Roger That: New Software In Production

It's a brand new day and we have a brand new software version for you! 

SATR3.11 has some exciting new features for both Battlefield Operators and Gamers. SATR3.17 has some cool efficiency improvements. 

This blog covers what is new in 3.17.   

NOTE: 3.17 is backwardly compatible with older versions of the 3 series. In other words, if you have SATR3.1 or any other 3 series software this new SATR3.17 will all work together. (Please note: SATR3.17 does have some new sound effects which your older units will not have. But they will function together!) 

Past Software Releases: IMPROVED BATTLE ROYALE BOX BOOSTER

Some operators require Battle Royale games to be run over large areas which means the circle needs to start very large and shrink ultimately down to one small area around a single Battle Royale Box.    

If boosters we used, previously they would each have their own circle right to the end.   Now I have the boosters have a distance where they cease to retransmit the immunity signal. 

Here is an example using 10 boxes, ideally with whip antennas. (See mock-up below.)

EXPANDED SIMPLE CONTROLLER

The functionality of the simple controller has been expanded significantly to allow all the popular missions supported by SATR3 to be run without having to learn the full master controller. (The comprehensive master controller has hundreds of options!) 

The Simple Controller assumes the gaming guns are preset and software locked to prevent inexperienced staff members from changing these settings. Similarly, Battle Boxes are now assumed to use the default “Recommend Options” which allows them to be set on boot by the operator just selecting from a simple menu to run our standard missions.   

The Simple Controller will now have the ability to change from Low Light or Bright Conditions (indoor/outdoor) mode, as even the simplest operation might sometimes be in low light conditions like inside while at other times they are operating in bright sunshine.  In bright sunshine, the gaming units need to use a lot more infrared power as all infrared sensor sensitivity drops dramatically outdoors.   

Running any event, using the pre-recorded phrases to tell the players what is happening or what they need to do is very valuable and can be used safely where the phrase is played on their gaming gun wherever they are on the field is a fantastic group management tool. 

The command “Switch Box Teams” is included. This is great if you are running an event on a single crew member. It is just so efficient when changing ends to simply switch box teams so that a box like a Medic Box changes from Red Team to Blue Team by radio. When running an event by oneself, saves a lot of time and walking. When it does the function, the box itself flashes the color of the team it has changed to which does make it clearer. 

The command “Refresh Scores” is included. This is especially useful for Battle Royale but in other missions, it has proved useful to request the latest scores from the mission appropriate devices or gaming guns to get the latest score onto the controller. There is no harm in triggering this at any time. This works with the fact we have already added the Mission Scoring to the simple controller in the earlier code versions.

Improved Mission Scoring via the Master Controller

Improved Digital Radio Efficiency

The latest live gaming engine is more efficient in relation to the radio system. Both in transmitting and receiving.   Whenever the system processes a radio packet it can slow down including the timers.  Changes have been made at the driver level to reduce this delay (3.10I+ code).    

A lot of the radio traffic sent from gaming guns and boxes is for SATRWare integration, there is no 3 options on each SATR device to specify the level of integration:

• •    None
• •    Partial and
• •    Full.   

When using system resets, the system now runs much faster.   It was doing a lot of writing to the SD card which is slow, not it only writes to files that have changed.

The timers on the Domination Box are now more accurate, there were minor delays with the Scoreboard integration RF.

Double the Ammo for all Weapons in the Battlefield ROYALE Theme  

In Battle Royale theme, the ammunition has been doubled on each weapon.  Field test found that gamers were running out of ammunition too quickly. Afterall the “Battle Royale” is a winner-take-all competition so players need as much ammo as possible!

A new “Recommended Options” menu has replaced the former “Spare Device” list. This gives the operator a simple list of devices required to run our recommended missions, all preset to our standard set of configuration options. This allows inexperienced people to easily run our games, the same games listed on the master controller scoring (except Rush). In the new 3.10 software version, the way the recommended options work across themes has been standardized.   

To get a battle box into recommended options is very easy, just hold down the red button while turning the box on, it will ask if you want to reset, select Yes.    This is much faster that going through all the menus and reduces vastly the chances of the staff getting it wrong.  This is so simple; we use this now for our short-term rentals as well.

A minor bug was fixed where hits on a Battlefield Royale theme shield did not count as a wound for statistics purpose.

NEW: BASIC CONTROLLER which is even simpler than a Simple Controller

There is now a BASIC CONTROLLER, which is even simpler than a SIMPLE CONTROLLER. This is designed for festival operators or rentals to school vacation care or summer camps when it has to be incredibly simple.  A basic controller has the following options:

•    Game Timer   (how long each game runs for)
•    End a Game
•    Start a Game
•    Find Everything
•    Select a Game (Only TEAM ELIMINATION and CAPTURE AND HOLD, equivalent of TDM and Domination)

Reorganize the command list order in the Simple Controller
The simple controller commands list sequence has been reorganized.    

Now the list starts at “Select Game. Here’s the new list order:

•    Select Game (Select Mission for Battlefield LIVE)
•    Game Timer
•    Briefing (RF)
•    Start (RF)
•    End (RF)
•    Find (RF)
•    Red Team (IR)
•    Blue Team (IR)
•    Any Team (IR)
•    Reload (IR)
•    Set Volume
•    Reactivate IR
•    Auto. Reactivate

The way it works now is that the very first thing an operator will want to do is to select what game to play, then set how long to play it for.   Next, an operator will want to get players ready using the briefing command (pause and reset). Once everyone is in position Start the game and then if required End the game.  Finally, when the event is over, an operator may need the FIND command.   

The commands in bold are the most common once and the ones that most operators should need to run our recommended games