Calibration Fire is the documented opening operation: the official Steam achievement says Land the Calibration Fire, and its all-gold award is Duty Fulfilled. Use the mission to learn the whole Nest, not to memorize a coordinate from another player’s map.
2950790, Windows public 1.0, checked 2026-08-09. Target numbers and medal thresholds are left to the current dispatch and result screen.Walk the operation before touching the cord
Locate the teleprinter, map, calculator, Requisition Console, loading controls, bearing/elevation stations, arming controls, and newspaper flow. Read every tutorial clipboard. Practice focusing and releasing a station so a locked mechanical state is not mistaken for missing input.
Open Settings if a prompt is unclear. This guide names actions, because a fixed key can differ by remap or controller.
Make the first map solution traceable
Copy the supplied observer/reference facts and attach each measurement to its origin. Plot them, locate the target candidate, then draw a separate line from the Nest’s firing origin. The final line—not an observer bearing—supplies the gun bearing and range.
Keep the evidence marks visible. If the shot misses, they reveal whether the fault began before or after the calculator.
Load exactly one planned barrel
Select the mission-requested shell, choose an accepted powder count in the calculator, and record elevation. At loading, count actual charges and keep left/right barrel on the card. Set bearing and elevation on that same side, arm it, and compare every value.
Say: target, origin, range, shell, charges, bearing, elevation, barrel, armed side. Then fire once and wait for recognition.
Finish the tutorial loop
Read any observer or teleprinter response after impact. Do not keep firing because a new message was overlooked. When completion appears, read and dismiss the newspaper and follow the sleep/transition prompt shown by the mission.
The completion achievement and Duty Fulfilled gold award are separate goals. Finish once before optimizing every medal.
If Calibration Fire is stuck
If a lever will not move, inspect the preceding loading/breech state. If elevation is unavailable, confirm the gun is correctly loaded. If firing does nothing, confirm arming side. If the impact is elsewhere, compare actual load and barrel with the card.
For unresponsive mouse input, update to current public content; PATCH 1.0 (1558) improved mouse movement after loading the menu or mission. Verify files before changing save data.
A clean Duty Fulfilled research run
Capture the medal rows after ordinary completion. On replays, change one factor—accuracy, assistance, requisition, time, or shot count—while preserving the solution. The official title proves the gold relationship but not an exact threshold.
Record the result and public patch. A community gold table is supporting evidence only when its run is visible and current.
What transfers to later missions
The station order, firing-card discipline, and one-variable correction method transfer. The coordinate does not. Later operations change intelligence, target effects, resources, movement, or narrative state.
Continue with Fire and Light or revisit First Firing Solution for the expanded checklist.
Keep a first-operation notebook
Write down the reading shown before and after every control movement. A simple sequence—dispatch fact, map measurement, calculator input, actual load, dial setting, impact—turns Calibration Fire into a repeatable lesson. If the mission completes, keep the page as a known-good reference for station order. If it fails, circle the first place where the live state no longer matches the plan.
Avoid optimizing speed during this record run. Walk to the correct side, read labels, and wait for the machine to settle. Repeat the same successful shot only if you are testing consistency; otherwise move on and learn how the next operation changes the evidence. This notebook becomes more useful than a static control diagram because it captures your active bindings and the current public build.