ScriptableObjectFactory | Unity editor extension | Game Engine library

Please read the entire question, and run the example before posting an answer.

I ran into some inconsistent behavior in Unity 5.6.1 when loading nested assets in a static Editor script (so in the static constructor of a class marked with [InitializeOnLoad]).

I am loading a ScriptableObject Asset with Resources.Load, and the ScriptableObject has a public reference to another asset resource, let's suppose a GameObject Prefab. From this point I will refer to the ScriptableObject as the 'Wrapper', since in this simplified example that is the only purpose it serves.

While Resources.Load correctly returns the Wrapper, the nested Prefab reference is often not yet loaded during the first run, but is loaded after the second run:

To my understanding this is an order of execution issue where the Prefab resource in question has not been loaded yet during static construction, and on subsequent runs it remains cached.

I assumed that when loading in an asset with a serialized reference to another asset, that the nested asset would automatically be loaded by default, regardless of whether this is during static init or not. This however does not seem to be the case here.

Proof that the Wrapper asset does indeed correctly reference the Prefab in its serialized data (with Asset Serialization set to Force Text):

I have also tried to use AssetDAtabase.LoadAssetAtPath (at least while in the editor), which has not made a difference.

You can download a UnityPackage here, which contains the following:

Or reproduce it as follows:

• The Scripts:

  ExampleWrapper.cs:

  ...