Unity Update System

Custom deterministic update manager for Unity that replaces MonoBehaviour.Update with a centralized pipeline. Handles execution order based on priority, fixed time or fixed frame updates, and per-entity timing via ScriptableObject update profiles.

How to use

1. Add an Update Manager

Place UpdateManager prefab in your scene.

The manager is a singleton that automatically registers and handles all active UpdatableEntity instances.

2. Create an Updatable Entity

Inherit from UpdatableEntity.

using ThornDuck.UpdateSystem;
using UnityEngine;

public class Entity : UpdatableEntity
{
  protected override void OnStartEntity()
  {
    // Called once when registered
  }

  protected override void OnUpdateEntity()
  {
    // Custom update logic
  }
}

3. Create an Update Profile

Create and assign a new UpdateProfile asset.

If no profile is assigned, the system automatically uses the manager’s default profile.

Update Modes

Default

Updates every frame.

UpdateMode.Default

Equivalent to a normal Unity Update().

Fixed Time

Updates at fixed time intervals.

UpdateMode.FixedTime

Useful if you have functions that do not require full FPS.

Fixed Frame

Updates every X+1 frames.

UpdateMode.FixedFrame

Useful if you want to execute two or more (heavy) functions in different frames.

Execution Priority

Entities are automatically sorted by priority. Higher priority entities update first.

Changing priority at runtime automatically reinserts the entity in the correct order.

Notes

Use OnStartEntity() and OnUpdateEntity() instead of Start() and Update().

DeltaTimeSeconds replaces Time.deltaTime.