Fighting Irish Forums

i bought Falcon 4 (had a couple of previous antique falcons that i loved) when it first came out complete with the simply LOVELY three ring binder... and because i had such a weak-arsed computer at the time, did not install. well, later on i did get a better computer, but it just kept sort of getting shoved back on my book shelf.

well, THIS week i said to hell with it... i'm going to try it out. and i did. WOW! even the original game (unpatched or updated) is quite good. but getting on the net looking for updates, my jaw has completely dropped! good grief! dozens and dozens of super patches and addons that FAR surpass the original game by multiples of a hundred!

after reviewing dozens of the HUGE honkin' updates, i finally settled for the Free Falcon updates... WOW! though had some initial trouble getting them to run, THEY ARE FANTASTIC!

anybody else here still playing Falcon 4 or have the game lying around thinking about getting back into it? this is STILL a first class sim. by the way, the kick-ass terrain makes even IL2's crappy ground and mountain graphics look like shite! and that's in the unpatched game. with the super addons, they blow Oleg and 1C's ground and mountains AWAY!

Beowolff

Heard a lot about it but never seen or tried.

Guess I prefer propellor aircraft over modern jets - everything still happens too quickly for me on PF, modern jets would be a nightmare

If I see it in a bargain store one of these days then maybe I will give it a go.

Does it support online play or is it offline only?

both... ofline and a very nice multiplayer.

like you, i also prefer the prop jobs... first love and all that, but here lately, been wanting to flirt with the wild and fast side....jets. and i'm glad i did with Falcon 4... two days worth of fiddling and playing around, and its great.

Beo

I LOVE FALCON 4.0 !!!!!!
(with the free falcon 3. 0 update)

There`s just too much RL keeping me from playing it now.
I think i have to relearn the basic avionic stuff again .

hey beo, maybe we can find some time to hook up a multiplayer session.
(never played it online so far).

The campaigns are outstanding!

:FI:Cider (long time Viper-Driver)

you bet, Cider. of course i'm mostly still learning the VERY complicated avionic and combat systems. whew! what a handful! i'm getting there though. just today managed to get TIR working in the 3D cockpits and actually shot down a couple of Rooski bombers with the vulcan and a couple of sidewinders. of course then a Mig flew in and fragged me to hell. hey, but it was a start. my first kills in the game.

Beowolff

got this air to air stuff down fair-ish... but still having trouble with the air to ground stuff. can't seem to get a target lock on ground objects and launch any of the fancy A to G ordinance. grrraaaa!

i'm following the directions out of the splendid 3 ring binder, but so far, nothing. must be missing a vital step but can't figure it out (or haven't yet anyway.) any ideas, cider?

by the way, except for not being able to add individual ground objects, the Falcon 4 mission builder is KICK ARSE too! (you add ground objects in clumps all over the map...like say War production, which adds factories and such---or air bases which puts them all over---or armies which dots the countryside with enemy units. etc...)

actually, the mission builder is far more involved even than IL2's, giving you MANY more options over the target selection for you and ANY other air units flying. also lets you configure your package (and others) much more precisely and carefully.

practically, you can have an entire war going on at any given time in any given mission. with dozens and dozens of outward bound (or inward) ground and air units in operation. way cool!

Beowolff

Imo the dynamic campaign in that game has never been bettered, equalled even!!

When you consider the game came out in 98,,, it was so far ahead of it's time.

I invested a hell of a lot of time playing/beta testing F4.

The immersion with the original game of flying a mission way up North (Korea) and having to plan your mission to avoid known sam sites, fighter bases etc was so immersive, much more than IL2 I think.

Those bloody Mig 29's with their infra red trackers being able to sneak up on you from the ground where you lose em in the ground clutter,, jeez that game was awesome.

Pity really because if ever there was a game that was released way to early F4 was it. When I was playing it it was hideously buggy and a real sys killer as well.

I've heard that the all that has been ironed out now by the online community, I still have my original copy,, mmm.

With all the addons etc do you think the original manual would be of any use Beo?

What does it play like on a modern sys with the free Falcon update?

Btw I remember reading a post from a rl Falcon pilot who said if you could master the radar in that sim you would be able to have a sensible conversation with him about the one in a real F16.

I think one of the troubles with it was it's complexity though, almost like a job to even come close to mastering it,, man it wuz hard!!

Post some piccies please Beo!

I remember flirting with this game also for a time but I couldn't get to grips with it at all.

I was more of an FA18 Interceptor man (Amiga). Jesus I loved that game, it was my first delving into the flight sim world and I was in awe.

Ianus and Dexter...

okay on the screenies, will try and get some asap. as to the complex avionics---------Ianus, you hit the nail right on the head! JEEZ! it IS work. man, it is so complex that it really does liken to the real thing. i've been going at this thing hard now for weeks, and i still don't have it down...

i've even took a few days a way from it to help with the frustration level and play Wings Over Vietnam (a much easier and simpler game) just to keep from blowing my stack. hehehehe...

all that's not Falcon 4s' fault---its mine. for being old and stupid and with a memory like swiss cheese evidently. (sigh!)

ya see, i just can't seem to remember everything that i need to do to fly this sim correctly and engage the enemy. and the damned book is SO friggin' thick that you just can't read along as you fly. its a REAL handful, no doubt about it. but i'm not giving up yet.

as to Super Falcon on modern machines... works great on my P4, 2.4gig HP. in fact, as an older game (even with the heavy duty updates) it works BETTER than great. the game flies. no worries of bogging down like it does in IL2/FB/PF and getting the stutters. and by now, the latest patches and updates have ironed out most of the bugs.

it really is a great game...i just wish i was learning it better AND quicker.

Beowolff

Hehe,
Nothing changed there then Beo. It was soooo hard to remember everything!!

Coming in for a target run with Bandits around was, if I remember right particularly mind numbing.

I used to end up just not having the "brainpower" to do it all and fight Bandits at the same time.

I suppose because it is so realistic in terms of workload thats one very major reason why I could never be a rl fighter jock in an F16 lol,, the thought...

Also makes you realise the reason why in modern combat aircraft the emphasis is on REDUCING pilot w/load and also why in earlier generation fighters the Western planes although not having the "edge" in terms of performance did better,,, they were easier to fly!!

Lomac although very good was not as in depth as F4, I cannot comprehend what it must be like trying to fly a Su 27 with the same level of "realism" that is present in F4, they are supermen!!

I can see why the people who get those jobs are described as being of the "right stuff"

Interestingly because women can supposedly multi task (mentally) better than men thay make fine pilots.

Conversly thay are not as good at working out 3d spacial awareness as men.

Top fighter jock= Heamaphrodite????