Updating object's property on Start is visible for a second when game loads

Question

I have a world selection scene in which I have GameObjects representing worlds. The GameObjects have default properties when the scene is loaded. For example: the world name text is red and each world has a "locked" status. This initial state can be seen in the following screenshot:

On the Start() method I'm dynamically updating the properties on each GameObject based on values I'm reading from a save file. If a world is unlocked the name text is set to white. If a world is currently selected the name text is set to green. Here's what that looks like at run time:

The problem is that when the scene is loaded from another scene(e.g. by clicking a navigation button) the initial state of the GameObjects can be seen for a second and then they change to the proper values as dictated by the save file. How can I prevent this from happening? I was under the impression that anything that happens in the Start() method takes place before GameObjects are rendered.

Here's some slimmed down code of what my code looks like:

    var worldIcons = FindObjectsOfType<WorldIcon>().OrderBy(x => x.WorldNumber).ToList();
    var saveFile = GameSaveManager.GetSaveFile();

    if (saveFile == null)
    {
        Debug.LogError("Could not find save file while loading worlds");
        return;
    }

    foreach (var worldIcon in worldIcons)
    {
        var savedWorld = saveFile.Worlds.SingleOrDefault(x => x.Number == worldIcon.WorldNumber);

        if (savedWorld == null)
        {
            //add world to save file
            GameSaveManager.CreateWorld(worldIcon.Controller);

            //unlock first world by default
            if (saveFile.Worlds.Count == 0 && worldIcon.WorldNumber == 1)
                worldIcon.Unlocked = LevelMapController.LockedStatus.Unlocked.ToString();
        }
        else
        {
            worldIcon.DisplayName = savedWorld.Name;
            worldIcon.WorldNumber = savedWorld.Number;

            var button = worldIcon.GetComponent<Button>();

            if (savedWorld.Unlocked)
            {
                button.interactable = true;
                button.targetGraphic.color = Color.white;
                worldIcon.Unlocked = LevelMapController.LockedStatus.Unlocked.ToString();
            }
            else
                worldIcon.Unlocked = LevelMapController.LockedStatus.Locked.ToString();
        }
    }

Answer 1

I finally figured out what was going on. It turns out that it only looked like the World GameObjects weren't initialized before the scene was rendered. Each world GameObject has a button whose Target Graphic property is set to a child Text object called DisplayName. This child object displays the world's name(World1, etc.) The button's Fade Duration property is set to 0.1 by default. The problem was fixed by changing this property to 0.

Answer 2

I was under the impression that anything that happens in the Start() method takes place before GameObjects are rendered.

No, here is a link that breakdowns the unity events execution order

And also, loading files and loops might take time, a workaround will be to put your buttons under a CanvasGroup component with an alpha of 0 til everything is loaded.