Unreal Engine Main Menu Design: UMG, Settings, Gamepad and Loading
A main menu is the first thing every player sees, and the place where most projects first meet settings, input modes and level loading. A few decisions up front save a lot of rework.
1. Use a dedicated menu level and game mode
Put the menu in its own small map with its own Game Mode and Player Controller. The controller shows the menu widget, sets the input mode to UI only and shows the cursor. When the player starts the game, open the gameplay map and let that map's game mode switch back to Game only.
2. UMG or Common UI
Plain UMG is enough for a simple menu. If you target gamepad as well as mouse, look at the Common UI plugin: it routes input to the active screen, handles focus, and gives you a back action and button prompts that adapt to the device.
3. Design for focus first
Every screen needs a default focused button, and arrow keys or the D-pad must move through the buttons in a sensible order. If a screen only works with the mouse, it will feel broken on a controller.
4. Settings: use what the engine already has
Game User Settings already stores resolution, window mode, quality levels and v-sync. Call apply and save instead of inventing your own. For anything custom (mouse sensitivity, subtitles, volume sliders), use a Save Game slot or your own settings object, and apply it on startup.
5. Confirm risky changes
When changing resolution or window mode, show a short "keep these settings?" countdown that reverts if the player does nothing. Otherwise a bad value can leave someone with an unreadable screen.
6. Loading without a freeze
Load the gameplay level asynchronously and show a progress or loading screen. Avoid hard references from the menu to heavy gameplay assets, because they get loaded just by opening the menu.
7. Keep screens small and separate
Make the main screen, settings, credits and "are you sure?" dialogs separate widgets, and switch between them with a widget switcher or a screen stack. One huge widget with everything inside is hard to maintain.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting to restore the input mode when leaving the menu, so the game starts with a visible cursor.
- Not testing at 16:9, 16:10 and ultrawide, so buttons end up off screen.
- Saving settings only on exit. Save when the player presses Apply.
Want a working base?
If you prefer to start from a finished menu, see the related product below and read its listing for the exact features.
