5 ms·

I have never seen a menu like this before, but seeing the video, I think I would like it. Looks like a very fast way to find whatever you're looking for.

NamTaf 3y ago
Counter Strike: Global Offensive used a similar concept for its round-start buy menu because of needing to support console controllers. You can see an example here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogVy0S_jVXU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogVy0S_jVXU Interestingly, CS2 does not use the same menu, probably because they've moved away from trying to support consoles as a target.
- ace2358 3y ago
  Not uncommon in video games (like hold left trigger to open menu, use right stick to select and then let go of left trigger to select). Also seen it in fusion360 (cad software), maybe blender and also a few other dsp/electronic design software. I love it!
  - NamTaf 3y ago
    That's true; now thinking about it I also remember it from very-desktop-based Anno 1800. The quick-shortcut menu for the mouse (to build a shortlist of buildings, etc.) is a pie menu.
  - viraptor 3y ago
    Baldur's gate 3 took it to the next level. It's multiple radial menus for the actions/items. I wish they also applied the same idea for the context menus rather than a list. It works really well in practice. https://images.pushsquare.com/70ee3def6aca7/baldurs-gate-3-how-to-level-up-guide-2.large.jpg https://images.pushsquare.com/70ee3def6aca7/baldurs-gate-3-h... https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/bg3-radial-menu.jpg https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/...
starkparker 3y ago
Radial menus are heavily associated with video games. The Sims in 2000 really used them extensively and IMO well in a mouse/keyboard environment, and they've become a common method to visually surface options in gamepad- and joystick-focused games. The One Laptop Per Child/Sugar UI also used them since they were accessible independent of language and input method, and also self-surfaced options in a way that allowed or encouraged exploration. (And then, full-circle as it were, Maxis/EA's Don Hopkins, who implemented The Sims' radial menus, reimplemented a radial menu for the OLPC port of SimCity.)[1] 1: https://web.archive.org/web/20171012100255/http://www.donhopkins.com/drupal/taxonomy_menu/4/49/63/65 https://web.archive.org/web/20171012100255/http://www.donhop... ; sadly his website relied on Drupal and broke. He moved to Medium, where his many pie menu posts have kind of scattered. See also https://donhopkins.medium.com/pie-menu-timeline-21bec9b21620 https://donhopkins.medium.com/pie-menu-timeline-21bec9b21620 where Don breaks down the timeline of radial/pie menu concepts back to the 1968 MOAD
- adanto6840 3y ago
  Glad to see Don Hopkins mentioned, I came to this thread hoping he had seen it & commented already. I'm curious to hear his thoughts on it! I know he loves radial menus, understandably so -- they really can be quite effective.
  - lioeters 3y ago
    When I saw the article about Pie Menu, I thought of Don Hopkins' work with radial menus in SimCity. It's probably (one of?) the earliest implementations of this UI concept. I haven't actually used it, but the circular shape seems a bit wasteful of space compared to typical nested dropdown menus. Maybe a circle of icons is more suited for touch-based interface.
- bsimpson 3y ago
  Bill Buxton is where my head goes for marking/radial/pie menus. https://www.billbuxton.com/MMUserLearn.html https://www.billbuxton.com/MMUserLearn.html
- jdougan 3y ago
lpribis 3y ago
Aside from video games, another place you commonly see pie menues is in 3D CAD software (Blender, Inventor, I think SolidWorks has one?). I guess it's because these programs are inherently more mouse-reliant than other software.

NamTaf 3y ago

Counter Strike: Global Offensive used a similar concept for its round-start buy menu because of needing to support console controllers. You can see an example here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogVy0S_jVXU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogVy0S_jVXU Interestingly, CS2 does not use the same menu, probably because they've moved away from trying to support consoles as a target.

ace2358 3y ago
Not uncommon in video games (like hold left trigger to open menu, use right stick to select and then let go of left trigger to select). Also seen it in fusion360 (cad software), maybe blender and also a few other dsp/electronic design software. I love it!
- NamTaf 3y ago
  That's true; now thinking about it I also remember it from very-desktop-based Anno 1800. The quick-shortcut menu for the mouse (to build a shortlist of buildings, etc.) is a pie menu.
- viraptor 3y ago
  Baldur's gate 3 took it to the next level. It's multiple radial menus for the actions/items. I wish they also applied the same idea for the context menus rather than a list. It works really well in practice. https://images.pushsquare.com/70ee3def6aca7/baldurs-gate-3-how-to-level-up-guide-2.large.jpg https://images.pushsquare.com/70ee3def6aca7/baldurs-gate-3-h... https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/bg3-radial-menu.jpg https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/...

starkparker 3y ago

Radial menus are heavily associated with video games. The Sims in 2000 really used them extensively and IMO well in a mouse/keyboard environment, and they've become a common method to visually surface options in gamepad- and joystick-focused games. The One Laptop Per Child/Sugar UI also used them since they were accessible independent of language and input method, and also self-surfaced options in a way that allowed or encouraged exploration. (And then, full-circle as it were, Maxis/EA's Don Hopkins, who implemented The Sims' radial menus, reimplemented a radial menu for the OLPC port of SimCity.)[1] 1: https://web.archive.org/web/20171012100255/http://www.donhopkins.com/drupal/taxonomy_menu/4/49/63/65 https://web.archive.org/web/20171012100255/http://www.donhop... ; sadly his website relied on Drupal and broke. He moved to Medium, where his many pie menu posts have kind of scattered. See also https://donhopkins.medium.com/pie-menu-timeline-21bec9b21620 https://donhopkins.medium.com/pie-menu-timeline-21bec9b21620 where Don breaks down the timeline of radial/pie menu concepts back to the 1968 MOAD

adanto6840 3y ago
Glad to see Don Hopkins mentioned, I came to this thread hoping he had seen it & commented already. I'm curious to hear his thoughts on it! I know he loves radial menus, understandably so -- they really can be quite effective.
- lioeters 3y ago
  When I saw the article about Pie Menu, I thought of Don Hopkins' work with radial menus in SimCity. It's probably (one of?) the earliest implementations of this UI concept. I haven't actually used it, but the circular shape seems a bit wasteful of space compared to typical nested dropdown menus. Maybe a circle of icons is more suited for touch-based interface.
bsimpson 3y ago
Bill Buxton is where my head goes for marking/radial/pie menus. https://www.billbuxton.com/MMUserLearn.html https://www.billbuxton.com/MMUserLearn.html
jdougan 3y ago

lpribis 3y ago

Aside from video games, another place you commonly see pie menues is in 3D CAD software (Blender, Inventor, I think SolidWorks has one?). I guess it's because these programs are inherently more mouse-reliant than other software.