[TUTORIAL SERIES] Creating Multiplayer Menu in Unity – Open Source (Youtube + GitHub)

Community Showcases
1

Hi everyone,

I’ve started a new Unity tutorial series about creating a multiplayer-ready main menu system using Unity Netcode. The goal of this series is to show how to build a clean and scalable menu architecture that can be used as a foundation for multiplayer games.

What will be included at the end of this tutorial series:

Startup Architecture

  • Dedicated Startup Scene that initializes core systems
  • Managers like NetworkManager, ConnectionManager, and GameManager
  • Objects persist across scenes via DontDestroyOnLoad
  • The Startup Scene runs only once and is never loaded again

Main Menu System

  • Clean Main Menu UI with buttons for:
    • Local Game
    • Online Game
    • Quit
  • Background image and basic UI layout

Local Multiplayer Menu

  • Dedicated Local Game Panel
  • Input fields for IP Address and Port
  • Buttons for starting as Host or Client

Connection Logic

  • Script to start a Host or Client connection
  • UI inputs are used to configure IP and Port

Connection Status UI

  • Displays whether the game is running as Host, Client, or Server
  • Helpful for debugging and testing multiplayer setups

Quality of Life Features

  • Automatically fills default IP address and port in the UI
  • Makes local multiplayer testing easier

Resources

Coming Next

  • StartUp scene
  • MainMenu Scene
  • MainMenu UI

I’d love your thoughts, feedback, or questions. If you’re working on similar multiplayer systems or menu architectures, I’m happy to exchange ideas.

1 Like
2

I can’t stress enough how important this is. Though I don’t really see it in the first video.

You have two options:

  • A separate “build index 0” scene and in editor use EditorSceneManager.playModeStartScene to force Unity to enter playmode through a specific scene.
  • A script in every scene you want to launch with, which additively loads the NetworkManager scene (or a prefab) but only if it doesn’t yet exist.

I prefer the first option since it forces you to structure the scene flow accordingly, and whenever you want to “launch through” to a specific gameplay scene without much fuzz you’d have a (editor only) launch script where you configure which scene to actually load, what settings to apply, etc.

3

I will cover this topic in the next video. There I will also explain, why it is important to start in a StartUp Scene. And I appreciate youe comment!

1 Like
4

Hi everyone,

I’ve just released the second video of my Unity tutorial series about building a multiplayer-ready main menu system using Unity Netcode.

In this part, we focus on creating a clean and scalable project structure using a dedicated Startup Scene.

:trophy: Episode 02 – Create StartUp and MainMenu Scene

What’s Included:

Scene Architecture

  • Creation of a StartUp Scene and a MainMenu Scene
  • Clear separation between initialization and UI logic

StartUp Scene Concept

  • The StartUp Scene is loaded only once at the beginning of the game
  • Responsible for initializing all core systems

Core Managers

  • Setup of essential objects:
    • NetworkManager
    • ConnectionManager
    • GameManager
  • These objects persist across scenes using DontDestroyOnLoad

Scene Flow

  • Automatic transition from StartUp Scene → MainMenu Scene
  • StartUp Scene is never loaded again during runtime
  • Ensures a clean and stable architecture

Resources

I’d love your thoughts, feedback, or questions. Always happy to connect with others working on multiplayer systems in Unity.

5

Hi everyone,

I’ve just released the third video of my Unity tutorial series. In this part, we create the first version of our Main Menu UI.

:trophy: Episode 03 – Main Menu: UI hinzufügen

What’s Included:

Main Menu UI

  • Creation of a simple and clean Main Menu interface

Menu Options

  • Buttons for:
    • Local Game
    • Online Game
    • Quit
  • Structure prepared for future functionality

UI Design Basics

  • Adding a background image
  • First visual polish for the menu
  • Clean layout for better user experience

Resources

I’d love your thoughts, feedback, or questions. If you’re working on similar UI systems or multiplayer menus, I’m happy to exchange ideas.

6

Hi everyone,

I’ve just released another video in my Unity tutorial series about building a multiplayer-ready main menu system using Unity Netcode.

In this part, we expand the menu by creating a dedicated Local Game Panel.

:trophy: Episode 04 – Main Menu: Local Game Panel erstellen

What’s Included:

Local Game Panel UI

  • Creation of a dedicated panel for local multiplayer connections
  • Clean and modular UI structure

Connection Input Fields

  • Input fields for:
    • IP Address
    • Port

Host & Client Buttons

  • Buttons for starting as:
    • Host
    • Client
  • Currently UI-only and prepared for future functionality

Menu Architecture

  • Preparing the foundation for the upcoming multiplayer connection logic
  • Structuring the UI for future expansion

Series Goal

Build a clean and scalable multiplayer menu system that supports:

  • Local multiplayer
  • Online multiplayer
  • Modular UI architecture
  • Unity Netcode integration

I’d love your thoughts, feedback, or questions. Always happy to connect with others working on multiplayer systems and UI architecture in Unity.