Falcon 4.0
Encyclopedia
Falcon 4.0 is an air combat simulation
originally released on December 12, 1998 by MicroProse
. It is a realistic simulation of the Block 50/52 F-16 Fighting Falcon
jet fighter in a full scale modern war set in the Korean Peninsula
. Falcon 4.0s dynamic campaign engine runs autonomously. Falcon 4.0: Allied Force
, an enhanced version of Falcon 4.0 by Lead Pursuit, was released on June 28, 2005. This version has the Balkans
as a new campaign area with improved graphics.
The game's war starts in the early 1990s with North Korea
n forces invading the Southern Republic of Korea
. The United States
deploys extensive support to the South, including military aircraft
, armored cavalry and naval
vessels. The rest of the game's war plays out depending on the player's actions, potentially involving China
and Russia
. Japan
has an airbase, but plays no role in the conflict itself. Due to the game's story which involves war in the Korean Peninsula
, the game was banned in Republic of Korea until 2003.
combat operations. First, over 30 training
scenarios acquaint the player with F-16 maneuvering, avionics
operation and various USAF protocols. After training, the player may start the primary gameplay mode in the campaign, which simulates participation in a modern war. Alternatively he or she may engage in dogfight mode which provides an individual air engagement without any continuous context, or create what are effectively miniature campaigns, known as "Tactical Engagements".
The results of the players performance while using Falcon 4.0 are used to generate a 'logbook'. This contains such details as flight hours, Air-to-Air and Air-to-Ground kills, decorations, a name and photo and the current rank of the player. Good performance (such as eliminating large numbers of enemy ground units or surviving a difficult engagement) during a mission may lead to the award of a decoration or promotion, while conversely, poor performance (destroying friendly targets or ejecting from the aircraft for no good reason) can lead to court-martial and demotion.
and packages (a number a flights grouped together for mutual support in obtaining a military objective), assignment of steerpoints for determining the route of a given flight and the weapons loadout used by the aircraft. It is also possible to issue instructions to each ground unit manually, overriding the AI's handling of the war. As is the situation for real life pilots, it is of the utmost importance that the player closely examines all of the data presented here to perform well during the mission, in order to best formulate a plan of action when actually flying the jet. Failing to note the location and abilities of enemy SAM
sites or CAP
aircraft and account for methods of defeating these will almost certainly result in a short flight.
The mission section of the simulator encompasses the actual mechanics of flying the aircraft, radar and weapons operation, threat evaluation, radio communications and navigation. Everything is done in such a manner as to model the aircraft in use as closely as possible, while on the highest realism settings.
The initial release of the software came with three pre-set scenarios for the player use in campaign mode. 'Tiger Spirit' depicted a war where ROK and Allied forces had repelled the initial DPRK assault and moved onto the offensive. 'Rolling Fire' depicted a closely matched situation where DPRK forces had overrun the DMZ
and made small gains, while 'Iron Fortress' simulated a scenario where the North had overwhelmed the South and pushed them back to their last line of defense.
defenses, setting unlimited fuel and the difficulty of the first wave of inbound hostiles. This style of play is probably the closest to the experience enjoyed by many fans of first person shooters.
s to implement. The AI controlling the activity of the Falcon 4.0 campaign engine can be influenced by a wide range of configurable settings, all of which can be adjusted to meet changing objectives as the scenario progresses.
and published under the MicroProse label. The game was rushed to the market in order to make the 1998 Christmas selling season. Unfortunately, Falcon 4.0s first release contained numerous bugs. The final official patch
(version 1.08) fixed most of them. After completion of 1.08 patch, the original development team was laid off by Hasbro Interactive. Nevertheless, Falcon fans still sought further improvements of the game. Early modifications altered the game's multimedia
and the executable
by directly patching the compiled code. After the game's source code leak, a Falcon 4.0 player optimized the game further by re-programming part of the game.
Through its lifetime, Falcon 4.0 has received ongoing fixes and enhancements from various groups of volunteers, which have enhanced the detail and complexity of the simulation over the years to its current state, as well as mended the numerous errors in the original release and its patches. Much of this comes as a result of the source code
being available to the developers of modifications. Benchmarksim (BMS) being the premier team to take on the task of user modifications. However, game publisher Atari
later issued a cease and desist
order against all executable
modifications, and thus many modifications were not hosted by websites. Private modification development did continue, even so, as can be seen by the FreeFalcon/RedViper and Open Falcon leaks. It is rumored (confirmed by RV developer) that the FreeFalcon and RedViper teams have recently separated.
There have been several groups who have modified different parts of Falcon 4.0. Some groups and many individuals created new "skins" or paint schemes for aircraft, while other modified the data and code to be more realistic. Still others have worked to create new theaters (e.g. a Desert Storm Theater) for Falcon 4.0. Numerous modders continue to improve Falcon 4.0.
A company called Lead Pursuit which has been formed around many known names of the Falcon modding community has gained a license from Atari
to continue Falcon 4.0 development. Falcon 4.0: Allied Force
http://www.lead-pursuit.com/products.htm was released on June 28, 2005, and is largely a compilation and unification of existing modifications over the original Falcon 4.0 and the official patches, but at the same time shows several major new features never before seen and is a leap forward in stability, especially regarding online Multiplayer gaming. This is the first known example of a user community taking over a game, modding it, maintaining code configuration, and having it re-release as a commercial product several years after the original publication. With Falcon 4.0: Allied Force and FreeFalcon 5, Falcon is one of the oldest active code bases in computer gaming history, even more so with the unexpected release of the BMS4 mod in September 2011.
Lead Pursuit, Inc. has been updating the game with new patches, considerably enhancing the functionality of the simulation as they have released them particularly in the multiplayer aspect which now allows smooth close-up formation flying for players across the world. One of the most popular online Allied Force servers is Multivipers which runs real-time campaigns lasting days. Players jump into missions—whatever missions and their success or otherwise determines the course of the campaign.
Combat flight simulator
Combat flight simulators are video games used to simulate military aircraft and their operations...
originally released on December 12, 1998 by MicroProse
MicroProse
MicroProse was a video game publisher and developer, founded by Wild Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982 as Microprose Software. In 1993, the company became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte and has remained a subsidiary or brand name under several other corporations since...
. It is a realistic simulation of the Block 50/52 F-16 Fighting Falcon
F-16 Fighting Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
jet fighter in a full scale modern war set in the Korean Peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
. Falcon 4.0s dynamic campaign engine runs autonomously. Falcon 4.0: Allied Force
Falcon 4.0: Allied Force
Falcon 4.0: Allied Force is an F-16 based combat flight simulator created bycompany Spectrum Holobyte and further developed by MicroProse and now by Lead Pursuit. Lead Pursuit was formed after gaining a license from Atari to continue Falcon 4.0 development...
, an enhanced version of Falcon 4.0 by Lead Pursuit, was released on June 28, 2005. This version has the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
as a new campaign area with improved graphics.
The game's war starts in the early 1990s with North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n forces invading the Southern Republic of Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
deploys extensive support to the South, including military aircraft
Military aircraft
A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:...
, armored cavalry and naval
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
vessels. The rest of the game's war plays out depending on the player's actions, potentially involving China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
has an airbase, but plays no role in the conflict itself. Due to the game's story which involves war in the Korean Peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
, the game was banned in Republic of Korea until 2003.
Gameplay
Falcon 4.0s gameplay parallels actual fighter pilotFighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
combat operations. First, over 30 training
Training
The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...
scenarios acquaint the player with F-16 maneuvering, avionics
Avionics
Avionics are electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft.Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to meet individual roles...
operation and various USAF protocols. After training, the player may start the primary gameplay mode in the campaign, which simulates participation in a modern war. Alternatively he or she may engage in dogfight mode which provides an individual air engagement without any continuous context, or create what are effectively miniature campaigns, known as "Tactical Engagements".
The results of the players performance while using Falcon 4.0 are used to generate a 'logbook'. This contains such details as flight hours, Air-to-Air and Air-to-Ground kills, decorations, a name and photo and the current rank of the player. Good performance (such as eliminating large numbers of enemy ground units or surviving a difficult engagement) during a mission may lead to the award of a decoration or promotion, while conversely, poor performance (destroying friendly targets or ejecting from the aircraft for no good reason) can lead to court-martial and demotion.
Campaign
Campaign gameplay has two primary stages, briefings and missions. The briefing section is used to handle flight planning of flightsFlight (military unit)
A flight is a military unit in an air force, naval air service, or army air corps. It usually comprises three to six aircraft, with their aircrews and ground staff; or, in the case of a non-flying ground flight, no aircraft and a roughly equivalent number of support personnel. In most usages,...
and packages (a number a flights grouped together for mutual support in obtaining a military objective), assignment of steerpoints for determining the route of a given flight and the weapons loadout used by the aircraft. It is also possible to issue instructions to each ground unit manually, overriding the AI's handling of the war. As is the situation for real life pilots, it is of the utmost importance that the player closely examines all of the data presented here to perform well during the mission, in order to best formulate a plan of action when actually flying the jet. Failing to note the location and abilities of enemy SAM
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
sites or CAP
Combat air patrol
Combat air patrol is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft.A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, for the purpose of intercepting and destroying hostile...
aircraft and account for methods of defeating these will almost certainly result in a short flight.
The mission section of the simulator encompasses the actual mechanics of flying the aircraft, radar and weapons operation, threat evaluation, radio communications and navigation. Everything is done in such a manner as to model the aircraft in use as closely as possible, while on the highest realism settings.
The initial release of the software came with three pre-set scenarios for the player use in campaign mode. 'Tiger Spirit' depicted a war where ROK and Allied forces had repelled the initial DPRK assault and moved onto the offensive. 'Rolling Fire' depicted a closely matched situation where DPRK forces had overrun the DMZ
Korean Demilitarized Zone
The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and...
and made small gains, while 'Iron Fortress' simulated a scenario where the North had overwhelmed the South and pushed them back to their last line of defense.
Tactical Engagement
A Tactical Engagement (or TE) is a small scale hand-built 'one-shot' mission with a pre-defined objective. The same engine handles the activity of an AI controlled units. One of the advantages of building this style of mission is that it allows experienced pilots to practice attacks on high value, well defended targets, which are often eliminated from campaigns early on as the planning AI assigns packages to eliminate these early during the war, in order to maximise the effect on enemy combat readiness.Instant Action
This mode of operation places the user in a F-16 currently in flight, armed with an infinite number of missiles. Progressively more capable waves of enemy aircraft then move in and engage the player aircraft. Many different options are available to customise this mode, including disabling SAM and AAAAnti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
defenses, setting unlimited fuel and the difficulty of the first wave of inbound hostiles. This style of play is probably the closest to the experience enjoyed by many fans of first person shooters.
Campaign
Unlike its static counterpart, a dynamic campaign has no set game path. Missions and the rest of the game world develop as the game progresses, affected in part by the player's behavior. Dynamic campaigns can present a more random and diverse game experience, but are more difficult for programmerProgrammer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
s to implement. The AI controlling the activity of the Falcon 4.0 campaign engine can be influenced by a wide range of configurable settings, all of which can be adjusted to meet changing objectives as the scenario progresses.
Multi-threaded Support
Falcon 4.0 was one of the very first multi-threaded programs on the market. It was designed to take advantage of dual x86 processors. The game used two threads: one for graphics and primary simulation and the other thread for the campaign engine.Modular Design
Falcon 4.0's design was deliberately engineered so that further aircraft and terrain data could be installed retroactively. Presumably, this was to allow the release of an add-on pack, much as with Falcon 3.0. The modding community that grew up after unfortunate events befell the original commercial development have gone on to use this to add a great deal of extra content in the form of post installation patcheshttp://www.freefalcon.com.History
The game was originally designed and produced by Steve Blankenship and Gilman LouieGilman Louie
Gilman Louie is technology venture capitalist who got his start as a video game designer and then ran the CIA venture capital fund. He graduated in 1983 from San Francisco State University. He attended the while at Harvard Business School in 1997....
and published under the MicroProse label. The game was rushed to the market in order to make the 1998 Christmas selling season. Unfortunately, Falcon 4.0s first release contained numerous bugs. The final official patch
Patch (computing)
A patch is a piece of software designed to fix problems with, or update a computer program or its supporting data. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, and improving the usability or performance...
(version 1.08) fixed most of them. After completion of 1.08 patch, the original development team was laid off by Hasbro Interactive. Nevertheless, Falcon fans still sought further improvements of the game. Early modifications altered the game's multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
and the executable
Executable
In computing, an executable file causes a computer "to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instructions," as opposed to a data file that must be parsed by a program to be meaningful. These instructions are traditionally machine code instructions for a physical CPU...
by directly patching the compiled code. After the game's source code leak, a Falcon 4.0 player optimized the game further by re-programming part of the game.
Through its lifetime, Falcon 4.0 has received ongoing fixes and enhancements from various groups of volunteers, which have enhanced the detail and complexity of the simulation over the years to its current state, as well as mended the numerous errors in the original release and its patches. Much of this comes as a result of the source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
being available to the developers of modifications. Benchmarksim (BMS) being the premier team to take on the task of user modifications. However, game publisher Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
later issued a cease and desist
Cease and desist
A cease and desist is an order or request to halt an activity and not to take it up again later or else face legal action. The recipient of the cease-and-desist may be an individual or an organization....
order against all executable
Executable
In computing, an executable file causes a computer "to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instructions," as opposed to a data file that must be parsed by a program to be meaningful. These instructions are traditionally machine code instructions for a physical CPU...
modifications, and thus many modifications were not hosted by websites. Private modification development did continue, even so, as can be seen by the FreeFalcon/RedViper and Open Falcon leaks. It is rumored (confirmed by RV developer) that the FreeFalcon and RedViper teams have recently separated.
There have been several groups who have modified different parts of Falcon 4.0. Some groups and many individuals created new "skins" or paint schemes for aircraft, while other modified the data and code to be more realistic. Still others have worked to create new theaters (e.g. a Desert Storm Theater) for Falcon 4.0. Numerous modders continue to improve Falcon 4.0.
A company called Lead Pursuit which has been formed around many known names of the Falcon modding community has gained a license from Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
to continue Falcon 4.0 development. Falcon 4.0: Allied Force
Falcon 4.0: Allied Force
Falcon 4.0: Allied Force is an F-16 based combat flight simulator created bycompany Spectrum Holobyte and further developed by MicroProse and now by Lead Pursuit. Lead Pursuit was formed after gaining a license from Atari to continue Falcon 4.0 development...
http://www.lead-pursuit.com/products.htm was released on June 28, 2005, and is largely a compilation and unification of existing modifications over the original Falcon 4.0 and the official patches, but at the same time shows several major new features never before seen and is a leap forward in stability, especially regarding online Multiplayer gaming. This is the first known example of a user community taking over a game, modding it, maintaining code configuration, and having it re-release as a commercial product several years after the original publication. With Falcon 4.0: Allied Force and FreeFalcon 5, Falcon is one of the oldest active code bases in computer gaming history, even more so with the unexpected release of the BMS4 mod in September 2011.
Lead Pursuit, Inc. has been updating the game with new patches, considerably enhancing the functionality of the simulation as they have released them particularly in the multiplayer aspect which now allows smooth close-up formation flying for players across the world. One of the most popular online Allied Force servers is Multivipers which runs real-time campaigns lasting days. Players jump into missions—whatever missions and their success or otherwise determines the course of the campaign.
External links
- Graphsim, the current producer and license holder.
- FreeFalcon
- Mac Falcon, An old site dedicated to the Macintosh Falcon 4.0 version.
- Falcon 4 History, A graphical timeline of Falcon 4 evolution, generated using the dot language and graphviz.