Code Sub-packaging

As gameplay becomes more and more rich, the amount of code in the game is increasing and developers are wanting to expand the size of their game package. Code sub-packaging provides for these demands.

Sub-package loading, is the the game content being split into several packages according to certain rules. During the first startup, only the necessary packages are downloaded, also called the main package. Other sub-packages are downloaded, as triggered, which can effectively reduce the time spent on the first boot.

Configuration method

Cocos Creator's uses a folder structure when configuring a sub-package. When a folder is selected, the relevant configuration options for the folder appear in the Properties tab:

After checking Subpackage, click Apply at the top right, and the code in this folder will be treated as the contents of the sub-package. The Subpackage name will be passed as the loaded name when the sub-package is loaded. The name of this folder will be used by default.

Building

The function of code sub-packaging will only be avialable after the project is built. When previewing, it will be loaded according to the whole package. After the project is built, the corresponding sub-package file will be generated in src/assets in the release package directory.

For example: Configuring the cases/01_graphics folder in the example project as a sub-package. The 01_graphics.js file will be generated in src/assets/cases in the release package directory after the project is built.

then the project will build a src/assets/cases generated 01_graphics.js file in the release package directory. The file name is not replaced with the replacement of the sub-package name. The 01_graphics.js file contains all the code in the 01_graphics folder and will be removed from the main package.

When building for the WeChat Mini Game Platform, the configuration of the sub-package will be automatically generated into the game.json configuration file of the WeChat Mini Game release package according to the rules.

Note: WeChat Mini Games require a specific version to support the sub-package feature.

WeChat 6.6.7 Client, 2.1.0 and above base library support, please update to the latest client version, developer tools please use version 1.02.1806120 and above

After updating the developer tools, don't forget to modify the version of Details -> Project Settings -> Debug Base library to 2.1.0 and above in the developer tools:

Please refer to the WeChat Sub-Package Loading documentation for details.

Loading a Sub-Package

The engine provides a unified api cc.loader.downloader.loadSubpackage to load the sub-package code for all platforms. loadSubpackage needs to pass in the name of a sub-package. This name is the name of the sub-package that you configured in the project before. The default is the name of the sub-package folder.

When the sub-package is completed, a callback is triggered, and if the loading fails, an error message is returned.

cc.loader.downloader.loadSubpackage('01_graphics', function (err) {
    if (err) {
        return console.error(err);
    }
    console.log('load subpackage successfully.');
});