Async Asset Loading with Addressables

The Problem: Synchronous Asset Loading on Mobile

On mobile devices, loading all assets at startup using Resources.Load causes screen freezes because it blocks the main thread. An asynchronous solution is required.

The Solution: Unity Addressables + async/await

Visual assets (tower prefabs, enemy prefabs, projectile effects) are registered in the Addressable system and loaded asynchronously:

// ResourceManager.cs — async load and cache
public static async Task LoadTowerAsync(string towerId)
{
    if (_towerCache.ContainsKey(towerId)) return; // Already cached

    var handle = Addressables.LoadAssetAsync<GameObject>($"Towers/{towerId}");
    await handle.Task;

    if (handle.Status == AsyncOperationStatus.Succeeded)
        _towerCache[towerId] = handle.Result;
}

public static TowerOS GetTowerOS(string towerId)
{
    return _towerCache.TryGetValue(towerId, out var obj)
        ? obj.GetComponent<TowerOS>()
        : null;
}

A Clear Data Separation

Data Type	Storage	Reason
Balance (HP, damage, cost)	JSON	Needs frequent tuning, no rebuild required
Visual (3D prefabs, particles)	Addressables	Heavy assets, needs async loading, supports hot-reload

Integration with Object Pooling

After loading, prefabs are immediately pre-warmed into PoolManager to prevent in-game lag:

// GameController.Awake() — pre-warm pool only after assets are loaded
var towerOS = ResourceManager.GetTowerOS(t.Id);
if (towerOS?.towerPrefab != null)
    PoolManager.Prewarm(towerOS.towerPrefab, 3);