Settings Menus

Build settings menus for graphics, audio, and controls with persistence.

35 min read Intermediate Updated 2026-07-01 v2.0 ~127 min to complete

Introduction

Settings menus let players customize their experience. This guide covers graphics quality, audio levels, control rebinding, and persisting settings to cloud.

Guide 24 of 25

This is part of the Intermediate Guides collection. Category: UI. Estimated completion: 127 minutes. Difficulty: Intermediate.

Screenshot

Step-by-Step Guide

Create settings categories

Organize settings into tabs: Graphics, Audio, Controls, Gameplay. Each tab has its own panel.

Add graphics options

Include quality presets (Low/Medium/High/Ultra), shadow quality, render scale, vsync, and field of view.

Add audio options

Master volume, music, SFX, voice volume. Use sliders (0-100%). Apply in real-time so players hear changes.

Add control rebinding

List all actions with current key bindings. Click a binding to remap — listen for the next key press.

Persist settings

Save all settings to cloud storage. Load on game start. Include a Reset to Defaults button.

Apply immediately

Changes should take effect instantly — do not require a restart. Graphics and audio apply at runtime.

FluxScript Example

Here is a complete FluxScript implementation for this guide:

Settings Menus — FluxScript

const DEFAULT_SETTINGS = {
  graphics: { quality: "medium", shadows: "medium", renderScale: 1.0, fov: 60 },
  audio: { master: 80, music: 70, sfx: 90, voice: 85 },
  controls: { moveForward: "w", jump: "space", attack: "e" }
}

settings = null
rebindingAction = null

on start {
  loadSettings()
  applyAllSettings()
}

func loadSettings() {
  saved = save.get("gameSettings")
  if saved != null settings = mergeDefaults(DEFAULT_SETTINGS, saved)
  else settings = copy(DEFAULT_SETTINGS)
}

func saveSettings() {
  save.set("gameSettings", settings)
  save.flush()
}

func applyGraphicsSettings() {
  g = settings.graphics
  world.setRenderScale(g.renderScale)
  lighting.setShadowQuality(g.shadows)
  world.setVSync(true)
  scene.find("MainCamera").setFOV(g.fov)
}

func applyAudioSettings() {
  a = settings.audio
  audio.setMasterVolume(a.master / 100)
  audio.setChannelVolume("music", a.music / 100)
  audio.setChannelVolume("sfx", a.sfx / 100)
}

func applyControlSettings() {
  c = settings.controls
  input.rebind("moveForward", c.moveForward)
  input.rebind("jump", c.jump)
  input.rebind("attack", c.attack)
}

on uiChange("masterSlider", value) {
  settings.audio.master = value
  applyAudioSettings()
}

on uiChange("qualityDropdown", value) {
  settings.graphics.quality = value
  applyGraphicsSettings()
}

on uiClick("rebind_moveForward") {
  rebindingAction = "moveForward"
  ui.setText("rebind_moveForward", "Press a key...")
}

on input("any") {
  if rebindingAction != null {
    key = input.getLastPressedKey()
    settings.controls[rebindingAction] = key
    ui.setText("rebind_" + rebindingAction, key)
    applyControlSettings()
    saveSettings()
    rebindingAction = null
  }
}

on uiClick("btnResetAll") {
  settings = copy(DEFAULT_SETTINGS)
  applyAllSettings()
  refreshSettingsUI()
  saveSettings()
}

Node Graph Example

Prefer visual programming? Here is the equivalent Node Graph:

Settings Menus — Node Graph

[On Start] --> [Load Settings: merge with defaults]
   --> [Apply All: graphics, audio, controls]

[Function: applyGraphics] --> [Set: renderScale, shadows, FOV]
[Function: applyAudio] --> [Set: master, music, sfx volumes]
[Function: applyControls] --> [Rebind: all keys]

[On UIChange "masterSlider"] --> [Update: settings]
   --> [Apply Audio] --> [Save Settings]

[On UIClick "rebind_X"] --> [Set: rebindingAction = X]
   --> [Wait for key press]

[On Input "any"] --> [Branch: rebinding]
   --> [Set: new key] --> [Apply + Save]

[On UIClick "btnResetAll"] --> [Restore defaults]
   --> [Apply + Save]

Optimization Tips

Keep your implementation fast and efficient with these optimization tips:

Persist settings to cloud storage. Players expect settings to persist across devices. Save on every change with debounce.
Apply settings immediately. Do not require restarts. Graphics, audio, and controls can all be applied at runtime.
Use quality presets instead of individual toggles. Low/Medium/High/Ultra is user-friendly. Most players dont understand shadow maps.
Merge saved settings with defaults on load. Handles new settings added in updates — missing fields fall back to defaults.