I am about to start working on a level editor for my 3D engine. I have a good idea how to implement it with standard windows forms controls. But all this fuss going around Ribbon UI got my attention. I have no experience with it whatsoever so I ask your advice, is it worth it?

Thanks

Do you think it worth it?
That is the main question here i think.
To get acquainted with a new gui toolkit will maybe take more development time, learning issues etc..or will bring some usability issues with it..

Personally it doesn't matter if you use Ribbons or normal windows controls (toolstrips, menustrips etc..)
as long as your application is user friendly and it has good usability, then the type of GUI doesn't matter imo.

The ribbon UI is an attempt to guide the user to appropriate controls through the use of context; this is of particular use to novice users. Are you aiming at novice users or experienced ones? Normally tools users would be classed as experienced, unless you are expecting to release it outside of your game team. However, the last game editor I worked on had enough toolbar buttons to fill 1/4 - 1/2 of the editor screen, so I guess it might have been an ideal candidate for a ribbon!

You really have to ask yourself what you stand to benefit from such an approach, and make the decision based on that.

You also have to use WPF in order to make use of the Ribbon UI, so if you don't have any experience with WPF, then that will add another layer of complexity to your project. Also, implementing the Ribbon UI correctly is somewhat challenging from a design standpoint.

Trying to do a Ribbon UI for a simple level editor would be serious overkill.

Foxman:

You also have to use WPF in order to make use of the Ribbon UI, so if you don't have any experience with WPF, then that will add another layer of complexity to your project. Also, implementing the Ribbon UI correctly is somewhat challenging from a design standpoint.

Nah it's actually a native API that uses COM and XAML: Windows Ribbon Framework

Still don't think it's worth it...making a standard windows menu is wayyyyyyyyyy quicker.

As one of the above posters said Ribbons help group options by function and context. In a complex application with many options I think it's worth it. However in level editors I like to have all my options on screen, being able to quickly just click a single button to switch prefab or editing mode etc.