Daunt
MLG Pro
We were talking at length of how awesome Falcon BMS is and a few didn't know what it was but were interested, so I thought I'd write this up...
What is Falcon 4.0?
Falcon 4.0 is the fourth iteration of the original game on which BMS is built upon. Released in 1998 by Microprose, the ultimate fighter sim came with its own incredible 700+ page manual. It was built around the Falcon, the American F-16 multirole fighter jet (also known as the Viper) and the game takes place in a modern full scale war in the Korean Peninsula. The campaign is unique in that, when started, the campaign rolls along whether you're up flying and participating, or not. This creates a dynamic scenario that leaves you feeling like you're in the middle of a war, where your airstrikes and interceptions have direct effect on either side's resources. This is doubly rewarding as the F-16 is a purpose-built multirole fighter, so it naturally goes from intercepting fighters to striking enemy supply lines, key defenses (like SAM sites) and structures like power plants.
Now that is the macro-side of the sim. But at its core is what distinguishes Falcon. The flight model and avionics simulation is second to none, period. Since the designers have three previous version of the sim under the belt, all built around the same aircraft, every little detail pertaining to flight has been as accurately modeled as possible. On the fighter side of things, weapons, radar, dials, and everything normally at the disposal of highly trained fighter pilots has been as perfectly represented as possible.
Not only do you need to know how to fly a jet, and the more advanced flight maneuvers used in combat against other fighters, but you need to know how all the different weapon systems work and how they're delivered. True to real life, there are a few different ways to drop bombs, like CCIP or CCRP. Or perhaps you're at a stand off with the medium to long range AIM-120 AMRAAM air to air missile. Or you're using the SAM-seeking HARM missile, which will lock on to radar-emitting SAM sites. Hunting out the deadly SAM sites to help make it safer for friendly aircraft.
I fully standby the statement that if you learn this game well enough you could hop into an F-16, start it up completely, and be able to fly, fight and shoot in it. This is but a taste of what Falcon was made for.
The Code Leak and Open Source Era
Falcon 4.0 did not survive because soley because it was so in-depth. In fact, the main reason for this can be attributed to a code leak in 2000. The avid community was able to get ahold of the code to continually develop, tweak and bugfix well after the developers were done with it. Modding on steroids, the communities were able to do not only fix and tweak the game, they were able to rebuild it, add to it in ways the developers themselves could only dream.
Through the years, there have been dozens of die-hard Falcon communities, each with their own basic code base that made modifications to the original game. They've come and gone. Openfalcon, Freefalcon, ViperOps are some to name a few. Not to mention the release of a modified version of Falcon called Allied Force from the original devs, basically a standalone that used a lot of existing code from the base game.
As I said, a large number of these communites came and went, making their impact on the game. Some dissappearing without a trace, some adding their code and modifications to the game and being assimilated with another's. The full timeline can be found here: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Falcon-4-history.svg
You'll see in the recent years the game's community narrowed down to two: FreeFalcon and OpenFalcon. In 2011 OpenFalcon merged into BMS- Bench Mark Sims and eventually, in early 2013, FreeFalcon was stopped. So BMS is pretty much the only major community remaining in the continued development and modification of the one of the longest-living games. It is perhaps one of, if not the oldest games using the same code base.
Benchmark Sims
Now we get to present day. How far has BMS taken Falcon 4.0? The base community as a whole has added tons of new and updated textures, models and more, not to mention flight model and avionics upgrades. One of the major overhauls Falcon has had is the 3D, almost 100% functional cockpit. Yes, almost all the switches in the cockpit are functional and relevant, as well as all the aforementioned modes for radar, bombs, missiles and more.
The community has continually developed new campaigns (alongside Korea... Balkans, Middle East, and many more), new jets, weapons, and more.
So how does this translate into a game? Well it's difficult to describe. What can you do? Nothing is more fun than running a campaign with some friends. Some of the community like to keep it as realistic as possible, using callsigns, actual brevity commands, a chain of command and strict mission parameters within a full campaign.
Once you master the campaign against the AI (which is no small task, trust me) there are major hosted Red Flag tournaments every month or two. For those who don't know what a Red Flag is, traditionally its a training excercise. In regards to Falcon, it is a player vs player campaign, with both sides being populated with a number of actual player squadrons. Usually the campaign is also given a setting, sometimes the present, sometimes the 80's or 90's, which reflects on which aircraft, missiles and technology is available. Each side is given a number of tasks to accomplish over the course of the campaign which usually lasts a few weeks. In addition, players must keep their skies safe from enemy jets, ensure their supply lines are not bombed and their airfields intact, as this will negatively impact the stores and other available items for your side. It is the ultimate test of all your training.
The kicker: IT'S FREE!
Falcon BMS and Band of Others
As I said, some members were expressing interest in it, so I thought I'd see if I could convince a few more to try it out. Interested? I'll have a write up very soon on how to get started and setup. As I said, the game is free... if you're into flight sims, especially combat flight simulators... this game is for you. I've not played anything that is more realistic and more challenging, ever.
It is not easy to learn, and pretty difficult on your own. But that's half the fun. That is why I'm looking to possibly make a dedication squadron for BMS. I have a good amount of experience in BMS (albeit rusty) and a few others in our community have flown BMS, so we can certainly help.
Stay tuned for setup instructions. In the meantime, there are a ton of great BMS videos on youtube. If you want to get an idea of how in-depth the sim itself is, check out Krause's BMS Tutorials: [video=youtube;LiUYrtpW7ww]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiUYrtpW7ww[/video]
First thing if you're interested to do though is to register over at Benchmark Sims website: http://www.bmsforum.org/forum . You'll find everything you need there.
Hope to see you guys in the sky!
What is Falcon 4.0?
Falcon 4.0 is the fourth iteration of the original game on which BMS is built upon. Released in 1998 by Microprose, the ultimate fighter sim came with its own incredible 700+ page manual. It was built around the Falcon, the American F-16 multirole fighter jet (also known as the Viper) and the game takes place in a modern full scale war in the Korean Peninsula. The campaign is unique in that, when started, the campaign rolls along whether you're up flying and participating, or not. This creates a dynamic scenario that leaves you feeling like you're in the middle of a war, where your airstrikes and interceptions have direct effect on either side's resources. This is doubly rewarding as the F-16 is a purpose-built multirole fighter, so it naturally goes from intercepting fighters to striking enemy supply lines, key defenses (like SAM sites) and structures like power plants.
Now that is the macro-side of the sim. But at its core is what distinguishes Falcon. The flight model and avionics simulation is second to none, period. Since the designers have three previous version of the sim under the belt, all built around the same aircraft, every little detail pertaining to flight has been as accurately modeled as possible. On the fighter side of things, weapons, radar, dials, and everything normally at the disposal of highly trained fighter pilots has been as perfectly represented as possible.
Not only do you need to know how to fly a jet, and the more advanced flight maneuvers used in combat against other fighters, but you need to know how all the different weapon systems work and how they're delivered. True to real life, there are a few different ways to drop bombs, like CCIP or CCRP. Or perhaps you're at a stand off with the medium to long range AIM-120 AMRAAM air to air missile. Or you're using the SAM-seeking HARM missile, which will lock on to radar-emitting SAM sites. Hunting out the deadly SAM sites to help make it safer for friendly aircraft.
I fully standby the statement that if you learn this game well enough you could hop into an F-16, start it up completely, and be able to fly, fight and shoot in it. This is but a taste of what Falcon was made for.
The Code Leak and Open Source Era
Falcon 4.0 did not survive because soley because it was so in-depth. In fact, the main reason for this can be attributed to a code leak in 2000. The avid community was able to get ahold of the code to continually develop, tweak and bugfix well after the developers were done with it. Modding on steroids, the communities were able to do not only fix and tweak the game, they were able to rebuild it, add to it in ways the developers themselves could only dream.
Through the years, there have been dozens of die-hard Falcon communities, each with their own basic code base that made modifications to the original game. They've come and gone. Openfalcon, Freefalcon, ViperOps are some to name a few. Not to mention the release of a modified version of Falcon called Allied Force from the original devs, basically a standalone that used a lot of existing code from the base game.
As I said, a large number of these communites came and went, making their impact on the game. Some dissappearing without a trace, some adding their code and modifications to the game and being assimilated with another's. The full timeline can be found here: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Falcon-4-history.svg
You'll see in the recent years the game's community narrowed down to two: FreeFalcon and OpenFalcon. In 2011 OpenFalcon merged into BMS- Bench Mark Sims and eventually, in early 2013, FreeFalcon was stopped. So BMS is pretty much the only major community remaining in the continued development and modification of the one of the longest-living games. It is perhaps one of, if not the oldest games using the same code base.
Benchmark Sims
Now we get to present day. How far has BMS taken Falcon 4.0? The base community as a whole has added tons of new and updated textures, models and more, not to mention flight model and avionics upgrades. One of the major overhauls Falcon has had is the 3D, almost 100% functional cockpit. Yes, almost all the switches in the cockpit are functional and relevant, as well as all the aforementioned modes for radar, bombs, missiles and more.
The community has continually developed new campaigns (alongside Korea... Balkans, Middle East, and many more), new jets, weapons, and more.
So how does this translate into a game? Well it's difficult to describe. What can you do? Nothing is more fun than running a campaign with some friends. Some of the community like to keep it as realistic as possible, using callsigns, actual brevity commands, a chain of command and strict mission parameters within a full campaign.
Once you master the campaign against the AI (which is no small task, trust me) there are major hosted Red Flag tournaments every month or two. For those who don't know what a Red Flag is, traditionally its a training excercise. In regards to Falcon, it is a player vs player campaign, with both sides being populated with a number of actual player squadrons. Usually the campaign is also given a setting, sometimes the present, sometimes the 80's or 90's, which reflects on which aircraft, missiles and technology is available. Each side is given a number of tasks to accomplish over the course of the campaign which usually lasts a few weeks. In addition, players must keep their skies safe from enemy jets, ensure their supply lines are not bombed and their airfields intact, as this will negatively impact the stores and other available items for your side. It is the ultimate test of all your training.
The kicker: IT'S FREE!
Falcon BMS and Band of Others
As I said, some members were expressing interest in it, so I thought I'd see if I could convince a few more to try it out. Interested? I'll have a write up very soon on how to get started and setup. As I said, the game is free... if you're into flight sims, especially combat flight simulators... this game is for you. I've not played anything that is more realistic and more challenging, ever.
It is not easy to learn, and pretty difficult on your own. But that's half the fun. That is why I'm looking to possibly make a dedication squadron for BMS. I have a good amount of experience in BMS (albeit rusty) and a few others in our community have flown BMS, so we can certainly help.
Stay tuned for setup instructions. In the meantime, there are a ton of great BMS videos on youtube. If you want to get an idea of how in-depth the sim itself is, check out Krause's BMS Tutorials: [video=youtube;LiUYrtpW7ww]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiUYrtpW7ww[/video]
First thing if you're interested to do though is to register over at Benchmark Sims website: http://www.bmsforum.org/forum . You'll find everything you need there.
Hope to see you guys in the sky!
