Companion 0.4.0 – firmware 2.1.1, better buttons and display

Hellboard Companion 0.4.0 – firmware 2.1.1, better buttons and display

This release includes the new Hellboard firmware 2.1.1 with improved button handling, adjustable key timings and display features. It also fixes a connection bug that affected 0.3.0. Updating is recommended.

Thank you, @JoeGurt!

Many of the firmware improvements in this release are based on the work of @JoeGurt. In 2024 he improved the original Hellboard firmware on his fork: buttons that act once per press, going back with the cycle button, separate key timings, scrolling text and a screen saver against OLED burn-in. We re-implemented his ideas for the new firmware. He is credited as co-author of these changes. Thank you very much!

Download

HellboardCompanion-0.4.0-win-x64.zip: unzip it anywhere and start HellboardCompanion.exe. You don't need to install anything, and the .NET runtime is included.

Update the Hellboard firmware

After starting 0.4.0, the overview shows a yellow hint that firmware 2.1.1 is available. Open the Hellboard tab and choose Update Hellboard firmware. Your saved configuration on the board is kept.

Fixed

• Settings were not always applied after reconnecting. After the Hellboard reconnected, it could answer requests with results from the previous connection without executing them. Configuration changes were then not applied, and the connection dropped about every 30 seconds. Fixed in the Companion and in the firmware. The Companion part also helps boards that still run firmware 2.0.0.
• Error answers of the board (for example for an invalid setting) arrived as an internal error. Fixed in firmware 2.1.1.

New in firmware 2.1.1

Buttons

• A stratagem button sends its code once per press. Holding it no longer repeats it, and the buttons are debounced.
• Cycle button: a short press selects the next entry of the multi-function list, a long press the previous one. Keep holding it to go back further.
• The board reacts faster: buttons are checked every 10 ms instead of every 50 ms.

Key timings (Hellboard tab)

• Wait for the stratagem menu, Hold each arrow and Pause between arrows can be set separately. The defaults stay at 50 ms. Increase them if a stratagem is sometimes not entered completely in the game.

Display (Hellboard tab)

• Long names: Off (cut after 16 characters), Scroll back and forth, or Scroll continuously (a ticker that never jumps back).
• Screen saver against OLED burn-in: turns the display off after a chosen time without a button press. Stratagem buttons keep working, and the cycle button wakes the display.
• Start-up logo: the Hellboard logo with the firmware version, matching the Companion icon.

New in the Companion

• The overview shows the state of the Hellboard firmware: green when it is up to date, yellow when an update is available, and red when the firmware is not compatible. The text says what to do.

Known limitations

• Withdrawing Ready in multiplayer has not been tested live yet.
• The code of B/FLAM-80 Cremator is not verified in the game yet. You can correct it in the stratagem editor.
• Updating MicroPython itself (UF2) is still a manual step.

License

Hellboard Companion is licensed under GPL-3.0-or-later. Third-party components are listed in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md. Hellboard Companion is a fan project and not affiliated with Arrowhead Game Studios or Sony Interactive Entertainment.