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#4330056 - 01/20/17 09:59 PM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: sobe]  
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Originally Posted By: sobe
You just need a second screen, Helios, a touch screen profile from the BMS forum and maybe an upgrade to the TM Warthog HOTAS. ICE has the best Helios profile, but he is preparing a new one.

Thanks for the vote there! biggrin


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#4330107 - 01/21/17 12:45 AM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: Schwalbe]  
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Originally Posted By: Schwalbe


these are me old squads in case ya wanna go that way.


That's a young man's game. I'm looking to fly in the Sunday beer league smile


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4330116 - 01/21/17 02:10 AM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: DBond]  
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Back to the jet. Got some time in tonight. Practiced a few touch and goes as much to practice landings as to work on the radio. This one was a little steep but servicable.




Spent some time with the manual. One of the new features for me is the DTC (Data Transfer Cartridge). BMS is touted as more realistic than other versions and this is one of the reasons why. For the vets out there I hope you'll forgive me. Many have been using these features for a long time. It's not new in the normal sense, but for me it is.

I've leaned heavily on nostalgia in this thread, and gotta do so again. Back around the time of some of the milestones talked about earlier, namely the release of Falcon 4 and the emergence of Frugals World, a third thing occurred that fueled my love of not only Falcon 4, but the F-16. And that's the publishing of the book Vipers in the Storm by Keith Rosenkranz.

This book is fantastic, and swept me into the world of the Viper pilot. It's not just what Rosenkranz relates, but how he does it. The way it's written in pilot-speak, not like someone talking down to someone so they can understand. He describes in detail the features and functions, but also the motions he goes through, which switches, which modes. He makes heavy use of quoting the radio comms. It all serves to put you right there. If you didn't know the difference between STT and DED it wouldn't make much sense. But for a fledgling virtual F-16 driver it was fantastic. And the reason I bring this up is it's where I first learned of the DTC and what it does. With this feature, BMS gives us our own virtual Weapons Shop or MPC (Mission Planning Cell).

It means more work for the player, but the advantages are many. It adds a level of mission customization I've never had. The user-designated Bullseye and steerpoint lines are a godsend for maintaining SA. There's no magi-FLOT drawn, but the lines allow you to set your own boundaries. Kill boxes. Weapons-free demarkation. I can see so many ways these things will help. In addition the DTC allows you to store preset radio frequencies, countermeasure programs and threats.

Let's talk about threats for a second. I've yet to fire up a campaign, but I imagine the upshot to this is a decluttered HSD and a cleaner picture of the primary threats. In all my hours of lying F4 there are two threats that have done me the most harm. Those are the MiG-29 and the SA-6. Those two systems have shot me down more than every other threat combined. There are many other threats that are virtually no threat at all. Low level AAA for instance. It's not that it isn't dangerous, but more so that I rarely find myself in it's envelope. So setting my own threats should result in a more focused picture when the fan is getting hit. So I'll want to place any SA-6, or SA-10 that I know of. But maybe an SA-2 can be ignored or left out.

Conversely I imagine, that if I were to plan a weeds run, say for a Durandal drop on a runway, I might want to prioritize those low AAA sites instead. Customization and mission focused. It remains to be seen though how it will play out in the campaign. In order to place these threats, you have to know of them. In AF I was a big proponent of user-fragged JSTARS missions. Assuming I have JSTARS, the key was always to frag my own and have them much closer to the front, flying parallel to it. The AI ATO often fragged the mission too far behind the FLOT, which was safer, but meant that it couldn't 'see' as far in to the bad guy side of things. It also (in AF anyway) set the ELINT waypoints flying perpedicular to the frontlines. This creates a sort of 'waves crashing on the beach' effect to the enemy territory coverage as the JSTARS flew toward, then away from, the front. Setting it to fly along the front kept the depth of coverage uniform.

Assumimg things work more or less the same, setting your threats on the DTC will be highly dependent on what is revealed on the map while you're in the Shop programming the DTC. I'll know soon enough.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4330172 - 01/21/17 02:07 PM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: DBond]  
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Any tips on graphics settings? I've seen plenty of shots that show reflections, the aircraft and 'pits have a shine or sheen to them. I am not getting a similar effect. How do I set it up to get the best visuals in the sim?

How do I show framerate? I've tried the normal key combinations but they don't seem to work. Or maybe I'm using the wrong one. Ctl Z + R? Ctl F + C? Something else? FRAPS? Could be a conflict with my key file.

Flew quite a bit last night. I'm at that stage where I don't know or remember enough about the systems and my control scheme. For example I jumped in to Instant Action Mud Moving to work on ground attack. I couldn't fire a HARM. I couldn't bring up the HTS. In the past, my Missile Step button on the side of the stick would switch from CCRP to CCIP, but doesn't now. So tonight I plan on working through some weapons training. Maverick, HARM, LGBs, dumb bombs/CBU.

Once I'm through with this I need to get back to radio and navigation work. Spent a lot of time last night reacquainting with the ICP, DED and the various panels (lighting/avionics/fuel/etc).

Once I feel comfortable with those procedures I think I'll be ready to fire up a campaign and see what's new and different. Quite excited to do so I must say.

I had a quick look at the campaigns. Are there multiple theaters included with the 4.33 BMS version or do I need to download those separately? The first campaign I fly has to be Tiger Spirit. Just because. After that I'd like to try some new ones.

Lots of questions posed here, but any help is appreciated!


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4330196 - 01/21/17 04:51 PM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: DBond]  
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You can change the pre-planned threat rings to show either their detection range or engagement range. You can see the advantage of having this option. You can also "delete" a pre-planned threat point during flight if you need to.

Framerate - It was CTRL+F together, then Z if memory serves. This setup does not work with Helios so I changed it to something else. With the new keyfile layout, it's much easier to find something you're looking for... callbacks are now arranged depending on where the switch is located in the cockpit. However, editing the controls using the game's UI screen will re-write the keyfile format and you'll lose all formatting within the document, so I fully suggest you edit the .key file in Notepad++

Speaking of .key files, you've probably downloaded one or are using one from a profile. If you're using Dunc's profile, you're probably using BMS - Dunc_DX.key. Be aware that there are a LOT of .key files... there's 5 of them by default (Basic/Blank/Full/Minimum/Pitbuilder) and I recommend getting a handle on how to work on your designed .key file.


- Ice
#4330198 - 01/21/17 04:55 PM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: DBond]  
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As for graphics, I have everything set things like so:


I may need to re-enable vsync as I'm getting annoying tearing effects now.

As for getting the same effects as screenshots, well, that's kinda hard to duplicate. People may be using JanHas skins or some 3rd-party textures, and then maybe even attaching some sort of post-processing effects to the game or the screenshot itself, something like SweetFX or ReShade for the game or some Photoshop filter for the screenshots.


- Ice
#4330211 - 01/21/17 05:43 PM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: DBond]  
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Thanks Ice, as ever. I am using Dunc's key file yes. And you are quite correct that I need to get a handle on it. I'm working through it. It's just a matter of working through each step and associating each function or feature with a control action. Everyday I'm (re)learning a little more. One thing that maybe I haven't considered is that the Blocks have been reworked and maybe I'm expecting that my airframe has a certain feature that it does not. Studying the various Blocks will also be on my to do list. For example some won't have HMCS, or a HTS etc. In AF, I gravitated toward the MLU since it had the internal jammer, but I need to study the BMS Vipers.

It's slow at work so I've been going back through a lot of the old threads from around '05-06 that we participated in. Fun to read after all this time.

As for the graphics my settings are the same as yours aside from resolution. It's default plus multisampling.

Here's a shot showing the shine effect I'm referring to.

http://www.simhq.com/_air14/images/air_507a_033.jpg


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4330224 - 01/21/17 06:47 PM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: DBond]  
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Ah, yes, I think that "shine" is inherent in BMS... but never really bothered me as I rarely fly "outside" the jet smile Maybe a different skin will work better?


- Ice
#4330236 - 01/21/17 08:20 PM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: DBond]  
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Check configuration on launch screen and see if you are using per-pixel or per-vertex lighting. Per-pixel is better but per-vertex is there if your system gets bogged down by hi-def graphics.

Also make sure you are using the Hi-res textures.


[Linked Image]
#4330242 - 01/21/17 08:47 PM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: DBond]  
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Thanks and yes, using both per-pixel and hi res. Perhaps it's just a matter of sliding the HDR bloom a little further right?

I'll fiddle with the settings. But I suppose like Ice mentioned I'm rarely outside of the 'pit except to take screens. So it really isn't important. But I still want it to look as good as it can. I have the horsepower.

I should add, in case it's a factor in any of my questions, that I am on 4.33.1. I have downloaded U2 but not installed and U3 I do not have yet.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4330243 - 01/21/17 08:50 PM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: DBond]  
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Originally Posted By: DBond
Hey Oden, good to see ya. Yes, Frug's is missed, but luckily for us F4 hasn't stopped getting better and better thanks to all of the hard work put in by folks like the BMS guys.

I guess I'll need a TIR. Are there any good competing products? Nothing against TIR just want to make a considered decision. I really like features like the HMCS but without something like a TIR I wouldn't be taking full advantage. Sure, I could shoot off-boresight without one, but it's missing most of the point. Right now I've got panning on the hat of course, but it's awkward, partly because of the ergonomics and partly due to the inaccuracy. Through time it will become more natural (I flew this way for years). But it's not the best solution. And I suppose a TIR would free that hat for some alternative programming.


Take a look here mate http://www.trackhat.org/

Never used it, but it's cheaper than TIR and at the last flight sim show it was selling well, so I'd suggest it's pretty decent? There is a review of it in PC Pilot if you subscribe?

#4330245 - 01/21/17 08:52 PM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: DBond]  
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Thanks archermav, I'll have a look. In the meantime I have gone mostly with the snap pit. It's sort of the best compromise in my current setup. I'd like the freelook capability though. One step at a time eh?

Edit: I had trouble loading their site. I'll check it out later.

Last edited by DBond; 01/21/17 08:54 PM.

No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4330253 - 01/21/17 09:21 PM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: DBond]  
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Does take a while to load up, just tried it mate.

#4330260 - 01/21/17 10:00 PM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: DBond]  
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As someone who has tried "other" solutions, I cannot help but recommend TrackIR. If you want to just start up and fly, get a TrackIR. Well worth the money. If you don't mind fiddling with settings, then by all means try the "other" solutions... I've heard good things about OpenTrack and DelanClip with the "gamer" packages only setting you back £36.


- Ice
#4330305 - 01/22/17 01:25 AM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: DBond]  
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Well done Dbond!

It's been a good read and a similar journey for a lot of us that were fortunate enough to be around during the golden age of simming.

Looking forward to reading more.

thumbsup


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#4330306 - 01/22/17 01:26 AM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: DBond]  
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I had asked for alternatives, thanks for the suggestion archermav. I wanted to be sure I had full full dope. I did get on the site and I'm sure it works well. The vids they have look good. But yeah, if these are my choices it has to be a TIR. But if it weren't affordable the Trackhat would be a solid alternative choice.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4330307 - 01/22/17 01:31 AM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: Force10]  
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Originally Posted By: Force10
Well done Dbond!

It's been a good read and a similar journey for a lot of us that were fortunate enough to be around during the golden age of simming.

Looking forward to reading more.

thumbsup


Hey thanks. Yep, I'm certainly not the first to tread this path. I was hanging around the BMS site as I try to absorb as much as I can and there were quite a few threads from guys just getting back in the saddle after long layoffs.

I seem to remember you were an X-52 driver back in the day, or maybe I'm thinking of someone else?


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4330311 - 01/22/17 02:03 AM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: DBond]  
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Originally Posted By: DBond


I seem to remember you were an X-52 driver back in the day, or maybe I'm thinking of someone else?


You are correct sir! Good memory.

We probably crossed paths at Combatsim back in the day as well. It's where I called home until the exodus of 2000 when I came here to SimHQ. I was a member of Frugals as well...but most of my forum activity was between here and Combatsim.

I have been a Falcon fan since I got my binder the day it came out...but I'm somewhat of a simming "ho" and gobbled up everything back then. Red Baron II, WWII sims, Mig Alley,...all the way through to modern.

If it was labeled a "flight sim" I was on board no matter what era it was and that includes egg beaters as well.

Here's a little nostalgia for ya:



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#4330331 - 01/22/17 03:24 AM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: DBond]  
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Originally Posted By: DBond
Originally Posted By: Schwalbe


these are me old squads in case ya wanna go that way.


That's a young man's game. I'm looking to fly in the Sunday beer league smile




LOL in me old squads the average age was about 40 or so!.. they were OLD as in 50 yo is prime time flight lead material, i was afraid they'd lawn dart after Takeoff!:D but yeah on this i think mostly it is just a lot of free time commitment. There was this guy i flew with outside of v squads, that didn't know anything about Falcon, nor was he really proficient in computers, nor had a HOTAS or a top notch rig, but only heard of OpenFalcon (ala BMS3.0) and was always willing to listen. So we just spent many dayz on teamspeak and taught him everything. My only "trick" was i got bms4.1x/2x at the time so threw in some teasers to make things interesting, but it was mostly he was always willing to get in the air. In the end he'd understood all the necessary stuffs, and flew without problems albeit casually, but 'twas pretty good all things considered. At the release of bms4 we went all out and spent 24 hours non-stop flying the campaign... didn't realize it until deciding to call it end.
My later on reflection, what this told me was that freeware like these sets a bar of entry, but it's not really "difficulty" as what most forumites say, but just a time barrier.

So on the aspect of MP I think the key is finding some like minded ppl that's willing to invest in some time together. one can make it very casual, there's no absolute need for ramp start, use ivc or all that complexities long as all players find it suitable, but can one dedicate a sunday to simming or can he only spend 1hr and then have to leave.. i find the latter really matters.

Last edited by Schwalbe; 01/22/17 03:34 AM.
#4330402 - 01/22/17 01:56 PM Re: My Falcon Odyssey [Re: Force10]  
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Originally Posted By: Force10


Here's a little nostalgia for ya:



Wow. Where did you get that?! The Comet Cursor lives! That's really cool to see, thanks. I see the ads for Chips and Bits. That's the place I pre-ordered the Cougar from. They aren't in business any longer.

Yeah Schwalbe, as much as I would enjoy being part of a 'serious' squadron, I need a less regimented schedule. The dumb dog, or the kids or whatever always seem to need need my attention for one thing or another. But I would like to do it like I used to with some of the members here like Dusty, Axe, John P and jussi. We just had persistent comms and a dedicated campaign server. Anyone could jump on whenever and fly. Axe was my main wingman. Or I was his. We alternated flight lead each sortie. A casual campaign environment with good players is what I would be looking for. Just need a few. Judging by the traffic in this forum recently, not many are currently flying. But maybe I'll catch a couple with this thread.



No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
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