unity: read from text file to instantiate objects

Question

I'm trying to use the following code to read a text file stored in the Resources folder or in a file on my computer, and instantiate objects in a Unity 3D scene accordingly. I'm having trouble getting it to work. I've tried attaching the script to either the main camera or an empty gameobject. Neither work so far...

I either end up with an error saying the path does not exist (when I put the text file into the project folder on my desktop), or a null exception, or that the path contains invalid characters.

Where am I going wrong?

I'm trying to use a jagged array because I'll need users to eventually be able to change the text file on-the-go to create a level.

The text file contains the following data: S 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 2 1

My script currently reads:

using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
using UnityEngine;
using System.Linq;
using System.IO;
using UnityEngine.UI;

public class GenerateLevel : MonoBehaviour {

    public Transform player;
    public Transform ground;
   // public Transform floor_valid;
    public Transform floor_obstacle;
    //public Transform floor_checkpoint;

    //public const string sfloor_valid = "0";
    public const string sfloor_obstacle = "0";
   // public const string sfloor_checkpoint = "2";
    public const string sstart = "S";

    public string textFile = "maze";
     string textContents;

    // Use this for initialization
    void Start () {
        Instantiate(ground);

        TextAsset textAssets = (TextAsset)Resources.Load(textFile);
        textContents = textAssets.text;


        //string[] lines = System.IO.File.ReadAllLines("//maze.txt");

        //string textFile;
        //textFile = Resources.Load("assets/resources/maze").ToString();



        string[][] jagged = ReadFile(textContents);

        for (int y = 0; y < jagged.Length; y++)
        {
            for (int x = 0; x < jagged[0].Length; x++)
            {
                switch (jagged[y][x])
                {
                    case sstart:
                        //Instantiate(floor_valid, new Vector3(x, 0, -y), Quaternion.identity);
                        Instantiate(player, new Vector3(0, 0.5f, 0), Quaternion.identity);
                        break;
                    //case sfloor_valid:
                      //  Instantiate(floor_valid, new Vector3(x, 0, -y), Quaternion.identity);
                        //break;
                    case sfloor_obstacle:
                        Instantiate(floor_obstacle, new Vector3(x, 0, -y), Quaternion.identity);
                        break;
                    //case sfloor_checkpoint:
                      //  Instantiate(floor_checkpoint, new Vector3(x, 0, -y), Quaternion.identity);
                        //break;
                }
            }
        }
    }

    // Update is called once per frame
    void Update () {

    }


    string[][] ReadFile(string file)
    {
        string text = System.IO.File.ReadAllText(file);
        string[] lines = Regex.Split(text, "\r\n");
        int rows = lines.Length;

        string[][] levelBase = new string[rows][];
        for (int i = 0; i < lines.Length; i++)
        {
            string[] stringsOfLine = Regex.Split(lines[i], " ");
            levelBase[i] = stringsOfLine;
        }
        return levelBase;
    }
}

Answer 1

In your code, you're trying to read two distinct files. Which text file contains the array? The one you're trying to read from Resources or the one you're trying to read with System.IO? Which of these steps is generating the error?

Possible error in Resources.Load:

Based on this line, looks like your Resources folder is called "resources":

//textFile = Resources.Load("assets/resources/maze").ToString();

If this is the case, try to change it's name to "Resources", with a capital R.

Possible error in System.IO:

You have already read one file from Resources and get its content when you call System.IO.File.ReadAllText. This method should receive a path as argument, so unless textContents is a valid path, System.IO.File.ReadAllText won't work properly. So, what is the value of textContents that you read from the first file?