Retrieve the original prefab from a game object

Question

How would one proceed to retrieve the original prefab used for instantiating an object?

In the editor these two functions work :

        Debug.Log(PrefabUtility.GetPrefabParent(gameObject));
        Debug.Log(PrefabUtility.GetPrefabObject(gameObject));

But I need something that works in the release version.

I have objects that can be transported between scenes and I need to save their data and original prefab to be able to instantiate them outside of the scene they have been originally instantiated.

---

ie:

• Game designers create new prefabs.
• Game designers create objects from prefabs and place them in scenes (50 to 150 scenes).
• Game is played and objects are moved across scenes.
• Game is saved and infos about objects which have moved are saved in the save streams (files or network).

This is where I got stuck. Currently, to palliate to the shortcomings, we're saving the name of the prefab in the prefab. But each time a prefab is moved, renamed or duplicated the string must be changed too, sometimes the objects created from the prefab keep the original name (game designer might have edited the prefabPath field).

Maybe there is a better way to achieve proper save games without having to access to the original prefab/name. But currently we keep the saves segmented on a per level basis (easier and safer to save/load to files and transfer the save games to/from servers)

Answer 1

Simple Answer

Use a class to load the original prefab from Resources.Load(string prefabPath, typeof(GameObject));

Store this returned prefab into a resource pool class by path key. For instance: Dictionary<string, GameObject> prefabLookup;

You can then grab the original prefab anytime you need it.

Use a helper method to automatically load at runtime.

public static GameObject GrabPrefab(string path)
{
     if(!prefabLookup.ContainsKey(path))
     {
          // Load prefab and add to dictionary...
     }

     return prefabLookup[path];
}

I would also suggest unloading un-used assets from memory on level change. This will keep you from hitting a memory limit.

Answer 2

For this specific problem, I suggest you create a global class in which you put those variables you need for other levels so you can always access them.