Packages Archives - Pharmacy Brain

Unity Packages

Leave a Comment / Unity Editor / By William M Coyne, PharmD, MBA / September 28, 2021

Overview of Unity packages

You can think of packages in Unity as add-ons, assets, enhancements, or even plug-ins. This is because a Unity package is a general means by which information can be packaged and imported into Unity.

The Unity editor itself comes with a handful of packages pre-installed and turned on by default. These generally add functionality to the Unity editor and can be thought of as plug-ins. Some examples include: TextMeshPro, Timeline, and Unity UI. It’s important to note unused packages can be disabled to decrease the build size of your project.

Assets purchased from the Unity Asset Store are also delivered via packages. When an asset is purchased, the Unity Editor communicates with the Unity Asset Store. If you are logged into the Unity editor you should have access to download and import the assets you purchased.

Packages are managed with the Package Manager. You can access the Package Manager via the main menu by selecting Window ► Package Manager.

Importing Unity packages and suggested reading

It is possible to create your own custom packages should you wish to share your assets or tools with other developers or sell them on the Unity Asset Store. The specifics, however, are beyond the scope of this article.

The most common, and simplest, use case for the Unity Package Manager is to import and update Unity plug-ins and assets purchased from the Unity Asset Store. Simply open the Package Manager window and select the desired category of packages from the drop-down menu. From here you can download, update, and import the package you’re interested in.

Unity packages are powerful and fairly complex. For more detailed information regarding Unity packages please see the official Unity Manual.