What is something you wish you knew before committing to BMS
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@awmk1 My WIFI is great, no lags, no CTD, smooth as silk (even if a lot of guys saying otherwise)
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I also wish I had some 1 on 1 training from someone. Showing me what I need to know and work on. It is very hard to start something like BMS without guidance.
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@orffen said in What is something you wish you knew before committing to BMS:
I wish I’d known that flying in multiplayer was far easier than flying alone. Trying to babysit AI, or even keeping formation when you can’t ask “lead, say airspeed” or “where the hell did you go?” is so much harder than speaking to someone.
Not to mention that Falcon Lounge makes it so easy to get into MP without committing to a squadron (thanks, Max!) and the community especially on Discord is quite welcoming and understanding.
Also, while I like reading the manuals, I understand they can be daunting. But you don’t need to know everything - go through the Tutorial manual and fly along with the missions in-game. You don’t need to RTFM back-to-back to get in the air - but it’s an incredible reference for debriefing after a sortie and trying to understand what went wrong or how to do better next time.
Absolutely flying in MP is where you really start to learn but it can be overwhelming while in a mission. I highly recommend training lower stress missions with someone.
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Many of the post thus far relate to MP learning. Learning MP BMS before you start your journey with BMS seems a bit strange. My number one thing I wish I had known was how much cash was going to flow out of the bank because I love it so much. seriously, if I was to tell someone new to the sim would be, be prepared to study. However or whatever that means to you. Reading, watching videos (which we didn’t have 10-20 years ago), and conversing with fellow virtual viper drivers. Many come here, maybe not expecting plug,play, fire missiles, but the amount of material is quite overwhelming at first. Get into a learning frame of mind, or you’ll be ringing the bell and pissed off.
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Simply getting BMS (and all previous versions back to Falcon 4.0 retail box version with printed manuals) was the easy part.
The hard part has been coming to terms with the fact that investments in good flight hardware, which costs money, will pay off in the form of a greatly improved flying experience. You just can’t expect great results with a 20 dollar joystick. So dig out your wallet. It’s time to go shopping for flight controls that are worthy.
So, I wish I’d know in advance how much my purchase of Falcon 4.0 was actually going to cost me. The sim itself wasn’t expensive, but a good throttle, joystick, and rudder can put a 20mm hole in your wallet. And that’s if you don’t go for a more elaborate cockpit sim setup.
It can be an expensive rabbit hole.
I’m about to drop a few more hundred dollars on VR.
“My callsign is Buzzbomb and I am a simoholic.”
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I agree on both counts (though my callsign is “hoover” )
In order of importance I’d place a decent HOTAS setup first, then followed by head tracking (which thankfully has become very affordable with homebrew clips, opentrack and a cheap ps eye cam or the delanclip package… don’t waste money on trackIR just because it’s sadly still a household name in flightsims )
Also you can emulate an ICP and some basic MFD extraction using an android tablet (I think by now everyone interested in IT has one lying around somewhere) using komurcu’s MFD server.
Next step for me was rummaging through the cellar for an old 19" tft that I could velcro the thrustmaster mfds to (those have become horribly expensive, but I have no idea why), then I set up YAME64 for extraction, also putting some other helpful gauges on the 19" monitor which I place in front of my main screen, that helped a lot.
I think this will get you a decent “deskpit” for a round 500€, depending on which parts you already have available.
o used warthog hotas: 300€ (set up an ebay notifier)
o head tracking: 60€ for delanclip package / 20€ homebrew
o 19" monitor: 50€?
o Android tablet: 100€? Use an old phone?
o TM mfd frames: ??? €But again I’d say the HOTAS is the most important item so you can learn playing your “piccolo” as the saying goes… then add head tracking and get used to that.
All the best,
Uwe
PS: I can put the 19" to the left side of my main monitor and lean it against its former monitor stand when not in use for BMS and it serves nicely to watch some stuff on with half an eye while doing something else.
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@aviationplus said in What is something you wish you knew before committing to BMS:
For me it would have to be understanding that everyone does not have the same baseline of training and standards. This makes it a little harder to fly with players you don’t normally fly with.
To counter that reading publicly available documents help with that baseline training, so that everyone is literally on the same page. I am talking specifically towards brevity terms, tactics, radio etiquette, and proficiency in the F-16. Everyone has their own way to learn and I see the importance of training to make sure every pilot is at the same level ready to move on to the next.
YouTube is your friend and it is the best place to easily find procedures and examples of multiplayer flights. It takes a lot of time and effort to fly in BMS with others especially when they are above your skill level. This is why watching YouTube is important because your lead doesn’t not have the time to teach during a mission and the homework that is taken in the free time will do wonders for future missions.
Tell me what yours is.
Keep flying and everyday try to learn something new.Common standards are too complicate for people who are not professionals but I do get what you mean.
At the end, it is quite difficult for them too. Between different squadrons they use even different terminology and symbols to be different and have a bit of secrecy between squadron’s members.
But definitely, they have some common standards.
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Not exactly the theme of the thread, but kinda important for old school people coming back. Since I’m an original Falcon 4.0 binder owner, what I wish I would have know before I committed to BMS to trust the development team and their commitment. I think a lot of us that lived through the Hasbro shutdown, the endings of RP, eT, SP, FF, OF, VO, CO, RV, AF, OIR, etc. had to learn to not freak out on new releases when bugs popped up or our pet features weren’t included. We had been conditioned that every release could be the last even though it has continued to live on. BMS has the helm (as it really has for most of the time) and you can just sit back, enjoy, and know Falcon is in good hands!
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I guess I hadn’t even realized it until this topic, and I had to check my original Microprose Falcon 4.0 box with all manuals, CDs, etc, but yes, it is one with a spiral binder manual in it. I guess that’s the OG Holy Grail of Falcondom?
My Cougar has a 3000 series serial number. That makes me a second wave adopter, at most? I also have a second throttle I picked up cheap. Its serial number is kind of special: 30000. I wish I had a second stick to keep as a spare.
No other game I ever bought has stayed on my games shelf this long. I think…
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I wish I knew how much a free sim would cost… - BTW, those paper templates on the MFDs are for my WWII sims… in case you were wondering.
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@aviationplus One of the best things you could do would be to join a Virtual fighter wing, they’ll provide a level of training and consistency while you’re learning the sim. The tough part is finding the VFW that matches what you’re looking for.
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@icer said in What is something you wish you knew before committing to BMS:
I wish I knew how much a free sim would cost… - BTW, those paper templates on the MFDs are for my WWII sims… in case you were wondering.
Hmm, they’re too small to make out, but I guess they say “don’t shoot until you smell Sauerkraut”?