Difference between revisions of "Falcon 4.0"

Revision as of 18:14, 16 August 2023

Falcon
Falcon	1987
Falcon A.T.	1988
Falcon 3.0	1991
Falcon 4.0	1998
Falcon 4.0: Allied Force	2005

Falcon 4.0 is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person and third-person simulation and vehicle combat game in the Falcon series.

The game's source code was leaked in 2000. One of the community projects which made use of it is the BMS mod, which is the community's preferred way to play the game. On May 4, 2023, the rebooted MicroProse announced upon claiming the franchise rights that they would officially support the BMS mod.^[1]

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Falconpedia - A wiki dedicated to Falcon 4.0

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SafeDisc DRM^{[Note 1]}
GOG.com		Available in Falcon Collection bundled with Falcon, Falcon A.T., and Falcon Gold under bonus content for the latter.^[4] Also available alongside Falcon Gold's separate store entry as an extra.
Steam
Green Man Gaming (unavailable)		Bundled with Falcon, Falcon A.T., and Falcon Gold.
Humble Store (unavailable)		Bundled with Falcon, Falcon A.T., and Falcon Gold.

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).

Essential improvements

Patches

The official v1.08 patch provides bug fixes.

BMS mod

BenchMarkSims webpage

Not compatible with Falcon 4.0: Allied Force.

Includes compatibility fixes for modern operating systems and graphics cards, as well as bug fixes, visual enhancements (including DirectX 9.0c and Shader Model 3.0 support), and additional content

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\config^{[Note 2]}
Mac OS (Classic)
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/429530/pfx/^{[Note 3]}

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\campaign\SAVE^{[Note 2]}
Mac OS (Classic)
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/429530/pfx/^{[Note 3]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

Graphics settings (retail)

Graphics settings (BMS Mod)

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		See BMS mod
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed		Run the game with the `-window` command line argument. Requires 16-bit color mode.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		See BMS mod
Anti-aliasing (AA)		See BMS mod
Vertical sync (Vsync)		See BMS mod
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See BMS mod

Simulation settings (retail)
Simulation settings (BMS Mod)

Input

Control settings (retail)

Control settings (BMS Mod)

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		See BMS mod.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers

PlayStation controllers

Generic/other controllers

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

Sound settings (retail)

Sound settings (BMS Mod)

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Master, interface, music, engine, Sidewinder, RWR, cockpit, flight and other comms, sound effects
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Traditional Chinese				Retail only.
French				Retail only.
German				Retail only. Localized voiceovers were a separate download.
Italian				Retail only.
Spanish				Retail only.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		16
Online play

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Issues unresolved

Graphical glitches

Graphical bugs are experienced during gameplay while running in Windows 7. Some textures will show bright purple sections with and without the patch and with the patch, text is unreadable while using hardware rendering. Switching to software rendering solves this but the game slows to a crawl while the cockpit is in view. Sometimes the menu screens will bug, certain elements not disappearing when changing menu - running in Windows 95 compatibility mode could fix this (most prominent on Allied Force re-release).^{[citation needed]}

VR support

Devices	State	Notes
TrackIR		Supports: Yaw, Pitch.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	5
Glide	2.54
Software renderer

Executable	PPC	16-bit	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
Mac OS (Classic)

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	95	98
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 166 MHz	Intel Pentium II 450 MHz
System memory (RAM)	32 MB	128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	175 MB	600 MB
Video card (GPU)	High Colour graphics card	8 MB of VRAM

Notes

↑ SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10^[2] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.^[3]
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1
Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
- File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
- Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
- The app ID (429530) may differ in some cases.
- Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
- See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

References

↑ MicroProse is back on the Falcon series - last accessed on 2023-05-06
↑ Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16
↑ Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16
↑ Release: Falcon Collection - GOG.com - last accessed on May 2023

[4] SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10^[2] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.^[3]

[gamedir-6] 2.0 ^2.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

[Proton_path_note-7] 3.0 ^3.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
The app ID (429530) may differ in some cases.
Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[4] File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.

[5] Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.

[6] The app ID (429530) may differ in some cases.

[7] Treat backslashes as forward slashes.

[8] See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[1] MicroProse is back on the Falcon series - last accessed on 2023-05-06

[2] Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16

[3] Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16

[5] Release: Falcon Collection - GOG.com - last accessed on May 2023

[1]

[Note 1]

[4]

[Note 2]

[Note 3]

[2]

[3]

Developers

	MicroProse
Mac OS (Classic)	Westlake Interactive
Publishers
Retail	MicroProse
Retail	Hasbro Interactive
Mac OS	MacSoft
Digital (2015-2023)	Retroism
Digital (2023-present)	MicroProse
Release dates
Windows	December 11, 1998
Mac OS (Classic)	June 1, 1999
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, Expansion pack
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person, Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Simulation, Vehicle combat
Vehicles	Flight
Themes	Contemporary
Series	Falcon

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{cleanup}}
 {{Infobox game
 |cover        = Falcon 4.0 cover.jpg
@@ Line 6: / Line 5: @@
 {{Infobox game/row/porter|Westlake Interactive|Mac OS}}
 |publishers   =
-{{Infobox game/row/publisher|MicroProse}}
+{{Infobox game/row/publisher|MicroProse|Retail}}
+{{Infobox game/row/publisher|Hasbro Interactive|Retail}}
 {{Infobox game/row/publisher|MacSoft|Mac OS}}
-{{Infobox game/row/publisher|Retroism}}
+{{Infobox game/row/publisher|Retroism|Digital (2015-2023)}}
+{{Infobox game/row/publisher|MicroProse|Digital (2023-present)}}
 |engines      =
 |release dates=
 {{Infobox game/row/date|Windows|December 11, 1998}}
 {{Infobox game/row/date|Mac OS|June 1, 1999}}
+|taxonomy     =
+{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/monetization      | One-time game purchase, Expansion pack }}
+{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/microtransactions | }}
+{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/modes             | Singleplayer, Multiplayer }}
+{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/pacing            | Real-time }}
+{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/perspectives      | First-person, Third-person }}
+{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/controls          | Direct control }}
+{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/genres            | Simulation, Vehicle combat }}
+{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/sports            | }}
+{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/vehicles          | Flight }}
+{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/art styles        | }}
+{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/themes            | Contemporary }}
+{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/series            | Falcon }}
+|official site= https://web.archive.org/web/19990508031808/http://www.falcon4.com/0001home.html
 |steam appid  = 429530
 |gogcom id    = 1443160514
 |gogcom id side = 1443160711
+|hltb         = 31243
 |strategywiki =
-|mobygames    = falcon-40
+|mobygames    = 1670
 |wikipedia    = Falcon 4.0
 |winehq       =
 |license      = commercial
 }}
-{{Series|Falcon}}
-'''Key points'''
+{{Introduction
-{{ii}} The source code was leaked in 2000.
+|introduction      =
-{{ii}} It is highly recommended to play the game with a joystick
-{{ii}} The manual is required to fully understand the underlying game mechanics
+|release history   = The game's source code was leaked in 2000. One of the community projects which made use of it is the [[#BMS mod|BMS mod]], which is the community's preferred way to play the game. On May 4, 2023, the rebooted [[Company:MicroProse|MicroProse]] announced upon claiming the franchise rights that they would officially support the BMS mod.<ref>{{Refurl|url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/microprose/announcements/detail/3680047495733505345|title=MicroProse is back on the Falcon series|date=2023-05-06}}</ref>
-{{ii}} Most of the community has switched over to Falcon BMS, a heavily upgraded fork of F4's source code.
+|current state     =
+}}
 '''General information'''
@@ Line 37: / Line 54: @@
 ==Availability==
 {{Availability|
-{{Availability/row| Retail | | unknown | | | Windows, Mac OS }}
+{{Availability/row| Retail | | disc | {{DRM|SafeDisc}} | | Windows, Mac OS }}
-{{Availability/row| GOG.com | falcon_collection | DRM-free | Bundled with [[Falcon]], [[Falcon A.T.]], and [[Falcon 3.0]] under bonus content.<ref>[https://www.gog.com/news/release_falcon_collection Release: Falcon Collection - GOG.com]</ref> | | Windows }}
+{{Availability/row| GOG.com | falcon_collection | DRM-free | Available in {{Store link|GOG.com|falcon_collection|Falcon Collection}} bundled with [[Falcon]], [[Falcon A.T.]], and [[Falcon Gold]] under bonus content for the latter.<ref>{{Refurl|url=https://www.gog.com/news/release_falcon_collection|title=Release: Falcon Collection - GOG.com|date=May 2023}}</ref><br>Also available alongside [[Falcon Gold]]'s {{Store link|GOG.com|falcon_gold|separate store entry}} as an extra. | | Windows }}
-{{Availability/row| GMG | falcon-collection | Steam | Bundled with [[Falcon]], [[Falcon A.T.]], and [[Falcon Gold]]. | | Windows }}
-{{Availability/row| Humble | falcon-collection | Steam | Bundled with [[Falcon]], [[Falcon A.T.]], and [[Falcon Gold]]. | | Windows }}
 {{Availability/row| Steam | 429530 | Steam |  | | Windows }}
+{{Availability/row| GMG | falcon-collection | Steam | Bundled with [[Falcon]], [[Falcon A.T.]], and [[Falcon Gold]]. | | Windows | unavailable }}
+{{Availability/row| Humble | falcon-collection | Steam | Bundled with [[Falcon]], [[Falcon A.T.]], and [[Falcon Gold]]. | | Windows | unavailable }}
 }}
 ==Essential improvements==
-{{Image|Falcon 4 BMS Audio.png|In-game audio settings (BMS Mod)}}
 ===Patches===
-The [https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/814-falcon-40-patch/ Version 1.08 Patch] provides bugs fixes.
+{{ii}} The official [https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/814-falcon-40-patch/ v1.08 patch] provides bug fixes.
-===BMS Upgrade===
+===BMS mod===
-BMS is the latest and greatest Falcon 4.0 mod currently available.
+{{mm}} [https://www.falcon-bms.com/ BenchMarkSims webpage]
-Released September 2011, it brings total Windows 7 compatibility and support for modern gpus among many other bug fixes, graphical enhancements and avionics and realism improvements such as completely new Flight Modelling, DirectX 9.0c support with Shader Model 3.0 and HDR to name a few. More info regarding BMS is here: [https://www.benchmarksims.org/forum/content.php BenchMarkSims webpage]
+{{ii}} Not compatible with [[Falcon 4.0: Allied Force]].
+{{++}} Includes compatibility fixes for modern operating systems and graphics cards, as well as bug fixes, visual enhancements (including DirectX 9.0c and Shader Model 3.0 support), and additional content
 ==Game data==
-{{Image|Falcon 4 BMS General.png|In-game general settings (BMS Mod)}}
 ===Configuration file(s) location===
 {{Game data|
-{{Game data/config|Windows|}}
+{{Game data/config|Windows|{{p|game}}\config}}
 {{Game data/config|Mac OS|}}
 }}
@@ Line 71: / Line 85: @@
 ===[[Glossary:Save game cloud syncing|Save game cloud syncing]]===
 {{Save game cloud syncing
-|discord                =
+|discord                   =
-|discord notes          =
+|discord notes             =
-|epic games store       =
+|epic games launcher       =
-|epic games store notes =
+|epic games launcher notes =
-|gog galaxy             = true
+|gog galaxy                = true
-|gog galaxy notes       =
+|gog galaxy notes          =
-|origin                 =
+|origin                    =
-|origin notes           =
+|origin notes              =
-|steam cloud            = false
+|steam cloud               = false
-|steam cloud notes      =
+|steam cloud notes         =
-|uplay                  =
+|ubisoft connect           =
-|uplay notes            =
+|ubisoft connect notes     =
-|xbox cloud             =
+|xbox cloud                =
-|xbox cloud notes       =
+|xbox cloud notes          =
 }}
-==Video settings==
+==Video==
-{{Image|Falcon 4 BMS Graphics.png|In-game graphics settings (BMS Mod)}}
+{{Image|Falcon 4.0 graphics settings.png|Graphics settings (retail)}}
-{{Video settings
+{{Image|Falcon 4 BMS Graphics.png|Graphics settings (BMS Mod)}}
+{{Video
 |wsgf link                  =
 |widescreen wsgf award      =
@@ Line 96: / Line 111: @@
 |4k ultra hd wsgf award     =
 |widescreen resolution      = hackable
-|widescreen resolution notes= See [[#BMS Upgrade|BMS Upgrade]]
+|widescreen resolution notes= See [[#BMS mod|BMS mod]]
 |multimonitor               = unknown
 |multimonitor notes         =
@@ Line 105: / Line 120: @@
 |fov                        = true
 |fov notes                  =
-|windowed                   = true
+|windowed                   = hackable
-|windowed notes             =
+|windowed notes             = Run the game with the {{code|-window}} [[Glossary:Command line arguments|command line argument]]. Requires [[Windows Compatibility Mode|16-bit color mode]].
 |borderless windowed        = false
 |borderless windowed notes  =
 |anisotropic                = hackable
-|anisotropic notes          = See [[#BMS Upgrade|BMS Upgrade]]
+|anisotropic notes          = See [[#BMS mod|BMS mod]]
 |antialiasing               = hackable
-|antialiasing notes         = See [[#BMS Upgrade|BMS Upgrade]]
+|antialiasing notes         = See [[#BMS mod|BMS mod]]
+|upscaling                  = unknown
+|upscaling tech             =
+|upscaling notes            =
 |vsync                      = hackable
-|vsync notes                = See [[#BMS Upgrade|BMS Upgrade]]
+|vsync notes                = See [[#BMS mod|BMS mod]]
 |60 fps                     = true
 |60 fps notes               =
 |120 fps                    = true
 |120 fps notes              =
-|hdr                        = unknown
+|hdr                        = hackable
-|hdr notes                  =
+|hdr notes                  = See [[#BMS mod|BMS mod]]
 |color blind                = false
 |color blind notes          =
 }}
-==Input settings==
+<gallery>
-{{Image|Falcon 4 BMS Controls .png|In-game control settings (BMS Mod)}}
+Falcon 4.0 simulation settings.png|Simulation settings (retail)
-{{Input settings
+Falcon 4 BMS General.png|Simulation settings (BMS Mod)
+</gallery>
+==Input==
+{{Image|Falcon 4.0 control settings.png|Control settings (retail)}}
+{{Image|Falcon 4 BMS Controls .png|Control settings (BMS Mod)}}
+{{Input
 |key remap                 = true
 |key remap notes           =
 |acceleration option       = hackable
-|acceleration option notes = See [[#BMS Upgrade|BMS Upgrade]].
+|acceleration option notes = See [[#BMS mod|BMS mod]].
 |mouse sensitivity         = unknown
 |mouse sensitivity notes   =
@@ Line 190: / Line 214: @@
 }}
-==Audio settings==
+==Audio==
-{{Audio settings
+{{Image|Falcon 4.0 sound settings.png|Sound settings (retail)}}
-|separate volume          = unknown
+{{Image|Falcon 4 BMS Audio.png|Sound settings (BMS Mod)}}
-|separate volume notes    =
+{{Audio
+|separate volume          = true
+|separate volume notes    = Master, interface, music, engine, Sidewinder, RWR, cockpit, flight and other comms, sound effects
 |surround sound           = unknown
 |surround sound notes     =
 |subtitles                = unknown
 |subtitles notes          =
-|closed captions          = unknown
+|closed captions          = false
 |closed captions notes    =
 |mute on focus lost       = unknown
 |mute on focus lost notes =
 |eax support              =
-|eax support notes        =
+|eax support notes         =
+|royalty free audio        = true
+|royalty free audio notes  =
 }}
@@ Line 209: / Line 237: @@
 {{L10n/switch
   |language  = English
+ |interface = true
+ |audio     = true
+ |subtitles = unknown
+ |notes     =
+ |fan       =
+}}
+{{L10n/switch
+ |language  = Traditional Chinese
+ |interface = true
+ |audio     = unknown
+ |subtitles = unknown
+ |notes     = Retail only.
+ |fan       =
+}}
+{{L10n/switch
+ |language  = French
+ |interface = true
+ |audio     = unknown
+ |subtitles = unknown
+ |notes     = Retail only.
+ |fan       =
+}}
+{{L10n/switch
+ |language  = German
+ |interface = true
+ |audio     = hackable
+ |subtitles = unknown
+ |notes     = Retail only. Localized voiceovers were a [https://web.archive.org/web/19990501065028/http://www.microprose.com/corporatedesign/techsupport/f4update.htm separate download].
+ |fan       =
+}}
+{{L10n/switch
+ |language  = Italian
   |interface = true
   |audio     = unknown
   |subtitles = unknown
-  |notes     =
+  |notes     = Retail only.
+ |fan       =
+}}
+{{L10n/switch
+ |language  = Spanish
+ |interface = true
+ |audio     = unknown
+ |subtitles = unknown
+ |notes     = Retail only.
   |fan       =
 }}
@@ Line 227: / Line 295: @@
 |lan play modes       =
 |lan play notes       =
-|online play          = unknown
+|online play          = false
 |online play players  =
 |online play modes    =
@@ Line 234: / Line 302: @@
 |asynchronous notes   =
 }}{{Network/Connections
-|matchmaking        =
+|matchmaking        = false
 |matchmaking notes  =
-|p2p                =
+|p2p                = true
 |p2p notes          =
-|dedicated          =
+|dedicated          = false
 |dedicated notes    =
-|self-hosting       =
+|self-hosting       = true
 |self-hosting notes =
-|direct ip          =
+|direct ip          = true
 |direct ip notes    =
 }}{{Network/Ports
@@ Line 251: / Line 319: @@
 ==Issues unresolved==
-===Graphics glitches===
+===Graphical glitches===
-Graphical bugs are experienced during gameplay while running in Windows 7. Some textures will show bright purple sections with and without the patch and with the patch, text is unreadable while using hardware rendering. Switching to software rendering solves this but the game slows to a crawl while the cockpit is in view. Sometimes the menu screens will bug, certain elements not disappearing when changing menu - running in Windows 95 compatibility mode could fix this (most prominent on Allied Force re-release).
+Graphical bugs are experienced during gameplay while running in Windows 7. Some textures will show bright purple sections with and without the patch and with the patch, text is unreadable while using hardware rendering. Switching to software rendering solves this but the game slows to a crawl while the cockpit is in view. Sometimes the menu screens will bug, certain elements not disappearing when changing menu - running in Windows 95 compatibility mode could fix this (most prominent on Allied Force re-release).{{cn|April 2023}}
 ==VR support==
@@ Line 299: / Line 367: @@
 ===API===
 {{API
-|direct3d versions      =
+|direct3d versions      = 5
 |direct3d notes         =
 |directdraw versions    =
@@ Line 305: / Line 373: @@
 |opengl versions        =
 |opengl notes           =
-|glide versions         =
+|glide versions         = 2.54
 |glide notes            =
-|software mode          =
+|software mode          = true
 |software mode notes    =
 |mantle support         =
@@ Line 320: / Line 388: @@
 |shader model notes     =
 |windows 32-bit exe     = true
-|windows 64-bit exe     = unknown
+|windows 64-bit exe     = false
+|windows arm app        = false
 |windows exe notes      =
-|macos 32-bit app       =
+|mac os x powerpc app   = unknown
-|macos 64-bit app       =
+|macos intel 32-bit app =
+|macos intel 64-bit app =
+|macos arm app          = unknown
 |macos app notes        =
 |linux 32-bit executable=
 |linux 64-bit executable=
+|linux arm app          = unknown
 |linux executable notes =
+|mac os powerpc app     = unknown
+|mac os 68k app         = unknown
+|mac os executable notes=
 }}