Documentation | Support Forum | Asset Store Link | Release Notes Examples: Quest Log, Main Menu, Character Inventory, Soft Clipping, Draggable Window, Chat (Full list found here) Looking for a powerful and affordable next-generation UI system with a low memory footprint and high performance that’s perfect for web, stand-alone and mobile platforms? You found it.

Overview

NGUI is a powerful UI system and event notification framework for Unity (both Pro and Free) written in C# that closely follows the KISS principle. It features clean code and simple, minimalistic approach to everything. Most classes are kept under 200 lines of code. For a programmer this means a much easier time when it comes to working with the kit — from extending its functionality to tweaking the existing one. For everyone else this means better performance, less frustration, and more fun.

Features

• Full Inspector integration
• No need to hit Play to see the results
• What you see in the Scene view is what you get in the Game view (fully WYSIWYG)
• Component-based, modular nature: attach the behaviours you want to make your widgets do what you want without having to code.
• Full support for iOS/Android, Flash
• Flexible event system
• Make complex UIs that take only 1 draw call
• Create your atlases right in the editor, update/modify them at will, or import an atlas from the Texture Packer.
• Support for lighting, normal mapping, refraction, and more — unleash your creativity!
• Support for clipped panels with hard or soft edges.
• Support for a flexible size table, letting your widgets automatically push others out of the way.
• Support for eastern languages with IME input. (Web Build Demo)
• Built-in Localization system
• Built-in keyboard and controller support
• An assortment of useful scripts to help you — from changing a button color to dragging an object
• Simple built-in tweening system.
• Clean, short, simple and extensively optimized C# code
• No DLLs or external resources

Workflow

Working with NGUI is just like working with Unity. Use the Widget Tool to quickly create templated widgets or create your own from basic components. Copy/paste what you like. Save your windows as prefabs… Everything can be accomplished in just a few clicks. When it comes to writing code that makes it move, there are simple example scripts to choose from that turn your widgets into buttons, input fields, change colors based on events, play sounds, trigger animations, and much more.

Video Tutorials

• Part 1 – Basics
• Part 2 – Advanced
• Atlas Maker, Font Maker
• SD & HD Atlas switching (advanced)
• Symbols & Emoticons (advanced)
• Packed Font (advanced)

Other tutorials and various documentation pages can all be found here without having to buy the kit.

Evaluation Version

You can download the Free Edition of NGUI here.

It’s intended for internal, evaluational and/or educational use. You can also freely use it, or the much smaller NGUI Distribution version in your own Asset Store-bound packages, provided that you don’t modify the contents of the NGUI folder beyond the removal of items you don’t need, and clearly state that the contents of the NGUI folder are the work of Tasharen Entertainment. More information found here.

Please note that the Free version may be several iterations behind the full version as it’s not updated as frequently.

Purchase

• Please note that NGUI requires the latest version of Unity 3.5 or 4. As of this writing this means Unity 3.5.7, and 4.1+. You can get it to work with versions as early as 3.4.2, but it will require work on your part.
• NGUI can be picked up for $95 through the Asset Store, as well as directly via PayPal, below. The kit comes with all tutorials and examples. You can rationalize the purchase like this: will NGUI save you or your developers at least 2 hours of work? If yes, then you have nothing to lose by grabbing a copy.
• An alternative Professional license can be obtained for $200 that comes with a personal access to NGUI’s GIT repository. If you are interested, please use the link at the bottom of this page, or get in touch via the contact form.
• If your company requires an explicit invoice, you will need the Professional license.
• If your company needs to put a wall of lawyers at ease before you can use a third-party tool for your development, please get in touch via the contact form and I will do what I can.
• If choosing PayPal, the automated system will immediately create your account and send the download instructions to your email address, and you are eligible for a full refund (read more).
• All methods provide free updates with your purchase and full support via email, forums and Skype.

If you encounter any issues, please get in touch.