Dictionary creation

NoDoubt

Hi. I'm wondering if it's possible to have dynamic names for dictionaries. I'm setting up several dictionaries and I need to be able to call the appropriate one on the fly.

for example, I have a logic block setup to spawn different types of mobs at different times. Each mob is distinguished by their ID number.

This is how I have my dictionaries setup now:

var mobdata1 = {  # mob TYPE 1
	mesh: preload("res://Scenes/Mobs/MobType_1.tscn")
	health 
	shield
	etc...
	etc... and so on with the data
}

var mobdata2 = {  # mob TYPE 2
	mesh: preload("res://Scenes/Mobs/MobType_2.tscn")
	health 
	shield
	etc...
	etc... and so on with the data
}

I need to be able to call these different dictionaries by referencing their type. Instead of doing it the way I am now, which is fine while my project stays small.

Here's how I'm setup right now:

if mob.type == 1 then:
	use dictionary mobdata1 

if mob.type == 2 then:
	use dictionary mobdata2

But as my project gets larger I don't want to have to call these checks every time I need to access a stat from my enemy's class.

My question is, is there a means to reference a dictionary dynamically like an array?

This is close to what I need to do, but it won't work.

var mobdata[id] = {  # mob TYPE 1
	mesh: preload("res://Scenes/Mobs/MobType_1.tscn") }

xyz

A reference to dictionary can be a value in another dictionary.

var mobdata = {1: mobdata1, 2: mobdata2}
mob.mesh = mobdata[mob.type].mesh

NoDoubt

Hmmm can you hold the reference to a dictionary in a variable ?

Like so:

var mobdata1 = {  # mob TYPE 1
		mesh: preload("res://Scenes/Mobs/MobType_1.tscn") }

var myPointer= mobdata1

I'm at work right now and cant test it, but itching to know. :)

xyz

Where else would you hold it? mobdata1 and myPoiniter from your example are both variables and both contain a reference to the same dictionary. You can't access a dictionary other than through variable containing a reference to it. When all such variables are deleted the dictionary ceases to exist. Same holds true for arrays and all objects that inherits from built-in Reference class.

NoDoubt

Gotcha ya.. tyvm

I'm really starting to see the elegance of this language/framework.

xyz

This is not specific to GDScript though. Many common scripting languages handle object references in similar fashion, JavaScript or Python for example.

cybereality

So in GDScript you can basically combine any objects (similar to most dynamic languages). So you can have a Dictionary that contains other Dictionaries, an Array of Dictionaries (which I think is what you want here), or a Dictionary, with an Array, that then holds other Dictionaries, that holds Arrays. Whatever you want.