[Physics] Trace Raycast Origin Objects Instantly
Solution
Unity 2021.3.x - Unity 6.3.x
Published Thu, Mar 19
When an object is struck by a raycast, it may be necessary for the hit object to identify the specific GameObject that initiated the action, as the default RaycastHit structure does not inherently provide details about the source object.
Enable a hit object to identify its origin by implementing an explicit communication mechanism.
- Define your interface with a method that accepts a
GameObjectreference (e.g.,OnRaycastHitBy(GameObject **sender**)). - Implement your interface on scripts attached to potential hit targets.
- Execute
Physics.Raycastfrom your script to detect collision targets. - Use
TryGetComponentto retrieve your interface component from the hitGameObject. - If the component exists, invoke the
OnRaycastHitBymethod while passingthis.gameObjectas the sender.
Establishing this direct reference allows the hit target to react dynamically to the raycast sender without performing expensive searches or broad-phase queries.
Additional Tips
- Use
LayerMaskto improve performance by restricting raycast checks to specific layers. - Cache your script references to reduce overhead in frequently called
Updatemethods. - Use
Debug.DrawRayto visually debug the sender origin and ray path in the Scene view.
TL;DR
To enable an object hit by a raycast to detect its origin, the raycasting script should explicitly pass a reference of itself as the sender to a designated method on the target object.
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Content inspired by a Unity discussion post.