Handy Overwatch tool alerts your phone when you finally get a match
Overwatch’s role queue feature was finally implemented in 2019 and with it came extremely long queue times for anyone trying to play damage. Luckily, some tech-savvy players have created a tool to make those times a bit more bearable.
Posting to Reddit, Team Denmark General Manager Frederik ‘Huggos’ Kragh posted about the new app he and his friends developed that alerts players on their phone when they’ve found a game.
“We’re a few Overwatch enthusiasts who have developed a very early prototype of a lightweight Windows application that will enable you to be notified on Discord (via messages from a Discord-bot) when your game queue ends,” Huggos wrote.
I have, together with a few friends, developed a VERY early version of an application that can notify you when your Overwatch queue ends – the notification will be sent to your phone 📱 (a Discord bot will message you). https://t.co/vJKl9KSbOm
— Frederik Kragh (@huggos_) January 1, 2020
He explained that while Overwatch has taken some measures to make queues better, such as the new “While You Wait” feature which lets players join non-competitive game modes while searching for a game, this application would be handy alongside it.
One of the biggest worries players have when queueing for ten or more minutes is the potential of leaving the room to do something quickly, but the game finding you a match while you’re away from your keyboard.
What happens when you’re inactive at the start of an Overwatch match? The game is canceled, you lose skill rating and you get suspended from playing competitive for a bit. By receiving an alert on your phone, you can hurry back and play your game.
Queuing as damage can leave you waiting over 10 minutes to find a match.Huggos explained that the team is working on a more sophisticated version of the tool, but for the time being, this is what they’ve come up with.
He went on to provide instructions on how to install the program in his post.
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Sign up (via Google login) and provide your Discord ID at https://queuepopper.com/
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Make sure to have the Discord app installed on your phone, with notifications enabled, and be on our Discord channel (so the Discord bot can find you)
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Download the newest version of the application here: https://dl.queuepopper.com/
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Open the application and sign in (it is currently required that you have Chrome installed for the application to work – we’re working on a new version where this is not a requirement)
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Start the queue detection process – remember to stay in-game and at the game menu while queueing (the application will not be able to detect the queue status if you tab out)
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Start queuing for a game in Overwatch (Competitive, Quick Play or classic Arcade modes)
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You’ll receive a message when the application detects that you’re in a queue
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You will receive another message when the queue ends (this will end the queue detection process facilitated by the Windows application)
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Repeat from step 5 and enjoy the physical freedom while queuing
There are a couple of issues with the program, however. For one, the application will not alert you if you’ve tabbed out of the Overwatch client. “If you wish to stay at your PC and tab out, then this application has no value,” Huggos explained in the comments. “We might however look into enabling this feature – if it is a general request.”
If you plan on playing support, you can normally find a game quickly.Additionally, the tool currently doesn’t support console so this only applies for PC players. With that said, Huggos thinks supporting console play would be cool and is something the team may look into further down the road.
Hopefully, this tool takes off so players can roam their house, make a sandwich or do other things without having to worry about missing a game due to a long queue ever again.