There are a few websites out there with mortar calculators and even an android app but unfortunately there was no IOS app and many people including myself wanted one so here it is! This is the first IOS app I have made and my first time using Swift or Xcode so contributions are definitely welcome there is certainly a lot that can be improved on I am sure.
The application currently comes with 3 main features
The classic calculator.
This tab takes two inputs of mortar and target grids, and is capable of selecting sub-grid positions.
The calculator provides results for Distance, Azimuth and Milliradians.
Adjust results.
This tab is used to correct the initial calculation if needed, it can be used to move the target an ammount of meters in any direction or simply add or subtract from the range.
This can be useful for when extra precision is required by the user.
Spread fire.
This tab is used to give regular calibrations to target points within a specified area.
This can be useful for when the user wishes to suppress an entire zone.
Unfortunately there are no readily available 3d mapping of Squad maps so the formula that this and as far as I know all calculators use is based on an interpolation of the provided figures for a 2d plane. There are many ways to accurately accomplish this interpolation and I have taken the simple method of using a 12th order polynomial calculated by polynomial regression. The formula was calculated by PolySolve and provides a correlation coefficient of 0.9999994.
Fortunately user error is a far greater problem than error due to altitude differences as at all but extreme ranges mortars fall extremely steeply mitigating the error. The formula itself is accurate to about ±1 meter on a 2D plane, a value far smaller than the natural spread of mortars.
The app calculates 3 values: Distance, Azimuth, and Milliradians. Firstly the app accepts input for grids of the form (A1-1-1) and converts these grids into meters in the game's own coordinate system. The app also accepts subgrid input which has an effective accuracy of 1 pixel on the user's screen.
After both the Mortar and Target positions are accepted and converted to meters in the XY plane, the distance and azimuth are found by simple trigonometry. The milliradian value is then calculated from the meter value using the formula discussed previously. The precise formula currently used for those interested is:
func rads(distance: Double) -> Double {
var rads:Double = 1603.9273942850821 // const from polynomial
rads += -5.8438295306148713 * pow(10, -1) * distance
rads += 2.3978428325334847 * pow(10, -3) * pow(distance, 2)
rads += -1.6710022368637173 * pow(10, -5) * pow(distance, 3)
rads += 6.8176342659639214 * pow(10, -8) * pow(distance, 4)
rads += -1.7561870164951840 * pow(10, -10) * pow(distance, 5)
rads += 2.7973321639240712 * pow(10, -13) * pow(distance, 6)
rads += -2.2893211828988827 * pow(10, -16) * pow(distance, 7)
rads += -2.7848767129442064 * pow(10, -20) * pow(distance, 8)
rads += 2.7355539358279937 * pow(10, -22) * pow(distance, 9)
rads += -2.8038885580479877 * pow(10, -25) * pow(distance, 10)
rads += 1.2940370170642232 * pow(10, -28) * pow(distance, 11)
rads += -2.3669421263783761 * pow(10, -32) * pow(distance, 12)
return rads
}
Features that will hopefully be added to the project:
- A map UI for input
- Accounting for height differences in calculations
Contribution guidelines for the project can be found here
- Quacken: In-game screenshot
- Askatykus: Reported bug #37