Newbie, Setup

[PeterB]

I still have all the original manuals and that big ring binder. I always wanted to learn this. I would love to finally get to know this step by step. It was so buggy back then and I never had the setup so I gave up. The BMS 4.33 is great. The updates I am working on. The first update I am not sure did anything since I can’t find the version number. Not a total idiot with these things (I did build this computer) and from the dos days but I am stuck. First of all the fire button on my Logitech Extreme 3D Pro does not seem to fire anything. I used to hear this sound when firing. It seems to be set up correctly (buttons light up when pressed) but that is the best I can do. I think my basic questions are about checking the installation: Joystick corrections or set up and where do you find the version for comparison? Do I need to set up the Joystick manually even though the computer found it? I have been reading a lot of where to find stuff and how to do things but I should live so long! Anyway some very basic stuff is all I need, to begin with.
Thanks
Peter

[MorteSil]

This post is deleted!

[Guest]

Have a read of this thread for your installation help.

As for firing anything, are you sure you’re in the correct mode? The gun just does not fire simply when you pull the trigger. To check if it’s mapped correctly, go to SETUP -> CONTROLLERS and then pull the trigger. You should see INPUT -> STICK: SECOND TRIGGER DETENT come up… if not, then you’ll have to set it up accordingly. To test, load up the TE 03_LANDING and pull the trigger… nothing. You’ll have to either be in Dogfight mode or AA-GUN mode for the gun to work. (interesting how the Master Arm switch is UP on a Landing TE )

A big part of enjoying Falcon is learning how to set up your controls correctly. You will need to find your way around the .key file you’re using and be able to set it up correctly according to your preferences. Note that you may end up shifting controls around as you find your preferred layout especially for a limited-button stick like the Logi Extreme 3D Pro… and you’ll be doing this again if you upgrade to another stick or HOTAS setup, so learning how to set up your controls NOW will pay off in the long run.

Good luck!!

[CobaltUK]

QUOTE " I used to hear this sound when firing. It seems to be set up correctly (buttons light up when pressed)"

I don’t know what sound you refer to but the trigger only fires gun (and laser) but only if you selected gun mode. Missiles/bombs released with pickle key/button

[Frederf]

Cannon is only fired via trigger when selected: AA gun, DGFT, and AG strafe of course only when master arm is armed.

If you only have a single stage trigger on your joystick bind it to the “second detent” command. The first detent does only some minor actions which do not include cannon firing.

Generally button assignments do not come figured for your joystick and should be made via a “.key” file which you can load a default one included and then save this personalized one with a custom name. Usually one will find the desired command in the list on the table on the right, click it once to highlight it blue, then press the joystick button to accept that binding.

The axis bindings are handled seperately from the binary button/key bindings. Make sure to select your joystick using the drop down menu and set up all other axes by clicking on the advanced button.

BMS software version information is found in the lower right of the main screen after load including version, build number, and whether the 32 or 64-bit version has been run.

[PeterB]

Thanks to all. My trigger is “first detent”. One of the side buttons is “second detent”. All the quick response is great. It does show me that I really need to sit back and truly start slow. There are too many questions I think. To remap is not obvious to me. The right panel is all keyboard. I don’t see how to remap my joystick. It seems I only updated once. The others I can’t figure out. So to fly is not even an option! I need to wash the tires and talk to a few pilots! After I understand something I’m good to go but getting there sometimes is like walking in the dark. All good comments. 4.33.1 I assume is the first update. The 2nd should have been the same but for some reason did not happen. The third never gets to the executable. Youtube has some things to look into etc. So this is all about setup at this point and figuring out how to do that. It is a bit embarrassing to realize what I can’t seem to figure out. Thanks again.

[Frederf]

I repeat the recommendation to set trigger button to 2nd detent and forget about the first. It only activates the video recorder and fires the laser manually. Second detent does that stuff too but also fires the cannon when selected. You’re going to need every button for the common tasks.

The table is a list of the keyboard binds. By highlighting a command and pressing a joystick button it does bind the button to that command but it will not change the table. That’s normal. You can check a button bind succeeded by pressing the button and looking at the text below the table (e.g. Button 01 COMMAND).

The updating process for BMS is really weird. The updates don’t update BMS, they update the BMS installation files. In turn it is an improved installer which is able to patch an existing BMS or install this improved version directly. When you install a BMS update it installs to the installer directory. Then you run the installer again and it has an option of updating an existing installation. What’s interesting about this method is that it’s possible (preferrable when able) to make all of the updates to the install folder before installing BMS for the first time.

The update packables are very simplistic. The U2 package is:
4.33_Update_2_Part_1.bsf
local.ver

while the U3 package is:
4.33_Update_3_Part_1.bsf
local.ver

If you look in the /data folder of your /Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup you’ll see the other .BSF files from the U1 installation (parts 1-4). It’s possible to extract the U2 and U3 exes to an empty folder and move them manually. The local.ver contains version information. The newest file (U3) should overwrite any other as it has the latest version information. The EXEs for the packages are really just zip archives with a little extra code to have a default extration directory and will attempt to run the setup.exe for you at the end.

My recommendation is to get started with takeoff and landing operations; then some practice with navigation and radar; AA weapons gun, heat missile, radar missile. That’s a good start and basic mission capable. There is too much to learn to just read and pre-load your brain with to be prepared for every task before you begin. Pick a narrow task like takeoff until it’s satisfactory and then shift. You can always come back and learn more about it.

Starting the airplane from cold and dark (T-20) is fun but starting on the taxiway (T-4) or the runway (T-0) is an option. Before you’re confident of how to ramp start it is best to do your flying practice on a prepared airplane. You wouldn’t want your practice frustrated by a switch error on the ramp. For takeoff and landing all you really need is:

pitch
bank
throttle
missile step button
landing gear (‘g’ or clickable)
rudder (or roll-linked NWS)

I still like the old Falcon 4.0/AF manual for its writing and layout which can be found with a Google search. It’s qualitatively and kinematically still relevant to BMS although some of the technical mechanics have changed. There is also the real airplane flight manual online which is a good reference as well. The included 4.33 BMS-Training.pdf pairs with the provided training Tactical Engagements. The first few should be quite helpful. The later ones are more challenge tests than bite-sized tutorials.

[PeterB]

Thanks again. This is great information but some just a bit beyond me. I am used to unzipping files and then starting off the executable. That is about it. I opened the data folder and found the update 2 bsf file only. I have no idea how to update with that. I see other file endings with torrent. I only find 3 with that. I assume I need a certain program to unzip that? If we were speaking next to each other, I would get things immediately. But I seem to be missing a lot of info. I have been using a computer for a long time but this stuff throws me. What I tried was to copy the U2 package which was an exe file (after unzipping) into the setup folder and start it (not the one that has the exe to start the sim). It starts and stops. Does nothing. I am known as a very good handy man! So I am a bit spoiled….I usually can figure out things. I may not be able to get this right away. You can try of course but is there any place you could point me to, to learn about the basics of what is going on with these files and putting them in the right place etc.? I have read about updates in this forum but obviously that is not quite enough. Thanks for the remapping info. I would have never guessed the method. I do have the original manuals and even the keyboard layout in that 3 ring huge notebook…and the cadet’s guide. I have saved it all this time. But you are right about starting with takeoff and landing. I am not in a hurry. But jeese to feel a bit smarter about these updates would be good! Do you unzip the .bsf files? No clue.

[Frederf]

I may have over-complicated it.

You will need the 11 files of the original Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup in order to patch BMS plus a 12th and 13th file, one each from the Falcon_BMS_4.33_U2_Incremental.exe and Falcon_BMS_4.33_U3_Incremental.exe packages. Once your install folder contains these 13 files then the Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup\setup.exe is run again to complete the patching process.

Falcon_BMS_4.33_U2_Incremental.exe is downloaded, run, Understood! pressed and it presents the option for which folder to extract to. Set this to the path to your \Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup. These are the details of such an extraction.

Output folder: C:\Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup\data
Extract: 4.33_Update_2_Part_1.bsf
Extract: local.ver… 100%
Execute: “C:\Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup\Setup.exe”
Completed! Running the BMS Setup program now…

Provided you set the correct folder location it will run Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup after Falcon_BMS_4.33_U2_Incremental.exe is closed. Continuing this set up would patch BMS to version U2. Since we also wish to extract the U3 package before patching the setup can be closed with the Cancel button.

Repeating the process with Falcon_BMS_4.33_U3_Incremental.exe (run, Understood!, path…, Install, Close) the Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup program will be automatically started as before.

Now the following files are in place:
\Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup\data\4.33_Update_1_Base_Part_1.bsf
\Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup\data\4.33_Update_1_Base_Part_2.bsf
\Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup\data\4.33_Update_1_Base_Part_3.bsf
\Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup\data\4.33_Update_1_Base_Part_4.bsf
\Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup\data\4.33_Update_2_Part_1.bsf
\Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup\data\4.33_Update_3_Part_1.bsf
\Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup\data\7z.exe
\Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup\data\DirectX_Jun2010_redist_2011-04-18.bsf
\Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup\data\license.txt
\Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup\data\local.ver (14,915 bytes)
\Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup\data\setup.cfg
\Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup\Setup.exe
\Falcon BMS 4.33 U1 Setup\unrar.dll

Manage product updates.
Next
Next
Downloaded (check box the 4.33 U2 and 4.33 U3 items)
and so on.

I found a video which is probably a lot easier to follow than a text description

[PeterB]

This is great. I will study this for a bit. A video is always better for this brain. And then the text you have will kick in even better! I am better than I sound but I have to go methodically. One question though and I may find the answer on my own here but I found a way to get to the exe of the U2 package ok but the U3 package is this “torrent” ending. On youtube there is somebody speaking about that and downloading a free program that ….I guess…unzips the torrent file and then you get the exe. And I don’t seem to have all these files in the original 4.33 U1 setup folder which doesn’t make any sense to me. I am running the sim so why isn’t this just a given? My original setup file (on drive with the other folder of the sim next to it) has just the data folder. When I click on that it has this file: 4.33_update_2_Part_1.bsf. I must have done things I don’t realize perhaps in trying to work things. So this make take me a week! I can’t find these 11 files you are talking about. Sometimes things are right under my nose and then all of a sudden there they are. But after your last message I will then go back and NOW I understand what you and everybody was saying in the first place. So there is progress. But some of my confusion is about stuff that is hard to see so I am going to have to find some time to just put my brain through some hoops. Some of this will be to a point of confusion and walking away! The actual action to update is minutes but this kind of process can take hours initially for me. Then it is obvious. Thanks for your time. Quite impressive what you wrote there…

[Quasi_Stellar]

The hyperlink in Post #3 in this thread has all sorts of answers for you. I think you may have skipped over that in your quest for answers on employing weapons… Good luck!!

[Frederf]

.torrent files are very small (11 KB) files which only provide instructions for a program to download the desired file (33,422 KB). As you can see by the relative sizes, it’s not anything like a zip archive. You still have some downloading to do. I like Deluge myself. You may ask why are Torrents used at all. Their main feature is that downloading clients are also sharing the file to other clients which is a cost-effective way for a small organization to distribute a large amount of data.

You must have had those 11 files in a folder at some point from which you installed Falcon BMS (4.33U1) originally. Hopefully you didn’t delete them after installing, a common habit! Do you still have Falcon_BMS_4.33_U1_Setup.zip (1.4GB)?

And as picture references are so helpful, more visual aids! http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/4347779/starting-with-falcon-4-bms-4-33-update-3

[PeterB]

I got it. It is now updated to 4.33.3. Thanks very much. It helped to notice that I did not click on one of the the responses about the zip program and qBittorrent. Then it all started making sense. Thanks again. I am still thinking arcade. I am thinking that I need the gun. Which I’m sure I do at times but this is about a jet. Radar, missiles. I never got that far, silly as it may seem. I got so hung up on trying to set it up years ago I only went up in the air to see if it would work etc. Now I have to find out about mapping my joy stick. I tried to map the trigger but screwed that up. I can’t see a reset for default. I don’t think it works that way. So as of now I think this will be a good start. I have to make my own file. I may have more questions but I will give it go first for awhile.

[Guest]

I don’t understand why it took you so long to get to Update 3. Did you not read the link I provided? If you did, which part did not make sense?

[Guest]

@Frederf:

And as picture references are so helpful, more visual aids! http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/4347779/starting-with-falcon-4-bms-4-33-update-3

I’m not sure if you’re aware Frederf, but I’ve copied that thread over to the BMS forums. Click on the link in post #3 to see it