Help with custom inspector serialization.

I would usually post this to answers but there is some bug right now that automatically logs me out when I open answers that is preventing me from posting.

I am trying to create a simple state machine with a custom inspector that allows me to easily add, remove and edit states. Adding states isn't serializing properly so when the project compiles all added data is removed. So if I run addState 3 times it will show 3 states in the dictionary but as soon as the project compiles it goes back to being empty.

This is the logic in my custom inspector to add a state.

private void addState(string stateName)
{
Undo.RegisterCompleteObjectUndo(_target, "Added New State");
stateName = stateName + _target.states.Count;
State newState = new State(stateName);
_target.states[stateName] = newState;
}

This is my state class.

[System.Serializable]
public class State
{
[SerializeField]
string _name;

public State(string name)
{
_name = name;
}
}


Please help this problem is killing me.

 

Dictionaries usually have problem with serialization, so it could be that your dictionary doesn't serialize values on reload. You could use an alternative approach like another collection (List<State>) just for serialization and then convert it to dictionary in the Awake() method of your component. Or, make your component implement ISerializationCallbackReceiver, just like in Unity docs:

https://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/ISerializationCallbackReceiver.html

good thing is, there are numerous ways to approach this problem. Making a custom collection that is reusable and serializable might be the best approach longterm.

 

I did end up giving up on using a dictionary for this reason. Implemented it with a list and it's much easier to work with now.