Question Where can I find samples for ContentDeliveryService ?

Hello everyone,

I hope you're all doing well. I have a question regarding the ContentDeliveryService in Entities 1.0 and would appreciate your assistance in finding the samples.

While I managed to find the manual/documentation for the service, I've been struggling to understand its specific usage and have hit a roadblock. I attempted to explore it based on the available documentation but haven't been able to grasp it fully.

If there are any samples available anywhere, I would be extremely grateful if you could kindly direct me to them. Having access to practical examples would greatly aid my understanding and help me overcome the current obstacle.

Thank you in advance for your support. I'm eagerly looking forward to any guidance or pointers to ContentDeliveryService samples.

Thanks.

 

Would also like some info on this. Wrote a question on Unity DOTS Discord channel a while ago and here's some of my findings so far:

I was under the impression that the platforms package is now obsolete and should not be used? Although the example provided in the docs (for 1.0.8) use it.

So I thought I could just use the code solution and while looking at the code example provided it seems that EntitySceneBuildUtility is an internal class and can't be used unless I use the workaround to get access to internals. Also the DoCopy and PublishContent function used in the example is missing as well.

What's the current state of this Content API? Should I consider using it or should I just go with addressables for now? Can I expect this to be fully supported for 1.0 release?​

 

Platforms package is no longer required for building subscenes. (since 1.0)
So you should just use default Build Settings menu.

As for the content delivery, as far as I know, addressables is the way to go.
Baked subscenes should work with it just fine.

 

They don’t. The reason Content Management exists is because of new ContentFiles, and for proper usage of subscenes and serialized entity prefab references only new Content Management should be used.

 

That's precisely the issue. This page explains how you should set up a Build Config to build content archives, note that it's the 1.0.8 docs as well. I'm guessing this part was either overlooked or not ready for 1.0.8 release.
https://docs.unity3d.com/Packages/c...ntent-management-create-content-archives.html

 

There are lots of changes done in 1.0.
Documentation can be reported at the bottom of the page if its not working anymore.

Anyway, UTs intention is to get rid of platforms package as requirement for Entities.
So maybe its one of those things that is work-in-progress.

 

Build Config here used only for having Scene List of subscenes to rebuild, as Content Management is (relatively) new thing in progress they've just reused already existing window for that, nothing special. Anyway docs mention how you can do exactly the same from code, which means - you can write your Scene List window, or just purely load things from folder paths.

 

public class ContentDownloadTest : MonoBehaviour
{
// Start is called before the first frame update
void Start()
{
ContentDeliveryGlobalState.Initialize(
@"http://192.168.1.44/Builds-RemoteContent/",
Application.persistentDataPath + "/content-cache/",
"all",
(state) =>
{
Debug.LogError($"Download Ok: {state}");
}
);
}

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

}
}
1.you should set the ENABLE_CONTENT_DELIVERY scripting symbol

2.you should change RuntimeContentSystem.cs source code，otherwise download update don't exec in the Editor


remoteUrlRoot: the generated content archive root dir，after you generate content archive，You need to put all the files in the http directory



cachePath: local save path
initialContentSet: contentSetName，you build content generate，unity menu item "Content Update" is use "all"
updateStateFunc: callback
unity download content，only compare file is Existed，don't compare file content

 

So what's the SOP for releasing updates and DLC for games that use a hybrid approach? Does this mean we have to straddle two different technologies -- both Addressables (for traditional objects) and Content Archives (for ECS based content?)

Like, what happens if some of our assets are referenced by scriptable objects and don't exist within a subscene? I have shaders and post-process effects and animated/IK-rigged characters that don't and can't exist as entities within an ECS pipeline. Does this mean that these assets will be left out of Content Archives (since they aren't referenced in subscenes) and that we'll have to use Addressables to ensure that they're included in an AssetBundle instead?

Also, how do I know which files need to be included in an update patch when it comes to Content Archives? Everything just seems to be thrown into a directory that looks like this:



Which files are for the base game? Which ones are for the update patch?

The manual states that:


"Unity generates AT LEAST one content archive per subscene that references objects."

So which of those cryptically-named files references which object? Am I missing some sort of editor window that allows me to know which object corresponds to which archive file?

Also, "if multiple subscenes reference the same object, Unity moves that object into a shared content archive."

So if I add this object to another subscene and push out another content update, does it change the base game files by removing that object from the base game files?

Or let's say I make a change to an object and I want to release an update. Which archive files get updated? Is a new archive file created that overrides the existing base game files? How can I control where this file is put?

What happens if someone wants to mod my game and I need for them to be able to selectively create archives that override my base game files?

If we look at an OLD game like say, Quake, you have an /ID1/ directory that holds all your base game content.

You have PAK0.PAK (shareware content) and PAK1.PAK (full game content). PAK1 overrides PAK0's files.

You can run Quake.EXE with -game "mygamemod" to make it additionally read your "mygamemod" folder and anything in there with the same name/filestructure will override anything in the base game.

Having a system where you just specify additional directories or archives in an order that you specify in order to override previous directories makes it really easy to create updated content that doesn't require that your users re-download any prior content. It's a simple system that companies like Valve and even Epic have relied on.

What we have instead is some convoluted system that... well, let's see anyone explain this mess in a simpler way than I was able to explain fuddy old Quake's filesystem.

I'm frustrated because I was sold on the idea that Unity is supposed to allow users to focus on authoring content, but I find all my days are spent in a state of paralysis reading manuals for new technology bombs that are dropped on my head every time I figure out some sort of pipeline for getting the previous bombs to work together. It's getting REALLY old and the only reason I'm sticking around is because of the sunk cost.

 

You are not missing anything. Atm the state of ECS Content Management is just at the bareboned and primitive level. The convenient toolset is just non-existent. As you can see in the roadmap: they acknowledge the importance of the missing toolset, but the improvements are currently under consideration. I speculate they don't have immediate plan to address this. So we'll have to wait some more time. Or you'll have to invent your own toolset.
https://portal.productboard.com/wkj...ent?utm_medium=social&utm_source=portal_share

 

Ugh. They dangle this really nice carrot of subscenes being the ideal way to handle vast and detailed streaming environments but then it's incompatible with addressables and can't be used in any sort of dynamically-loaded mod-supported scenario.

Maybe I should perform some sort of runtime baking on a standard scene. But I can see this being really slow unless the results can be baked into a file for the first time the scene is loaded. And I have no idea how much impact this sort of baking procedure would have. And it seems like such a... a vital part of the engine that any efforts I undertake will inevitably be replaced by something Unity produces. And I really don't want to make the system myself.

It's a real show-stopper.

 

From what I can understand from their docs on creating custom content archives... it seems that:

1. it digs through all the scenes specified in File->Build Settings->Scenes In Build
2. creates content archives (AKA binary files containing entity data) from any subscenes within those scenes
3. it places those content archives into the Streaming Assets folder...
4. ...or a subfolder within that folder if directed to by a custom build script

So based on this knowledge, if I were to hodgepodge a dynamic "mod-compatible" workflow, it would be:

1. Place all scenes containing subscene content for a self-contained "DLC package" or "Mod" into the File->Build Settings->Scenes In Build
2. Run the custom build script to create the packaged data into a custom subfolder.
3. Make that data available (host it) at some remote URL somehow...

And then when it's time for the game to preload before lo, then based on these docs,

1. Include a ScriptableObject with the necessary download URL to download the companion entity data while the mod is being installed
2. use ContentDeliveryGlobalState.Initialize to download the packaged data and to the Streaming Assets directory, and also use it when starting up a game that is running the mod.

Well, I guess I can try this out with a barebones project...

 

Well, it looks like their custom content archive script has some issues...

Code (CSharp):

1. var tmpBuildFolder = Path.Combine(Path.GetDirectoryName(Application.dataPath),
2.                         $"/Library/ContentUpdateBuildDir/{PlayerSettings.productName}");

This line fails because the Application Data Path has backslashes in it on PC and the path won't combine properly, resulting in it truncating that first part.

But I fixed it by using a variant of Path.Combine that someone else made

Code (CSharp):

1.         private static string PathCombine(string path1, string path2)
2.         {
3.             if (!Path.IsPathRooted(path2)) return Path.Combine(path1, path2);
4.  
5.             path2 = path2.TrimStart(Path.DirectorySeparatorChar);
6.             path2 = path2.TrimStart(Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar);
7.  
8.             return Path.Combine(path1, path2);
9.         }

This still fails because there is no ContentUpdateBuildDir/(myGame) sitting in my Library folder so I had to go and make that directory myself.

Anyways, this is my current script (uses Odin for buttons) which allows you to select scenes (they must be marked as addressable) and it stores them in a list and it runs the entity building process on just those ones. It will perform shader compilation as well so your computer will grind to a halt while that's going on...

Code (CSharp):

1. using System;
2. using System.Collections.Generic;
3. using System.IO;
4. using GuidTags;
5. using Sirenix.OdinInspector;
6. using Unity.Entities.Content;
7. using UnityEngine;
8. using UnityEngine.AddressableAssets;
9.  
10. #if UNITY_EDITOR
11. using Unity.Entities.Build;
12. using Unity.Scenes.Editor;
13. using UnityEditor;
14. #endif
15.  
16. namespace ModPacks.Runtime
17. {
18.     [CreateAssetMenu(fileName = "Modpack", menuName = "NOCT/Modpack", order = 0)]
19.     public class Modpack : ScriptableObject, IGuidProvider
20.     {
21.         public                                        string Guid => guid;
22.         [ReadOnly] [SerializeField] [Delayed] private string guid;
23.         [ReadOnly] [SerializeField] [Delayed] private string buildPath;
24.         [ReadOnly] [SerializeField] [Delayed] private string streamingAssetsPath;
25.  
26.         private void OnValidate()
27.         {
28.             IGuidProvider.OnValidateGuid(ref guid);
29.         }
30. #if UNITY_EDITOR
31.         [Button]
32.         private void SetBuildPath()
33.         {
34.             var buildFolder = EditorUtility.OpenFolderPanel("Select Build To Publish",
35.                 Path.GetDirectoryName(Application.dataPath), "Builds");
36.  
37.             if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(buildFolder))
38.                 return;
39.  
40.             buildPath           = buildFolder;
41.             streamingAssetsPath = $"{buildFolder}/{PlayerSettings.productName}_Data/StreamingAssets/{Guid}";
42.         }
43.  
44.         [SerializeField] private List<AssetReference> scenes;
45.         public                   List<AssetReference> Scenes => scenes;
46.  
47.  
48.         [Button]
49.         private void BuildSubSceneData()
50.         {
51.             var tmpBuildFolder = PathCombine(Path.GetDirectoryName(Application.dataPath),
52.                 $"/Library/ContentUpdateBuildDir/{PlayerSettings.productName}");
53.             var instance   = DotsGlobalSettings.Instance;
54.             var playerGuid = instance.GetPlayerType() == DotsGlobalSettings.PlayerType.Client ? instance.GetClientGUID() : instance.GetServerGUID();
55.             if (!playerGuid.IsValid)
56.                 throw new Exception("Invalid Player GUID");
57.  
58.             // dredge the sub scenes from the scenes
59.             var subSceneGuids = new HashSet<Unity.Entities.Hash128>();
60.             foreach (var scene in Scenes)
61.             {
62.                 GUID.TryParse(scene.AssetGUID, out var sceneGuid);
63.                 var ssGuids = EditorEntityScenes.GetSubScenes(sceneGuid);
64.                 foreach (var ss in ssGuids)
65.                     subSceneGuids.Add(ss);
66.             }
67.  
68.             // build the data
69.             var buildTarget = EditorUserBuildSettings.activeBuildTarget;
70.             RemoteContentCatalogBuildUtility.BuildContent(subSceneGuids, playerGuid, buildTarget, tmpBuildFolder);
71.  
72.             // publish the data
73.             var publishFolder = PathCombine(Path.GetDirectoryName(Application.dataPath), "Builds");
74.             publishFolder = PathCombine(publishFolder, $"{buildPath}-RemoteContent");
75.  
76.             RemoteContentCatalogBuildUtility.PublishContent(tmpBuildFolder, publishFolder, _ => new[] { "all" });
77.         }
78.  
79.         private static string PathCombine(string path1, string path2)
80.         {
81.             if (!Path.IsPathRooted(path2)) return Path.Combine(path1, path2);
82.  
83.             path2 = path2.TrimStart(Path.DirectorySeparatorChar);
84.             path2 = path2.TrimStart(Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar);
85.  
86.             return Path.Combine(path1, path2);
87.         }
88.  
89.         [Button]
90.         private void PublishStreamingAssets()
91.         {
92.             RemoteContentCatalogBuildUtility.PublishContent(streamingAssetsPath,
93.                 $"{buildPath}-RemoteContent",
94.                 f => new string[] { "all" }, true);
95.         }
96. #endif
97.     }
98. }