Prefabs and Instantiation

Instantiating a Prefab

Your code requires a reference to a Prefab to instantiate it at run time. You may make this reference by storing the Prefab reference in a public variable in your code. In the Inspector, the public variable in your code shows as an assignable field. You can then select the actual Prefab you wish to utilize in the Inspector.

The script sample below includes a single public variable, "myPrefab" a Prefab reference. The Start() function creates an instance of that Prefab, using UnityEngine:

public class InstantiationExample: MonoBehaviour 
{
    public GameObject myPrefab;
    void Start()
    {
        Instantiate(myPrefab, new Vector3(0, 0, 0), Quaternion.identity);
    }
}

To use this:

1. In your Project, create a new C# script called "InstantiationExample".

2. Copy and paste the preceding script example into your new script, then save it.

3. Using the GameObject > Create Empty menu, create an empty GameObject.

4. Drag the script onto the empty GameObject to add it as a component to the new GameObject.

5. Create any Prefab and drag it from the Project window into the script component's My Prefab field.

Source: Unitydocs

When you enter Play Mode, you will see your Prefab appear in the Scene at (0, 0, 0). You may change which Prefab is instantiated by dragging a different Prefab into the My Prefab field in the Inspector without changing the script.

Common Scenarios

To demonstrate the power of instantiating Prefabs at runtime, here are some scenarios:

1. Building a structure from a single Prefab by reproducing it several times in different places, such as a grid or circular.

2. A projectile Prefab is fired from a launcher. The projectile Prefab might have a Mesh, Solid body, Collider, Audio source, Dynamic Light, or a child GameObject its trail Particle System.

3. A vehicle, structure, or figure, such as a robot, disintegrates into several fragments. The sample script deletes and replaces the whole operating robot Prefab with a destroyed robot Prefab in this case. This wrecked Prefab comprises individual broken robot components with its Rigidbodies and Particle Systems. With just one line of code that substitutes the original GameObject with a damaged Prefab, you can blow up a robot into several pieces.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Prefab?

Prefabs are copies of GameObjects that may be replicated and placed in a scene even if the GameObject did not exist when the scene was created.

What happens to changes that you make to a Prefab Asset?

All the changes you make to a Prefab Asset are instantly mirrored in all instances of that Prefab, allowing you to make broad changes throughout your whole project without making identical changes to every copy of the Asset.

How to create an empty GameObject?

Using the GameObject > Create Empty menu, we can create an empty GameObject.

What is the advantage of nesting Prefabs?

Prefabs can be nested inside other Prefabs to construct complicated object hierarchies that are straightforward to change at numerous levels.

Conclusion

This article extensively discussed the Prefabs system and Instantiation in Unity in this article. We start with a brief introduction of the Prefabs, its use cases and then move on to the Prefabs Instantiation.

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