| Strike |
09-14-2011 11:20 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sternjaeger II
(Post 335985)
guys, I haven't played with Falcon 4 for years.. how does it compare with Flaming Cliffs or the latest A-10 sim?
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Much more realistic than Flaming cliffs, A LOT more indepth in avionics simulations etc. Very good dynamic campaign and AI. About same level as A-10C i think on advancedness of systems. The latest BMS is a leap ahead of original falcon. Completely new flightmodel too! Very true to life.
And LUD:
As for the aerial refueling in particular it works VERY well! Better than any other sim. You request tanker on the radio and if you're further away than 10nm the AWACS will give you the tankers TACAN channel, bearing and distance. You plot the tankers TACAN channel (92Y) and subtract 63 which is (92Y - 63 = 29Y) to lock up the tanker and start approaching it. Once within 10nm you call him up again to request fuel and he'll clear you to pre-contact. Once you've stabilized behind him you will be cleared to contact and the lights underneath the belly of the tanker will start guiding you (forward/aft and Up/down). You HAVE to sit just at the right spot within the limits of the refuel boom and the boom operator will guide it into the air-refueling receptacle. Once there, you still have to fly your plane in perfect position (unlike many other sims for instance Lock on, where you are "clamped" or attached to the fueler and pretty much sit there with no effort) and maintain position until you are done. Once the F-16's fuel tanks are full it sends a disconnect signal to the refueling boom and the process is ended. Once you are clear you call the tanker and state that you are "done refueling" and the next plane in line is automatically cleared to contact (IF he is in the "quickflow" area) or he will be cleared to pre-contact which is to approach the tanker from the rear again!. All works well online, the other players can monitor the entire process and even read the lights on the belly while their wingman is tanking :) Nice feature!
The game behaves very well for us 4 guys with full IVC comms at a bandwidth setting of 700. We tried 400 too and that was fine aswell!! At the moment we are flying occasionally to train ourselves at everything from takeoffs and landings to IDM datalink sharing and Aerial refueling (almost every day) and we are currently using a dedicated IVC comms server but at the moment I am hosting the game server. It has worked quite well, for the exception of a very few game freezes (alt+tab in and out and the game keeps running ?!? no client disconnects or strange lag while I alt+tab.. strange...)
The revamped version of Falcon from BMS is truly a gem in simming, and the best part is it runs very smooth ;) Most graphics are OK, some of the new effects add a lot to the atmosphere such as dynamic shadows, HDR, motion blur and raindrop effects :)
But this sim has become a much better representation of the F-16 flightmodel. The F-18 and Mirage 2000 also are flyable with their own cockpits :) The game also includes training scripts (that you can run on every Tactical Engagement mission) that pauses the sim and directs you to the buttons and switches with text to explain what they are, how they work and how to use them :) I'd recommend any sim head with a hotas setup to try this one out! And if you like, come join in on one of our training sessions if you like. I can edit the mission to incorporate more flights, target areas and tamper with weather and time of day :) The mission editor is a handfull, but I'm getting the hang of it as I play with it. |
