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Variables

A lot of the times, we need a way to inject variables into scripts to access data within the engine. To accommodate for that, Quoll Engine provides a way to inject variables from editor directly into the script using Lua functions.

Registering variables​

You can register the variables using the provided inputVars.register function.

inputVars.register(name: string, type: InputVarType): T​

This is the main method to register variables in scripts for injection.

local entitySpawner = game:get('EntitySpawner')
local rockPrefab = inputVars.register('rock', inputVars.types.AssetPrefab)

entitySpawner.spawnPrefab(rockPrefab)

Parameters:

  • name: Variable name is a unique identifier to identify the variable. The name is stored in the scene file to be accessible from both the editor and runtime.
  • type: Variable type represents what the script accepts. The type automatically determines what is returned from the variable.

Returns:

Value of the variable depending on the provided type and stored value.

Registration lifecycle

Make sure to register the variables only as a global variables. Registering variables anywhere else will fail to register the variables. Variables are intentionally registered only once during script load and the reference to the function is removed afterwards.

Variable types​

inputVars.types.String​

local value = inputVars.register('test', inputVars.types.String)

Returns:

String value.

UI:

String variable

inputVars.types.AssetPrefab​

local value = inputVars.register('test', inputVars.types.AssetPrefab)

Returns:

Numeric internal ID representing prefab.

UI:

Prefab variable

inputVars.types.AssetTexture​

local value = inputVars.register('test', inputVars.types.AssetTexture)

Returns:

Numeric internal ID representing texture.

UI:

Texture variable