Object versioning and instancing/linking

[shadowpanther]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

With the current inventory system, each time you save an object, an entirely separate new copy is created in your inventory.

Alongside that, an item spawned into the world becomes a part of the world and does not carry any relation to its prototype in the inventory.

Relevant issues

• 2630

Describe the solution you'd like

• A way to save the object over its previous copy, similar to how worlds save to the same record ID, but with incremention version counter.
• A way to access previous versions of the same object (to allow rolling back if you accidentally broke it).
• A way to link the object in the world to the record ID so that if a new version of the object is available, it could be seamlessly updated in the world (or as a part of another object).
• Optionally allow to "pin" such a link to a version so that the object would be instanced, but not automatically updated unless you "update" it to the new version.
• If an object instanced in such a way is modified, convert it to a local unlinked copy instead (Copy on Write).

Describe alternatives you've considered

Make a custom system that uses a bunch of manually maintained cloud variables to watch for the changes and allow the user to update an object to a new version of itself.

Additional context

Such functionality would allow creators to update all instances of the same object (say, a lantern, or a visit card) across all their worlds in just one action.

Similarly, it would allow to make object systems (gun and vehicle mechanics) and avatar addons (custom HUDs) that update automatically to their respective new versions without the need to spawn each object/avatar, replace small parts on it and save new copies.

This also somewhat resembles GitHub's functionality that allows you to include parts of other repositories into your own without copying the code over.

Relevant discussion that prompted the creation of this request: https://discord.com/channels/402159838827905024/477711742001086505/877223034770055208

[Earthmark]

This would help the mentor signal as well, as it wouldn't need to be manually updated.

In my mind this feels kinda like describing git or docker, each checkpoint/build/commit represents a snapshot, and can be tagged/pointed to by a branch or tag or the raw commit ID. I think this is a well trodden concept.

[Earthmark]

I believe similar requests have been said to require merging of versions in the past, perhaps not if manual merging is available... Personally I can't run auto save on my public build worlds cause if someone breaks the world and then it saves, but if it could have a few rolling checkpoints that would resolve my concerns around that. I think this request is specifically about items, but just bringing up worlds are valid here as well.

[shadowpanther]

This would help the mentor signal as well, as it wouldn't need to be manually updated.

Yes, that was one of the objects I was thinking of.

I think this request is specifically about items, but just bringing up worlds are valid here as well.

See #2630 for the worlds versioning. Worlds already have the same ID and incrementing version, it's just that the previous versions are not saved or are not currently available to load.

[Frooxius]

Versioning is pretty much same thing as https://github.com/Neos-Metaverse/NeosPublic/issues/2630, the cloud uses the same system for both objects and worlds and doesn't make a distinction there.

For instancing and linking, we have an issue here for Prefabs: https://github.com/Neos-Metaverse/NeosPublic/issues/83 That's a separate feature set. Something we'd like to add, not sure when exactly and how to best handle certain things, although I think I got a much better idea now.

[shadowpanther]

Yeah, I didn't expect this to be implemented right away, just a proposal of a feature that would be nice to have in a long term. It might be also tied to the Marketplace (automatically updating purchased assets/objects).