Apply variant overrides from a baker

Use GhostVariantBakedOverride to set per-component overrides at baking time.

GhostVariantBakedOverride is a baking-only buffer you can use to set the same per-component overrides as GhostAuthoringInspectionComponent (variant, GhostPrefabType, GhostSendType) directly from a baker without adding an inspection component to the GameObject.

For more information about baking, refer to the Baking overview in the Unity Entities documentation.

Usage

From a baker, add the GhostVariantBakedOverride buffer to your primary entity and append entries using the extension methods on GhostVariantOverrideBakerExtensions:

public class MyAuthoringBaker : Baker<MyAuthoring>
{
    public override void Bake(MyAuthoring auth)
    {
        var entity = GetEntity(TransformUsageFlags.None);
        var overrides = AddBuffer<GhostVariantBakedOverride>(entity);

        overrides.AppendDontSerializeOverride(typeof(LocalTransform));
        overrides.AppendPrefabTypeOverride(typeof(MyMarker), GhostPrefabType.Server);
        overrides.AppendSendTypeOverride(typeof(MyData), GhostSendType.OnlyPredictedClients);
        overrides.AppendOverride<MyVariant>(typeof(MyData));
    }
}

The four extension methods expose the same four override axes as the inspection component. Each method validates that no entry already exists for the same (component, target) pair and throws an error at bake time if one does.

Targeting

By default, each GhostVariantBakedOverride entry targets the primary entity of the GameObject the buffer is associated with. This means that a baker running on a child GameObject can only apply overrides scoped to that child entity, prefab root and sibling entities are unaffected.

To retarget (for example, when a child baker needs to override a component on the prefab root) pass targetGameObject (and optionally targetEntitySerial):

overrides.AppendDontSerializeOverride(typeof(LocalTransform), targetGameObject: rootGo);

Unity Entities baking forbids cross-baker writes to the same primary entity, so the buffer must always be associated with the baker's primary entity even when retargeting elsewhere. The aggregator in GhostAuthoringBakingSystem reads the linked entity group at bake time and routes each entry to its declared target.

Precedence

When multiple sources try to override the same (entity, component) pair, the following precedence rules apply:

  1. A matching entry on the prefab's GhostAuthoringInspectionComponent wins.
  2. Otherwise, the first baker-contributed entry encountered wins. Baking is deterministic, so this is stable across runs.

An inspection component override always takes precedence over a package-supplied baker default.

Lifecycle

GhostVariantBakedOverride is decorated with [BakingType]. Entries are read during baking and stripped before the live world. They never reach runtime queries.

Additional resources