wave7-unity-object-ref-blittable-asset

What problem does it solve?

It solves the problem of storing and transporting UnityEngine asset references (like Texture2D, AudioClip, Mesh, Sprite) inside ECS component data in a way that remains blittable and job-friendly, avoiding non-blittable managed objects in hot ECS paths.

Core Features & Use Cases

• Blittable asset identity in IComponentData: Store instance-ID-based identity via UnityObjectRef<T> so it can live in ECS chunks and be safely copied into job structs.
• Main-thread dereference at point of use: Access UnityObjectRef.Value only on the main thread when assigning to render/audio/presentation objects.
• Baker dependency tracking: Use DependsOn(asset) in Bakers to ensure incremental baking correctly updates references when source assets change.

Use case example: You need a per-entity sprite override in DOTS where a Burst job must categorize entities by which sprite asset they reference, and then the actual renderer assignment happens on the main thread.

Quick Start

Ask an AI assistant to generate a UnityObjectRef<Sprite>-based IComponentData component, a corresponding Baker that calls DependsOn(authoring.Sprite), and a job-safe system that compares sprite references by identity while a separate main-thread system applies the dereferenced sprite.