EllanJiang/GameFramework · error · GameFrameworkException

Resource target ' ' reference count is ' ' larger than 0.

Error message

Resource target '{0}' reference count is '{1}' larger than 0.

What it means

During Release (when not shutting down), GameFramework refuses to free a resource whose target still has a dependency reference count > 0, because unloading it would destroy memory that other assets depend on. It throws with the resource name and offending count, indicating an internal reference-counting inconsistency.

Solutions

  1. Ensure every LoadAsset has a matching UnloadAsset so dependency counts drop to 0 before release.
  2. Release resources only via the normal ResourceLoader eviction/shutdown flow, not manually.
  3. Check custom code that decrements m_ResourceDependencyCount for missed or extra decrements.
  4. If truly shutting down, use the shutdown path where isShutdown=true skips the check.

Example fix

// before
resourceComponent.UnloadAsset(uiAsset); // but dependent prefab assets still loaded
resourceLoader.Release(resourceObject, false);
// after
foreach (var dep in dependentAssets) { resourceComponent.UnloadAsset(dep); }
// then release only when reference count reaches 0
Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

if (m_ResourceDependencyCount.TryGetValue(resourceObject.Target, out int count) && count > 0)
{
    Debug.LogError($"Cannot release '{resourceObject.Name}': {count} dependency references remain.");
    return;
}

Try / catch

try
{
    resourceComponent.CheckResource / custom release path...
}
catch (GameFrameworkException ex) when (ex.Message.Contains("larger than 0"))
{
    Debug.LogError("Released a resource that still has dependent references; fix acquire/release pairing.");
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: A resource is released while m_ResourceDependencyCount still records references from other loaded assets/objects — e.g. release called before dependent assets were unloaded, custom code decrementing/releasing out of order, or callers forgetting to unload assets that incremented the count.

Common situations: Custom resource management that releases resources while scenes/UI still hold dependent assets; asymmetric acquire/release of AssetObjects; shutting down subsets of the resource system manually instead of on full shutdown (where isShutdown bypasses this check).

Understand the failure class

Background: "This is a bug, please report it": internal invariant violations, unreachable panics, and SNH errors explained — this error's family across 47 libraries.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of EllanJiang/GameFramework@d0c010b051 (2026-09-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/41681b6dbb421eda. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at GameFramework/Resource/ResourceManager.ResourceLoader.ResourceObject.cs:102

                    int referenceCount = 0;
                    if (m_ResourceLoader.m_ResourceDependencyCount.TryGetValue(dependencyResource, out referenceCount))
                    {
                        m_ResourceLoader.m_ResourceDependencyCount[dependencyResource] = referenceCount + 1;
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        m_ResourceLoader.m_ResourceDependencyCount.Add(dependencyResource, 1);
                    }
                }

                protected internal override void Release(bool isShutdown)
                {
                    if (!isShutdown)
                    {
                        int targetReferenceCount = 0;
                        if (m_ResourceLoader.m_ResourceDependencyCount.TryGetValue(Target, out targetReferenceCount) && targetReferenceCount > 0)
                        {
                            throw new GameFrameworkException(Utility.Text.Format("Resource target '{0}' reference count is '{1}' larger than 0.", Name, targetReferenceCount));
                        }

                        foreach (object dependencyResource in m_DependencyResources)
                        {
                            int referenceCount = 0;
                            if (m_ResourceLoader.m_ResourceDependencyCount.TryGetValue(dependencyResource, out referenceCount))
                            {
                                m_ResourceLoader.m_ResourceDependencyCount[dependencyResource] = referenceCount - 1;
                            }
                            else
                            {
                                throw new GameFrameworkException(Utility.Text.Format("Resource target '{0}' dependency asset reference count is invalid.", Name));
                            }
                        }
                    }

                    m_ResourceLoader.m_ResourceDependencyCount.Remove(Target);
                    m_ResourceHelper.Release(Target);

View on GitHub (pinned to d0c010b051)