Allow to create variants of custom objects #7403

D8H · 2025-02-14T17:28:21Z

Changes

Custom objects can now have several inner scene tabs called variants.
- For instance, you can design 2 buttons variants: one green, one yellow and use them across the game. When you change the label font of the yellow button variant, it will apply to every yellow button of the game.
Variants tabs don’t allow to add or remove objects, behaviors, group or variables. Changes must be done in the custom object inner scene tab that can be opened from the extension editor.
Assets from the store will be installed as variants. These variants can't be edited to avoid any loss downloading them again, but they can be duplicated to be edited.
A special property must be used in the extension editor to map text content from properties to child-objects. This will no longer be necessary when the 3D editor is released.

Known issues

Variants can't be renamed.
Variable cross renaming will result to instance variable value loss (in general, it's not specific to variants).
Variants can't be easily moved from one project to another
- Variants are stored in extensions but they are not exported with the extension.
- The events-based objects or the extension can be copy-pasted to another project, but resources need to be imported to the other project manually.
- We could allow to import back GDO to solve this issue.

Demo

TestVariant.zip

Require

Allow anchored objects to move #7417

… rendering.

newIDE/app/src/MainFrame/index.js

newIDE/app/src/ObjectsRendering/Renderers/RenderedCustomObjectInstance.js

4ian · 2025-04-07T16:59:12Z

newIDE/app/src/Utils/Serializer.js

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ const gd: libGDevelop = global.gd;
 * and unserializeFrom method.
 *
 * @param {*} serializable
- * @param {*} methodName The name of the serialization method. "unserializeFrom" by default
+ * @param {*} methodName The name of the serialization method. "serializeTo" by default
 */


Probably worth removing the comment and add a better typing of the argument. 'serializeTo' | ...

I'm not sure what to do because we probably don't want (or will forget) to update the type when a new function is needed in Core. I guess it's fine to leave it as it is.

newIDE/app/src/VariablesList/ObjectGroupVariablesDialog.js

4ian · 2025-04-07T17:11:07Z

newIDE/app/src/SceneEditor/index.js

@@ -2196,6 +2254,7 @@ export default class SceneEditor extends React.Component<Props, State> {
                    hotReloadPreviewButtonProps={
                      this.props.hotReloadPreviewButtonProps
                    }
+                    isListLocked={true}


Can you confirm this is fine and that we don't need additional changes to unblock some authorised changes to the variables?

The instance variable editor allows to reset back an instance variable to the default value. I guess it allows to remove undeclared instance variables.

There is probably something to do to help users understand why the "add" button is disabled and how they can add an object variable, but I guess this is already an improvement as it now forbids to add an undeclared instance variable which could be miss-understood as adding an object variable and sound like a bug when the events give no auto-completion for it.

4ian · 2025-04-09T12:01:00Z

newIDE/app/src/MainFrame/EditorTabs/EditorTabsHandler.js

+  return closeTabsExceptIf(state, editorTab => {
+    const editor = editorTab.editorRef;
+    if (editor instanceof CustomObjectEditorContainer) {
+      return (


You're sure about this predicate?

Variants tabs are CustomObjectEditorContainer with the variant name set (as they works mostly the same as the default variant tab).

4ian · 2025-04-09T12:54:39Z

newIDE/app/src/SceneEditor/index.js

@@ -2146,6 +2197,11 @@ export default class SceneEditor extends React.Component<Props, State> {
                        objectGroup
                      );
                    }
+                    // TODO Set the `global` attribute correctly.


Can we either do this or not pass global: true/false at all if we don't know or if not useful?

4ian · 2025-04-09T13:00:22Z

newIDE/app/src/AssetStore/InstallAsset.js

+      const customObjectConfiguration = gd.asCustomObjectConfiguration(
+        object.getConfiguration()
+      );
+      if (customObjectConfiguration.getVariantName()) {


Is there a risk we use default variant and so this is not detected?

Indeed, an empty name should be forbidden. I made it falls back on the asset name.

D8H force-pushed the ebo-variant branch 2 times, most recently from c9fc931 to 5841389 Compare February 21, 2025 09:16

D8H mentioned this pull request Feb 21, 2025

[Reviewed] Use anchor behaviors in several custom objects GDevelopApp/GDevelop-extensions#1545

Draft

D8H force-pushed the ebo-variant branch 2 times, most recently from 16ff4ad to eccdb98 Compare February 28, 2025 18:10

D8H force-pushed the ebo-variant branch 7 times, most recently from ab9a9bf to 897e8ca Compare March 10, 2025 17:11

D8H marked this pull request as ready for review March 13, 2025 16:25

D8H requested a review from 4ian as a code owner March 13, 2025 16:25

D8H added 16 commits March 18, 2025 18:04

Allow to edit variants.

e37ec68

Allow to install assets containing a variant.

c0f1031

Forbid to edit variants from the store.

9feef88

Use the variant at runtime.

b72dcea

Handle assets with variants of several object types.

719358c

Handle a property mapping between the parent and the child for editor…

2ff5bf8

… rendering.

Fix custom object thumbnails.

b7faf3e

Better tab title for variants.

7fed12a

Close deleted variant tab.

ae83fa8

Hide children configuration UI when there is a variant

7c391de

Lock objects and groups in variant editor.

f79640c

Lock behaviors in variant editor.

e0a21cc

Lock object variables in variant editor.

708daba

Lock object list of groups in variant editor.

5d07bb1

Add locked version of stories

e03aa91

Rename objects in variants.

4240d8c

D8H added 17 commits March 18, 2025 18:04

Add todo

401f839

Comply variants when the EBO is edited or its extension is updated.

88d9f8a

Open the variant tab only.

d6f6042

Add tests on object and variable renaming.

87cfd7b

Allow to break iteration.

7c95b7b

Fix a typo in another test

ae32033

Fix tests

f3d05ab

Add some tests

fccce98

Fix test part 2

7ce6798

Add refactor of variant instance variables.

cc06281

Add a todo for variant object group variables.

9ef1f06

Fix some tests.

aca6312

Fix variant compliance for object type change.

ea59c72

Add more tests.

a8462b1

Fix asset exporter test.

25c6529

Make a todo clearer.

b729022

Fix variable group refactoring in variants.

2ba0393

D8H force-pushed the ebo-variant branch from 16b69db to 2ba0393 Compare March 18, 2025 17:05

Add variants to exported assets in GDO files

0f9d83a