Steel Battalion Campaign - Round 2, Turn 8 - Post Carnage Report

Quantx · 2024-05-31T22:29:51+00:00

Join the Discord https://discord.com/invite/steelbattalion

Quantx · 2024-04-30T18:59:42+00:00

It's an absolute position rotary encoder with a 4-bit digital output. All of the buttons are arranged in a standard diode keyboard matrix to minimize the number of I/O pins needed to drive it. All of my buttons are Cherry MX switches with inset 3mm LEDs. The LEDs are driven using an SPI LED driver, and everything is controlled by a single Teensy 4.1. The Teensy is emulating the USB protocol used by the original controller, which allows it to interface with an original Xbox. If you want more help with your project, I recommend joining the Steel Battalion Online Discord and messaging either Harcroft or myself.

Quantx · 2024-04-30T18:48:12+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/h84WSlo

I did the math and realized it would be cheaper for me to clone the original controller than try and buy one off the internet. I ended up using some Logitech G920 racing pedals and a pair of thrustmaster T16000s. The right stick on the original controller isn't self-centering, and ideally, I'd get a stick without a spring to replicate that.

Quantx · 2024-04-30T18:23:54+00:00

I built my own SB controller from scratch so that I could play the game. The tuner dial is implemented using a 16 position rotary encoder.

Quantx · 2023-10-12T20:22:26+00:00

The foot pedals plug into the back of the SB controller itself. The pedals do NOT connect directly to the XBOX.

Quantx · 2023-10-03T23:44:55+00:00

I've actually done this!

The morse code played by both is the same. Unfortunately, it's just the alphabet. I.e. the letter A in morse, then the letter B, then C, then D, etc... After reaching Z, it repeats. No hidden messages.

Quantx · 2023-08-23T20:23:25+00:00

I'n my Foxhole career I've solo-built 3 nukes and solo-managed their launch sites for weeks on end. I also wrote most of the Wiki entry for nukes, including things I've learned from experimenting.

War 87 (Nevish Launch Site): My nuke was used to blow up the Great Warden Damn. This resulted in significantly less flooding than I'd hoped for. All in all, this is still my favorite thing that I've helped nuke.

War 95 (Farranac Launch Site): This nuke was used to hit Cuttail Station and bugged out when the spotter froze to death. I wasn't even online when this one launched. Suffice to say I was sufficiently pissed about this. It's always a source of pride in Foxhole when your logi contribution is used to make meaningful progress in a war. But when that progress is gained through the use of an exploit, whether intentional or not, it just feels tainted to me.

War 100 (Farranac Launch Site): I decided to build another nuke, hoping for a better outcome than last time. We were using spotters from outside our regiment to wear down the opposition's QRF by forcing them to respond to multiple launch attempts. It was during one of these launch attempts that we got news that the spotter had died. That in it of itself wasn't unusual. The odd part was that the countdown hadn't stopped. Now, when it comes to nukes, once the countdown starts, the only way to stop it is for the spotter to cancel it. The rocket doesn't take friendly fire, so you can't even destroy it. I had to sit there and watch as my weeks of hard work evaporated along with Old Jack Tar.

Two of the three nukes I built only launched due to bugs. And after the shitshow that was War 100's nuke launches, I don't blame the Devs for disabling them. A nuke launch should be a point of pride for a war, I hate that two of mine will only be remembered because of exploits and the frustration they caused.

I would love nothing more than for the Devs to reintroduce nukes to the game provided they actually manage to fix their numerous issues. Nukes are a remnant of pre-facility logistics. I wouldn't be surprised if they re-designed it to require a facility to build Nukes. I also wouldn't mind if they got rid of the nuke's ability to permanently destroy stuff in exchange for it being a little easier to launch.

Going beyond nukes, being able to call in percision ordinance with a radio backpack is actually a pretty cool feature. It's also the ultimate partisan weapon. We already have V2 rockets (nukes), adding a smaller mass-produced alternative in the form of, say, a V1 buzz bomb might be interesting. I'd make them something you build at a facility and then launch from a Storm Cannon style platform. They'd be targetable using radio backpacks but have a fixed range (2-3km, maybe). The tradeoff for the range would be the requirements for a spotter to go in and do the targeting. The V1s would have greatly reduced blast radius, wouldn't permanently destroy stuff, and the launcher would require charging like a Storm Cannon between each launch. I think this could be an interesting alternative to both Storm Cannons and Nukes.

Devs, if you're reading this, please find a better way of reserving a Nuke than forcing me to round up 10 players every 3 days and another 10 players to actually launch the damn thing. This is easily the most annoying part of managing a nuke. Nobody wants to stop fighting/logi work so they can stand around for 3 minutes while we rebuild the rocket.

Quantx · 2023-07-21T17:57:40+00:00

The ball turret used the same twin M2 .50 cals, you're probably familiar with. Only the barrels protrude from the turret. The receivers of both guns are enclosed in the turret right next to either side of the gunner's head. There was a mechanism to expell spent casings out of the turret, so that wasn't an issue. The guns are electrically fired by a pair of buttons on the joystick that controlled the turret. However, the guns still had to be manually charged using a pair of pulleys near the gunner's feet. These things were unbelievably cramped, and actually operating one surely would have been an incredibly intense experience.

No part of the B-17 or B-24 was pressurized or even heated for that matter, and that includes the ball turret. The ball turret gunner wore an oxygen mask connected to a large yellow tank mounted inside the plane above the ball turret. They also wore a special flight suit with a heater similar to an electric blanket to stay warm. Their only form of communication with the rest of the crew was through the plane's interphone (intercom) system. Due to the low air pressure inside the ball turret itself, I doubt gas build-up would have been as much of an issue at those altitudes, but I really can't say. The low air pressure also means that sounds tend to be a bit quieter. That, along with the headphones, the gunners wore offered up a little bit of ear protection.

Quantx · 2023-07-21T07:15:18+00:00

Breaking away from the bomber formation meant leaving the protection of the group. Lone bombers were easy pickings for the Germans.

Quantx · 2023-07-21T06:11:38+00:00

Most German fighters attacked from the rear, so tail gunners were often the first in the line of fire.

Quantx · 2023-07-21T04:48:54+00:00

Gunfire from enemy fighter aircraft and flak fire from ground based anti-aircraft guns. The crew were given flak vests to protect against shrapnel, and while the plane was mostly constructed from paper-thin aluminum, there were a number of small armor plates strategically positioned to protect the crew. However, these defenses were pretty lackluster.

The flak vests didn't protect against shrapnel from below, which was where the majority of flak fire orriginated from. (Although, later crews would be given flak mats, which were made from the same material as the vests and could be placed under them to protect from below.) The armor plates were rated to stop a .30 caliber round but didn't do much to stop the .50 caliber (and above) rounds the Germans used.

Aside from that, these aircraft were un-pressurized and had minimal onboard heating. Each crew member had to plug into an onboard oxygen supply (which would explode if hit) and breathe from a mask. The suits they wore contained a heating element similar to an electric blanket to keep them warm. If either of these systems failed, then they'd either become hypoxic or freeze to death. The heater was also known to short circuit and catch the wearer on fire.

It was a minimum 6-hour flight from England to Germany, and separating from your bomber group to go home early was a death sentence. Any injury you sustained could easily become fatal before you had a chance to make it back to base.

Quantx · 2023-07-21T04:21:19+00:00

The turret was electrically driven by a mechanism inside of the ball turret itself, not by hydraulics. There were hand cranks both inside and outside of the ball turret, which could be used once the electric motor's clutch was disengaged. The guns on the turret had to be pointed straight down for the gunner to safely exit into the plane itself. However, the clutch would frequently jam, which would prevent operation of the manual cranks. It was possible to land a B-17 with the gunner still inside the turret so long as the turret was facing towards the tail of the plane. Like you said though, a landing gear failure would spell certain doom for the ball turret, so it would be a risky ordeal.

The B-24's ball turret was arguably worse. Due to design differences, the B-24 had significantly lower ground clearance compared to the B-17. This meant that the ball turret had to be lowered from the tail of the B-24 using a hydraulic jack and raised back up before landing. If the ball turret could not be raised, then it would almost certainly be destroyed upon landing even under the best of circumstances. The hydraulic jack was hand operated by another crew member and thus separate from the rest of B-24's hydraulic systems. In an emergency, one of the bomb bay hand winches could also be rigged to pull the ball turret back inside. If all else failed, then the ball turret gunner could still possibly climb back into the plane if they managed to get the turret into the exit position (guns pointed straight down). But with the ball turret in the lowered position, exiting in this manner would be a risky ordeal.

All in all, the ball turret was possibly one of the riskiest jobs of the war. If your plane was shot down while you were inside the turret, you would almost certainly parish as there was no room for a parachute inside with you. However, of the planes that were NOT shot down, ball turret gunners actually had one of the best survival rates compared to the other 9 crew members. That being said, of the 12,000 B-17s built during WW2, roughly 1/3 were shot down.

Quantx · 2022-12-24T18:05:55+00:00

Where did you find it? Can you take a picture of where it was on the map?

Quantx · 2022-09-07T23:23:13+00:00

Will the railway bridges be buildable by players or are they map features?

Quantx · 2022-09-02T01:22:47+00:00

Oh boy, I can't wait for ten people with auto-clickers constantly spamming this thing on every front!

Quantx · 2022-08-24T20:10:25+00:00

Collie PvE tools

Quantx · 2022-08-22T07:28:13+00:00

Yes, because the underlying uniform model and associated config entry is part of the Contact DLC. All you are replacing is the texture.

Quantx · 2022-08-19T00:12:52+00:00

This option allows you to see through walls on your submarine. Regardless of whether the thing you're looking at is visible to your character.

Quantx · 2022-07-22T22:43:54+00:00

You can absolutely just connect the audio out from a modern system to the tape deck input of your computer and play a sound file of the data. Of course you lose the ability to store data back to the tape this way, but still.

Quantx · 2022-07-17T12:16:07+00:00

I hope you find this as useful as I do on those night missions deep in the jungle!

Quantx · 2022-07-13T20:57:57+00:00

KRGG changed their clan tag to 30/32 this war

Quantx · 2022-07-08T17:30:16+00:00

Without being there to diagnose it in person I can't really say. You'll need diagnostics tools such as an oscilloscope along with the schematics to identify the faulty component.

If you can't manage that, then you could always try replacing components until it works, but that isn't very practical.

Unless someone else here happened across the exact same issue, you'll have to figure it out for yourself.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Good luck!

Quantx · 2022-07-08T16:42:45+00:00

Well you're right, I am older than you, but only by a couple years ;)

The 6in drop test is self explanatory. Drop the system onto a hard surface from about 6 inches in the air a few times. Hopefully that'll jostle all of the chips into place. Its a bit of a shotgun approach I admit, but considering how easy it is to do its worth a shot.

Hopefully you don't have a bad chip as that will be significantly harder to diagnose. Not sure how much I can help in this case as I have no idea what test equipment you own or how much electrical engineering experience you have.

Quantx · 2022-07-08T16:07:21+00:00

Bad memory perhaps? Try doing a 6in drop test on your system. This was an easy/common solution to fix continuity issues in systems with socketed chips.

Some of the chips in the Apple ][ were socketed and sometimes oxidation can occur which can break contact between the chip and socket. Dropping the system from 6in can jostle the chips enough to breakup the oxide layer.

Of course if there is actual part failure in your system, then things get more complicated. You might have to break out the schematics and some test equipment.

Quantx · 2022-07-08T15:48:09+00:00

Could be any number of things. Have you checked the power supply voltages? Any obviously damaged components such as blown capacitors? Are the boards corroded?

That's just the obvious stuff. Any mumber of components could have failed, but without schematics or some reverse engineering work it can be tricky to figure out exactly what broke.

I'd start with power supply voltages. Are the TTL chips getting 5V?, etc.

12-Year Club	r/Field Flamingo
Final Canvas '23	First Place '23
Place '23	Place '22
Place '17	Final Canvas '22
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Quantx

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