Serialization

Concord can snapshot Entities and Worlds and build them again. Use it for save games, round-tripping a level editor, or any time you need the same data back later.

Who gets saved

New Entities receive a serializable flag by default (Entity.SERIALIZE_BY_DEFAULT). World:serialize writes Entities that still have that flag. Remove it (or never give it) for debug markers, purely visual FX, or anything that should not come back from a save.

serializable itself is omitted from the output. It is a marker, not a field.

Entities and Worlds

local snapshot = world:serialize()
-- write snapshot with bitser, json, love.filesystem, ...

world:deserialize(snapshot, true) -- startClean: replace what is here

Entity:serialize / Entity:deserialize do one Entity. World:serialize walks serializable Entities. World:deserialize can startClean, and can ignore the saved key-generator state if you are merging into a World that already has keys.

Pass ignoreKeys when the snapshot should not carry identity. Keep keys when the snapshot is the save. See Entity Keys and Resources.

Component classes must already be registered before deserialize. Load your components/ folder at startup (Loading Namespaces); a missing name is an error, not a skip.

Custom serialize / deserialize

The defaults shallow-copy the Component’s fields and strip Concord internals. Override them when you need to omit a field, reshape, or revive a LÖVE object:

function Sprite:serialize ()
  return { path = self.path } -- not the Image
end

function Sprite:deserialize (data)
  self.path = data.path
  self.image = love.graphics.newImage(data.path)
end

Return nil from serialize to omit the Component entirely (how serializable works). A Component that cannot be copied with Cloning a Component is usually one that returns nil.

If the Component owns a Body or a Canvas, tear it down in removed so a replace-during-deserialize does not leak. See Component:removed Guide.

See also

• serializable
• Cloning a Component
• Entity Keys and Resources