Instantiate original Prefab based on an already existing Prefab in game

Question

I am using Prefabs for game levels. To debug a level I just drag the prefab into Hierarchy view and press [play].

To test level I need an option to replay the prefab, but since I drop it into Hierarchy I need a way to grab the original prefab and Instantiate it again. (and destroy current active prefab).

To find current Active Prefab on Play I just use:

GameObject gameObj= GameObject.FindWithTag("Level");

How do I get the original Prefab and Instantiate it again when pressing 'REPLAY' (button to reload prefab).

I did try to use GetCorrespondingObjectFromOriginalSource https://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/PrefabUtility.GetCorrespondingObjectFromOriginalSource.html This will always return null.

Answer 1

Objects in the scene don't have references to the prefabs they come from at runtime. Unity breaks these references when the scene is run (or built). PrefabUtility is an editor-only class for writing editor code.

If you want to do something similar, I'd suggest creating another script that has a reference to the prefab you wish to spawn in. This script can then instantiate that prefab in as a child when the game starts (in Awake or Start) and could have a method on it for destroying the instance and instantiating it again when you want to restart your level.