dots-baking-patterns

Stale entities and null references occur when baking bypasses dependency tracking, such as reading authoring.transform directly. Proper Baker<T> implementations require correct DependsOn ordering and baker-mediated component access to ensure deterministic output.

Incremental bakes fail when DependsOn is called after an early-out or ignored for referenced assets. Fixing dependency-safe baking ensures assets and sibling components re-trigger the baker correctly during Live Baking in the Unity Editor.

TransformUsageFlags define the transform archetype required by a baker. Selecting the smallest valid flag avoids unnecessary chunk bloat and prevents missing transforms during the authoring-to-entity conversion process.

Convert prefab references safely using GetEntity within the Baker<T> process. This bake-time pattern avoids runtime spawners and handles prefab fan-out by creating additional entities deterministically from one authoring source.

Yes, Live Baking requires deterministic logic to maintain correctness in the Editor and build pipelines. Avoiding nondeterministic patterns and ensuring safe prefab conversion via GetEntity prevents broken references during incremental updates.

Review Baker<T> implementations by checking for missing DependsOn calls, incorrect TransformUsageFlags, and unsafe transform handling. Adding senior guardrails prevents common failure modes like bypassing dependency tracking and early-outing.