Right Side Alert And Hint Buttons

1. Summary

Compact right-edge HUD buttons that surface alert and hint/tutorial availability during live tactical play. The stack sits directly above the minimap and can display a black `NEW HINT! (K)` callout beside the hint button when new guidance is available.

Overview

The right-side alert and hint buttons are a compact gameplay HUD rail anchored directly above the minimap. In the inspected mission footage, the rail presents a red warning triangle at the top, a gold hint/tutorial button beneath it, another red context/alert button below, and small hotkey letters aligned on the outer right edge. When new guidance is available, the hint state expands into a black NEW HINT! (K) callout that points back toward the right-side rail without displacing the minimap.

The buttons remain visible as part of the normal HUD even when the side callout is not present, preserving a stable location for warning and guidance affordances during live tactical play.

Job Story

When I am controlling the squad during a mission and the game has optional guidance or an alert to surface, I want a small right-edge button stack near the minimap, so that I can notice and open contextual information without losing tactical awareness.

Classification

• diegesis: Non-diegetic
• functional_type: Feedback notification
• component_type: Button

Wireframe

Gameplay viewport
+------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                            |
|                                      [alert] V             |
|                                      [hint ] B  < NEW HINT!|
|                                      [other] H             |
|                                      +---------+           |
|                                      | minimap |           |
|                                      +---------+           |
+------------------------------------------------------------+

Components

• Red warning triangle button at the top of the stack.
• Gold hint/tutorial button that can trigger the NEW HINT! (K) callout.
• Lower red icon button for an additional alert/context channel.
• Small right-aligned hotkey labels, visible as V, B, and H in the inspected frames.
• Black hint callout label with white uppercase text.
• Shared right-side decorative frame/background integrated with the minimap HUD cluster.

Parameters & Audio

Navigation

• The player reaches this UI during live missions from the normal gameplay HUD. The hint affordance can be opened via its visible hotkey/click target, producing the in-game HINTS overlay; closing the overlay returns to the same gameplay HUD. The buttons coexist with adjacent HUD navigation elements such as the minimap controls and do not route through a full pause/settings menu.

Dependencies & Logic

• Requires the live gameplay HUD and minimap cluster to be active.
• Hint callout depends on game logic determining that a new contextual hint is available.
• Alert/warning icons depend on tactical state, mission scripting, or enemy/attention systems that need to notify the player.
• Hotkey labels depend on the current input binding profile and must update if bindings are remapped.
• Overlay opening depends on the tutorial/hints content registry for the current mission context.

BDD Scenarios

Edge Cases

• The callout should not overlap or obscure critical minimap information.
• Long localized hint labels must fit the available left-expanding callout area or truncate gracefully.
• Remapped hotkeys must update both the icon-adjacent label and the parenthesized callout key.
• Multiple simultaneous notifications should preserve a predictable button order instead of stacking callouts over each other.
• If the hints content is unavailable, activation should fail gracefully without leaving the button in a highlighted or stuck state.

QA Notes

Mechanic Links

• Takedown and Body Control - Right-side alert and hint buttons surface warning or guidance states that can be triggered by detection, alerts, or contextual stealth/body-control tutorials.
• Enemy Perception and Alarm AI - Right Side Alert And Hint Buttons provide persistent HUD affordances for warning or guidance states related to tactical danger and player attention.
• Hector's Brute Trapper Kit - Alert and hint buttons surface warnings or tutorial prompts when loud actions, enemy reactions, or learnable kit interactions need player attention.

References

1. 1.

   Desperados 3 Let's Play Gameplay Walkthrough Pt 8 Back Alley Jazz [1440p w/ Commentary] (7:39-7:50) Gameplay HUD evidence for the right-side alert/hint rail, NEW HINT callout, and opened HINTS overlay state.

2. 2.

   Desperados 3 Let's Play Gameplay Walkthrough Pt 8 Back Alley Jazz [1440p w/ Commentary] (25:00-25:01) Gameplay HUD evidence for the same right-side button stack visible without a hint callout.