Sub Buddy - the World's First Attack Disc & TADS Computer on iOS & Android

[PoutyBatFace Studios]

Originally Posted by hachiman

Any chance you'll "Fix" it to work on older android devices?
I purchased it without reading you needed Nougat or above for it to work.
Never had to pay attention to that before. My bad, but can't see any reason why you've made it so.

Hi Hachiman, thanks for your question. Firstly I'm sorry you didn't notice the system requirements before you purchased, Google do offer a 48 hour refund policy so please ensure you take advantage of that.

The reason Sub Buddy doesn't support Android OS prior to Nougat is the approach we took to create it. The best way to code an Android app (to my knowledge) is to use Java. I have no doubt that a Java developer who is well experienced coding Android apps would have been able to create a version of Sub Buddy that would support a wider range of devices and operating systems. We don't have that expertise in-house and hiring someone was not an option for this project.

The skills we do have available in-house are with a framework called React, which has a library called React Native that can be used to create mobile apps. This library is limited, which means the options we had to solve problems such as "how to tell which disc is being touched to rotate it", "how to animate a rotation smoothly" and "how to display a 3D model of a ship" had only one answer, rather than several that would have allowed choices around optimisation.

As a result when we tested the Android version in simulators and on physical devices we found that OS prior to Nougat had issues with loading and rotating the discs, and with the AoB estimator functionality, making the app unusable.

So this wasn't a decision at the beginning, but instead was a constraint imposed upon us as a result of the options we had available to create Sub Buddy on Android. Because of those constraints we don't have a route to making changes that would allow it to work on older OS. I know that is not the answer you are looking for, which is why I wanted to give this full explanation.

I totally understand your disappointment that it doesn't work on your phone/tablet. I wish we could have supported more devices. Given the challenges we faced creating Sub Buddy on Android we are really proud of how it has turned out, and the features that it has, which allows (many) Android users to enjoy the app, as well as iOS users.

[hachiman]

Thanks for the reply.
Appreciate the time taken to answer.

[Cherrybark]

Just returning to sub games, after a couple of years wandering in deep space with, Elite Dangerous. With lots of patient help from THEBERBSTER I just managed to get SH5 / Wolves of Steel installed and am a bit overwhelmed with the learning curve for full realism play, the attack disc, etc. There are scattered resources and YouTube videos but I'm delighted to find this app with tutorials.

Looks beautiful on an iPad!

[derstosstrupp]

Thanks for the review, Neal! I very much enjoyed working with Zoe on the app. The quality is there in spades!

[Gray Lensman]

Purchased this a few days ago. Kinda interesting, BUT, how useful is it with different speed torpedos. Do you have to separately "look up" lead angles for various "own" ship intercept heading(s) combined with different torp speed settings? Incidentally, I'm in the process of making a spreadsheet that does just that and that's why I question whether this device accommodates these various torp speed/intercept angle combinations.


For instance (SH4): using the vector analysis attack rules and the in-sim measuring tools (and just a zero gyro angle shot to keep things simple):

Let's say you are 80 degrees to the Target course using a Mk 14 at high speed (46 kts). and the target is moving 7 kts. The lead angle is approx. 8 degrees (set the optics to 72 degrees).

If you use the Mk 14 at slow speed (31 Kts), and everything else remains the same, the lead angle is approx. 12 degrees (set the optics to 68 degrees).


These lead angles also change according to the "own" ship course relative to the target course

For example again using the Mk 14 at high speed (46 kts), and the target is still moving at 7 kts, but instead you are 45 degrees to the target, the lead angle is approx. 6 degrees instead of 8 as above.

and if you use the Mk 14 at slow speed (31 kts), target still moving 7 kts, and you are 45 degrees to the target, the lead angle is approx. 8 degrees instead of 12 as above.


Nowhere in the tutorial(s) for this device did I find anything allowing for different torpedo speed settings for the various lead angle computations. I suspect (though I may be wrong), that the device is probably only good for a specific speed torpedo (maybe the German torpedos that were in use).

[derstosstrupp]

Originally Posted by Gray Lensman

Purchased this a few days ago. Kinda interesting, BUT, how useful is it with different speed torpedos. Do you have to separately "look up" lead angles for various "own" ship intercept heading(s) combined with different torp speed settings? Incidentally, I'm in the process of making a spreadsheet that does just that and that's why I question whether this device accommodates these various torp speed/intercept angle combinations.

For instance (SH4): using the vector analysis attack rules and the in-sim measuring tools (and just a zero gyro angle shot to keep things simple):

Let's say you are 80 degrees to the Target course using a Mk 14 at high speed (46 kts). and the target is moving 7 kts. The lead angle is approx. 8 degrees (set the optics to 72 degrees).

If you use the Mk 14 at slow speed (31 Kts), and everything else remains the same, the lead angle is approx. 12 degrees (set the optics to 68 degrees).


These lead angles also change according to the "own" ship course relative to the target course

For example again using the Mk 14 at high speed (46 kts), and the target is still moving at 7 kts, but instead you are 45 degrees to the target, the lead angle is approx. 6 degrees instead of 8 as above.

and if you use the Mk 14 at slow speed (31 kts), target still moving 7 kts, and you are 45 degrees to the target, the lead angle is approx. 8 degrees instead of 12 as above.


Nowhere in the tutorial(s) for this device did I find anything allowing for different torpedo speed settings for the various lead angle computations. I suspect (though I may be wrong), that the device is probably only good for a specific speed torpedo (maybe the German torpedos that were in use).

It’s there. Please watch the lead angle ones carefully. It’s simply a matter of aligning the correct torpedo speed on the speed ring. The examples I put in the tutorials are just that - examples. They don’t mean that the numbers in them are all you can use. A slide rule is a calculator. Just as you can punch whatever numbers you want into a pocket calculator, so can you align whatever numbers you want on a slide rule.

Be advised though - the distance scale is calibrated to meters. All that means to go to imperial though is one extra step, not a big deal. That has no impact however on lead angle calculations.

[Gray Lensman]

Originally Posted by derstosstrupp

It’s there. Please watch the lead angle ones carefully. It’s simply a matter of aligning the correct torpedo speed on the speed ring. The examples I put in the tutorials are just that - examples. They don’t mean that the numbers in them are all you can use. A slide rule is a calculator. Just as you can punch whatever numbers you want into a pocket calculator, so can you align whatever numbers you want on a slide rule.

Be advised though - the distance scale is calibrated to meters. All that means to go to imperial though is one extra step, not a big deal. That has no impact however on lead angle calculations.

Thanks... This makes my spreadsheet effort ridiculously obsolete especially since the onscreen measuring tools are subject to pixelated interpolation errors.

[Gray Lensman]

As a suggestion, I would love to see a version of this as a standalone PC app using a mouse also. (NOT installed in-game as a tool). Using an android is kinda finger shaky for me especially with the enlarging necessary to read the scales. Be glad to pay extra for such a version.


edit> It would also help the tutorial process if the tutorials were available on the PoutyBatFace Studios YouTube channel so that someone could view the tutorial while handling the Attack/TADS disc WITHOUT switching back and forth from the tutorial.

[derstosstrupp]

Very good suggestion!

[siege00]

Originally Posted by Gray Lensman

As a suggestion, I would love to see a version of this as a standalone PC app using a mouse also. (NOT installed in-game as a tool). Using an android is kinda finger shaky for me especially with the enlarging necessary to read the scales. Be glad to pay extra for such a version.


edit> It would also help the tutorial process if the tutorials were available on the PoutyBatFace Studios YouTube channel so that someone could view the tutorial while handling the Attack/TADS disc WITHOUT switching back and forth from the tutorial.

There is a variation of this for PC, which I've been using on MS Surface, called Solution Solver. https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/sho...19&postcount=1

It's not the same but has some of the same functionality.

I'm pulling Sub Buddy down on my iPad right now. Can't wait to give it a go!

[Elphaba]

Originally Posted by siege00

I'm pulling Sub Buddy down on my iPad right now. Can't wait to give it a go!

I hope you love it!

[siege00]

Originally Posted by Elphaba

I hope you love it!

Absolutely love it! This is what I've been waiting for, and have been trying to find the time to do myself. I'd much rather pay someone for it though. Many thanks to the dev team and all who supported in making this happen.

If I may, I have a suggestion that I would love to see happen with this product. On the front-side of the attack disk, would it be possible either via a switch or something, to unlock the outer ring? The logic behind this is that I could change course after setting up the enemy course and AOB, etc, without having to update the rest of the disks simply by rotating the outer ring to reflect my new course.

I hope that makes sense, and thank you for such a great product! Pulling this tool out adds a new layer of realism as well as the improved upon graphics and dial alignment. As a fan of the old style circular Jeppesen Flight Computers, like the CR-5, this is right up my alley. Now if only there were a physical version.

[Pisces]

There are template files around here in Subsim if you want to DIY. (like the link in my signature) They precede Sub Buddy and it is based on them. So you can make a cardboard physical implementation of it. It won't be exactly like the Sub Buddy disks. Sub Buddy is made with it's own twist on it. On the TADS side it uses 2 orders of magnitude per scale (as opposed to 1 order of magnitude) and adds a tangent scale.

I agree that the dark brown relative bearing disk should be rotatable for easier use. With my physical template disk I grab and hold the (white) compass disk with the AOB disk and other pointers clamped together to set ownship course by turning the brown disk underneath.

[Macgregor the Hammer]

There's an Android Emulator available for PC called Blue Stacks. It's free and Sub Buddy runs well on it.

[Elphaba]

Calling out to anyone on iOS (initially) if they'd like to volunteer to beta test Sub Buddy 2.0.

As things get closer to release (weeks) we'll be inviting 'droid owners to join in the Beta.

If you'd like to join you'll need an iOS device running iOS 12 or better, then please PM me with your Apple ID Email address and I'll add you to our beta testers.

New features and suggestions are behind the push for Sub Buddy 2.0, and if we're still missing something you want, please get in touch.

Thanks to the sub community.

Stay safe out there.

Sub Buddy Team.