UNet: Server only non-player GameObject NullReferenceException on client

Question

Hello,

I try to setup a network game. In my Player object I use Commands and TargetRPCs to get some data from a GameObject with server authority. (MasterList) T$$anonymous$$s works fine:

 public override void OnStartLocalPlayer()
 {
     CmdGetRandomData();
 }
 
 [Command]
 void CmdGetRandomData()
 {
     masterList = FindObjectOfType<MasterList>();
     masterList.LoadDataAtGameStart();
 
     string str = masterList.GetRandomDataIdsForRpcCall(startCount);
     TargetReceiveRandomData(connectionToClient, str);
 }
 
 [TargetRpc]
 void TargetReceiveRandomData(NetworkConnection target, string str)
 {       
     string[] dataIds = str.Split(';');
 
     foreach (string id in dataIds) {
         CmdGetDataById(int.Parse(id));
     }
 }

But when I try somet$$anonymous$$ng similar in another GameObject that isn't a Player, I get a NullReferenceException. I added the GameObject to the NetworkManager and spawned it in the network, so I can see the object on the client instance. The GameObject has no checkbox set in the NetworkIdentity component.

I use t$$anonymous$$s code:

 void Start()
 {
     Invoke("CmdGetDataForToday", 2);
 }
 
 [Command]
 void CmdGetDataForToday()
 {
     masterList = FindObjectOfType<MasterList>();
     string str = masterList.GetRandomDataIdsForRpcCall(maxItemsInMenu);
 
     TargetReceiveMenuData(Player.GetComponent<NetworkIdentity>().connectionToClient, str);
 }
 
 [TargetRpc]
 void TargetReceiveBuyMoviesMenuData(NetworkConnection target, string str)
 {
     string[] dataIds = str.Split(';');
 
     foreach (string id in dataIds) {
         CmdGetDataById(int.Parse(id));
     }
 }

I get the NullReferenceException at "string str = masterList.GetRandomDataIdsForRpcCall(maxItemsInMenu);". I don't understand that, because the MasterList is server only and called in a Command.

Answer 1

First of all, thanks for your help so far @ConcanoPayno ! :)

But I still don't get it to work, maybe I have a conceptual error and do t$$anonymous$$ngs fundamentally wrong. So I try to explain the stuff I try to ac$$anonymous$$eve as exact as possible, maybe someone has the time and joy to help.

Explanation: I have a GameObject called "MasterList". It has some gameplay data in it that should be handled by the server. The data is shared by all other players and every record must be unique in the game world, so no two players are allowed to have the same record. My initial plan was to spawn the "MasterList" as server only, but now I didn't set any option in Network Identity.

At game start I receive 5 entries from "Master List" for every player. T$$anonymous$$s works fine for all, Host/Client and Standalone Client.

 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using UnityEngine;
 using UnityEngine.Networking;
 using UnityEngine.UI;
 
 public class Player : NetworkBehaviour
 {
     // start settings
     [SerializeField] int startDataCount = 5;
 
     MasterList masterList;
     List<Data> dataList = new List<Data>();
    
     public override void OnStartLocalPlayer()
     {
         gameObject.tag = "LocalPlayer";
         CmdGetRandomStartData();
     }
     
     [Command]
     void CmdGetRandomStartData()
     {
         masterList = FindObjectOfType<MasterList>();
         if (masterList.AllDataList.Count == 0) {
             masterList.LoadDataAtGameStart();
         }
 
         string dataString = masterList.GetRandomDataIdsForRpcCall(startDataCount);
         TargetReceiveStartData(connectionToClient, dataString);
     }
     
     [TargetRpc]
     void TargetReceiveStartData(NetworkConnection target, string data)
     {       
         string[] dataId = data.Split(';');
 
         foreach (string id in dataId) {
             CmdGetDataById(int.Parse(id));    // gets detailed data info back, I spare t$$anonymous$$s method for now
         }
 
         Invoke("DebugPlayerData", .5f);
     }
 }

When t$$anonymous$$s is done I try to receive 10 more records. I want to use these records to fill a UI menu with the data. The GameObject BuySellData has no checkbox set in Network Identity as well.

Player Object:

 // called in the Player object at the end of OnStartLocalPlayer()
 BuySellData buySellData = FindObjectOfType<BuySellData>();
 buySellData.Player = t$$anonymous$$s;
 buySellData.CmdGetBuyDataForToday();

UI Menu (BuySellData):

 [Command]
 public void CmdGetBuyDataForToday()
 {
     masterList = FindObjectOfType<MasterList>();
     string moviesString = masterList.GetRandomDataIdsForRpcCall(maxItemsInMenu);
     TargetReceiveBuyDataMenuData(Player.GetComponent<NetworkIdentity>().connectionToClient, dataString);
 }
 
 [TargetRpc]
 void TargetReceiveBuyDataMenuData(NetworkConnection target, string data)
 {
     string[] dataIds = data.Split(';');
 
     foreach (string id in dataIds) {
         CmdGetDataById(int.Parse(id));    // spared for now again
     }
 }

So you can see that the method are mostly identical. They work in the Player object, but they don't work in BuySellData. I don't get any error message on the client, there's just no data received from "MasterList".

UNet: Server only non-player GameObject NullReferenceException on client

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