Falcon 4 BMS 4.33.X is the best version of the venerable Falcon 4.0 F-16C simulation to date. Bringing in modern 'features' such as a fully-working, fully-clickable 3D cockpit with working gauges while still retaining the depth of Falcon 4.0 all for the low, low entry price of $0.00/£0.00/EUR0.00 (BMS only, price dependent on your location of course), it is no surprise that it is attracting people from the I-got-no-clue-how-to-do-the-Falcon-dance new pilots to those who've spent a few months/years with the various other flavors of Falcon (OF/FF/AF) and are giving the sim 'another chance' to those who've flown Falcon 4 for over a decade and can recite checklists in their sleep.
However, the install procedure for Falcon 4 BMS can be quite confusing. First of all, the BMS installer will look for a complete Falcon 4.0 install. Yes, the original one, so Falcon 4 Allied Forcewill not work.. and this is where most people get confused. One change that happened after 4.33 is that a new company, Tommo, acquired the IP rights to Falcon and where BMS 4.32 only required a Falcon 4.0 .exe file to be present, BMS 4.33 now requires a complete Falcon 4.0 install and will check for the presence of this install each time BMS is started. Here's a quick guide to show you what you need:
Thanks to Tommo, Falcon 4.0 can now be purchased through Steam, GoG, or Retroism. Steam sells Falcon 4.0, Falcon, Falcon A.T., and Falcon Gold individually or you can buy all of them in a bundle called the Falcon Collection, GoG only sells the Falcon Collection, while Retroism sells both Falcon 4.0 and the Falcon Collection.
I'd like to again thank Reschke for giving me a good deal on a physical copy of Falcon 4.0 with the binder! Thanks Reschke!!
NOTE: If you are new to Falcon or have been gone for a long time, if you're confused or have any questions, please skip down to the FAQ post in this thread for some commonly-asked questions. Best to get these out of the way now.
Another common source of confusion is the installer and Update process that BMS is using. It is quite unique and difficult to use at first, though it kinda makes sense after a few Updates So here is the install process that I hope will help new pilots get from 'WTF?!' to 'OMG, this RAWKS!' in as short a time and as pain free as possible.
So here's how to install Falcon 4 BMS:
1. Sign up on the official BMS forums
2. Download and install 7-Zip and qBitTorrent
3. Download the Base + U1 Installer, the Update 2 Installer, and the Update 3 Installer. The Base+U1 Installer and the Update 2 Installer have direct download links available courtesy of E-HAF but the Update 3 Installer does not. I strongly recommend downloading (and seeding!!) via the .torrent files anyway as this ensures you do not end up with a corrupted download and you are also helping the BMS community by distributing the files via peer-to-peer. I recommend qBitTorrent for all your .torrent needs! I know some of you may have apprehensions with regards to using .torrents (piracy!! viruses!!), I will leave the safety and security research up to you. Suffice to say that if you get your .torrent file from a reputable source (in this case, the official BMS forum post by Dunc), there's nothing to worry about. Another advantage of downloading via .torrent is that you can get the latest updates as they come out.. as you can see, Update 3 isn't available yet as a direct download despite being released almost 3 months ago!
Once the downloads are complete, you should end up with three files
4. Unzip the U1_Setup installer as shown
It will take some time to unzip and you should end up with a file structure looking like so
5. If you look inside the /data folder, note that Update 1 comes in 4 parts
6. While we un-zipped the U1_Setup file, there is no need to unzip the next two. Double-click on the U2_Incremental file to apply Update 2
7. Note that the installer by default looks at this folder
Make sure it is pointed to the correct directory and folder. Click the BROWSE button and make sure you point it to the correct folder, as highlighted here
This is how it should look afterwards. Note the folder structure should end in Falcon_BMS_4.33_U1_SetupFalcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup. Click INSTALL to continue
8. If you don't have Falcon 4.0 installed yet, this error window will pop up
Just go ahead and close it. This is what Update 2 has applied to the base installer
Checking the /data folder, we can confirm that Update 2 has been added
9. Continuing on, double-click on the U3_Incremental file to apply Update 3
10. Again, the installer will look at the C: drive by default
Make sure it is pointed to the correct directory and folder. Click the BROWSE button and make sure you point it to the correct folder, as highlighted here
This is how it should look afterwards. Note the folder structure should end in Falcon_BMS_4.33_U1_SetupFalcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup. Click INSTALL to continue
11. The error window will pop up again if you don't have Falcon 4.0 installed. Just go ahead and close it. This is what Update 3 has applied to the base installer
Checking the /data folder, we can confirm that Update 3 has been added
CONGRATULATIONS!! You now have an installer that will install the Base game and Updates 1-3!