Storing object handles in EntityName - bad idea?

This works, but is it a bad idea?

nameentity(u\entity, "unit" + handle(u))
;;;
mouseover_entity = camerapick(global_camera, mousex(), mousey())
if mouseover_entity then
	mouseover_entity_name = entityname(mouseover_entity)
	if left$(mouseover_entity_name, 4) = "unit" then
		u.unit_type = object.unit_type(right$(mouseover_entity_name, len(mouseover_entity_name) - 4))

I feel dirty.

Not at all (as in not a bad idea). When doing camera picks you need some way to refference an arbitrary number of objects.

I have done this in the past with editors and never felt guilty about it.

Sometimes you just need to do what you have to with the tools at your disposal.

I agree, it's a nice method. The only problem is, you need to load your map with LoadAnimMesh. This way you will have to handle your Map no longer as a single Mesh, but recursively as a hierarchy of entities (see code archives: how to use EntityAlpha with animated meshes).