The type or namespace name `timeLeft' could not be found. Are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?

Question

Hello Unity answers community, today I present you with the opportunity to help another newbie like myself access a float variable from one C# script in another C# script. I've spent countless hours researching the gameObject.GetComponent methods, and have seen a plethora of examples provided here on the answers forums and elsewhere on the web. Yet for some reason unbeknownst to me, even after numerous tweaks to both of my two scripts, I still can't manage to get the game running. The title above describes the error I am currently receiving.

Anyway, here is the logic behind my two scripts. The first script, seen below, is a simple countdown timer script that uses the public float variable "timeLeft" to countdown from a set value; this one functions as it should. The second script I created was intended to be one that was activated on trigger enter. The script could be placed and used universally on numerous triggers, these object triggers would either add or subtract time based upon their significance in the game, then the object would destruct itself in order to prevent exploits.

Here are my two scripts:

Timer.cs

 using UnityEngine;
 using System.Collections;
 
 public class Timer : MonoBehaviour {
     public float timeLeft = 15.0f;
  
     public void Update() {
         timeLeft -= Time.deltaTime;
  
         if (timeLeft <= 0.0f) {
             Application.LoadLevel(1);
         }
     }
 
     public void OnGUI() {
         GUI.Box(new Rect(600, 10, 100, 20), "Time Left: " + (int)timeLeft);
     }
 }

ModifyTimer.cs

 using UnityEngine;
 using System.Collections;
 
 public class ModifyTimer : MonoBehaviour {
     public GameObject Timer;
     public timeLeft TimerScript;
 
     public float addTime = 0f;
     public float subTime = 0f;
 
 
     void Awake () {
         //Reference the timeLeft variable in the Timer script
         Timer = GameObject.FindGameObjectWithTag(Tags.timer);
         TimerScript = Timer.GetComponent<timeLeft>();
     }
 
     void OnTriggerEnter (Collider other) {
         //Either add or subtract time to timeLeft based on variable input
         if (addTime >= 1) {
             Timer.timeLeft += addTime;
         }
         if (subTime >= 1) {
             Timer.timeLeft -= subTime;
         }
         Destroy(gameObject);
     }
 }

So why can't the timeLeft variable be modified in this way? I have tried so many different methods of accessing the timeLeft variable from the first script to no avail. Any help is greatly appreciated, please go easy on me as I just recently started working in Unity with C# as a student.

Answer 1

I'm afraid this code is a bit "all over the place" in terms of sensibility. I think I understand the description of your desired outcome though, so kudos for that. Good plain English goes a LONG way to getting things done around here.

Seems like you want a single instance of your Timer script, and you'd like other scripts to have access to that single instance. There are a few ways to go about this, but to keep things simple, let's do this:

Keep your Timer script. It looks okay to me.

Replace your ModifyTimer script with this:

 using UnityEngine;
 using System.Collections;
 public class ModifyTimer : MonoBehaviour {
 public Timer timer;
 
 // this can be positive to add time, or negative to subtract time
 public float timeModifier;
 
 void OnTriggerEnter() {
   if (timer!=null) {
     timer.timeLeft += timeModifier;
     // make the object this script is on destroy itself with
     // GameObject.Destroy(gameObject)
     // or make the script self-destruct, leaving the object behind with
     // Destroy(this);
   }
 }

Then, when you attach this script to an object with a trigger, you'll see the "timer" variable exposed. Drag whichever object holds your Timer instance onto this field to assign the reference.

We were all green once, no worries. ;)

The type or namespace name `timeLeft' could not be found. Are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?

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