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Reference GameObject from Bounds.Contain
I'm using an if statement to find out if a collider contains a certain GameObject which I know is found through a Vector3. I'm wondering if I can reference the GameObject that is found in the bounds of the collider. I want to do this because I want to set the position of the object that is in the bounds
void Update () {
if (GetComponent<Collider>().bounds.Contains(GameObject.FindGameObjectWithTag("letter").gameObject.transform.position))
{
//example - bounds.Contains(...gameobject).transform.position = transform.position;
}
}
Answer by JoshuaMcKenzie · Jan 31, 2016 at 12:25 AM
You're basically trying to do what OnTriggerEnter does, However with some noticeable performance dangers. here's a couple tips
1). while its not a huge concern calling GetComponent inside Update(), if you need a reference to the same component every update you can just set the reference in an OnEnable() as a class variable that way Unity doesn't have to waste time looking for it if it already has it. But it's not so bad since GetComponent itself is pretty fast.
2). FindGameObjectWithTag() works in a pinch when you need it, but there are usually better, and faster ways to finding a game object, as the function is very slow. that said please NEVER call any of the "GameObject.Find" functions inside an Update().
3). Update() itself is a poor place to make physics calculations, since the physics engine calculates in fixed intervals separate from Update's frame-by-frame, use FixedUpdate (or possibly LateUpdate) if you want to do complicated phyics calcuations.
4). If you can get away with it, try and use the built-in events when testing collisions instead of just "asking" every update. Such calculations are usually complicated and don't need to run every update (which can cause slowdowns, or possibly freezes)
thankfully you can use the system already built-in to keep your code simple and performant.
public class yourScript: MonoBehavior
{
GameObject letter;
void OnTriggerEnter(Collider other)
{
if(other.gameObject.tag == "letter")
letter = c.gameObject;
}
void OnTriggerExit(Collider other)
{
if(other.gameObject.tag == "letter")
letter = null;
}
//we aren't doing any physics calculations so we can simply use Update()
void Update()
{
if(letter !=null)
{
// do your stuff, cause the letter is currently here!
}
}
}