This asset is an abstraction layer on top of Texture2D.LoadImage to create Texture2D objects at runtime from raw PNG/JPEG data. Image files' contents are stored in RuntimeTexture assets and are used to create Texture2Ds on demand. With this abstraction layer, you no longer need to store the image files in e.g. StreamingAssets directory, you can hold references to RuntimeTexture assets in your scripts and generate Texture2Ds using them.
- Smaller build sizes since raw PNG/JPEG images are usually much smaller than uncompressed Texture2Ds
- No need to store image files in StreamingAssets folder or load them manually using Texture2D.LoadImage
- RuntimeTextures can be resized from the Inspector. Note that resized image's bytes will be calculated using Texture2D.EncodeToPNG or Texture2D.EncodeToJPG, resizing the image in e.g. Photoshop will probably produce a smaller image file
- Generated Texture2Ds will be uncompressed and thus, at runtime, will consume more memory compared to compressed Texture2Ds. Hence, RuntimeTexture is mostly useful for replacing already uncompressed Textures (like images in drawing games)
Discord: https://discord.gg/UJJt549AaV
There are 4 ways to install this plugin:
- import RuntimeTexture.unitypackage via Assets-Import Package
- clone/download this repository and move the Plugins folder to your Unity project's Assets folder
- (via Package Manager) click the + button and install the package from the following git URL:
https://github.com/yasirkula/UnityRuntimeTexture.git
- (via OpenUPM) after installing openupm-cli, run the following command:
openupm add com.yasirkula.runtimetexture
To create a RuntimeTexture asset, simply select a PNG/JPEG asset and from the Inspector header, set the Importer to RuntimeTextureNamespace.RuntimeTextureImporter:
To get a Texture2D from a RuntimeTexture asset, call its Texture property. The first call will initialize the Texture2D using Texture2D.LoadImage. Later calls will simply return that existing Texture2D. Note that the returned Texture2D isn't unloaded automatically, so you need to call runtimeTexture.DestroyTexture() to unload it manually when you no longer need it!