IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator
How to Triangulate Targets and Measure Range
Turn incomplete spotter reports into exact target coordinates on the tactical map, then measure the precise range and bearing from your Iron Nest to feed the ballistic calculator and hit.
Map tools
Yellow pencil
Red pencil
Sub-cell precision
The core goal
From spotter bearings to a firing solution
The teleprinter gives you spotter grid positions and bearings (or distances), not direct target coordinates. You must triangulate the target on the map using two or more spotter reports, then measure range and bearing from your Iron Nest to that target. Only those final numbers go into the ballistic calculator.
Step by step
The triangulation workflow
1Read and mark the spotters first. From the teleprinter, note each spotter's grid (e.g. Spotter #1 at N10 8:6, Spotter #2 at M1 1:4). Open the map, grab the blue markers from the left side of the table, and place them on the exact sub-cells. Match marker numbers to spotter numbers. Do not clear the spotter info from the clipboard or table; later reports often reference the same positions and the typewriter will scroll them away permanently.
2Draw the first bearing line with the yellow pencil. Select the yellow pencil (it shows bearing and distance while drawing but does not copy to clipboard). Click exactly on Spotter #1's marker, then drag toward the edge of the map. Rotate the line until the on-screen readout shows the exact reported bearing (e.g. 108 degrees). Extend it all the way across so it can intersect the second line. The tool itself displays the degrees; no separate protractor needed.
3Draw the second bearing line the same way. Repeat from Spotter #2's marker with its reported bearing (e.g. 045 degrees). The two yellow lines cross at the target. Drop a red enemy token on the intersection sub-cell.
4Handle distance reports instead of or mixed with bearings. When a spotter gives a distance (e.g. 8.14 km), use the compass tool (blue drafting compass below the pencils on the clipboard). Center it on that spotter and stretch the circle to the exact distance. A pure distance plus bearing combo produces a line intersecting the circle at two possible points; either fire both, or wait for recon or star-shell confirmation later.
5Measure the actual firing solution from your Nest. Switch to the red pencil. Start the line from the spike at the bottom of the Iron Nest model (starting anywhere else throws the numbers off) and drag exactly to the target token. Range in km and bearing in degrees appear and are automatically copied to your clipboard. These are the only numbers you feed the ballistic calculator.
6Clean up and proceed. Delete the yellow lines if the map gets cluttered, but keep the target token and the red line data. Take the clipboard values straight to the calculator for elevation and charge.
Key decisions
Which triangulation method to use
Two bearings
Pure intersection. Fastest and most common early on. Draw two yellow lines from two spotters and mark where they cross.
Bearing + distance
Line plus circle. Produces two possible points. Prioritize one or send recon before committing shells.
Two distances
Two circles intersecting. Less common but works when bearings are unavailable.
Ambiguous result
Error margin of plus or minus 0.5 degrees or 0.5 km is normal. Fire a star shell or send a recon plane over the area before committing HE or AP.
Always measure the final red line from Nest to target. Never reuse a spotter bearing as your gun bearing; the angles are completely different.
Avoid these
Common mistakes that waste shells
!Drawing the yellow lines from your Nest instead of from the spotters. Triangulation lines start at spotter positions, not your gun.
!Using the red pencil for triangulation lines. It pollutes the clipboard with wrong data that you might accidentally feed the calculator.
!Starting the final red measurement from the body of the Nest model instead of the bottom spike. This throws off both range and bearing.
!Clearing spotter markers or clipboard data too early. Later reports often reference the same spotter positions.
!Ignoring sub-cell precision. Each large grid is roughly 1 km; sub-cells are 100 m. Off-by-one sub-cell means a miss.
!Forgetting the tools only appear after you click the map or clipboard. If you cannot find the pencils or compass, interact with the map first.
Watch it done