Original Falcon 4.0 now available via GOG.com
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Hello all,
Got here today because of GOG surprise. Was looking for F4.0 for a long time but prices on ebay were sky high for me. I grabbed this package without a second thought. BMS works just fine with that version. No problems installing it. Went fast and smooth.
Thank you BMS for your outstanding work!
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Thanks for that. But I still don’t think there is anything to clearly indicate that the exe is considered by it’s publisher to be ‘free-ware’ or ‘abandon-ware’ or elsewise in the public domain (despite what some might wish to be true). And it is still likely to be in the best interest of the BMS community in general NOT to condone or facilitate the unauthorized distribution of the Falcon4 exe.
GOG sells all the games in its catalog with express permission from the developers and/or publishers/rights holders.
They have complied with requests to remove games from sale when legal rights to distribute go into dispute.like when the bethesda/interplay fallout rights hit the courts. there was a order for all digital distributors to cease selling, Fallout 1,2 and tactics eventually returned to steam, but eventually they were put back on sale on GOG, GoG also recently added the Doom/Quake series for sale.
in short, the falcon 4.0 on gog isnt freeware or abadonware its equivalent to purchasing the CD from EBay and owning it yourself.
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GOG sells all the games in its catalog with express permission from the developers and/or publishers/rights holders.
They have complied with requests to remove games from sale when legal rights to distribute go into dispute.…. in short, the falcon 4.0 on gog isnt freeware or abadonware its equivalent to purchasing the CD from EBay and owning it yourself.
Yes, I totally understand and agree. I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear. I don’t see any issue at all with someone buying the GoG pack and then using the F4 exe as ‘proof of ownership’ during the installation of BMS. This protects all parties involved.
My concern was the Arty’s implication that the F4 exe could then be shared freely. I do not believe that is, or should be, the case.
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I can’t believe that original Falcon 4.0 is available for $6, including all the Falcon 3 stuff, manuals, etc., and you guys manage to go and start worrying about how “legal” it is. Amazing. Something that can only be good for BMS, to make this game accessible to more people, bring more people into this community, increase visibility and enthusiasm for flight simulation, and yet within a handful of posts someone is already attempting to dampen the good news.
Amazing.
How about this. How about you let whoever has ownership of the Falcon 4 property, whoever that is, let them worry about the legalness of GoG’s release. I mean seriously, why does every single thing that pops up on this site immediately turn into a witch hunt? Enough already.
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Yes, I totally understand and agree. I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear. I don’t see any issue at all with someone buying the GoG pack and then using the F4 exe as ‘proof of ownership’ during the installation of BMS. This protects all parties involved.
My concern was the Arty’s implication that the F4 exe could then be shared freely. I do not believe that is, or should be, the case.
No it is not, you are right on the money there, I was just making sure, since people assume that older games are “abandonware” which legally does not exist, unless the game exists in the public domain, someone, somewhere holds the rights to it.
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My concern was the Arty’s implication that the F4 exe could then be shared freely. I do not believe that is, or should be, the case.
Agree with this fully. Pony up the $6 and buy the damn game if you want to play BMS (unless you already own it, like me).
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I can’t believe that original Falcon 4.0 is available for $6, including all the Falcon 3 stuff, manuals, etc., and you guys manage to go and start worrying about how “legal” it is. Amazing. Something that can only be good for BMS, to make this game accessible to more people, bring more people into this community, increase visibility and enthusiasm for flight simulation, and yet within a handful of posts someone is already attempting to dampen the good news.
Amazing.
How about this. How about you let whoever has ownership of the Falcon 4 property, whoever that is, let them worry about the legalness of GoG’s release. I mean seriously, why does every single thing that pops up on this site immediately turn into a witch hunt? Enough already.
I want to pick it up, but I discovered I am broke and my credit card is locked.
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Sad I thought it went for free. I just saw it needs 6$.
Any way talks about BMS also there.
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It must be easy sitting there, Arty, with no concern for intellectual property and no fear of cease and desist letters to push your agenda.
Maybe not so easy for those creating add-on modifications for Falcon4.
Could you please explain the meaning of your sentences?
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Fact #1 - Falcon 4.0 Original CD is hard to come by and required for BMS install.
Fact #2 - People will pay upwards of $20-$30+ on the 2nd hand market in some instances just to install BMS, but often than not (probably never) will actually use the 1.08 instance.
Sooo… GOG steps in… “Let’s sell 4.0 in a “legacy” collection, state on GOGs forums that there is no use developing it from 1.08 as BMS is already available.” to the point where they link and recommend it on their forum.
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/release_falcon_collection_361fd/page7
ie. "Vythonaut: Falcon BMS isn’t just a patch, it’s a standalone program with it’s own installer. I guess it would be a waste of time and resources for GOG to make the original version work right, when it’s only needed to have the 4.0 installed, to be able to install BMS to your system. After the installation of BMS, you can uninstall 4.0 from your PC. "
Imagine if every BMS user who downloaded and flew BMS paid $6.00… I’m guessing it would be a substantial profit considering their development cycles.
Solution?
A - Remove the requirement for the 4.0 exe from the BMS installer.
OR
B - Only allow installer to function with original CD version by using a more complex media verification process.
Now one can argue that having the 4.0 install readily purchasable for a low price will increase traffic and interest in the sim, but considering the biggest selling point of their package is the ability to install BMS (IMO) I would be hesitant to support this.
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I can’t believe that original Falcon 4.0 is available for $6, including all the Falcon 3 stuff, manuals, etc., and you guys manage to go and start worrying about how “legal” it is. Amazing. Something that can only be good for BMS, to make this game accessible to more people, bring more people into this community, increase visibility and enthusiasm for flight simulation, and yet within a handful of posts someone is already attempting to dampen the good news.
Amazing.
How about this. How about you let whoever has ownership of the Falcon 4 property, whoever that is, let them worry about the legalness of GoG’s release. I mean seriously, why does every single thing that pops up on this site immediately turn into a witch hunt? Enough already.
I think the issue here is that the BMS team would like to make it clear that BMS is a mod for Falcon 4.0, and they are not replacing 4.0, and that people who install the mod require 4.0 to install BMS so that whoever owns the IP for Falcon 4.0 will not have an issue with BMS. IIRC, this is also why the team does not accept donations and would instead ask you donate your money to your charity-of-choice.
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Fact #1 - Falcon 4.0 Original CD is hard to come by and required for BMS install.
Fact #2 - People will pay upwards of $20-$30+ on the 2nd hand market in some instances just to install BMS, but often than not (probably never) will actually use the 1.08 instance.
Sooo… GOG steps in… “Let’s sell 4.0 in a “legacy” collection, state on GOGs forums that there is no use developing it from 1.08 as BMS is already available.” to the point where they link and recommend it on their forum.
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/release_falcon_collection_361fd/page7
ie. "Vythonaut: Falcon BMS isn’t just a patch, it’s a standalone program with it’s own installer. I guess it would be a waste of time and resources for GOG to make the original version work right, when it’s only needed to have the 4.0 installed, to be able to install BMS to your system. After the installation of BMS, you can uninstall 4.0 from your PC. "
Imagine if every BMS user who downloaded and flew BMS paid $6.00… I’m guessing it would be a substantial profit considering their development cycles.
Solution?
A - Remove the requirement for the 4.0 exe from the BMS installer.
OR
B - Only allow installer to function with original CD version by using a more complex media verification process.
Now one can argue that having the 4.0 install readily purchasable for a low price will increase traffic and interest in the sim, but considering the biggest selling point of their package is the ability to install BMS (IMO) I would be hesitant to support this.
What is the point of option B, other than to spite GOG.com? Is not the reason for checking for the falcon CD, to ensure you have purchased it?
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Fact #1 - Falcon 4.0 Original CD is hard to come by and required for BMS install.
Fact #2 - People will pay upwards of $20-$30+ on the 2nd hand market in some instances just to install BMS, but often than not (probably never) will actually use the 1.08 instance.
Sooo… GOG steps in… “Let’s sell 4.0 in a “legacy” collection, state on GOGs forums that there is no use developing it from 1.08 as BMS is already available.” to the point where they link and recommend it on their forum.
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/release_falcon_collection_361fd/page7
ie. "Vythonaut: Falcon BMS isn’t just a patch, it’s a standalone program with it’s own installer. I guess it would be a waste of time and resources for GOG to make the original version work right, when it’s only needed to have the 4.0 installed, to be able to install BMS to your system. After the installation of BMS, you can uninstall 4.0 from your PC. "
Imagine if every BMS user who downloaded and flew BMS paid $6.00… I’m guessing it would be a substantial profit considering their development cycles.
Solution?
A - Remove the requirement for the 4.0 exe from the BMS installer.
OR
B - Only allow installer to function with original CD version by using a more complex media verification process.
Now one can argue that having the 4.0 install readily purchasable for a low price will increase traffic and interest in the sim, but considering the biggest selling point of their package is the ability to install BMS (IMO) I would be hesitant to support this.
https://www.gog.com/game/falcon_collection
- Falcon 4.0 (version 1.08, added as a part of the bonus goodies pack)
GOG does sell original falcon 4.0 of 1.08 version.
I just have purchased it, installed it and confirmed that I can play the original game on WIN7 64bit without any old videocard systems emulation.
Yes, It is also able to install BMS and may increase traffic and interest in the sim, but there idea can not be such things as
“Let’s sell 4.0 in a “legacy” collection, state on GOGs forums that there is no use developing it from 1.08 as BMS is already available.” -
Guys, GoG has a long history of bringing old games to us. Maybe this is all new to you guys, but if you get outside of the Falcon mindset, GoG has been distributing a lot of games that many of us older gamers have longed for; eg. B-17 II, D&D Gold box, and many, many others. GoG’s “thing” is to take old games and make them compatible with modern systems. Further, they usually get the rights to these old games. There is a lot of writing about this if you choose to look for it.
With respect to Falcon, I simply am not seeing what has anyone…anyone…upset about this. This is pure win for BMS and us, as combat flight simmers. This is why I seem, no I AM, incredulous. Do you all want to see flight sims fail or succeed?
GoG has a long pedigree of bringing old software up to date and then offering a working version for purchase to the public. It’s too bad that this is the first many of you have seen of this company.
Regardless, this release is pure win for BMS and Falcon, and for anyone who wants to further intersest in flight simulation and especially Falcon. So why, WHY, would you want to poke holes? Why isn’t the first reaction, “YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!111!!!” instead of, “Did GoG get the rights, is this all legal, can those guys download BMS or do we have to check their install to ensure it is a pure CD install?”
I’m not someone who argues just to argue. But this confuses me to no end. I’ve got about 20 GoG games and then this popped up, and my first thought was, “Whew, I can finally get a digital backup to my CD” and then I read all the BS on these forums and it sickens me. Yes, many of you sicken me. What a bummer.
Man alive, we’re playing a video game here, and most of you with no stake in the game would rather put stakes in it to kill it than to see it thrive. I’ve never seen a community more willing to eat its own, and I can’t even understand the “WHY”.
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Excellent news! Fingers crossed it will be compatible for the BMS install process…
Very good news. Mods, can we make the link to GOG’s website a sticky? That way all future BMS pilots have access to a legal copy of Falcon 4.0 for their install.
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Yeah, GOG has been distributing and making a lot of old games compatible with modern systems.
I rejoiced a lot when I found GOG sells “STAR WARS: TIE FIGHTER” including original DOS version which is one of the best STARWARS game I used to play in my childhood, and since then I have been hoping that someday GOG will release original falcon4.0, now it really came out. what a lovely day! -
Further, they usually get the rights to these old games.
Small correction, they always get the rights to sell those games. They’ve mentioned several times that sometimes it’s even harder to find the legal owner of the IP than to make old game work on modern PC.
Regardless, this release is pure win for BMS and Falcon, and for anyone who wants to further intersest in flight simulation and especially Falcon. So why, WHY, would you want to poke holes? Why isn’t the first reaction, “YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!111!!!” instead of, “Did GoG get the rights, is this all legal, can those guys download BMS or do we have to check their install to ensure it is a pure CD install?”
My thoughts exactly.