End of the Resources folder

Posts like that make me angry that I can't like twice or more.

 

You may be over-thinking things a bit. LoadFromFile is for mainly for loading assetbundles that originate from disk, like for local development. Typically you want to use LoadFromCacheOrDownload() when loading an assetbundle. This will pull from local cache if already downloaded or remotely if not. If you want to check if a bundle is downloaded (or if it is the current version), use Caching.IsVersionCached(). Part of the advantage of using AssetBundles, is that handle that stuff for you. If you want to search all your assetbundles, just loop through them. Or you could keep an updated list that you add to every you request a bundle.

 

I wonder if this is a good place to ask, talking about streaming assets and other stuff now....

Hi. I used the myo armband and did a thing. It runs great in the editor, but not at all when built. I see myo related stuff in the plugin directory, but it's a no go once built. Is there some additional step to linking / building when using a plugin? I couldn't see any difference between the plugin location of my built project and the built sample project from the myo folks.

 

Ok so in my case the 'file location' so to speak would be WWW.LoadFromCacheOrDownload to weherever I originally set the bundle to download to, is that right?

Isn't there a way of 'automatically including' asset bundles with your build (maybe I am making that up but I'm sure I saw that somewhere)- where do they go?

 

When you say 'LoadFromFile is for mainly for loading assetbundles that originate from disk, like for local development' does that mean that my code as posted wont work when the bundles have been downloaded- I mean this code:

Code (CSharp):

1. private void AddSlotsFromAssetBundles(){
2.         AssetBundleManifest thisAssetBundleManifest = new AssetBundleManifest ();
3.         string[] assetBundles = thisAssetBundleManifest.GetAllAssetBundles ();
4.         List<SlotDataAsset> foundSlotsList = new List<SlotDataAsset> ();
5.         for (int i = 0; i < assetBundles.Length; i++) {
6.             var assetBundleToSearch = AssetBundle.LoadFromFile(Path.Combine(Application.streamingAssetsPath, assetBundles[i]));//From the docs BUT do asset bundles always get downloaded to the streaming asset path?
7.             if (assetBundleToSearch != null) {
8.                 SlotDataAsset[] foundSlots =  assetBundleToSearch.LoadAllAssets<SlotDataAsset> ();
9.                 for (int ii = 0; ii < foundSlots.Length; ii++) {
10.                     AddSlotAsset (foundSlots [ii]);
11.                 }
12.             }
13.         }
14.     }

is there a way of writing this line so that it will get the contents of an asset bundle wherever it ended up being saved to?

Code (CSharp):

1. var assetBundleToSearch = AssetBundle.LoadFromFile(Path.Combine(Application.streamingAssetsPath, assetBundles[i]));

 

Really sorry to be asking about this again but I'm still not understanding things. What I need is for the end user to be able to download an asset bundle of their choosing and I'd like it to stay downloaded if that's possible. So I dont think I am talking about when I build the project.

Regards the app itself what I need to be able to do is include a script that will be in the original build (the executable that the end user originally downloads from Google Play or whatever) that can get whatever assets the user has downloaded. But I wont know when I make that executable exactly what those asset bundles will be called - I'll have a naming strategy but I will be making more and more asset bundles over time that a user who already has the app will be able to get as and when they are released (if they want to). So I need a method of getting all the Texture2D's (for example) out of any bundles the user has downloaded.

So I am just wondering what the best practice is for this scenario with regards to using AssetBundles?

 

@superpig covered it pretty clearly. But let's take a quick step back to make sure we are on the same page. So a couple of quick questions:

Is this a mobile game?
When you say "user has downloaded", what exactly is the process user does to get additional content? Say for example the user has the ability to get (or buy) a special item that isn't part of the original client release. That would always come via the client correct? In other words, getting additional content is always through the game itself.

 

Hey thanks for asking that @zombirgorilla, I should have clarified that. Yep my target devices are mobile and yep they would get the addons via an interface in the game. Sometimes the game will download any asset bundles it might require to play back a scene, but also the user can customise scenes and in this case they can choose to download asset bundles they can use for customising the scene. Then they can send the scene to another user (actually just a config) and that other users version will download any assets that are required to play that config if that other user doesn't already have them...

 

How long does WWW.LoadFromCacheOrDownload, stick around? I don't mind if it stays unless the user deletes it, but I do mind if it goes away after the user closes the app. I know that sounds like a help question un-related to the topic, but it is related to the topic because I need to know how I can use assets in asset bundles like they were in the Resources folder...

 

I think the 'Holy grail' here would be if you could say if(Resources.Load("SomeTextureFile") and have that download the the asset bundle that resource is in if it didn't exist and store it so it did exist in future. i.e. Asset bundles should become part of the Resources folder once they have been downloaded and should be like the Resources folder once they have been downloaded, i.e. you can call resources from a path so if you make an asset bundle that has items in a 'Textures' folder when you say Resources.Load('Textures'); it should load all the files from all the downloaded asset bundles 'Textures' folder - I KNOW that asset bundles cant have folders, but why not....Resources is apparently internally an asset bundle but that can have folders, so why cant assetBundles? And if so why cant we just treat assetBundles as data added to Resources so you can have a Resources folder Textures and download an assetBundle that has a folder Textures that when its downloaded adds its textures to Resources/Textures.? Basically why cant assetBundles be treated as additions to the Resources folder, so you launch with a Resources folder that has this stuff in it, but over time your Resources folder ends up with more stuff in it. ?

 

Any programmer worth their salt can make a wrapper for asset bundles and the resources folder to make it behave however you like.

 

I'm sure 'Any programmer worth their salt' can do lots of things Unity does, but if 'a programmer worth their salt' spent all their time doing stuff that Unity does, and not just using Unity to a large extent, there there would not be much point in using Unity in the first place would there? And besides the thread is not about how we can create wrappers to make asset bundles have the best features of the Resources folder, its about how people feel about it being discontinued. And having to re-create any functionality, no matter how much of a wonderful programmer you yourself are or how easy it is for you, is a relevant concern.

 

For anyone still interested in having their say on this its worth checking out and commenting on the official asset bundle improvement thread. Maybe you can help shape the direction this goes in the future.

 

Someone named hopeful liked your post. That seems significant.

 

Actually, far from retiring the Resources folder maybe thats where asset bundles should be created? i.e. You can have multiple 'Resources' folders and maybe you could right-click on it and choose 'Make this an AssetBundle' and then it would show as 'Resources:YourAssetBundleName'... I know AssetBundles cant have folders, but why not? Asset bundles can have 'sub-asset bundles' so whats the difference? A folder inside a 'Resources' folder that you decided to turn into an asset bundle would become a sub asset bundle...

And then when it gets downloaded it would be merged with the Resources folder, so if you had Resources/Textures if the user downloaded more 'Resources/Textures' (via an asset bundle) your script could just access all the textures the User then has by accessing Resources/Textures....

I dont understand what the problem would be with this.

 

Yes! All evil is in the Resources folder..it generates overhead.. Use GameObject.Find instead..

 

ups...

 

Had to ban Ironmax's troll account. Don't do it again.

 

Haha. I had a moment like that. Liking resource folder but disliking asset bundles then found out they were the same things and the upcoming changes to asset bundles will make them function even better ._.

Will you mount the account's head on your wall?

 

I believe I own the rights to the head. My art is not great, but it's mine. Copyright laws don't pay any attention to the quality of the work.

 

That there's a good law.

 

I'm unable to load AssetBundles built with BuildAssetBundleOptions.ChunkBasedCompression and placed in the StreamingAssets folder when running on iOS. The same AssetBundle loads properly when running in the OSX Editor. I have verified proper building and placement of the bundle. All bundles downloaded usingWWW.LoadFromCacheOrDownload built at the same time work properly

The error received in the XCode output log when running on a iOS device is:

Unable to open archive file: /var/containers/bundle/application/9c2e7214-9980-4ea6-a8b8-1554f5cc0c9a/myvegas.app/data/raw/mybundle.unity3d

Here is the code being used to load the bundle. According to the docs herehttp://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/StreamingAssets.html, it's best to use Application.streamingAssetsPath to get the location of the StreamingAssets folder and I assume this also means when running on iOS devices.

AssetBundleCreateRequest abcr = AssetBundle.LoadFromFileAsync(Application.streamingAssetsPath + "/mybundle.unity3d");

yield return abcr;

if (abcr.assetBundle == null)
{
Debug.LogError("Error loading bundle mybundle.unity3d");
}

When running on iOS, I have also tried replacing Application.streamingAssetsPath with:

Application.dataPath + "/Raw/"

but the same error occurs.

This same error exists on all versions of Unity from 5.3.2p4 through 5.3.4p1.

I have seen some references to this issue in the forums but no formal response from Unity nor any specific confirmation that there is a resolution.

Is there any fix for this issue? It's a show-stopper for the use of including AssetBundles in the iOS binary.

 

@BoredMormon @zombiegorilla
OK I have done alot of work involving AssetBundles the last few weeks and appreciate that I was a bit ignorant before. But here's where I am at...
For some reason Unity and this community just cannot fathom a situation where a game might need to ask an asset bundle what it contains. I know you are all of the opinion that I as the developer should know what my bundles contain, and I do, but what if my build doesn't?
i.e. what if I build a game that allows people to customise their characters and I release customization packs that can be downloaded after the initial release. How is my initial release going to know the names of those new asset bundles?
SURELY there is a case for the platform manifest actually having an index so that your scripts can work out whether the whole bundle needs to be downloaded or not?
I am just totally bemused why it is that the community cannot envisage a scenario where your build might need to ask a bundle if it contains an asset...

 

I believe I mentioned it on your other thread. Simply build a manifest of your own on the server. Throw in some scripting into you asset bundle build pipeline to update the manifest. Somehow or other you have to put the assets into the bundle in the first place. Capture what is in each bundle here.

Unity does a lot of things for you. But its never going to do absolutely everything. You'll always need at least something custom built.

 

Yeah the problem that we have is that we cannot (I dont think) expect people to be able to set up their own PHP server etc. We need what happens to be contained within the package we distribute. So we 'could' modify the BuildPipeline to generate an index and we could modify the downloading process (somehow) to get that index but every option is a monster pain in the ass.

Is there any chance that Unity might realise there is a need for assetBundles to have an index of what they contain? Or is this just a daydream because 'everybody knows' that developers know what is in their asset bundles and therefore such a thing is un-necessary?

 

Ok maybe still naive, but do they? I know you can do AssetBundle.Contains but dont you have to have downloaded the assetbundle to do that?

 

How to I get a list of what an assetbundle contains then (without downloading it beforehand)

 

Question for folks here who are asset bundle savvy:

Can I create a asset bundle at runtime within my game and export it to Steam Workshop? Conversely, if a player buys it on Steam Workshop will it get dropped automatically into my game?

The asset bundle would have text assets that the user creates from within the level builder and also spritesheets.

 

I'm pretty sure you can't create AssetBundles at runtime. What you could do is create some kind of 'config' file that the other user could use but then you may run into the issues I have been bashing my head against a brick wall here...

 

Hmm that's unfortunate if it is the case. I have a bunch of Lua scripts and spritesheets which is where most of my gameplay is defined so I was hoping I could just asset bundle them directly from the game. I guess posting a walkthrough guide like folks are doing for Unturned to create the asset bundle manually in the editor is an option. Whatever solution I go with I'd like it to work with Steam workshop.

 

Many ways. Usually a server request, you could have that data pre populated in the client, you could have a separate assetbundle that just contains data (xml/json/etc), could even just be naming convention. All pretty trivial and just depends on your system and needs. Also unrelated to resource folders as they are part of the client, and solve none of that.

 

No, not really. Just use deliver/update them via server.

 

Have you considered making your own ZIP-based file format, akin to e.g. ODF? With Unity such thing would be easy, with UniZIP (have a link, but need to look for it). Spritesheets and lua files would be inside it, then game would load sheet like it can load image directly from disk (png/jpg) and lua files, well, you know what to do with them. From user standpoint all they'd have to do is zip up mod and game will then unzip mods to temporary location when game's running.

 

https://github.com/tsubaki/UnityZip

Although I do wonder how it compares to the other implementation on the asset store.

https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/31902

 

Yeah probably what I will do, just thought since Steam workshop supports Unity asset bundles that would be an easier route to go. I really don't want to make the user fire up a Unity editor though just to pack it into a bundle.

 

The Kerbal Space Program community doesn't seem to mind it.

 

I KNOW you have to download something, what totally bamboozles me is why literally nobody understands the need for an index of some kind. I dont know if Unitys own AssetBundleManager changes things, (but I dont think it does) but assuming it doesn't BuildPipeline creates a list of dependent assetbundles.and those are in the 'Platform.noextension' file as far as I can tell. so the 'Windows' asset bundle tells you all the asset bundles and what their dependencies are. Great!

So if everyone is fine with this containing dependencies, why on earth is evryone giving me such grief over the notion that it might also contain and index of everything thats available, so that you could do the kinds of things you can do in the editor, like 'AssetDatabase' stuff. (And before you all troll me I KNOW AssetDatabase is only available in the editor- but you all see the need for that! And when you are in the editor you can CERTAINLY see where all your assets are. Why do you all have SUCH an issue with assetbundles having an index of what they contain!!!)

 

All I am proposing is simply that the 'Platform.noextension' file (i.e. Windows) as well as containing all the dependencies, also contains a list of all the files.
Before you all say that 'any programmer worth their salt could do this' I have, but the point is I shouldn't have to.It is such an obvious requirement. WHY not do it. as you programmers worth your salt all know generating this data is trivial, so why isn't it just there, and why doesn't AssetBundleManifest just have this information and functions for accessing it...

 

It does give you a list of everything that is available.
http://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/AssetBundle.GetAllAssetNames.html

 

I can definitely understand how that might feel like a bit of a pain, but it isn't without precedent. Neverwinter Nights toolset did the same thing with Hak Packs (essentially the same idea as asset bundles). You had to use the toolset to pack your any of your stuff into ERF files or HAKs.

Users will accept some mild inconveniences if it means they can mod the game. Modding communities are like that.

 

Your index is going to have to be custom. It doesn't make sense for a Unity provided system.

@XombieGorilla's workflow is about asset bundles created after the game is launched. In this case the original game cannot contain the index. An index has to be built and maintained on a server the game queries.

Other games like Kerball have the user create their own asset bundles. The index is built up by scanning through the contents of all of the asset bundles that are present.

Your workflow had a different unique set of requirements. They are not the typical requirements of the asset bundle workflow. So you will have to do something custom to deal with them.

 

Yeah but you have to have downloaded the AssetBundle to be able to do that. All I am proposing is that there is an 'index' that tells a script if the asset bundle contains the thing the script is looking for, if it does then the assetbundle should be downloaded... I know you dont understand how there could be a scenario where this might be needed but honestly there really is one...

What I have done is add to Unity's own AssetBundleManager BuildScript and make it create an additional object 'AssetBundleIndex'. This includes details of all the assets in all the asset bundles. So now with the methods I have added to AssetBundleIndex, you can do AssetBundleManager.AssetBundleIndexObject.AssetBundleContains() where given an asset bundle name and an asset name and optionally a type, you get told whether the asset bundle contains the asset.
Yes the AssetBundleIndexObject has to be downloaded, just like the AssetBundleManifestObject has to be downloaded, but they are both tiny. But once they are downloaded (or cached) you can then have scripts know what is in the available asset bundles without downloading the bundle itself OR having to require devs to set up some kind of server side system.
What I still fail to understand is WHY this doesn't make sense for a Unity provided system. the data required is tiny and the usefulness is HUGE- maybe not in your games, but in so, many other scenarios, yes. So why not?

 

This.

At every step in the process, you (as the developer) know exactly what the contents of the assetbundle are. From the initial selection, to the bundling, post bundling and deployment. At any step you can create (or even just use the manifest) to pass this data to the client in any number of ways. How exactly that is done will be determined by your engineering design.

Our game's content is entirely assetbundles. As such, we pass that data in several ways depending on the type. Some bundles content is pushed directly to the CMS so the client can directly ask what bundles are needed, some (groups of content) written to a binary json at bundle time that lives next to the bundle so it can query the content before download, some is contained in a custom index bolted right on the assetbundle (mostly used for dependencies) that is checked after down to see what else may be needed, and some is directly queried from the bundle (where it is known that the bundle is needed, but not what exactly is in the bundle, like for units and such).

All the tools for all this is part of the AssetBundle API to provide the flexibility to deploy the game/content based on your needs. Unity isn't going to build your game for you, everyone builds differently, but they provide everything you need. As @superpig pointed out, it is too project specific. All the information you need is right there, where you push it and how you use it up to you and your game's need. And from a implementation standpoint, very trivial.

 

Hi guys, I have a lot of resources, manually putting them into asset bundles would be virtually impossible. I am wondering is there a script or command that you can run which basically auto generates a script to include all resources in use in a scene to an asset bundle automatically? I have googled for hours for a way to automate this because as I say I have so many things in resources now it might take me until the end of next year to work out what to include in assetbundles, and mark them up manually. I have been unable to try out the thing on the asset store for this as it has compile errors.

I think I read Utomate could do this for me if so I will gladly buy it, after pay day