A new F4 BMS Wing is getting started up and is open for applicants who would like to enjoy the company of like minded individuals in a MP environment. Must be 18 and speak English. Mostly U.S and European members currently, but all are welcome to register at the website and apply for IQT. Here is a intro video put together by the founders to introduce the wing to the public.
Some of those names sounds familiar. Did these guys split off from some other VFW?
1st vFW seems to move on to DCS and these guys stays firm at BMS. They seem solid, I wish them best of luck collecting a few like-minded (flight sims aren't really a growing community after all).
I have this odd feeling they will see people coming back from that DCS adventure the others embarked on.
The 1st has moved to DCS? I suspect you mean the Hornet in particular? Odd that their website still says BMS, even more odd is why the need for a split? Back in my A-10C days, I was part of the 1st flying the Hog; IIRC they had a separate DCS wing and a different Falcon wing. Later on, it seems like they dropped their DCS wing but now they're dropping the Falcon wing to play with the Hornet? Seems weird to me.
I joined the 440th because the group I was with (27th) went DCS like the 1st.
Funny thing is, they said BMS was too incomplete. I wonder how they will feel after a few months shooting rockets and dropping iron bombs in the Hornet.
Most of the convos on their discord channel are about what is currently working and what isn't and whether to use the open beta or stable version. SMH, the grass is greener...
I'm glad I talked to Demo at the 1st, because he pointed me towards the 440th when I PM'ed him to find out if they were really switching to DCS. I am currently 2/3's of the way through IQT at the 440th and am the first cadet to go through their IQT program. They have two new recruits starting shortly and with members on both sides of the pond, there are lots of options for getting a flight in.
There are some expectations for new recruits, such as already knowing how to ramp start and a basic knowledge of the avionics and weapons systems. The IP's are helpful and easy going, so it doesn't feel like you have that crazy drill sergeant bearing down on you though the process.
Anyone interested can check here 440th vFW for more details.
- S-man
Edit: @ Ice, did you get perma banned at BMS? Ban hammer is pretty busy over there, they even banned one of their devs a week or two ago!
Not being a member of the 1st, I can't really say. It was an amicable separation and there were no hard feelings. Guys from the 1st pay regular visits to the 440th forums. I think running a wing on 2 platforms is too much of a workload, so my money would be on that as far as your question.
Probably. I can't see how it would be more work; the guys who want BMS run BMS, the guys who want DCS run DCS, and each workload would fall under their own respective wings, but then again, I've never ran a vSquadron before so I may be totally off the mark.
well some VFWs only do TEs since single missions can offer more realism and stability. so the lack of DC in DCS is not that a biggie. and system fidelity wise the 2 sims are comparable. In A-10C dayz I flew a few rounds with some friends and it was indeed fun. Only problem was the hog wasn't as cool as the viper, ofc personally I like the dynamic campaign and Falcon's open modding too much. But I'd say those are mostly for offline/more casual online flying which a vfw could surely do without/might not need. so only on practical terms it does seem reasonable. wouldn't know the deeper internal issues ofc....
well some VFWs only do TEs since single missions can offer more realism and stability. so the lack of DC in DCS is not that a biggie. and system fidelity wise the 2 sims are comparable. In A-10C dayz I flew a few rounds with some friends and it was indeed fun. Only problem was the hog wasn't as cool as the viper, ofc personally I like the dynamic campaign and Falcon's open modding too much. But I'd say those are mostly for offline/more casual online flying which a vfw could surely do without/might not need. so only on practical terms it does seem reasonable. wouldn't know the deeper internal issues ofc....
That would be a really sterile TE. What would probably be easier is to let the campaign run for a few hours or a day or two then frag a mission, save it, then play it as a TE. The campaign environment assures that the battlefield you fly over is still alive and depending on what's happening, it is even possible that no two flights of that TE will turn out the same.
Glad to do it! And thank you for convincing me 5 years ago to quit messing with AF and fly BMS.
Anyone interested can register at the website and say hi in the forums or just take a look at some of the IQT progress reports in the Cadets forum to get an idea of what the flights are like. We welcome all who are interested or curious.
Ice: not necessarily, you can have fun with say just 2 red flights and 1 SAM battery. Depends on purpose of the flight.
You are indeed very correct. For a beginner or a simple training mission, sometimes the DC can work against you. In fact, sometimes it's better in DCS since you have better control of individual assets unlike in BMS or Falcon where you plunk down an entire convoy or battalion and they can sometimes wander off
However, once the training wheels comes off or the players wants a bit more from their TE or wants a bigger TE, that's when the shortcomings of DCS begins to show and the benefits of a DC in BMS begins to shine.
Originally Posted by schnidrman
Glad to do it! And thank you for convincing me 5 years ago to quit messing with AF and fly BMS.
You're very welcome! Was it 5 years ago already? Oh how time flies! Glad to see you're having fun and hope to join you in the virtual skies soon!
Ice: not necessarily, you can have fun with say just 2 red flights and 1 SAM battery. Depends on purpose of the flight.
However, once the training wheels comes off or the players wants a bit more from their TE or wants a bigger TE, that's when the shortcomings of DCS begins to show and the benefits of a DC in BMS begins to shine.
well my wings were pretty procedure heavy and realism oriented. so the AI's dumbness can throw everything off balance including immersion, and obviously you get a lot of that in a campaign environment. so among my some 1000 hours logged online there wasn't one campaign flight for me nor my usual flight mates. ofc some more "casual" wings do make campaign flights regularly so these things vary, i'm just saying if guys switch to DCS to do serious MP it wouldn't be a biggie if they prefer something that side has to offer more. So in this very strict sense the 2 sims are not that different. If one day BMS can have a robust AI and a mature campaign environment, being, you know, the only one left to have such a feature, that would certainly be different. But knowing them I myself will not bet on it.