Getting Started Guide (BMS)

Falcon 4.0 BMS Introduction and Basics

Getting started

Installing BMS

To install BMS you’ll need the original Falcon 4.0 install disk (not Allied Force) or iso of same, the BMS 4.32 Full Installer (875MB), and the BMS 4.32.7 patch (25MB).

Do not install Falcon from the disk. You only need it in the drive while BMS is installing.

Once you’ve gathered all the components do the following:

1. Extract the “Falcon BMS 4.32 Setup” folder from the zip file (from now on referred to as the Setup folder).
2. Run the Update 7 executable, install it to the setup folder.
3. In the setup folder, find and run setup.exe.
4. Follow the instructions in the installer.

After the installation’s finished, don’t delete the setup folder, as you’ll need it to patch the game later. After installing BMS you will not need the Falcon 4.0 disk any more except for reinstalling the game.

Patching BMS

To update to a newer version of BMS, download the update and apply it in the same manner as the Update 7 executable above, then run setup.exe again. The game will automatically detect your install and patch the game to the downloaded version.

Configuring BMS

After installing the game, run the shortcut to the game and click Configuration in the launcher. In this window are options that cannot be changed in game, like advanced graphics options and avionics options. The settings are down to personal preference. VKing recommends Color MFD, EPAF Radar Cues, Gray scale AG Radar, and Smaller HSD/Bullseye Symbols.

In the game, click Logbook at the top of the screen. This will show your player profile. Change both name and callsign to your nickname and pick a pilot picture and/or squadron patch if you like.

Go to the Setup screen and check “Radio calls use bullseye”, then configure the rest the way you like.

Setting up controls

Buttons

Controls you absolutely need to know, and (as far as possible) should bind to your joystick:

Function	Default (from BMS.key)
Trigger	"/" on english keyboards, "-" on most other european keyboards
Pickle	Space
TMS Up	Ctrl+Up arrow
TMS Down	Ctrl+Down arrow
DMS Down	Ctrl+Alt+Down arrow
Cursor slew	Arrow keys
Run countermeasure program	Z or X
Comm 1 and 2 transmit	Alt+1 and Alt+2
Wheel brakes	K
Nose wheel steering	Shift+/ or Shift+- (same difference as Trigger)
Gear up/down	G
Speed brakes out/in	B
Dogfight mode enable/cancel	D and C
Antenna tilt down/up	F5 and F7. F6 centers.

Binding to joystick can be done via profiling software, or via in-game/DirectX assignments. See this thread.

Axes

Beyond the normal pitch, roll, throttle, and rudder axes, if your joystick has extra wheels or sliders, it’s recommended to assign them to the Radar antenna elevation and Range knob under advanced control settings.

TrackIR

BMS supports TrackIR and other head tracking systems natively. Enable TrackIR for 3D cockpit and TrackIR vector in the advanced control settings.

Setting up the Data Transfer Cartridge (DTC)

After setting up your pilot, go to any Tactical Engagement then click on the DTC button on the right side of the map (second from the bottom, above the button with a sun and clouds). Go to the EWS tab and click Reset followed by Save. This will make sure you have a countermeasure program to use in game. Then go to the MFD tab and do the same to. Later you can configure your DTC as you please, but if you don’t follow these steps you might not have any MFD pages or countermeasure programs when you play.

Multiplayer

Connecting to a multiplayer game

Connecting to a host in BMS is done in a older fashion than more modern games, to connect to someone hosting a BMS session you require the following pieces of information:

• The Host’s external IP address (This can be acquired by the host with a simple, “What’s my I.P?” in Google).
• The Connection bandwidth. This is your allowed downstream and upstream to the host, normally this is recommended to be kept to 256 (kilobits). Though may change depending on the hosts total bandwidth allocated to the game, however it is important that ALL clients use the same connection bandwidth to avoid synchronisation conflicts. If in doubt, ask the host.
• IVC IP address. This box can be left empty, or unchecked if not using IVC. An IP address needs only be entered if someone else is hosting the IVC server. (IVC is covered further on in this guide).

After getting this information, you can use the Comms button at the top of the main menu and create a bookmark with the information for the server you wish to connect to. Once completed, you may save the bookmark for future use.

Once connected to the host, you will return to the main screen. However the “Comms” button will now instead display a chat window for the main menu. This can be used for some pre-game chatter if IVC or Teamspeak is occupied. From here, you will now be able to proceed to either the Tactical Engagement or Campaign section and select the Online option. If the Host has a game running, their game will be displayed here and allow you to connect. Please ensure that is is safe to join with the host first before connecting to a server, BMS can sometimes run into issues if someone joins whilst something is being changed.

Communication

IVC

BMS is a communication heavy simulator. To accommodate this and its endeavours for realism, it has its own communication client called IVC (Internal Voice Comms). This system does not rely on any third party application such as Teamspeak, Ventrilo or Mumble as it is integrated into the client and game allowing for simulation of Ultra High Frequency and Very High Frequency Radios. To start IVC, you take the following steps:

1. Connect to the host as outlined in the “Connecting to multiplayer” section, however. At the “Comms” connection window, ensure the IVC tickbox is checked and the IP address is empty or matches the external server.
2. Your game will now minimise and the IVC client window will pop up, it should detail your profile name and standard freq. This will gray out once it has successfully connected to the IVC server.
3. You can now maximise your game window.

Before continuing further into the hosts game, you should ensure that in the setup controls area you are aware of what your Comms 1 (UHF) and Comms 2 (VHF) binds are set as. By default, these are set to Alt + 1 and Alt + 2. Another bind that is handy is F1, this allows you to use IVC at the 2D screen for IVC checks.

Brevity terms

For a complete list, see OPERATIONAL BREVITY WORDS, DEFINITIONS, AND COUNTERAIR (AFTTP 3-1.1).pdf in the /docs/Operational Manuals/ folder of your falcon install.