Well I'm a FreeFalcon 5 player and recently tested BMS (which looks awesome) and the advantages that both "versions" have over the other are the following:

Advantages of BMS over FreeFalcon5:
-> Much better and improved graphics with the use of DirectX 9 (FreeFalcon and other Falcon 4 versions use DirectX 7) and without loosing any noticable gameplay performance (and my system is quite far from being a "high-end" one).
-> Much better stability. As many experienced here, I also never had a CTD which sometimes happened to me with FreeFalcon 5.
-> The ability to freely arm/equip your F-16 with TGP (Targetting pods) and HARM pods. One of my biggest complains regarding Falcon 4 (and ANY version of it) was that you would only carry the TGP if you armed your aircraft with at least one Laser Guided weapon (such as a Paveway) or you could only carry the HARM pod if you armed your aircraft with at least one HARM missile. In reality the F-16 can carry any or both of those pods regardless of any weapon that it carries. BMS finally fixed this issue!
-> BMS (like Open Falcon before it) features datalink which is basically non existant in FF5.


Advantages of FreeFalcon5 over BMS:
-> Despite BMS being considered "better" or "more realistic" than FF5 regarding avionics, the GPS weapons (such as JDAM) in FreeFalcon5 and it's support avionics are much more realistic than in BMS. The combat flight sim that modeled the most realistic GPS weapons operations that I played (I haven't play DCS:A-10C) is Jane's F/A-18 and the GPS weapon modeling in FF5 is very, very similar to Jane's F/A-18 which is great! I really miss the GPS weapons of FreeFalcon5 in BMS! It's correct to said that BMS almost doesn't model GPS weapons (at least realistically)
-> BMS completly lacks an IFF interregator, a feature that FreeFalcon5 have (and works great!). This is an another plus that FF5 have in terms of avionics over BMS. I also miss the IFF interregator in BMS.
-> IMO, the sounds in the cockpit in FreeFalcon5 are SUPERIOR to the BMS ones. I find the BMS cockpit sounds dull and not interesting at all, specially compared to FF5.


Resuming, for me the "perfect" Falcon sim would be:
- BMS with the GPS, IFF interrogator and cockpit sounds of FreeFalcon 5.

Everybody is missing THE Point of BMS: The new physics engine; No comparison, it is the most advanced and precise FM out there for now (together with A10C and Rise of flight); As for the sounds i disagree, they are very realistic (it sounds the same in real).

BMS is basically of the same level as the real tactical simulator (F-16 pilots are in the beta test team) and even dares to simulates better turbulent flow flight conditions.

Of course everyone has their own oppinions and may agree or disagree with others but one thing is a fact:
- Just because on sim is more modern and uses a more advanced graphic and physics engine it doesn't automatically mean that the most modern sim is better than older ones. Well in fact, what proves this is the fact that newer sims are constantly being compared to older ones like for example happens with Flamming Cliffs 2 or DCS:A-10 which are always and constantly compared to Falcon 4 (including all and every version of it) or also for example DCS:Black Shark gets compared with Jane's Longbow 2 and so on. The reason for this is IMO obvious: there are MANY, MANY features that make a sim excelent (or even the "best") other than just graphics, physics and even flight models (stuff like dynamic or immersive campaigns, modeling of certain avionics, weaponry and aircraft features and so on).

What I also mean is that while I agree that BMS is in general terms a better flight sim than FreeFalcon5, this doesn't mean that the later one (FreeFalcon5) doesn't have better features than the former one (BMS) like for example the ones I posted here before.

Agreeing or thinking that the sounds of one game are or aren't better than the other can in many times be a matter of personal taste, but again IMO the sounds of FreeFalcon5 are way superior to the ones of BMS. For example the afterburner sounds (inside the cockpit) in BMS are way to faint and even it's quality seems inferior to me (compared to FF5). Of course than one can argue that in real life the sounds in the cockpit are faint which I don't know since I've never been inside an F-16, but I've travelled in many Airbus airlines and one thing that's definitly not faint is the jet engine sound specially when sitting near them which is what happens in the fighter aircraft such as the F-16. Anyway being real or not, one must understand that a computer flight sim will never give the same level of feedback that the real aircraft does, so it's understandable that some features must be a bit "exagerated" in order to give the player a similar amount of feedback that the pilot gets in real life.

Man, this was supposed to be a small post...

BMS developers have already responded to in cockpit sounds. They confirmed with Viper pilots that you hardly hear anything with the canopy down. This includes AA, AB. In fact they left in some sounds for us (like gears going up) because they knew it'd be too weird if we didn't have any type of feedback whatsoever. In the real thing you'd feel the vibrations and muffled sound. We only have sound to go by. -

EDIT, yeah you've already said that we need slight exaggerations because we're at our desks but I like the way BMS sounds. Very realistic.

Bushmaster posted up some in cockpit vids - http://www.benchmarksims.org/forum/entry.php?61-External-vs.-Internal-Sounds

I'll try to find the post where one of the devs was talking about in cockpit sounds.

I think you would need to put an F-16 helmet on to get more of an idea.

i dunno whether to laugh or cry......

it's ok to like these features but no need to tag them "realistic"...

WHAT?? Are you saying or implying that GPS weapons and IFF interrogators are not realistic???

Man, now it's me that "i dunno whether to laugh or cry"! Really, there really are some "impressive" posts in internet forums...

He's saying that the way they work in FF5 is not realistic. Actually GPS weapons in FF5 are not that bad, the thing is, the guy who made them is now in BMS so... Expect something even better. IFF and sounds in FF5 are indeed sub-par, you might like them, but they have little connection with reality.

Why do you say that the IFF (INTERROGATOR) in FF5 is not realistic?! An IFF interrogator works the following way:
-> Friendly aircraft interrogated by the IFF returns a signal while enemy or even neutral aircraft don't return any signal. IFF interrogators are associated with the radar and when friendly aircraft are interrogated their simbology in the radar is changed, this is how things work in real life, period! It's not that hard to model this! This is modeled in several REALISTIC/HARDCORE combat flight sim such as F-14 Fleet Defender, Jane's F-15, Jane's F/A-18, etc... This is also how it's modeled in FF5.
It's really curious that you said that IFF in FF5 is sub-par, seeing that FF5 models an IFF interrogator and BMS does not!! I would say with 100% confidence that the IFF in BMS is one that is "sub-par" at least compared to FF5!

In fact and from reading many posts from OF/BMS fans (note that I also enjoy BMS a lot) and people like you I see that many confuse an IFF transponder system with an IFF interrogator system. The IFF interrogator system works exactly how I described above and this is the system that many players including me are asking for!
The IFF transponders uses several channels (military and civilian), codes (which BTW are configured while the aircraft is on the ground) and may have diferent modes of operation -> Honestly this isn't what I'm asking for since a "generic" IFF transponder system is enough for me.

I also find ammusing when I see someone saying that the IFF in FF5 may not be 100% realistic or that's "simplified", etc... but the fact that a simplified system like and IFF interrogator is MUCH MORE REALISTIC that having NO/NONE system at all! What I mean is that it's well known how an IFF interrogator works so having something that works like that is more realistic than not having an IFF interrogator at all!
Besides do you think that everything you have in BMS is realistic?? If yes, than you must still believe in Santa Claus or something like that! For example the "declare" AWACS command that all Falcon 4 sims (stock/FF/OF/BMS/etc...) have is much less realistic and much more simplified than the IFF interrogator in FF5 since in the real "declare" the pilot must state the position and distance of the suspected aircraft in relation to the bullseye and other necessary info! And the list goes, on and on and on...


Regarding the sounds and like I previously said, PC combat flight sims will NEVER give the same amount of feedback that real pilots get in real aircraft so PC combat flight sims must have "extra" features in order to compensate for the lack of feedback that PC simmers don't get. For example, in real aircraft you clearly feed the landing gear extending or retracting but the real sound of the landing gear is faint (even more faint when the pilot is wearing a helmet) but since in PC sim it's impossible to for example feel the landing gear this feeling must be modeled with a "bit of exageration" on the sound part! So yes, IMO the sounds in FF5 not only "looks" better in my heards but also gives the feedback that I would get in a real aircraft but I can't get in a PC (except by sound).


Fortunally you admit that GPS weapons are great and realistic in FF5 but unfortunally it seems that's only probably due to what you said, that the guy that made the GPS weapons for FreeFalcon now works with BMS! But since I'm not that "fanatic specific Falcon 4 - XX version" and I enjoy both versions (BMS and FF5) I don't let myself affect with such things...

As MiGBuster says, I think it takes a few hours in an F-16 before you can start arguing the realism of a lot of items, such as cockpit sounds. To be able to assess IFF functionality, you need some classified training and experience that you wouldn't be able to share here anyways.