KopPad
The KopPad (GPAD in Japan) is a device used by the leaders in Pikmin 3. It is very similar to the Wii U GamePad. The device serves many purposes to help the characters through the game, and is likewise a gameplay mechanic for the player. The Wii U GamePad functions as this device during the game.
The KopPad can be personalized, as its screen rim color matches that of their owner: Alph's is blue, Brittany's is pink, and Charlie's is green. After crash-landing on the planet, Alph is separated from his KopPad. As a result, the player can't use it until the first bridge is built.
In Mission Mode and Bingo Battle, the KopPad can also be used, but it is more limited. In the latter, it has no extra apps at all, and only shows the map.
Apps
Besides allowing audio and video communication between leaders and the S.S. Drake, the KopPad also allows the explorers to read Data Files, get terrain and Pikmin info, store data on Fruits, and take pictures of the environment. For these latter purposes, the KopPad comes equipped with installable apps. Each app has an icon on the KopPad touchscreen that can be tapped to open the respective app. Some apps are installed at certain points in the game, and uninstalled apps appear with a × symbol on their icon. If new content was added to an app, the word "NEW" will appear under its icon. The five icons are as follows:
The planet icon shows a birds-eye view of the currently explored area. This is the default app, opened while the gameplay is happening.
The Data File icon opens the Exploration Notes.
The Red Pikmin icon opens Pikmin statistics.
The Sunseed Berry icon opens a record of all collected fruits.
The camera icon allows the player to take photographs of the in-game environment.
Depending on the control scheme, the KopPad can be always enabled, or enabled on command. With Off-TV Play off, the player sees the main action happening on the TV screen, and the GamePad showing the KopPad's screen, with the map app opened. This app updates in real time as the gameplay takes place. If the player interacts with the GamePad's screen, the gameplay will pause, and provided they didn't switch apps, full control over the map app will take place. When the gameplay is paused, a pause symbol briefly appears on the pad's screen.
With Off-TV Play enabled, the player must press a certain button or tap a certain location of the GamePad in order to access the KopPad; this also pauses the gameplay. A certain button or icon on the screen will allow the player to return to the main gameplay display.
Map
The map is the default app on the KopPad, and is always enabled if the player has Off-TV Play off. It provides a map of the area, stylized so that water, terrain, structures, and boundary walls are high-contrast and easy to distinguish. It has a static level of zoom, and by default, the map is centered on the active leader. If Off-TV Play is off, the map will also follow the current leader as they move.
Touching the GamePad in this state will pause gameplay, if it is not already paused. With Off-TV Play disabled, the camera on the TV screen will also move upwards and point down in a birds-eye view. The player can drag their finger or stylus on the touchscreen in order to pan around; the TV screen camera will also pan accordingly. Effectively, this feature allows the player to view all around the area from a birds-eye view, either with the stylized KopPad map, or from the actual in-game camera.
The map is not fully rendered from the get-go. A fog of war effect makes it so that the map only renders places visited by the leaders. The TV screen's camera will not show unexplored sections. Once a zone of the map is rendered, it stays that way forever, even if the player returns to a previous day after saving. Uncharted areas merely show the background of the KopPad – a blue and cyan grid. This method of charting is not divided in cells or predefined zones, but is rather quite smooth, with nearly each pixel of the map having an individual "charted" or "uncharted" state. The map is automatically charted as the gameplay takes place, and approximately one camera-width of content can be revealed from any one position.
Two buttons exist on the top left and top right corners of the map app. The icon on the top-left allows the player to toggle the map orientation between always having the north point up (an "N" icon with a triangle pointing upwards), or the same orientation as the camera (a compass icon). Changing this will also change the TV screen's overhead camera. The button on the top-right shows Alph's silhouette, and is used to toggle the gameplay pause. If the icon is stopped, the gameplay is paused, but if the icon shows a walking animation, the gameplay continues taking place while the player is examining the map. In this mode, all of the map app's functionalities continue to work as normal, but switching apps will forcefully pause the gameplay. It should be noted that the top-right button does not work with Off-TV Play enabled.
When sunset is approaching, the top of the map app will periodically switch between the message "Pikmin in Danger", and the current amount of Pikmin of each type that will be left behind during the sunset, unless they're gathered in time.
If Off-TV Play is on and the player has the screen showing the KopPad, attempting to disable Off-TV Play with 
will merely show a message saying that it is impossible to switch.
Content
|
To do: Get the remaining icons. |
Besides the area's geography, the map also displays the location of various objects and special points:
- Leader locations, with their icons inside bubbles (and with the current leader's bubble surrounded by a cyan circle). Tapping a different leader's bubble will switch to that leader without unpausing the gameplay.
- Pikmin locations, with simple circles of their basic color.
- Fruit locations, with their icons. Multi-part fruits also have different icons, and grapes have icons that represent different levels of individual grape collection. Upon collecting 10 different fruits, the Fruit Finder will be unlocked. Fruits will be then shown on the KopPad whether the area has been discovered yet. Fruits in undiscovered areas have a yellow star icon.
- Obstacle locations, with their icons. Some of these icons have more than one version that signify how much more of the obstacle is left to clear.
- The S.S. Drake's location.
- The Onion's location.
- Section entrance/exit, with an arrow pointing towards the entrance. When a leader enters one of these areas, a quick fade takes place, and they are placed on the new section of the map. Clicking on one of these icons will center the map on the matching exit icon.
The location of the signal. This icon also emits large circular yellow waves from time to time.
Go Here!
In order to use the Go Here! functionality, the player must first collect the Data File located on the other side of the Crystal Wall at the Garden of Hope's landing site.
With the gameplay paused, a small cyan pyramid appears on the center of the map app. When the map is panned, the pyramid stays on the center, and hence, follows the panning. As the shape moves, a set of arrows originating from the current leader mark a trail from the leader's icon on the map to the spot the pointer is at. After a small delay, a button with the leader's icon and the words "Go Here!" will appear in a non-obstructive location of the screen. Tapping this button will make the leader take the path shown towards the target location. With the Go Here! functionality, players can make leaders (and their army of Pikmin) automatically move to a location, while they focus on doing something else with another leader.
The path suggested is always the shortest one required in order to reach the destination. This path-finding system also takes into account insurmountable obstacles and water, disallowing the travel if the player tries to enter a body of water with non-blue or non-winged Pikmin in their party. Hazards and enemies are ignored when deciding the path, but uncharted terrain is considered and not allowed. If the player places the destination point in an uncharted or invalid location (like the aforementioned body of water condition), the pyramid marker will turn pink, and the "Go Here!" button will be grayed out. If the path to a certain location is blocked off by an uncleared obstacle or any other feature that can't be overcome, the shown path will still trace to the point of the obstacle, where it then displays a pink × sign, and the rest of the path with pink arrows, meaning the leader can only reach the point marked by the × sign.
If the leader reaches their destination successfully, a dialog message will appear on-screen with their icon, and a message stating that they reached their target spot. If not, they'll explain why the path didn't work. They'll also give up if they get stuck on something for a few seconds. If the leader is damaged during their walk, they will cancel their task altogether.
The player can switch to leaders under the Go Here! function, but action inputs will not work – except for the whistle button, which will make the current leader stop in their place and cancel the Go Here! walk. A small bubble appears near the leader's head notifying the player that it is possible to cancel.
Leaders under the Go Here! function move as slowly as a leaf Pikmin. This has the pro of allowing any Pikmin to follow the leader without fear of lagging behind, but also the con of being slower than if the player were to go there manually. If a leader's destination ends in a buried Pikmin, they will automatically begin plucking just after saying the arrival message.
Exploration Notes
The Exploration Notes are a collection of all Data Files found. The 120 Data Files are divided into six categories on this menu. This app is installed after one Data File is recovered. If a category has no unlocked Data Files, it merely appears as an × symbol. The following categories exist:
Pikmin Behavior (Pikminology in the European version)
- These files explain the behavior and abilities of the Pikmin.
Controls
- This category tells the basic controls of Pikmin 3, as well as what to do in some special events.
Indigenous Life
Area Hints
- These notes provide hints on what to do in the immediate area.
Olimar's Log
- These are personal notes from Olimar. They give an idea as to what Olimar has been doing on PNF-404 during the events of Pikmin 3.
Other
- This category is very different from the rest, in that it gives no helpful information or storyline. Each of these is a Secret File, with only a number and some Pikmin. Collecting all ten unlocks access to special cutscenes available online through the Wii U's internet browser only.
Pikmin Info
The Pikmin Info screen shows statistics about the Pikmin count. The top of the screen enumerates how many Pikmin there are of each type inside the Onion, as well as on the field (idle or not). The total number of Pikmin on the Onion and the total on the field are also present.
The bottom half of the screen has three more numbers: the number of Pikmin that are under a leader's squad, the number of Pikmin working, and the number of Pikmin idling.
Fruit File
The Fruit File is the fourth app on the KopPad. It is installed after the first fruit is recovered, and lists the types and amount of all collected fruits up to this point, sorted by order of collection. Tapping on a fruit will show its name, the amount of juice it's worth, how many of it have been collected, how many Pikmin are needed to carry it, Brittany's notes and finally, if the fruit radar has been unlocked, how many of this type of fruit there are in the game.
When the fruit radar is unlocked, the total number of existing pieces of fruit is also displayed, and the total of instances of each fruit also appears in the file. A star on the top-right corner of each cell indicates all existing samples of that fruit have been collected.
Camera
By opening the camera app, the player can use the GamePad much like they would use a real camera. The GamePad's screen shows the scenery from the view of the leader, holding the KopPad like a camera. As the player rotates and moves the GamePad, the changes are reflected in what's displayed on the screen. With this, the player can view the action from another perspective, and gain visual access to otherwise invisible details, such as the secret Pikmin drawings. While it is not possible to walk manually while holding the camera, it is possible to use the camera on a leader under the Go Here! command.
On top of allowing a pseudo-first person view, this camera also allows the player to take images and share them on Miiverse. 
can be used to zoom in and out, with the default level of zoom being 1.3×, the minimum being 1.0×, and the maximum being 3.0×. Touching a part of the frame will cause anything at that distance to focus, and scenery at other distances to become blurred; naturally, the farther it is, the further it blurs.
toggles the flash function. With it enabled, pictures will be taken with flash. This can be useful to lighten up otherwise dark pictures. Interestingly, the flash also causes an eyeshine effect on Bulborbs.
takes a picture, and after a brief delay, the Pikmin 3 Miiverse post submission page opens up, with the photograph ready for upload. The player can set their mood, and add their own text and/or drawing to the submission. Depending on what was focused, the submission will automatically be tagged with one of the following tags:
- People: If the photo focuses on a character, playable or otherwise.
- Pikmin: If the photo focuses on a Pikmin or the Onion.
- Plants: If the photo focuses on a plant.
- Enemy name: If the photo focuses on an enemy, the post will be tagged with its name.
- Scenery: Anything else.
Gallery
- Movie09.jpg
Alph walking up to the KopPad.
The KopPad allows the player to get an overview of an area.
- Charlie Communicating With Drake.png
Charlie using his KopPad to communicate with the S.S. Drake.
- GPAD.PNG
The KopPad's screen in Bingo Battle.
Promotional image showing the KopPad's main screen.
- Gamepad Communicator.jpg
Alph communicating with Brittany in a prototype version of Pikmin 3.
Trivia
- The device's name is a portmanteau of Koppai and GamePad. The Japanese version's name is GPad, a shortening of GamePad.
- Oddly, when a leader uses their KopPad to contact another explorer, the latter is seen not holding their KopPad. Although unlikely, it is possible that it is placed on a stand to allow a better view of the recipient, as they can be seen leaning forward to turn it off.
- It is unknown what Olimar and Louie use to communicate, but their devices appear to use similar technology to the KopPad, as they can contact the Koppaites and the Data File can be run by the KopPads.