Show an indicator in the lobby when a player is "making preparation"

改善/Improvements
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1

現状/Current Status

Currently, when the players are gathered in any kind of group hunt lobby, if a player is busy changing equipment, when the other players are ready while this player is still changing equipment, the other players would have no idea that this player is changing equipment.

Some players get annoyed because of this lack of information and think that others are just wasting time, which is not always the case. They end up spamming stickers, much to the annoyance to other players, while the player who is changing equipment would never get to see those stickers anyway, which defeats the point of spamming stickers in the first place. I believe we have no lack of complaints about people spamming stickers, and I believe the root cause of all these annoyances is mainly due to a lack of information and therefore misunderstanding.

提案/Suggestion

Unlike the main Monster Hunter games, where we can see other players moving about in the game and have an idea what they are doing. If a player is standing near an Item Box or disappears into a tent/room, it is obvious to onlookers that this player is most likely managing their equipment or inventory.

But we cannot see that in this game, since everyone is just “standing” in the lobby.

If a player is activating consumable items, we cannot see that.

If a player is in the equipment screen, we also cannot see that. This player also cannot see what’s going on in the lobby. While we can hear the “Ready” bell sound, not every player plays the game with the sound on, and since upgrading to Android 16, the game has also lost its vibration function (at least in my case), and not every player would use the vibration function either, which gives them virtually no way of knowing what’s happening in the lobby while they’re managing their equipment.

But the main problem is that the other players who are in the lobby are unable to see what this one player is doing.

Plus, now the lobby timer will shorten when the rest of the party is ready except for that one last person. If this person needed a little more time to modify their equipment, this person may run out of time and end up starting the hunt with the wrong equipment. The rest of the players, if they knew that this player is modifying their equipment, may opt to hold on from tapping the Ready button so that this player can have the time to finish managing their equipment.

Therefore, I suggest the following:

  1. When in a group hunt lobby, show a status that is tagged to each player.
  2. If the player is on the lobby screen, show either nothing or a “Waiting…” status.
  3. If the player is in the equipment screen or is using the loadout set quick selection window, show a “Managing equipment…” status.
  4. If the player is looking at their consumable item bar, show a “Checking item pouch…” status.

Alternatively, we can reuse the existing Sticker system in place of inventing a new status system.

  1. When the player is on the lobby screen, retain existing behaviour.
  2. When the player is in the equipment screen or is using the loadout set quick selection window, automatically display an “Equipment Box” sticker for as long as the player is in the equipment screen/loadout set window. This indicates to other players that this player is currently managing their equipment. Dismiss the sticker when the player has closed the equipment screen/loadout set window.
  3. When the player is checking the consumable items bar, automatically display an “Item Pouch” sticker for as long as the player is viewing the consumable items bar. This indicates to other players that this player is currently checking their consumable items. Dismiss the sticker when the player has closed the item bar.
  4. These stickers are special system stickers that cannot be sent manually by players and cannot be acquired.

Please consider.

Addendum:
Additionally, perhaps can show some kind of visual effect when a player activates a consumable item, such as the green effect of consuming a First Aid Med or Potion, or the yellow effect of consuming a food item that recharges the SP Gauge. I don’t think there’s much of a point of showing any effect for activating a Wander item since it has no functional effect in a large monster hunt at this point. This would make me feel like the lobby is “alive” and that players are actively preparing for the hunt and not just waiting for nothing.

3 Likes
3

It’s a good idea.
Watching other people spam stamps in the lobby screen doesn’t feel very pleasant.

3 Likes
4

I was thinking about roughly the same thing.

When the My Sets screen is open from the lobby, the lobby’s status is visible, but when the equipment and training screen is open, the player cannot see the lobby’s status.
Therefore, it is currently difficult for other players to determine whether the person is being left unattended or preparing, which may be contributing to the frequent stamping.

I also sometimes switch weapons depending on the members, so it’s out of the question for those who leave it alone, but I’d like to have enough leeway to wait for those who are preparing.

2 Likes