This quick guide will walk you through creating a simple settings menu with prebuilt settings and components that come with GGS out-of-the-box.

Installation

You can install GGS through one of the following methods:

• Download the latest release from Releases.
• Install the plugin via the Godot Asset Library, also available inside the Godot editor.
• Clone the repository with Git, or download the main branch directly with a third-party tool.

Regardless of the method, make sure the plugin files are inside a folder called ggs inside your addons directory, like so:

res://
  ├ addons
  | ├ ggs
  | └ //other addons...
  └ //other project files...

Once done, you can enable the plugin from Project → Project Settings → Plugins.

How it Works

GGS uses custom resources to store essential information regarding each game setting:

• The default value of the setting which can be almost any of the built-in engine types.
• The section and key names used to store the setting value on disc. The built-in ConfigFile class is used to do this as it automatically converts built-in types when saving/loading data.
  All data is stored in the user:// directory. For more information about user directory, view Data Paths on the official Godot documentation.
• The logic of the setting, as in, what should happen when the setting value is changed. This is written in GDScript.

To allow the user to interact with settings and change their value, we need user interface elements. GGS provides several components that are simple prebuilt scenes. You can use these components to build a fully functioning in-game settings menu.

These components are all Control nodes, hence they offer flexibility when designing your menu. You can customize them like any other node (e.g. change their size flags, theme, etc.). For more information on using themes, view GUI Skinning on the official Godot documentation.

Creating a Setting

GGS loads setting resources in a specific directory referred to as the "settings directory". This directory can be changed in preferences. By default, it's res://game_settings.

In the filesystem dock, right-click your settings directory and choose Create New → Resource.... In the newly opened window, search for the word "setting". From the list of available resources, choose settingDisplayFullscreen. Give this new resource an appropriate name and save it.

You just created a new setting from a template. Templates can be used to create multiple instances of the same setting with different properties. This is useful when the logic of the setting is constant but its properties need to change.

Inspect the newly created setting resource to view its properties in the inspector. In addition template-specific properties, there are a few properties that are shared among all settings, including:

A setting can have an empty section, but not an empty key. If key is empty, the setting's value will not be saved. Go ahead and give this setting an appropriate key name. You can also change the section name if you like.

The Value Properties group is used to customize the way the default property is exported to the inspector. You don't need to worry about these properties when using templates so ignore them for now.

Adding a Component

Now that we have a setting, let's make it so the player can interact with it and change its value.

Create a new scene and add a Control node as its root. As said before, GGS components are simply scenes that can be instantiated. So, open the instantiate window and search for "component_switch". Select the newly added component to inspect it.

Notice the setting property. This is the setting resource associated with the component. Assign the setting you created recently to the component by either drag-and-dropping the resource onto the setting property or choosing Quick Load....

The root of all GGS components is a MarginContainer. To access the underlying nodes (the CheckButton in this case), you should enable Editable Children. Right-click on the component, and enable Editable Children. Now you can select underlying the Btn node and change any of its properties. For now, just enter an appropriate text.

Now try running the scene. Interact with the component during run time and you may notice that something is wrong. Nothing is happening when you interact with it. Stop the game and inspect the component in the scene tree again. Notice the apply_on_changed property. When set to true, the component will apply the associated setting immediately. Otherwise, you'll have to use another component called an Apply Button to apply settings.

Set apply_on_changed to true. Rerun the scene and change the setting. This time, the game window should successfully toggle between fullscreen and windowed states.

Handling Sound Effects

Components allow you to play a sound effect on specific events such as gaining focus or when they're interacted with. To assign audio files for these effects, open the singleton scene (ggs.tscn) and set the properties of the desired AudioStreamPlayer nodes. If no audio is assigned to a player, it won't play any sound.

Conclusion

This was the core of making a setting and assigning it to a component. To create your setting menu, repeat the process for every setting your game has.

Most properties and classes contain doc comments, meaning Godot can generate documentation for them. Try looking them up in the built-in documentation using F1. You can also check the references from the navigation panel to the left.

View Custom Settings to learn how you can make your own settings. GGS also supports creating Custom Components.