I tried BMS.The reason I gave it up was because it requires the original Microprose Falcon.I bought it on ebay but contrary to different posts on their forum where it shouldn't be a problem installing it on the new Windows(8 and 10) I couldn't
As I understand it it doesen't even really need it to Work but it has something to do with some internal agreement between BMS and some other Company.Weird.
And the installment of it is relatively messy.But maybe that's just me.
Apologies for not being able to help with your F4AF issues, but thought I might address some of your points here.
Firstly, yes, BMS requires the original Falcon 4.0 to be installed in your system for it to work but if you were playing previous versions of BMS, that looked for the Falcon 4.0 .exe anyway so technically you should have had a copy of Falcon 4.0 at that time
This change from and .exe check to a full install check was brought about by their agreement with the new holders/owners of the Falcon IP. Luckily, this also means that BMS now has the full blessing to proceed from the owners of the IP.
Second, yes, you are correct, BMS does not need Falcon 4.0 to work.... technically. But with the above agreement with Tommo (IP holder/owner), BMS checks for a complete Falcon 4.0 install each time before it starts.
Third, for installation issues, it is quite unique to other install procedures and thus,
I've made a how-to post hereAs for your Win8 and Win10 installation issues, I'm not sure why you're having issues but I've played BMS 4.32 on a Win7 setup and I'm playing BMS 4.33 on a Win10CU setup so that should not be an issue.
Good luck!