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This will be the first in a series of articles covering the 1998 MicroProse sim Falcon 4.0 and the 2005 Lead Pursuit sim, Falcon 4.0: Allied Force. This first article is a primer detailing what will be covered in the following articles and providing some useful historical background to the sim. History It's quite a history! Before discussing builds it's essential to have some understanding of the history or Falcon 4.0 and how each release fits into the overall history. The best resources for a history of Falcon 4.0 is the dedicated Falcon 4 history site, they do a better job than I ever could. For a visual overview of the Falcon 4.0 history the graphical timeline of Falcon 4 development should be consulted. Within we see the development release, official patches, iBeta and Realism patches, eRazor patches branching from the v1.07 code, culminating in the merging and development of the Unified Team SuperPak's. After SuperPak 3 the branches diverge again, with FreeFalcon, the initial BMS patches until BMS 2.03, ViperOps, which would soon become Falcon 4.0: Allied Force and laterly the SuperPak 4 release, which could later be integrated with BMS 2.0. Later the branches would settle into three, FreeFalcon/RedViper, OpenFalcon and the continuing patching of Allied Force. FreeFalcon and OpenFalcon would be integrated into what became the present day BenchmarkSims Team with BMS 4.32. FreeFalcon and Allied Force would fall by the wayside leaving the BMS as the driving force in Falcon 4.0 development. For a more in-depth discussion of the history of Falcon 4.0, The Falcon Epopee by SpyHawk, is highly recommended. In case anyone is wondering 'Epopee' is a noun of French origin that means epic, particularly an epic poem or epic poetry. It can also refer to an adventurous and intrepid journey. When discussing the history of Falcon 4.0, epic, poetic, adventurous and intrepid certainly seems an apt way of describing it! Releases As can be seen from the history, Falcon 4.0 has undergone a monumental change from it's first release. As the Benchmark Sims team pushes ever forward, making incredible developmental strides with Falcon 4.0, the 'retro' Falcon 4.0 versions risk being lost to time. For that reason these articles exist, to go back and rebuild the simpler retro versions of Falcon 4.0 that once existed and allow them to be experienced once again. There will be a series of articles on 'building' a number of Falcon 4.0 'releases' and getting them running well under Win10. Each release will mark a particular milestone in the Falcon 4.0 history allowing a release to be chosen, built and played under Win10. Trying multiple releases If you wish to try out different releases it is highly recommended to completely uninstall and clean the machine of any remnant of a previous release. A recommended app to do so is Revo Uninstaller Free . If the advanced uninstall option is chosen, then after running the uninstall, Revo Uninstaller will analyze leftover registry entries and folders and give you the option to remove them. For this reason, later articles will suggest placing downloads into a Falcon4-setup folder (for storage) and then copying them into the Falcon installation folder (for use). If a complete clean up is not performed, then there is a risk of leftover registry entries affecting future release installations. Further articles The following articles will make up the rest of this Falcon 4.0 series. Hopefully these mark the major releases, developed by a huge number of individuals from around the globe and flown by many others. Official patched version . Official/iBeta release . Understanding the F4Patch utility . Realism Patch . eFalcon . SuperPak . FreeFalcon. BMS. MP. SuperPak BMS. Falcon 4.0: Allied Force: The official release. Falcon 4.0: Allied Force: The Skunkworks release. HiTiles & HiTilesAF. OpenFalcon. BMS 4.3X and beyond. A call to arms These articles aim to be as comprehensive as possible. That may not be possible initially but the articles today can be amended, added to annd revised. So if there is a critical patch or enhancement missing, by all means get in touch, I'd be happy to add it to these articles. Finally... Credit and thanks for to SpyHawk for The Falcon Epopee. There are probably others that should be credited and thanked for the Falcon History site, so feel free to get in touch if you wish to be added to this article! Good hunting!

SuperPak logo A guide to building a SuperPak release of Falcon 4.0. This release will be built using the final SuperPak, v4.2. In addition the configuration steps to run it under Win10 will also be covered. This release is the culmination of the huge work done in the major updates of SuperPak 3 and SuperPak 4. The install has been significantly streamlined and third party tools and patches integrated into the install (freeware HiTiles and the GUITigor1c tile integrator) as well as the defacto standard F4Patch, now renamed as the FalconSP config editor. Documentation has been given a major overhaul with the SuperPak 3 and 4 manuals and supporting documentation included as standard. SuperPak patch The UI has been developed as well, all the same options but with a very different UI running in a higher resolution. As for the sim itself, from the SuperPak 4 intro: Welcome to SuperPAK 4! With this work of the Falcon 4 Unified Team, Falcon 4 takes another step forward on its way to the ultimate combat flight simulator. In comparison to the last SuperPAK (SP3 featuring the final exe modifications), this version of SuperPAK concentrates on the data part of Falcon. This includes: The graphics: New and updated 3D-Models (Planes, Vehicles, Weapons, Buildings), including detailed textures (skins). Realistic weapons, weapon systems and flight models (well... as close as it can be!) AI flight behaviour improvements. An improved, photorealistic F-16 cockpit (including a separate wide-view option). Countless data bug-fixes and corrections. With this last SuperPak 4.2 release building the release has become far simpler and a far more limited Falcon 4.0 'dance'. SuperPak history History The work by the eTeam to produce eFalcon and the work done by the Realism Patch Group to produce the Realism Patches would continue as a new F4 Unified Team. This team would continue working to produce SuperPak 1 in November 2001. SuperPak 2 would soon follow, in January 2002. The huge update that was SuperPak 3 was released in June 2002. Groups would split to form new teams creating FreeFalcon, BMS and the patched multiplayer-centric MP releases. This meant SuperPak 4 would not be released until February 2004, primarily being a huge update in Falcon 4.0 data. The final SuperPak 4.2 would integrate the High Fidelity Flight Models (HFFM) in November 2004. For a far more detailed and accurate description, The Falcon Epopee is highly recommended. Prerequisites The folder prerequisites are listed below: C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\joystick-gremlin C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\cinepak C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\trackir C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\superpak Release patches The following patches are required to build this release: SuperPak 4.2 One Click Installer (OCI), ( SP42_OCI.zip ). This can be found at the Internet Archive in Falcon 4.0: SuperPak patch collection . This patch should be copied to C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\superpak and the OCI executable and instructions extracted. Starting point This build is based on a simple cd installation. There is no need to patch to the last official v1.08us patch or any other version, before building the release . Installation should be from cd or cd image and you're ready to begin. Building Unlike some of the other releases this will be using a One Click Installer (OCI). The OCI app ( SP42_OCI.exe ) can be run from any folder. It should automatically find the Falcon installation folder and begin the install. During this installation phase it is recommended to select the included HiTiles terrain enhancement. Once all files have been copied and updated the HiTiles installation will begin. HiTiles The OCI comes with the free version of the HiTiles terrain enhancement, which can enhance some but not all of the terrain tiles used in Falcon 4.0. The HiTiles terrain enhancement is installed using the GUITigor1c tile integrator tool. This tool can optimise the HiTiles terrain. During the HiTiles install it will ask if a backup of the original terrain is taken, it is recommended to do so. This backup can be used to regenerate the terrain with the full version of HiTiles. Once the terrain generation is complete and installed the GUITigor1c will report it can be closed. The FalconSP config editor/F4Patch tool should have appeared at this point. Patch selection The final installer step is to select the SuperPak patches and apply them. Once applied you can use the FalconSP config editor to enable/disable patches to configure the release to your own preference. Once all patches have been applied, exit the tool. Note: Even though the FalconSP config editor/F4Patch tool is operating in the OCI mode, it should never be run in expanded mode. The F4Patch folder already exists, so additional patches only need to be copied or expanded into this folder (see Understanding the F4Patch utility ) and then the FalconSP config editor ( falconsp config editor.exe ) should be run to enable them. Manual configuration (optional) During flight you may notice a 'shimmering' effect as the aircraft moves closer to environmental objects. This 'shimmering' can be reduced or eliminated by enabling mip maps (a graphics technique). The SuperPak config file ( falconsp.cfg ) can be edited with a standard text editor and the g_bUseMipMaps option enabled as shown: set g_bUseMipMaps 1 Note : this will use additional memory so depending on your machine, it may affect performance. HOTAS config There was a significant change in throttle use, with this release. The in-game throttle axis changed from the z-axis to the slider axis. This was probably changed to support joysticks with a third slider axis that could now be used as a throttle. The vJoy/Joystick Gremlin combination continues to be used. The vJoy configuration is changed to use the slider axis, as shown. This enables the throttle within the game. The z-axis is disabled and the slider axis enabled. Within Joystick Gremlin the physical throttle z-axis is now mapped to the vJoy slider axis as shown. The Warthog throttle z-axis is now assigned to the vJoy slider axis. Now moving the physical Warthog throttle z-axis, moves the vJoy slider axis which moves the Falcon throttle in-game. The other axes remain unchanged. Wrapper config This release runs perfectly well under Win10 and DirectX wrappers are not required. When tested with wrappers they created issues rather than solved them. Wrappers are therefore not recommended. Graphics config However, we need not leave the graphics unmodified. The nVidia control panel was used to try and optimise the graphics. In the Manage 3D Settings a new program entry was added for FalconSP.exe . The following limited settings were used: Image Scaling: On Antialiasing Mode: Enhance the application setting Antialiasing Setting: 8x There may be far better settings, in which case feel free to let me know! I'm assuming there is similar functionality in software supplied with AMD/Intel graphics cards. Video patching Video patching remains unchanged from The official and iBeta releases . The intro video and campaign videos both work well in Win10. Track IR Support TrackIR support continues to be provided by the TIRF4 utility with the Yassy BMS profile being highly recommended, as discussed in The official and iBeta releases . Running With the change in executable the command to run Falcon 4.0 with TrackIR support becomes: FalconSP.exe -head In addition the graphics can be enhanced with the -g command line option , e.g. FalconSP.exe -head -g4 Although this may incur a performance overhead depending on your machine. In-game config There are some subtle issues to be aware of when configuring the settings. Uncheck Fast 2D-Cockpit In the GRAPHICS , ADVANCED settings, make sure to uncheck Fast 2D-Cockpit . There is a huge improvement in control text clarity and readability. Fast 2D-Cockpit disabled Fast 2D-Cockpit enabled Realistic avionics In the SIMULATION settings, Avionics must be set to Realistic to prevent text problems on the DED. Enhanced or lower avionics Realistic avionics Documentation A vast wealth of documentation is included with this release including copies the SuperPak 3 (core changes) and SuperPak 4 (additional changes) manuals. These manuals along with supporting documentation can be found in the Docs folder of the Falcon installation folder. With SuperPak 3 & 4, Falcon 4.0 is becoming a 'study sim'. The following manuals are recommended to be read in conjunction with the SuperPak 3 & 4 manuals: Falcon 4.0 manual, for the underlying basics, first and second editions Realism Patch v5 manual , for the guiding principles and design decisions forming the basis of SuperPak. The following Documents are also available and relevant to SuperPak 4.2: The Falcon 4.0 Tactical Reference Munitions Handbook . The High Fidelity Flight Models manual . All manuals are available from Falcon 4 History . Ramp start guide There is an interactive Shockwave Flash ramp start guide that can be found in the Docs folder of the Falcon installation folder. Finally... Credit and thanks go to the F4 Unified Team for the SuperPaks and the countless individuals who have provided SuperPak info on websites across the globe for many years. Good hunting!

This guide covers the building of an iBeta release and configuring of the officially patched (vanilla Falcon 4.0) or iBeta releases. The primary reason for an iBeta release is the similarity to a pure 'vanilla' official release but with further fixes and compatibility with TrackIR support. History The official/iBeta timeline. In the Falcon 4.0 timeline, the official patched version takes us from the retail release in December 1998 up to the final official patch release in December 1999. The recommended 'final' iBeta patch takes us a little further into December 1999. iBeta released the Realism patches as well, but were morphing into the Realism Patch Group. Prerequisites This release requires the official patch version to have been built, as described in ' Falcon 4.0 part 2: The official patched version '. The setup folder prerequisites in ' Falcon 4.0 part 2: The official patched version ' and the following additional setup folders are recommended, to store the additional suggested patches and utilities/wrappers: C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\joystick-gremlin C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\cinepak C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\wrapper\dxwrapper C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\wrapper\nglide C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\ibeta C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\trackir HOTAS configuration HOTAS configuration is very dependant on the controllers to be used. Earlier controllers with multiple axes on a single physical device (e.g. joystick with twist rudder and throttle axis) or multiple physical devices connected to each other but seen as a single device in Windows (earlier HOTAS controllers) should have little trouble in Falcon 4.0. However multiple physical devices seen as multiple devices in Windows are more problematic. The normal method is to create a single virtual device with vendor profiling software (e.g. TM TARGET) so the game only sees a single virtual controller, configured with the axes and buttons it needs. However testing has revealed that Falcon 4.0 experiences severe issues with the TM TARGET vendor software. It isn't known if this issue is limited to only TARGET or if other vendor software is affected. For this reason TM TARGET isn't used and instead the vJoy/Joystick Gremlin alternative is used instead. Put overly simply vJoy is the virtual controller device and Joystick Gremlin is profiling component assigning physical axes and buttons to the virtual device. Obtaining vJoy/Joystick Gremlin Joystick Gremlin should be obtained from the website . In addition there is a manual which explains in detail how to get started with Joystick Gremlin. The version of vJoy listed in the manual is a fairly old version and the latest version has been driver signed for use in current versions of Win10/11, so should install without issue. It can be found on the BrunnerInnovation/vJoy GitHub repository in the Releases section. It is recommended to place any vJoy/Joystick Gremlin zip files/installation packages in: C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\joystick-gremlin . Both vJoy (installed first) then Joystick Gremlin (second) should be installed with the installer apps. A brief example A vJoy virtual device This is a brief example of a vJoy/Joystick Gremlin configuration I used for testing. vJoy defines a 4 axes virtual device with an x/y-axis (joystick), a z-axis (throttle) and a (rotation) Rz-axis (rudder pedals), 32 buttons and a single POV hat is defined. Below, Joystick Gremlin shows the mapping of physical devices to the vJoy virtual device. One window shows the Warthog stick with x/y-axes, buttons and hat mapped, one shows the throttle with the z-axis mapped and the final one shows rudder pedals mapped to the Rz-axis. Joystick Gremlin, physical devices mapped to single virtual device. Joystick Gremlin is then configured to run this profile when Falcon 4.0 is started. Device hiding One of the reasons that Joystick Gremlin isn't used often is the lack of comprehensive device hiding. Older sims and DOSBox to this day will attempt to locate a single suitable controller, with vendor software like TM TARGET the physical devices are disabled/hidden leaving only a single virtual device, visible to the sim/game/DOSBox. Having both physical and vJoy devices available isn't a problem for Falcon 4.0, as within the controller setup page, the device itself is selected. It does not matter if the physical stick/throttle/pedals and vJoy device are all visible to Windows and Falcon 4.0, as once selected in-game, only the vJoy device will be used. Wrapper configuration This next section covers wrapper configuration. DxWrapper, created by Elisha (credit and thanks to Elisha) provides DirectDraw wrapping, allowing Falcon 4.0 to run under Win10. The nGlide wrapper from Zeus (credit and thanks to Zeus) allows the use of Glide rendering by the flight engine, when engaged on a mission. DxWrapper The latest version of DxWrapper is used in this guide, at time of writing this is v1.3.7700.25 . Hosted at the DxWrapper GitHub repository, the latest version can be found in the Releases . This version should be download and extracted it's own folder under C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\wrapper\dxwrapper . The following wrapper files should be copied into the Falcon 4.0 installation folder ( C:\Falcon4 ): C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\wrapper\dxwrapper\dxwrapper.dll C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\wrapper\dxwrapper\Stub\ddraw.dll The following zip file contains the dxwrapper.ini configuration file, used during testing: nGlide The latest version of nGlide is used in this guide, at time of writing this is v2.10 . Hosted at the Zeus Software website. The latest version can be found in Download nGlide . nGlide config settings If not already installed, this version should be download to it's own folder under C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\wrapper\nglide . The installer package ( nGlide210_setup.exe ) can be run to install nGlide as a system-wide Glide wrapper . The nGlide 2.10 configurator should be run to config nGlide as shown in the dialog box. You may wish to leave the splash screen on for testing and then turn off later. Video patching Falcon 4.0 uses the cinepak codec for playing the intro and campaign movies, however in Win10 these movies don't play. This can be considered a significant problem when playing the campaigns as those videos are absolutely crucial for the player to know how the campaign ended and when it ended (Credit and thanks to RapierCZ, for that crucial bit of info!) We can partially fix this by adding the cinepak codec (obtained from PCGamingWiki): The codec should be copied to the C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\cinepak folder and extracted. Only the iccvid.dll file should be copied to Falcon installation folder ( C:\Falcon4 ). When started the intro video audio will play (sadly still no video) but more importantly when selecting a campaign, the campaign video will play with video and sound. This marks the end of software configuration of the official patched version, but it is recommended to continue onto the iBeta release. iBeta release The iBeta team would release two later patches v1.08i1 and v1.08i2. v1.08i2 is a cumulative patch including the fixes from v1.08i1 so only this patch is required for the iBeta release. iBeta patching The patch ( falcon4_108i2.zip ) provides an alternative executable to run the sim. It can be found at the Internet Archive in the Falcon 4.0 Official, iBeta, Realism patch collection . The patch should be download to C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\ibeta and extracted to obtain the alternate executable, Falcon4_108i2.exe . The executable should be copied to the Falcon 4.0 installation folder ( C:\Falcon4 ). F4Patch An F4Patch OCI package exists for the iBeta release ( F4Patch_Standard_32_i2.zip ). Using F4Patch v3.2 and packaged with a standard set of patches, it can be found at the Internet Archive in the Falcon 4.0 Official, iBeta, Realism patch collection . Further information on patching with F4Patch can be found in Understanding the F4Patch utility . iBeta TrackIR support The alternate executable, Falcon4_108i2.exe supports TrackIR. The following ssecrion describes how to config it. TIRF4 utility TrackIR support is provided with the use of the TIRF4 utility. The TIRF4 utility ( TIRF4.zip ) is available from the Internet Archive in the Falcon 4.0 utilities collection . The utility should be downloaded into the C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\trackir folder and extracted. The executable file ( TIRF4.exe ) should be copied into the Falcon 4.0 installation folder ( C:\Falcon4 ). TrackIR profile TrackIR comes with a selection of pre-configured profiles. However there are better profiles, one of the best and added to a later Falcon 4.0 BMS release, is the Yassy BMS profile. The Yassy profile is available from the Falcon BMS forum in the TrackIR 4/5 BMS Profile by Yassy topic. The first message uses a Dropbox location , however there are multiple alternatives throughout the thread. Download and store the profile in the C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\trackir folder. This should then be copied to TrackIR profiles folder in Win10, which would normally be: \Users\Appdata\Roaming\Natural Point\TrackIR 5\Profiles The next time TrackIR is started Yassy BMS should be an available profile. Falcon 4.0 should be configured to use this profile within the TrackIR software. Credit and Thanks to Yassy for an excellent TrackIR profile. Enabling in Win10 The TrackIR software is started followed by Falcon 4.0, then the TIRF4 utility is started. The legacy process involved minimising the sim and then starting the utility, before returning to the sim, however this method is problematic in Win10. The nGlide wrapper does not allow the sim to minimised preventing access to the desktop. but the Windows Start menu can be opened. The TIRF4 utility can be pinned and added as a Start menu tile before trying to start Falcon 4.0, however even after starting and receiving TrackIR data, head tracking does not work in the 3d cockpit view. Alternative methods using batch or Powershell scripts also resulted in what seemed to be a successful start but, yet again head tracking did not work. Only one method so far has succeeded. Playnite configuration The only successful method found is to use Playnite , an open source game library manager. Falcon 4.0 can be manually added, the play action configured and within the scripts section, Powershell commands to be run before the game starts can be added. A later script section allows adding commands to be run after the game has started. The TIRF4 utility is added to this section. The below screenshots shows that before Falcon 4.0 is started: Playnite scripting to start software before and after Falcon 4.0 has started. The folder is changed to the Joystick Gremlin folder (for some reason Joystick Gremlin only works when started from within it's installation folder). Joystick Gremlin is started in a minimised state. The TrackIR software is started. The script is paused to allow the software time to startup. The folder is changed back to the Falcon 4.0 installation folder. After Falcon 4.0 is started: The script is paused to allow the Falcon 4.0 time to startup. The TIRF4 utility is started. When this occurs the Falcon 4.0 desktop will be on screen with the menu music playing. The music will stop as app focus is lost by Falcon 4.0 and app focus is gained by TIRF4. Once this happens clicking on the Falcon 4.0 desktop returns app focus to Falcon 4.0 and the music resumes. Once Falcon 4.0 is quit: The Joystick Gremlin app is closed. The TIRF4 app is closed. The TrackIR app is closed. Running Falcon 4.0 To enable TrackIR support in Falcon 4.0 itself, it must be enabled with the -head parameter. So the command to run it becomes: Falcon4_108i2.exe -head Command line options The following is a list of Falcon 4.0 command line options (credit and thanks to LytningRod for this info): Option Description -file Starts mission with ACMI recording on. -event Records an event file for debugging. -repair All objectives are repaired when a campaign is loaded. -armageddon All objectives are destroyed when a campaign is loaded. -log Log frame rates during gameplay to the files 'framerate.csv' and 'fr_summary.csv'. -C ? -UA ? -g Set graphics detail to with useful values being 1 thru 5. This allows the setup sliders to have higher maximum values. -full Run in full screen mode. -window Run in a 640x480 window. Useful with the -time switch to act as a server. -hires Allow higher resolution to be selected. -version Print out the version of Falcon and  exit, e.g. Falcon 4.0 - Version 1.071z:Release Mode -norudder Disable use of rudder control on joystick. -nosmoothing Disable joystick smoothing (filtering out of spikes). -numhats Set the # of hats your joystick has. DirectInput can get this wrong. -nosound Switch off all sound. -nopete No pilot voices, named after Pete, the guy who recorded it. -tacedit Allows you to edit and save training missions. You still have to rename them to .tac from .trn and back again. -norsc Use the raw art files, for debugging. -usersc Don’t use the raw art files, for debugging. -auto Starts the program without the debug menu, debugging only. -nomovie Will not play the intro movie when you launch Falcon 4.0. -noUIcomms In the UI you will not hear the radio chatter or takeoff sounds. -screen Take screenshots in the UI, in TGA format. -time Run as a Server. You will not be able to join the 3D world. -noloader The graphics load around you rather than at start-up. Gets you into the game faster as it misses out part of the pie loading screen. -bandwidth XXX Used for debugging network play, in debug version only. -urview XXX Union reality headgear set. XXX is the angle of view. Between 50-160 degrees, default is 160 degrees. -latency Used for debugging network play, in debug version only. -drop Used for debugging network play, in debug version only. -session ? -hostidx Select between different network cards, will default to first otherwise. -hostid ? -alive Sets the timeout for network play, default is 1 minute. -mono ? -nomono ? -head Turns on the head tracking system. -swap Used for debugging network play, in debug version. -ef ? -ip xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx Use the given IP Address, rather than the default. Useful for NAT routing. -pf xxx Packet flow, used to set network packets to a certain number. In-game configuration The final step is in-game configuration, the two most relevant sections being graphics and controller options. The graphics options settings are shown in the screenshot Graphics settings The video driver is set to Glide , video card set to Voodoo3 and the resolution can be increased to 1600x1200 . The other graphics options can be maximised and canopy cues can be set to both line and reflections. These settings result in 60fps frame rate. The controller options are also equally important: Controller settings The only selection to be made is the controller should be set to vJoy Device . The stick axes, throttle and rudder should be well calibrated. The afterburner detente should be set for the throttle. Documents and manuals An excellent resource is Falcon 4 history , which has a manuals sections, including the historical: Manual (both first and second editions). Communications handbook (both first and second editions). Theater map of Korea. These manuals and documents should be applicable to both 'vanilla' and iBeta releases. Addendum and additional information can be found in the readme files of patches. Example video Finally... Undoubtedly there have been hundreds of individuals that have contributed skills and time to produce the game, patches and utilities used to run it as well as it does. Too many to mention by name, be sure to look out for them in documents and readme files. Credit and thanks to one and all. Good hunting!