Serializing nested collections#

Unity cannot directly serialize nested, 2D, or jagged, collections.

Resolution#

Nested serialization#

Instead of directly serializing a collection inside of another, create a serializable type that you can nest your collection inside.

//  Will not serialize
public List<float[]> Values;

//  Will serialize
[System.Serializable]
public class ValuesWrapper
{
    public float[] Values;
}

public List<ValuesWrapper> Values;

I have a JaggedArray<T> implementation you are free to use that cleans up the editor for use.

Flattened serialization#

You can use ISerializationCallbackReceiver to manually serialize your nested collection into a flattened (1 dimensional) collection. Note that you would need to write a Property Drawer if you wanted to display it in a nested view in the inspector.