...the ground textures sure look like crap. Is there a mod for this? Any way to make ground textures sharper? Or have I just been spoiled by DCS?

Really nice to be able to engage afterburner again though And I see I still have to do a little dance for BMS to properly map my Warthog controls and axii (using Dimebug's profile).

FLARE is in development still - lets hope it makes it because it looks brilliant

I *think* FLARE is planned for an integrated release with the next BMS update and should help the ground textures some.

I'm really enjoying BMS cos the F-16 is probably my favourite aircraft.

I know that you're a DCS player as well Ice so FYI: after playing DCS for so long the avionics aren't as developed so don't expect the same level as sophistication. But there's no DCS:Fast Jet (and no guarantees it'd be the F-16) yet and BMS is still very good.

Ah yes... any idea on the ETA on that one? I remember that from 1-2 years ago, surprised there's not even a "beta" out yet.

I just noticed my BMS launcher says 32-bit... is there a 64-bit one I've missed?
Also, the grainy in-cockpit shadows and low res joystick looks very out-of-place on the sharp cockpit... any mods for that?

I can't believe I now have to frequent at least 4 forums now just for my flight sim hobby...

No, F4 is still 32 bit. FLARE is taking a while but at least it's still going - and they've firmly said that they're in the BMS camp of development rather than FF. The intention was to make it part of a BMS update instead of a separate install. FLARE and BMS philosophies are the same in that they'd rather have a one stop shop exe instead of patching it from various mods.

Grainy shadows is what we got for this release. I think the BMS team are looking into it.

Anything to help the ground textures. One of my favorite flight profiles is down low so ground textures are really important to me. Flying at angels 20-30 is all well and good but it's so... airline.

What are you saying about the avionics? Are you saying DCS is more sophisticated? Or that BMS is better? I do remember that Falcon 4 AF had a good degree of switchology in it, but I've not played that sim for over a year and even when I played it, it was only for a few months. The last time I was really proficient with it was about 6-7 years ago, so I can't really remember.

Still, I don't judge a sim by switches alone. The fun factor and the excitement/immersion it can deliver is what pulls me into a sim and Falcon offers a different kind of fun compared to the Warthog, even in A-G missions. Faster, able to get in-and-out quicker, but with lighter payloads, less time-on-station, and thinner "armor," you have to be in a different frame of mind when in the Falcon. I'm going to miss plinking tanks with the gun, but I hope to be able to engage bigger, badder SAMs and do some fancy lofting with bombs. Can't wait to try out the Sniper pod as well!

Ah, thanks for that confirmation. Just wondered why it said 32-bit... so if you say you are Option A, I just thought Option B existed.

Any idea if FLARE will be free or pay with BMS? Not that it matters though, does it? Coz I know people will pay for this baby. However, I'd rather have a bare-bones beta now and start to enjoy it instead of waiting for the "perfect" release.

DCS is much more sophisticated. Coming from the A-10 you'll pretty much know the principles involved but you'll be slightly frustrated at the implementation in BMS as things don't work like they do in DCS:A-10.


Yeah definitely. The DC, while flawed, is still a DC and you get to play it online!
And agree again about the F-16 v A-10. They really are two different aircraft and can't really compare to each other. The F-16 will start sweating as soon as a Zeus looks at it, the A-10 will just laugh it off.

EDIT: regard FLARE, imo if it's going to be part of BMS then it'd most likely be free. The BMS team doesn't believe in taking money. In fact they've stated that if you want to donate, then donate to your favourite charity.

Funny, I thought the exact same thing but the other way around when I got DCS. Depends on what you're used to I guess. As for sophistication it depends. The F-16 is more sophisticated for the most part but more automated as well / easier to use. Which team has implemented more stuff or in a better way I can't say as I don't really know the Hog as well as the Viper so I can't judge DCS fairly. There are aspects of the avionics that are not (fully) implemented in BMS (yet), but the Hog doesn't even have many of those so... I dunno.

FLARE will be free btw.

Yes the F-16 is more sophisticated, but like I said, the implementation in BMS aren't up to DCS levels. Fly with DCS:A-10 and you'll see the differences. The TGP is passable in BMS but you can't slave it to SPI, Maverick cam and TGP are separate so rather clunky for instance... I'd be willing to bet that the real F-16 is much more closer to DCS:A-10 avionics when it comes to common systems like that. I mean why make it harder for F-16 pilots when the whole jet is all about making it easy for the pilot.