Class: PrefabManager

Source: ecs/PrefabManager.js, line 20

The PrefabManager is a crucial part of the Entity-Component-System (ECS) architecture within the Ironclad Engine. It's responsible for managing prefabs, which are essentially pre-configured entity templates. Think of them as blueprints for commonly used game objects (like "Player", "EnemyTypeA", "HealthPotion").

This manager handles:

• Loading prefab definitions, typically from JSON files.
• Storing these definitions for quick access.
• Instantiating (spawning) new entities in the game world based on these prefab templates, allowing for easy creation of complex entities with predefined components and initial data.

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Constructor

new PrefabManager(entityManager, assetLoader)

Creates an instance of the PrefabManager. It requires references to the EntityManager (to create actual entities and add components) and the AssetLoader (to retrieve prefab definition files).

Parameters:

Name	Type	Description
entityManager	EntityManager	An instance of the EntityManager.
assetLoader	AssetLoader	An instance of the AssetLoader to load prefab definition files.

Initial JSDoc also shows a constructor new PrefabManager() at line 20; however, for proper operation, entityManager and assetLoader are essential dependencies usually provided during construction as shown here.

Source: ecs/PrefabManager.js, line 31

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Methods

loadPrefabsFromAsset(assetKey)

Loads and parses prefab definitions from a JSON asset that has been previously loaded by the AssetLoader. The JSON file should contain an object where keys are prefab names and values are PrefabDefinition objects.

Parameters:

Name	Type	Description
assetKey	string	The key (name) used to register the JSON asset with the AssetLoader (e.g., "prefabs_characters").

Returns: boolean - true if the prefab definitions were successfully loaded and parsed from the asset; false otherwise (e.g., asset not found or invalid format).

Example JSON Structure (for assetKey):

{
  "Player": {
    "description": "The main player character.",
    "components": [
      { "type": "Position", "data": { "x": 0, "y": 0, "z": 1 } },
      { "type": "Velocity", "data": { "vx": 0, "vy": 0 } },
      { "type": "RenderableSprite", "data": { "spriteName": "player_idle", "layer": 10 } },
      { "type": "Health", "data": { "max": 100, "current": 100 } }
    ]
  },
  "Coin": {
    "description": "A collectible coin.",
    "components": [
      { "type": "Position", "data": { "x": 0, "y": 0, "z": 0 } },
      { "type": "RenderableSprite", "data": { "spriteName": "coin_spin", "layer": 5 } },
      { "type": "Collectible", "data": { "value": 10 } }
    ]
  }
}