Mongoose schema – using an Object instead of an Array for subdocuments
Ahh, the answer is simple. You can use the same...
buildings: [BuildingSchema]notation for objects as well as arrays. For instance, if you add a new building...
GameStateSchema.update({$set: {"buildings.1": {name: "cabin", x:128, y: 0} }})Mongoose will add a new building using the BuildingSchema, doing very basic (but vital) validation, e.g. a building can only have a name, x and y.
If you don't create a buildings array explicitly before you $set items, it will default to being an object. Bit counter-intuitive but very handy :)
EDIT – I spoke too soon, turns out accessing buildings via a Mongoose model instance only works when it's an array. The question still stands.