Gaming Free Falcon 5 Mega-thread

Mig31

Currently playing a "Red" campaign, flying the Mig-31. Fine aircraft, almost a spaceplane, if you climb enough you can get over Mach 3, excellent interceptor. The key is to manage the fuel consumption carefully and efficiently. The AA9 missile proves to be especially efficient against the F16, most common aircraft on the "Blue" side. However, the Mig31 rate of turn is limited to +7G ; so it's better to rely on top speed, climb speed and raw power to evade an AIM120 ! Also, like the F15, it has a large radar section, so it's hopeless to try a stealth approach. The in-board jammer is pretty efficient. I also love the drag chute, that allows to land on a short runway, despite it is a "fast and heavy" aircraft. The 30mm gun is very efficient, provided the target is not too agile (best targets : B52s, A10s...). Also remember that the AA9 missles are heavy stuff, so the overall performance of the aircraft improves greatly as they are fired. :2cents:
 
Last edited:
Maybe BMS4 could also be included to make this a big Falcon 4 thread? It definitively is also worth checking out.
 
Is it free?


Also, here is a neat user bar I made. It is to big so I'll have to resize it.


picture.php



And the original product:

picture.php
 
I've been fiddling around with FF5 recently, and I'm not quite sure what to think.

From the simulation standpoint I really like it, and it's about the only combat flight sim set in the modern era that I can get running on any computer I have access to.

From the software engineering standpoint, though, it's an utter piece of crap. It's an absolute minefield of CTD's and lockups, and trying to playback any recorded missions is a guaranteed lockup. Also, the 3D engine won't release hold of the screen even if the FF5 window loses focus, so if a lockup occurs during a mission, you have to Ctrl-alt-del and then blindly hit control-E and hope that FF5 is the highlighted application in task manager. (This is actually as much Window's fault as FF5's: a multitasking operating system has no business letting any application get such a death-grip on the video hardware, but I won't complain too loudly because I've had X on Linux allow full-screened programs to obtain similar death-grips, but in that case, at least, one can always switch out to a virtual console and kill the application in question from the command line).
 
:yes: I agree with that, the unstability of the thing is a real pity, though the "lock-up" situations can be avoided with some experience (fly one or two missions, then save, exit and reload). Wel

*post aborted by some weird lag*
 
Last edited:
Yes, but I think that is no acceptable situation. It is enough to try it for free, but then, that is no reason to keep on playing or supporting it.
 
I haven't encountered a crash, but I have encountered other bugs.

If the resolution is set to 1280x960, instead of a single stretched image, it doubles up. I get the same image repeated twice on the screen.

The controls settings are a bit weird. I changed some keys around and even though they show up in the settings, they don't work in game.

And finally, when I return to desktop, no icons show up and nothing in the quick launch. When I hit F5, the desktop icons reappear and when I slide my mouse of quick launch icons, they appear - but with the wrong image.
 
Yeah, I've been trying it out but there are so many random areas of lag and CTD's that it is really hard to enjoy.
 
Would love to play this but for some reason I can't get my Saitek-52 to program buttons I want...........
Anybody have any simular experiences ?
 
To continue my previous post above, the main problem is that Falcon 4.0 : Allied Force on which FF5 is built was already a zoo of bugs. And, as the addons developpers know, adding features when the base is unstable is a free ticket for random CTDs.

I'd say that, in the current state, FreeFalcon is somewhere between an alpha and a beta release. I hope they will release more stable versions in the future, because the "enjoyement potential" is very high. The main focus has been the campaign engine for now, that was hardly working in FF4.0:AF (tanks bataillons going anywhere but where they were needed, airlift squadrons that performed their missions but forgot to embark the troops they were supposed to lift, etc...). That area has been nicely improved. But yeah, now they should focus on stability.

Note about avoiding AMRAAMs : dive (and I mean -90° !), then fly full burners with the missle in your tail, and hit the dirt (try to pitch up at the very last moment, quite dangerous but essential) ! Why ? Because the missile is a rocket, and after burnout, it will slowly but certainly lose its kinetic energy, while you benefit from the continuous thrust of your air-breathing engines. So, the atmospheric drag is an advantage : it will kill the missile velocity quickly, allowing you to outrun it.

Never try to evade it at high altitude (unless you can sustain Mach 2.5+ for an extended period of time), because in this case the missile can fly at Mach 3-4 for quite a long time, and you'll get hit before you understood anything.
 
I'll stick to YS Flight...
F-15-Dogfight-2-725225.jpg

:lol:

Note about avoiding AMRAAMs : dive (and I mean -90° !), then fly full burners with the missle in your tail, and hit the dirt (try to pitch up at the very last moment, quite dangerous but essential) ! Why ? Because the missile is a rocket, and after burnout, it will slowly but certainly lose its kinetic energy, while you benefit from the continuous thrust of your air-breathing engines. So, the atmospheric drag is an advantage : it will kill the missile velocity quickly, allowing you to outrun it.

Thing is though, don't rockets get lighter much quicker (relatively) than you - i.e. faster?
 
Thing is though, don't rockets get lighter much quicker (relatively) than you - i.e. faster?

That is actually their problem - they loose the energy by maneuvering, when the rocket engine has burned out after a few seconds of flight.

That is what makes the Meteor of the Typhoon II so deadly, it has a Ramjet that keeps on burning until impact, so it can recover energy. Most other AAMs simply get slower after every turn until they stall.
 
In my experience, quick maneuvering along with lots of chaff and flares will do the trick. But it still sometimes fails when they launch 10 or more missiles at you...
 
In my experience, quick maneuvering along with lots of chaff and flares will do the trick. But it still sometimes fails when they launch 10 or more missiles at you...

Does also not work too good with modern missiles. Most are capable of filtering chaff and flares out.

That is why counter measures have also become more complex.
 
Does anyone else get issues with the cockpit? It is constantly disappearing then crashing.
 
Wow, given the replies in this thread, I seem to be pretty lucky with my install!

I'm running it on XP. Maybe some bugs are Vista / 7 specific?
 
Is it free?

BMS4 is free update to Falcon 4 released last year. It is more stable and less buggy than FF5. Also:

good:
-higher fidelity systems modeling incl. data cartridge
-improved flight model
-mostly better graphics - beautiful F-16 cockpit, HD post processing effects
-updates

bad:
-fewer flyable planes
-requires the original Falcon.exe to install
-no GPS-guided munitions
-some report low FPS. I have no problem on a low-end machine.
 
Wow, given the replies in this thread, I seem to be pretty lucky with my install!

I'm running it on XP. Maybe some bugs are Vista / 7 specific?

Nope. I run it on XP. I do understand that Vista / 7 is even worse, though. OTOH, I'm not sure how it could be worse and still at all usable.
 
Does also not work too good with modern missiles. Most are capable of filtering chaff and flares out.

That is why counter measures have also become more complex.

Yep.. Chaff against the AIM120C series for exemple seem completely useless... Also beware of ECM : the newest missles have the "Home On Jam" capability... That mean they can use your jamming at their own advantage. And of course, powering ECM on is like loudly yelling "hey hey I'm there somewhere in front of you !!".
 
Back
Top