Writing plugins to improve workflows

The first thing i saw after opening the project is bad game objects organization:


This is hard to work with, so i've wrote hierarchy extension that displays folders.


How can it be contributed to the project? Added as git package, like "Game Ingredients" in Boat Attack repo?

 

Hehe, that scene is a big WIP so don't judge me too hard on that.

The plugin is cool!! What does it do, is it displaying an icon next to designated empty game objects? How do you designate them?

And as for how to add it, I think a git package is a good way. Is it already hosted on Github?

 

Just some reflection: HierarchyWindow > SceneHierarchy > TreeView > FindItem
And directly setting it's icon
But there is no folders in play mode as they're getting detached, would need to bash my head around it

Adding some final touches to the inspector, will host soon

 

Ah you mean the icon of the GO, like the one that appears in the scene too?

What happens when you press Play? Do those objects disappear and the children are detached?

 

No, internal hierarchy icon only
And i think i've gone loose now

Yep, thanks to IProcessSceneWithReport

 

Phah, it's the most obvious hack i've ever made xD

 

Hmm, maybe we should keep folder GameObject in build, so components can be attached there?

 

Hmm, I wouldn't suggest going with all that customisation because it creates a lot of visual noise. You don't need to know at all times all the components that every object has.
The folders should be enough.

Sorry I didn't get what you mean here.

 

It's not all the components, it's main component only.
Trying to find game objects just by it's name was always frustrating to me.
Now i always see where is all my lights, particles, UI elements, cameras and etc.
But anyway, I'll make a lot of preferences later

Currently only Folder component is stripped from build, so custom components can be added to object. But if there's transform related components it may introduce errors

 

So, the way the plugin works is that it requires a "folder" component to be attached to the GameObject to display the icon?

This sounds a bit worrying

 

Yes, when you add this component, it hides GameObject and Transform GUI for this object.

Of course, need to add warning in inspector and option to completely strip folder object.
Or maybe just disallow excess components for consistency

 

Thanks, Neonage. I need to see how the plugin works and whether it's easy to build with it before I can merge it into the repo. If it's a hard procedure, it might not be worth pushing it to everyone. I welcome custom tools, but for any modification we introduce we need to enable and teach everyone on the project how to use it.

Also, I feel like the additional icons are a lot, since they hide the status of whether an object is a Prefab or just a regular GameObject, and they add a lot of visual noise. So it would be nice if you can make them optional.

 

Well, i'm trying to make it as intuitive as possible, so there would be minimal need to teach.
Just add package and boom - quality of life improvements!

When item is selected, it shows related prefab icon. Maybe show it on hover as well?

Alright, it's live now
https://github.com/neon-age/Smart-Hierarchy

 

That's a really good tool to organize your scenes.
Thank you for sharing!

 

I'm gonna make whole bunch of them for this project