| name | heathen-lexicon-unity-foundation |
| description | Orientation for an agent resolving localised text/sound/assets via dot-path keys, or wiring in a custom source/culture, using Heathen's Lexicon Localisation Foundation for Unity. |
Lexicon Localisation Foundation (Unity)
A lightweight, key-driven localisation system. Text and asset references are stored behind
dot-path keys (e.g. "UI.MainMenu.StartButton") hashed to a ulong via xxHash3 at registration
time, so every runtime lookup is a dictionary hit with no string allocation. Source data ships as
.helex — human-authored JSON that is also the exact runtime payload, no separate compile step.
.helex is cross-engine compatible with the O3DE and Godot Lexicon Foundations (same schema, same
hash algorithm/seed).
Tier
Foundation — this repo is the free, standalone base layer. The paid Toolkit tier
(no-code UI/audio binding components) lives in Heathen's private SourceRepo, at
Unity/ToolkitSource/Assets/Toolkits/com.heathen.lexicontoolkit/ — see that package's own
SKILL.md for its surface (LexiconBindings, LexiconKeyBinding, LexiconMemberTarget). This
Foundation owns the registry, culture switching, and the Workbench/Gather/CSV settings page; the
Toolkit is a thin no-code layer on top and requires this Foundation installed.
Up
github.com/heathen-engineering/SourceRepo/SKILL.md
(ecosystem guide — this repo has no local engine-level SKILL.md to link to, since it ships
standalone).
Key namespaces / entry points
Namespace: Heathen.Lexicon. Package id: com.heathen.lexiconfoundation (folder
com.heathen.lexiconfoundation/ at repo root — that's the UPM package folder installed via
git-URL Package Manager).
| Type | Purpose |
|---|
LexiconRegistry (static class, Runtime/LexiconRegistry.cs) | The registry. Culture switching (UseCulture/LoadCulture, GetActiveCulture/GetDefaultCulture), resolution (ResolveString, ResolveAsset, ResolveSound, both by dot-path string and by pre-hashed ulong key), runtime injection/override (SetString, SetAsset, SetAssetByGuid, RemoveKey), async asset lifecycle (AcquireAsset/AcquireAssetByGuidAsync, ReleaseAsset/ReleaseAssetByGuid), Burst-safe snapshot (GetStringSnapshot), and hashing (Hash(string)). |
LexiconSource (Runtime/LexiconSource.cs) | Parsed, in-memory form of one .helex file (asset ID, culture list, entries). Produced by LexiconSource.Parse from a .helex TextAsset, handed to LexiconRegistry.RegisterParsed. |
LexiconSubsystem (Runtime/LexiconSubsystem.cs) | [Subsystem(SubsystemScope.Global)] — Game Framework subsystem owning the registry's session lifecycle (reset + (re)discovery of shipped .helex sources at boot). |
LexiconAssetLoader (Runtime/LexiconAssetLoader.cs) | Ref-counted Addressables asset seam. .helex asset entries carry a GUID (not a live reference); this loader resolves/streams by GUID at runtime and cooperates with LexiconAddressables (editor-side) to mark entries addressable at build time. |
LexiconText / LexiconSound / LexiconAsset / LexiconSprite / LexiconTexture / LexiconPrefab (Runtime/) | [Serializable] field wrappers, one per common content shape. Each has a LexiconLocMode: Localised (resolve via key), Literal (raw assigned value, default for new fields), Invariant (never overridden by a matching registry key). Implicit conversions to their underlying type (LexiconText → string, LexiconSound → AudioClip, LexiconAsset → UnityEngine.Object) via each type's Resolve(). |
LexiconHintType (Runtime/LexiconHintType.cs) | None, String, Sound, Texture, Sprite, Prefab, Asset — tells the registry/drawers which typed resolution path a key expects. |
Editor: LexiconSettingsProvider (Editor/LexiconSettingsProvider.cs) | Project Settings page at Project/Subsystems/Localisation Lexicon, three tabs: Workbench (author/edit keys), Gather (LexiconGatherer scans scenes/prefabs for untracked strings), CSV (LexiconCsvInterop import/export). |
Dependencies
com.unity.addressables (2.9.1), com.unity.collections (2.6.2), com.unity.mathematics
(1.2.5), com.unity.nuget.newtonsoft-json (3.2.1) — all real UPM deps, listed in
com.heathen.lexiconfoundation/package.json.Heathen.GameFramework — referenced in both Runtime and Editor asmdefs (Subsystem lifecycle).
Not UPM-listed; guarded on the Editor asmdef via defineConstraints: ["HEATHEN_GAMEFRAMEWORK"],
but the Runtime asmdef has no such gate — the Runtime assembly hard-fails to compile if
Game Framework is missing, unlike the Editor half.Heathen.GameplayTags — referenced in the Runtime asmdef. Load-bearing, not incidental:
LexiconRegistry.Hash(string) delegates directly to GameplayTags.GameplayTag.HashPath(text)
rather than hashing independently. This Foundation cannot hash a single key without GameplayTags
Foundation installed. Neither this nor Game Framework appears in package.json's dependencies
block — both are enforced only at the asmdef-reference level, not via UPM resolution, so install
both Foundations manually alongside this one.
Common tasks
- Resolve a localised string by key:
LexiconRegistry.ResolveString("UI.MainMenu.StartButton"),
or use a LexiconText field (implicit string conversion) so mode/fallback is handled for you.
- Resolve a localised sound/generic asset:
LexiconRegistry.ResolveSound(...) /
.ResolveAsset(...), or LexiconSound/LexiconAsset/LexiconSprite/LexiconTexture/
LexiconPrefab field wrappers.
- Switch the active culture at runtime:
LexiconRegistry.UseCulture("fr-CA") (BCP 47 code);
subscribe to LexiconRegistry.CultureChanged to react to the switch.
- Inject/override a value at runtime without a
.helex entry: LexiconRegistry.SetString(...)
/ SetAsset(...) / SetAssetByGuid(...); remove with RemoveKey(...). Overrides live in a
separate layer re-applied on top of freshly (re)registered sources, so they survive a registry
reset.
- Author or bulk-edit keys: Project Settings → Project/Subsystems/Localisation Lexicon →
Workbench tab (hand-authoring), Gather tab (scan scenes/prefabs for untracked strings), CSV tab
(spreadsheet round-trip).
- Add a new
.helex source: author the JSON (dot-path key → literal string, or
{"path"/"guid","sub","hint"} for an asset reference), import as a TextAsset — LexiconSource .Parse + LexiconRegistry.RegisterParsed pick it up; LexiconSubsystem re-discovers shipped
sources at boot, and RefreshEditorSources re-syncs in-editor on import without a domain reload.
- Manually manage a streamed asset's lifecycle:
LexiconRegistry.AcquireAsset/
AcquireAssetByGuidAsync to pin a reference, ReleaseAsset/ReleaseAssetByGuid to release it —
normally handled for you by the field wrappers.
Where full usage docs live
No dedicated KB article URL for this product was found in the README or hub docs at time of
writing — don't guess one. The repo's own README.md (root of this repo) is the most complete
current usage writeup, including the full .helex schema. General support/community links:
https://heathen.group/kb/do-more/, Discord https://discord.gg/6X3xrRc.
Version/changelog
com.heathen.lexiconfoundation/package.json (version field, currently 1.0.10) +
com.heathen.lexiconfoundation/CHANGELOG.md (currently a single baseline entry, prior history not
itemized).
