Waypoint systems in Unity - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Waypoint Systems in Unity

📖 Scenario: You are creating a simple game where a character moves between fixed points called waypoints. These waypoints guide the character's path in the game world.

🎯 Goal: Build a basic waypoint system in Unity where a game object moves smoothly from one waypoint to the next in order.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create an array of waypoints as Transform objects

Set a speed variable to control movement

Write code to move the game object towards the current waypoint

Print the current waypoint index when the game object reaches it

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Waypoint systems are used in games to guide characters, enemies, or cameras along fixed paths.

💼 Career

Understanding waypoint navigation is important for game developers working on AI movement and level design.

1

Create an array of waypoints

Create a public Transform[] waypoints array with exactly 3 elements in your script.

Unity

using UnityEngine;

public class WaypointMover : MonoBehaviour
{
    // Create a public Transform array called waypoints with 3 elements
    // Your code here
}

Need a hint?

Use public Transform[] waypoints = new Transform[3]; to create the array.

2

Add a speed variable

Add a public float variable called speed and set it to 5f.

Unity

using UnityEngine;

public class WaypointMover : MonoBehaviour
{
    public Transform[] waypoints = new Transform[3];
    // Add a public float speed variable set to 5f
    // Your code here
}

Need a hint?

Declare public float speed = 5f; inside the class.

3

Move towards the current waypoint

Add a private int currentWaypointIndex initialized to 0. In Update(), move the game object towards waypoints[currentWaypointIndex].position using Vector3.MoveTowards and speed. When the game object reaches the waypoint (distance less than 0.1), increase currentWaypointIndex by 1.

Unity

using UnityEngine;

public class WaypointMover : MonoBehaviour
{
    public Transform[] waypoints = new Transform[3];
    public float speed = 5f;

    // Add private int currentWaypointIndex = 0
    // Add Update() method to move towards current waypoint
    // Your code here
}

Need a hint?

Use Vector3.MoveTowards(transform.position, waypoints[currentWaypointIndex].position, speed * Time.deltaTime) inside Update().

4

Print current waypoint index on arrival

Inside the if block where the game object reaches the waypoint, add a Debug.Log statement to print "Reached waypoint: " followed by currentWaypointIndex.

Unity

using UnityEngine;

public class WaypointMover : MonoBehaviour
{
    public Transform[] waypoints = new Transform[3];
    public float speed = 5f;

    private int currentWaypointIndex = 0;

    void Update()
    {
        if (currentWaypointIndex < waypoints.Length)
        {
            Vector3 targetPosition = waypoints[currentWaypointIndex].position;
            transform.position = Vector3.MoveTowards(transform.position, targetPosition, speed * Time.deltaTime);

            if (Vector3.Distance(transform.position, targetPosition) < 0.1f)
            {
                // Add Debug.Log to print "Reached waypoint: " and currentWaypointIndex
                currentWaypointIndex++;
            }
        }
    }
}

Need a hint?

Use Debug.Log("Reached waypoint: " + currentWaypointIndex); inside the arrival check.