtBottom;

    void FixedUpdate()
    {
        RaycastHit2D leftRayCast = Physics2D.Raycast(transform.position, Vector2.left, 1f);
        RaycastHit2D rightRayCast = Physics2D.Raycast(transform.position, Vector2.right, 1f);
        RaycastHit2D topRayCast = Physics2D.Raycast(transform.position, Vector2.up, 1f);
        RaycastHit2D bottomRayCast = Physics2D.Raycast(transform.position, Vector2.down, 1f);
        if (leftRayCast.collider != null)
        {
            pushableObjectAtLeft = true;
        }
        else
        {
            pushableObjectAtLeft = false;
        }
        if (rightRayCast.collider != null)
        {
            pushableObjectAtRight = true;
            Debug.Log(rightRayCast.collider.transform.gameObject.tag);
        }
        else
        {
            pushableObjectAtRight = false;
        }
        if (topRayCast.collider != null)
        {
            pushableObjectAtTop = true;
        }
        else
        {
            pushableObjectAtTop = false;
        }
        if (bottomRayCast.collider != null)
        {
            pushableObjectAtBottom = true;
        }
        else
        {
            pushableObjectAtBottom = false;
        }
    }
}

The “if (rightRayCast.collider != null)” part successfully prints out the tag “Pushable Object” as I had put on the object I was trying to detect: an object that can be pushed. But when I change the if statement to something like this:

if (rightRayCast.collider != null && rightRayCast.collider.transform.gameObject.tag == "Pushable Object")
        {
            pushableObjectAtRight = true;
            Debug.Log(rightRayCast.collider.transform.gameObject.tag);
        }

It stops working entirely. The variable stops changing and the log is not printed. Even if I try to put the if statement inside it still doesn’t work. Any reason why? And how can I fix it?

2

Please note that this is not a physics question, it’s a scripting question. You’re not asking about physics, you’re asking about using tags and scripting so is best suited here.

I guess you’re adding that extra part to check the tag but you’re not outputting what the actual tag is, you’re only outputting it when you already know what is it which doesn’t help you. It’s not difficult to attach a debugger and step through it either. Far quicker than posting on the forums and is an essential skill moving forward.

In the end, this is about you debugging (or not) to find out why your script isn’t working; something we cannot do by looking at the same script as you.

BTW:

  • You can do “if (rightRayCast.) xxx” as a shortcut which will check implicitly if the collider is NULL for you (there’s an implicit bool operator on it).
  • You can condense your code so it’s less verbose so: “pushableObjectAtLeft = leftRayCast.collider != null;” or even “pushableObjectAtLeft = leftRayCast;”
  • You should get used to using CompareTag.