GetComponent for gameobject list alternative

My current setup is that I have 2000+ empty gameobjects in a scene all called “Hex” with a tag “Hex” and with a script attached called “Hex” that stores all the relative information about each hex.

like:

  • movementCost
  • adjacentHexs
  • connectedHexs “for linked non-adjacent hexs”
  • weightValue “for each player”
  • ect… ect…

the problem is that I am using code like this alot, over and over again to do different things like move players, enemies or alter the map:

foreach (GameObject hex in GameObject.FindGameObjectsWithTag("Hex"))
{
	int Weight = hex.GetComponent<Hex>().weight;
	//do something
	int movementCost = hex.GetComponent<Hex>().movementCost;
	//do something
	GameObject[] adjacentHexs = hex.GetComponent<Hex>().adjacentHexs;
	//do something
	foreach (GameObject adjacentHex in adjacentHexs)
	{
			int adjacentWeight = adjacentHex.GetComponent<Hex>().weight;
			//do something
			int adjacentMovementCost = adjacentHex.GetComponent<Hex>().movementCost;
	}
 	//do something
}

I am using the GetComponent over and over again all over my code and its getting ridiculous. I need a better way of working that will aloow me to store all the data I need about all the Hexs in one place so that I can access it without the repeated GetComponent.

I was looking into creating a Hex class and then creating a list but Im not sure how to implement it or how to make it work without the GetComponent slowing everything down.

Any ideas?

Keep a static list of Hex objects in your class. In the Start method in your hex class, add it to this list. When you destroy a Hex object, remove it from that list. You now have a list of Hex objects that do not need GetComponent calls.

As another point, to get rid of multiple calls to GetComponent, just create a temporary variable, like this:

Hex h = hex.GetComponent<Hex>();

And use that instead of calling GetComponent every time. That’s not your only problem, though, as FindGameObjectsWithTag can be a pretty expensive operation too, so you don’t want to be doing it every frame. Better to store the list somewhere and update it manually when it needs to change, rather than recreating it every frame.