User:Slate/Splatoon 3 UX

There's a lot that Splatoon 3 does right with the new UI/UX design over Splatoon 2, but there's also a lot that could be better. Some changes made from Splatoon 2 to Splatoon 3 made the UX worse.

Let's get into it.

New features that could be better

Lobby

• Changing equipment in a group means disbanding the room. Eww.
• Because the Lobby is now a internet sync point, every time you enter it, a check is made to the internet. If you have disconnected from the internet at any point, it will say the Maps and Modes have updated and reloads the Lobby even if you have already played a map in this rotation.
• The "Match Menu" can be accessed inside the Lobby, using... ? This really messes up the autopilot of "Menu is , then to accept" because that combination from inside the Lobby takes you back out to the Square.
  • The menuing buttons are all over the place. In most contexts it's . Unless you want the Match Menu. Or if you're in Recon (in which case it's cause brings up the map).
  • Now I want to press when I'm in the Square to bring up the Match Menu.
  • You can skip the news by , and not the expected button like the other skips are keyed to.
• Lockers are only accessible from inside the Lobby.
• Locker door looks like a wall and fades in, which is cool aesthetically but there are a lot of people who didn't realise they can go through the doors. More signposting is required (like the exit sign by the lobby exit).
• You need to walk to the Lobby Terminal, which includes _Player Settings_ such as your Nickname and Splashtag. You can edit your Splashtag from the usual Menu, but not your nickname?
  • In fact, this whole terminal is pointless save for the Replay options. Get Stuff used to be a crate dropped off in the Plaza (Splatoon 2), Battle Logs is in the Match Menu, and Splatfest Region should be an advanced Options menu option along with Nickname.
• The copy machine fires a Splattershot and Splat Bombs when you're doing one of the buttons. We wanted Octolings or something to practice against. Something like the Smash Bros training AI would be grand. I hope they will improve it in the future.

Misc

• Disconnects at the start of the game. Great improvement, 100% support the no contest route. But you could keep the turf on the weapon / reward people for time at least - it's a complete waste of 2 mins otherwise (and more if your queue time is longer).
• The grey contrast of the menu option of where you currently are should be clearer; it's too similar to the clickable options.
• "Post Display" which is the label text in Option, is not "user-generated content" which is the hint text above. This setting (unexpectedly? also) controls if you can see other player's lockers.
• The secret kettle has no map icon for it so you can jump to it after finding/opening it. Was this really intended?
• Holding to confirm you're ready... or you can open the Match Menu and press .

Old features that were made worse

• amiibo text is now a lot longer, and defaults to "no" after 5-10 pages of unskippable dialog. The no option quits out and the whole process of scanning an amiibo must be repeated.
  • Please at least let me mash the button to instant-load the text.
• The new lobby is great for mucking around waiting for a fight. But making it now requires considerable more menuing to get anywhere. Now you need to join the lobby, and then go through a separate menu to get to playing.
• Recon mode moved to the Plaza. I get that's because it's now available offline but it makes more sense for it to also be accessible from the Match Menu with the other battle modes.
• Matchmaking; why in a ranked game in B rank am I against players with S+ badges? But it no longer lets you skip ranks?

Unchanged features that were carried over but still could be better

• Some places in the square aren't accessible via the menu. In Splatoon 2 this is Spyke, and now Murch and Tableturf Battle in Splatoon 3.
  • Tableturf even has a menu option under status, but no way to fast travel there!
• Ink Rails in Story Mode really ought to have some button(s) that changes rail. The mechanics of the ink rail give it an artificial and unfair difficulty where the character has a propensity to jump between rails (and often into the water/pit below).
• LAN Play is feature that is not on the UI. It has a different button combination compared to Splatoon 2, but the devs did not add it to the game menus.
• The game's music cannot be muted. But further to this, you could choose master audio, music, voice-lines, game audio cues (e.g. specials, bombs etc) on a slider.
  • Please let me mute that godforsaken clown music of the Clam Blitz basket that sounds like a dev put it in as test music and forgot to take it out again.
• Allow access to the tutorial area (the bit before joining the Splatlands) so you can hand over to new players quickly.
• Can't change player options (such as gyro controls and color lock) till you enter the Splatlands.
• Colour lock is locked to one colour set... let players choose which colours to play. It'll help colour-blind folks much more.
• Signals only This way! and Booyah!, still. It'd be kinda cool to unlock more phrases (so long as all the required defaults came as standard).
• Throw reticule for subs and special such as Ultra Stamp should take into account the environment and give feedback if your weapon is not gonna go where you're aiming.

Removed features that were better

• The new lobby DJ jellyfishes are a really nice aesthetic. But previously we could choose a song in the previous games to play on the Arcade machine.
• There's no 1000% completion acknowledgement for Single Player :(