unity3d - how to clone several game objects in a way that clone properties of one can be adjusted to match all others in scene view

Question

I asked How can I adjust shape/dimensions of one clone to affect all other clones in the scene view and the accepted answer was spot on. It could only clone one game object. I tried making some adjustments but the only solution I came up with was adding duplicate methods for additional objects. This doesn't work well when dealing with several game objects to be cloned.

How can I clone several unique game objects so that adjusting the components/properties of one clone would affect all other clones of that object in the scene view?

Please note that I don't want to achieve this at runtime and I don’t want to use prefabs. I am using this to help with creation of complex levels so the live update of clones being adjusted is very important.

Additionally, I also need a way to turn off the this repeated property/component replication on each clone, preferably with a button.

Answer 1

I don’t want to use prefabs

The new prefab system in Unity is exactly what you need. It fits all of your requirements:

• Clone several unique game objects

  The prefab system is made for cloning unique gameobjects. It even supports prefab nesting.

• I don't want to achieve this at runtime

  Great, prefabs only update globally when you click the override button in the editor.

• I need a way to turn off the this repeated property/component replication on each clone

  That's equivalent to unpacking the object (breaking the connection).

If you have a good reason to avoid using prefabs, you can always write a custom script that tracks changes in the properties you want to share, and updates all other objects immediately. You can make that script run in edit mode by adding the [ExecuteInEditMode] attribute to the class it's in, just don't forget to disable it when running the project. Again, I highly recommend using prefabs instead.