How to initialize non-static field damage into string?

Question

So I have a public int damage that I want to put into a string:

public int damage; public string dmgmsg = damage.ToString() + " hawks";

However I get this error message towards damage:

A field initializer cannot reference the nonstatic field, method, or property 'EnemyHealth.health'

My goal is to have a popup in game that displays enemy damage when attacked. I already set up the popup through TextMesh and it works perfectly with their text. I want to be able to change the text when the EnemyHealth.damage value changes, however. Is there a way to do this?

Answer 1

Best Answer

Answer by exploringunity · Jun 04, 2020 at 08:02 PM

Hey @ internallyx,

You can use the Start lifecycle method to initialize your fields.

Example:

 public class YourComponent : MonoBehaviour
 {
     public int damage; // I'm assuming you set this field in the Inspector

     string dmgmsg;
     
     void Start() {
         dmgmsg = damage.ToString() + " hawks"; 
     }
 }

You can read more about the Start method here in the official Unity docs.

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internallyx · Jun 04, 2020 at 08:06 PM 0

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Wow. Such a simple solution. Facepalm. Thank you.

exploringunity internallyx · Jun 04, 2020 at 08:07 PM 0

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No problem, happy to help :)

Answer 2

Answer by andrew-lukasik · Jun 04, 2020 at 08:15 PM

use OnValidate for initializing serialized fields:

 #if UNITY_EDITOR
 void OnValidate ()
 {
     dmgmsg = $"{damage} hawks";
 }
 #endif

Alternatively you can make it a property (method without arguments) i.e:

 public string dmgmsg => $"{damage} hawks";

but it will allocate memory every time it's accessed, so OnValidate is better when string doesn't changes.

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How to initialize non-static field damage into string?

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