- Why should I use OtterMenu?
- How is OtterMenu different?
- Who is ClockworkOtter?
- I have a custom inspector, but I want to use OtterMenu. How do I do that?
- I have a class where I do not want to use OtterMenu, is that possible?
- You mentioned Advanced Usage, how can I find out more?
- Can I get source code to OtterMenu?
- I want a different license, is that possible?
Why should I use OtterMenu?
Menus with many items in Unity can get very long, and are slow to navigate. A great example of this is enumerations. They work when they are short lists, but as they get longer, they can extend many pages and are slow to select and error prone. Using OtterMenu, you can create menus of items that can be categorized inside folders, they can be named in the menu independently of how they are named in code, and they can be filtered in real-time by using the edit box at the top. And the best part? OtterMenu works on enums automatically! Import OtterMenu into your project, and all your long enum lists can be filtered just by typing, becoming much easier to select, and all without any code changes! If you are willing to make code changes, then you can take advantage of the advanced features, which allow you to create nested menus, as well as letting you use OtterMenu for your own menus!
How is OtterMenu different?
UI solutions are often overlooked, and many of the default controls that come with Unity don’t work well in real projects and are limited in their configuration options. There may be other similar solutions, but they often require heavy integration and code changes, which makes them difficult to adopt in existing projects. At Clockwork Otter, we strive to provide a robust set of tools to make game developers’ day to day lives easier. OtterMenu is easy to integrate, you just import it into your project, and your enums are better (without any code changes). Additionally, you can use our filterable menu in your existing project, anywhere you like, without having to inherit from our types or change you how you normally work.
Who is ClockworkOtter?
We’re a team of professional game developers who have been working in Unity for years. All of us have a long history of game development experience, and we know how much time good tools can save a development team. Rather than fighting the tools, we’ve learned that a little bit of extra work in your toolset can make a world of difference in a game developer’s quality of life as well as help creators make better games. But why re-create tools and solutions that have been done before? Why do we have to write these same tools for every project? Instead, we decided to write a nice toolset only once, and share it with the game development community so that you (and we) can focus on the things that are important, like making better games.
I have a custom inspector, but I want to use OtterMenu. How do I do that?
You can find more details on this page. It shows you how you can use OtterMenu in your own custom inspector, including our implementation of enums! We show you how we do it, so you can use it just as effectively.
I have a class where I do not want to use OtterMenu, is that possible?
You can disable OtterMenu on a class by marking with [DontUseUxInspector]. This will prevent us from rendering our inspector on your class. Any inherited classes of that type will also not use OtterMenu, unless they are specifically marked with [UseUxInspector]
You mentioned Advanced Usage, how can I find out more?
You can find more details on this page. OtterMenu has some advanced functionality, but it will require some source code changes. By using our special markup, you can have enums show in the editor with english readable strings, and you can nest your menus any way you like.
Can I get source code to OtterMenu?
Yes! We’re happy to license the source code. We’re planning on putting up a source code version in the Unity Asset Store shortly, so it will become generally available. We haven’t done it yet because we’re still working on documentation and instructions for it (since it would expose the advanced functionality). You can wait until we release it, or if you need it immediately, contact us directly through the forums and we can get it to you.
I want a different license, is that possible?
Yes! We’re flexible, and want you to use our products. We understand the limitations of working at large companies and the licensing issues that it can cause, so we can certainly work out different license terms. Since each company may want different terms, we offer the standard Unity licensing through the asset store, and work with individual companies for different terms.