SOP 07 - Battle Com (rev: 14 Apr - 2015)

Written by
Joe "Condor" Gibbons

Revised by
Nils "Wolverine" Holmgren

Installation:

To install the software, perform the following steps:

1. Download ver 1.32 of BattleCom from our Files Archive.

2. Double click on the downloaded file, it should launch the BattleCom install program.

3. Run BattleCom and let the setup wizard configure it for your computer.

Hosting:

To host a Battlecom session you simply click on the Host Session button. A window will pop up asking if you want to use your default hosting options. If this is the first time you've hosted make sure the box is not ticked. Proceed by clicking on the Next button. It then asks you for a name to give the server, you can leave it as it is or change it to something like Callsign (server).

Click on the Next button, and you will be given the option of the type of protocol to use. Select the appropriate protocol for modem users TCP/ICP (Internet) is the only option available. For the address, it should be your IP address. You should leave the IP address as it is, unless you are going to use someone else's IP to host the session or if you have access to a second computer with its own IP address.

Clicking on the Next button again this will give you the option of changing the compression option of the data. The standard setting is Delta. It is not advisable to go any lower as speech becomes unrecognisable. Leave it at default Delta and only try a different setting if you are having problems with your session. You can change the player limit to anything you like, just keep in mind that your bandwidth will decrease with the more people you have on your IP.

In the next window you will be given the option to allow microphone clicks or not, select No Microphone Clicks unless it has been agreed upon that everyone wants to use microphone clicks.

Again proceed to the next window by clicking the Next button. You will be shown the password setting tab. For standard use in the squadron you shouldn't apply a password as it just adds to the time required to get flying. It is optional if to allow persons to create their own channels on your IP. This is done by selecting the Allow Remote Administration. You will need to inform users of the password, as you can either leave it blank or enter one your self.

In the final window you will be shown a summary of the options that you've chosen, and you'll be given the option to use the same settings next time you decide to host. When you are satisfied with your settings, check the Make this the default settings for sessions and the next time you host you simply check the box as shown in the second image above and you'll be up and running as a host in no time.

Click on the Finish button. It will take a while for the program to setup the server, but after a short time you should see a window with a Battle Com session running with the name you chose above and with you as the host.

In the Status tab you have a summary of the settings you are running as a host, such as Server Name, Protocol, IP number, number of connected players, etc.

Joining:

Instead of clicking the Host Session button click on the Join Session button. Here you will be asked for a player name that you wish to use, simply use your callsign. In the server address field you type in the IP of the person that is hosting. This will be passed onto you during your briefing of your flight. If a password were given which shouldn't be the case you would type it in, in the necessary field. In the Advanced tab is the option to change the protocol you use to connect to the host. For modem users the TCP/IP (Internet) option will be the only one available. When you feel you're happy that you've got the right IP click on the Connect button.

It will take a bit of time, but once you're connected, click on the Session tab and you will see a similar window to the one shown when you're hosting a session above, only this time there will be more callsigns in the list. At least the host will be there.

There will be 1 or more channels displayed, depending on how many the server host has created for the amount of pilots taking part.

There are a few ways to join a different channel. You can click on the channel icon, e.g. Ch 1 in this example and then click the Join Channel button, you can simply double click on the channel icon of the channel you wish to join or you can set up a hotkey command that will take you to the channel, more on this below.

Once you have joined a channel you will no longer be able to hear/talk to the people on the channel you just left, and you will only be able to hear/talk to the people on the channel you just joined. While playing Falcon 4.0 (while flying, i.e. in the 3D world, not the User Interface (UI)) unfortunately you can't Alt + Tab successfully to change channel as well as that it takes longer to do so, so you can set up Battlecom to use hotkeys to change channels automatically.

To do this click on the View/edit hotkeys button. This will bring up the Hotkeys window. Scroll down to the Channel Switch rows, click on Channel Switch 1 and press the Edit button. A window called Hotkey Definition will pop up and will have a field where you can type in an association. Type same name as the name channel 1 listed in the window (note: the association name it must be the same as the channel name), in this example Ch 1, then press the Edit button on the Hotkey Definition window, another window will pop up named Hotkey Setup. Hold down the key combination you wish to use and press OK to confirm your selection. Press the OK button again to close the Hotkey Definition window then press the Close button to close the Hotkeys window. You can see the whole procedure in the following pictures:

An even quicker way of doing this is to edit your hotkey keyboard mappings beforehand without entering any name for the association and then once you're connected, right click on the channel icon, select Assign Hotkey from and the appropriate hotkey switch from the menu:

If you wish you can go back and assign key combinations to all 9-channel switches. But remember that the key combinations that you assign may conflict with those in Falcon 4.0. You don't want to make a pound sign in the chat only to find out that you've swapped channels and you've been missing the gossip on the other channel. Note also that at the top of the list you can change the hotkey for Push To Talk.

By pressing the assigned key for channel 1, being 1 + Enter in this example, your name will move to the Channel 1 frequency. You will no longer be able to hear the people in the Global Channel. Only the host of the IP can create and delete channels, unless they have specified remote administration for other users:

Pressing the Stop Session button will disconnect everyone from your IP if you are the host. By pressing the Quit Session button you will disconnect from the session you are currently connected to. The Stop Session button is only available when you are hosting, the Quit Session button is available in both host and client modes. The Quit Session button has the same affect as the Stop Session button while you’re hosting.