Hello Pilots!
NEW and UPDATED!!

Below are new, updated 4.37U4 Physically Based Rendering (PBR) skins for F-16CM25, 17th Tactical Fighter Squadron in MIdeast128 Theater by @SpbGoro (though the skins will work in any 4.37U4 or above Theater). These were made with my new F-16CM25 Paintkit V1.02.

This Falcon BMS F-16 CM25 Aircraft Skin is the livery worn by the 17th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 363rd Tactical Fighter Wing, representing a timeframe of around 1990-1991, during all of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. The 363rd Tactical Fighter Wing was one of the busiest wings in theater during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

At that time, the 17th TFS “Hooters” were stationed at Shaw Air Force Base South Carolina (SW), and served out of Al Dhafra Airbase, United Arab Emirates in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. The 17th TFS flew many combat sorties during the conflict, and were a colorful squadron. (F16.net)

The skins in this skinset represent four unique aircraft actually flown during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in combat missions, with proper historical tail numbers, and individual “fuselage art” decals (though they are not located on the same place as on the real aircraft due to model limitations). The four included aircraft are:

#1: 84-1261 " Blood Storm", 40 combat missions
#2: 841241 “Hooter’s Standards”, 46 combat missions
#3: 84-1244 “Bartman/‘Eat My Shorts, Hussein!’” 56 combat missions
#4: 84-1254 “The Executioner (Next…)” 38 combat missions

The historical aircraft I used for the model is F-16 CM25 #84-1261, “Blood Storm”. Here is a picture of the real aircraft (Courtesy of www.aviationphotocompany.com)

And the screenshot (pilot removed through the magic of Adobe Photoshop):

“Blood Storm” nose art (Picture courtesy of F-16.net and Maj Mike “Shark” Steadman):

And the screenshot (pilot removed through the magic of Adobe Photoshop):

The CM25 skins accounted for many differences between the F-16CM50 and CM42 models (original CM 50 Paint Kit provided by @Manos1981). The new F-16CM25 Paintkit V1.02 includes:

• Many changes to the fuselage (model differences)
• New (non-destructive) UPDATED paint job to match the actual aircraft
• Various marking changes on fuselage
• Recolored nose cone and fwd antenna dome covers
• Added Wing stiffener plates; deleted unused fuselage stiffener plates
• Added 363rd TFW and 17th TFS decals on the intake, 17th TFS decals on the sides of the pilot helmet (option in the paintkit for putting them on the top L/R of the helmet).
• Decal positioning information for the individual fuselage art decals
• Blue eyes for the pilot
• Actual pilot and crew chief names on canopy frame (Courtesy of F-16.net)
  *V 1.01: Corrected some painting deficiencies on the tail surfaces and adjusted “SW” on port side tail markings (hat tip to @SpbGoro).
• V1.02 corrected a transparent “hole” in the fuselage at the forward wing roots, minor paint upgrades to fuselage and tail; recolored wing probes to match top color; recolored anti-collision light base.

Thanks to a tip from @Manos1981 (thanks Manos!!) I found the spots where individual aircraft “Fuselage Art” can be placed. The locations are not in the same place as the actual historical aircraft “nose art” (due to model limitations) but they do make each aircraft in a two-ship or a four-ship individually marked on port and/or starboard sides, just aft of the cockpit. I’ll post a separate thread on how to do this in the “Community Mods\Skins & Textures” section of the Forum.

Here are screenshots in BMS of the “Fuselage Art” (with links to pictures of the Nose Art for the historical aircraft) Credit to F-16.net:

#1: 84-1261 " Blood Storm", 40 combat missions (See above)

#2: 84-1241 “Hooter’s Standards”, 46 combat missions:

#3: 84-1244 “Bartman/‘Eat My Shorts, Hussein!’”, 56 combat missions:

#4: 84-1264 “The Executioner (Next…)”, 38 combat missions:

The F-16CM25 Paintkit V1.02 also contains a Readme word doc with a complete workflow for making a new F-16CM25 skin using the Paintkit.

The 17th TFS Skins V1.02 are also included in the F-16CM25 Paintkit V1.02 but they are also provided in separate download files to add the 17th TFS skinset to the models.
Regards,
Tomcattwo
(VoiceClone)

Hello Pilots!
Below are new 4.37U4 Physically Based Rendering (PBR) skins for F-16CM40, 4th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Al Minhad UAE, circa 1990, in MIdeast128 Theater. These were made with my new F-16CM40 Paintkit.

Sunny day in the desert.

“Here’s me looking up at the camera! Smile!” The pilot is a USAF Major. The arm patches are 388th Tactical Fighter Wing on the pilot’s right shoulder, and 4th TFS “Fightin’ Fuujins” on the pilot’s left shoulder. All USAF Rank insignia are provided in the Paintkit and can be easily switched. Patch background layers are also provided to make it easy to insert your own patch artwork.

“Al Minhad Tower, Fuujin 3, F-16, Ready for Departure”

A four-ship of the new 4th TFS skin (#2 is close off my left wing but out of the picture…)

The CM40 skins account for differences between the F-16CM50 model (The original Paint Kit provided by @Manos1981) and the F-16CM40 model (in the new CM40 Paintkit I am just finishing up). The new F-16CM40 Paintkit includes:

• Corrections for the nose fairing to be fully covered in the CM40 model

• Slight modifications from CM50 to the HUD and seat art for the CM40, and adds the “Remove Before Flight” pennants

• Slight modification to the AAR Refuel Door

• Added layers to cover the Fuselage and Wing Roundels to make it easier to add roundels other than USAF

• Layered covers for the “Birdslicers” in front of the canopy, fixed some plate differences between the two models, and added the CM40 stiffener plates (Thanks, @Icarus !), and added layers for the Squadron decal on the left air intake and Wing decal on the right air intake.

• Added layers with all USAF Officer Rank Insignia (CWO/2ndLt through Col) to make it easy to change insignia for your pilot, and patch background layers to make rank insignia for non-USAF

• Patch backgrounds for the pilot shoulder patches to make it easy to add your own pilot shoulder patches

• Added lifting point markings on the tails, and “blank” tail marking covers to make it easy to add your own tail artwork

• The F-16CM40 Paintkit also contains a 13 page Readme word doc with a complete workflow for making a new F-16CM40 skin using the Paintkit.

• The 4th TFS Skins are also included in the F-16CM40 Paintkit but I will also provide them in a separate download file. 4th TFS F-16 CM40 4_37U4 Skins Thread.

The F-16CM40 Paintkit is available now in this thread in the Skins Tools section of the forum: F-16 CM40 Paintkit.

Regards,
Tomcattwo
(VoiceClone)

Hello Pilots!
Below are new 4.37U4 Physically Based Rendering (PBR) skins for F-16CM42, 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron, Al Minhad UAE, circa 1990, in MIdeast128 Theater. These were made with my new [F-16CM42 Paintkit] (to be released shortly).

“Up, up and awaaaaayyyyy…”

“Let’s get this show on the road!” The pilot is a USAF Captain. The arm patches are 388th Tactical Fighter Wing on the pilot’s right shoulder, and 421st TFS “Black Widows” on the pilot’s left shoulder. All USAF Rank insignia are provided in the Paintkit and can be easily switched. Patch background layers are also provided to make it easy to insert your own patch artwork.

Alternate Livery (Black Web tail flash)

Four-ship approaching the mountains in Northeast UAE

Near Al Minhad Airbase, UAE, in Mideast128 Theater

The CM42 skins account for differences between the F-16CM50 model (The original Paint Kit provided by @Manos1981), the F-16CM40 model, and the CM42 Model (in the new CM42 Paintkit ). The new F-16CM42 Paintkit includes:

• All of the updates from the CM40 Paintkit plus…

• Pratt & Whitney 220 Engine replaces the GE-100 turbofan (though not visible on the model)

• New beautiful reinforced “piano hinge” for the rudder.

• New top deck walkway markings

• New Nozzle Collar

• Slightly modified pilot flight suit (wrinkles)

• New 421st TFS patches on pilot sleeves and on the air intake (left side)

• The F-16CM42 Paintkit also contains a Readme word doc with a complete workflow for making a new F-16CM42 skin using the Paintkit.

• The 421st TFS Skins are also included in the F-16CM42 Paintkit but they are also provided in separate download files to either replace an existing skinset or ADD the 421st skinset to the models (2 separate downloads). You can download the skinsets here
  .
  The F-16CM42 Paintkit is now available in the Skins Tools section of the forum.

Regards,
Tomcattwo
(VoiceClone)

Hello Pilots!
NEW 10th TFS Skins and UPDATED 17th TFS Skins!!

Below are new, 4.37U4 Physically Based Rendering (PBR) skins for F-16CM25, 10th Tactical Fighter Squadron in MIdeast128 Theater by @SpbGoro (though the skins will work in any 4.37U4 or above Theater). These were made with my F-16CM25 Paintkit V1.03.

This Falcon BMS F-16 CM25 Aircraft Skin is the livery worn by the 10th Tactical Fighter Squadron (“Fighting 10th”) of the 363rd Tactical Fighter Wing, representing a timeframe of around 1990-1991, during all of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. The 363rd Tactical Fighter Wing was one of the busiest wings in theater during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

The 10th TFS “Fighting 10th” were part of the USAF in Europe (USAFE) during the Cold War, stationed at Hahn AFB in the Republic of Germany (in the 50th Tactical Fighter Wing). "The squadron’s role was a primary air defense role in the h[e]art of the US corridor within West-Germany. Since the squadron was part of a Tactical Fighter Wing, an advanced air-to-ground role was also part of the package. Last but not least, the squadron also had a strike role to perform. Hahn AFB housed a number of B-43 or B-61 nuclear devices and the F-16s were tasked to perform this tactical nuclear role as well. Therefore the squadron had to wait until the block 15 arrived, since the nuclear capability of the F-16 was incorporated in this airframe type and operationally released. The USAF always provided the latest blocks to the most important operational units. After only having flown a mere 4 years on the block 15 version, the squadron already received the more capable F-16C and D models with the acceptance of block 25 airframes in 1986. The squadron was operational on the type by December 31st, 1986. The role of the squadron remained the same.

After the end of the Cold War the USAF had a major overcapacity of fighter units in Europe. In 1990 the decision came to disband the entire 50th TFW and its subordinate squadrons and to close down Hahn AFB all together. Despite this news, the squadron was tasked in late 1990 to get prepared for an overseas deployment. The 10th TFS was sent to Al Dhafra AFB in the United Arab Emirates [and attached to the 363rd Tactical Fighter Wing at Al Dhafra, along with the 17th TFS and 33rd TFS]. They became operational on December 28th, 1990 in the desert and stayed there until May 10th, 1991. A total of 1,300 mission were flown in Operation Desert Storm during the 43 day conflict. When they returned there wasn’t very much time left and the squadron was disbanded on September 30th, 1991 and so ended 38 years of European operations." (F16.net)

The skins in this skinset represent four unique aircraft actually flown during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in combat missions, with proper historical tail numbers, and individual “fuselage art” decals (though they are not located on the same place as on the real aircraft due to model limitations). The four included aircraft are:

#1: 84-1267 “Feel Lucky?”
#2: 84-1315 “Sabre One”, the 10th Air Maintenance Unit (AMU) bird
#3: 84-1275 “Widow Maker”
#4: 84-1377 “Luft Jager”

Additionally, I included an UPDATED version (1.03) of the 17th TFS skins (made minor correction to the tail numbers of #3 and #4 to match the correct decals) along with the 10th TFS. Both are in the same package.

The historical aircraft I used for the 10th TFS model is F-16 CM25 85-1399. Here is a picture of the real aircraft (Courtesy of The Aviation Photo Company):

And the screenshot of the Lead aircraft, 84-1267 “Feel Lucky?” (pilot removed through the magic of Adobe Photoshop):

“Feel Lucky?” nose art (Picture courtesy of F-16.net) :

And the screenshot in BMS:

The 10th TFS CM25 skins were updated to match the photos as closely as possible and include:

• Various marking changes on fuselage (10th TFS had no squadron or group decals on the air intake), red hatches and red line around the fuselage near the lower stabilizer fins

• Recolored nose cone and fwd antenna dome covers

• 10th TFS decals on the sides of the pilot helmet, and 10th TFS shoulder patch

• Individual fuselage art decals

• Hazel eyes for the pilot

Here are screenshots in BMS of the “Fuselage Art” (with links to pictures of the Nose Art for the historical aircraft) Credit to F-16.net :

#1: 84-1267 “Feel Lucky?” (See above)

#2: 84-1315 “Sabre One”:

#3: 84-1275 “Widow Maker’”:

#4: 84-1377 “Luft Jager”:

The F-16CM25 Paintkit V1.03 also contains a Readme word doc with a complete workflow for making a new F-16CM25 skin using the Paintkit.

The 17th TFS Skins V1.03 are included in the F-16CM25 Paintkit V1.03 but they are also provided in the same package as the 10th TFS skins.
Regards,
Tomcattwo
(VoiceClone)

Fellow pilots,
@justonce01 and I are proud to provide you with this (Optional) Balkans Airbase Voice Modification! Here is the download link:

Balkans_Airbase_Voice_v1_00_211118_2030.zip

These files were made for free distribution for the Falcon 4 BMS Community. You use them at your own risk. I am not responsible for anything that happens to your Falcon 4 BMS installation as a result of your use of these modification files.
BACK UP ALL NECESSARY FILES BEFORE INSTALLING THIS UPDATE!!! Read the instructions and follow them! Back up your files!

What it does: The files in this modification were updated to allow for the Falcon BMS Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) to say airbase names in their original voices (the voices you are used to hearing in Falcon BMS), and print the correct airbase names in subtitles. Airbase names were taken from the airbase object names as defined in the Balkans Theater Update Version 4.35.3 v 14808.0393 for every Airbase (103 total) in the Balkans Theater, as shown in Mission Commander. Airstrip vocalizations are generalized (e.g. “Bosnian Airstrip”). ATIS names were also updated to allow ATIS to (attempt to) say the proper name for all airbases, with airstrips using the generic form for any airbase/airstrip that has a valid ATIS VHF frequency assigned. ATIS uses built-in Microsoft Text to Speech software, so I am not responsible for any “mispronunciations” made by ATIS - blame Microsoft!

This modification is specific to the Add-On Balkans Theater and will not affect your KTO Theater or any other Add-On Theater(s) you may have installed. As a bonus, I also corrected a number of incorrect or poor-sounding pilot voice fragments (“frags”, e.g., “furball”, “platform” and several others, corrected voice frags for all pilots for “2-5” through “6-9” (which used the incorrect voice), and made some other minor ATC corrections and fixed inconsistencies between spoken words and subtitle text.

What was done: This modification contains 5 modified files:
1) …Add-On Balkans\Sounds\F4Talk95v1-0-0.csv
2) …Add-On Balkans\Sounds\fragfile.xml
3) …Add-On Balkans\Sounds\falcon.tlk
4) …Add-On Balkans\Sounds\TTSEval.dat
5) …Add-On Balkans\Campaign\stations+ils.dat

No other Falcon BMS or Add-On Balkans files were altered, changed, deleted, modified or updated.

Current Versions: The following versions were used to produce this modification:
- Falcon 4 BMS 4.35.3 (x64) Build 24585 by Benchmark Sims
- Add-On Balkans Version 4.35.3 v 14808.0393 by @Cougar56th

These modification instructions assume the user is familiar with Windows file structure and the file locations of their Falcon 4 BMS 4.35U3 installation and Add-On Balkans installation. It also assumes that the user has properly installed Falcon BMS 4.35U3 and Add-On Balkans Theater using the above latest versions (as of today).

Installation Instructions:

1. In your Add-On Balkans folder (…Falcon BMS 4.35\Data\Add-On Balkans) locate these 5 files and save them to a safe place in case you want to revert back to the original files at some point in the future):

   1. …Add-On Balkans\Sounds\F4Talk95v1-0-0.csv (dated 11/1/2020)
   2. …Add-On Balkans\Sounds\fragfile.xml (dated 11/1/2020)
   3. …Add-On Balkans\Sounds\falcon.tlk (dated 11/1/2020)
   4. …Add-On Balkans\Sounds\TTSEval.dat (dated 11/1/2020)
   5. …Add-On Balkans\Campaign\stations+ils.dat (dated 1/4/2021)

2. Unzip the Balkans Airbase Voice_v1_00.zip into a convenient folder.

3. Once you have unzipped Balkans Airbase Voice_v1_00.zip, you will see 1 folder (“Add-On Balkans”) and this readme file. Read the readme file.

4. After ensuring you have saved your original files, open the “Add-On Balkans” folder in this extracted zip file, and you will see two folders (“Sounds” and “Campaign”).
   a) Copy all four of the files from the “Sounds” folder from this extracted zip to your …Falcon BMS 4.35\Data\Add-On Balkans\Sounds folder, overwriting the four files currently in that folder.
   b) Copy the one file (“stations+ils.dat”) from the “Campaign” folder from this extracted zip to your …Falcon BMS 4.35\Data\Add-On Balkans\Campaign folder, overwriting the stations+ils.dat file currently in that folder.

5. Verify you have all the right files in the right places, then start up Falcon BMS in Balkans Theater and go fly! Your ATCs will now tell you the correct airbase name for wherever you are flying from when making ATC calls for Approach, Departure, Tower and Ground (using the correct frequency, of course), in their own voices! ATIS information will also say and subtitle the proper airbase name for whichever airbase ATIS VHF frequency you have tuned to.

Uninstalling this modification:

1. To uninstall this modification, simply copy your saved ORIGINAL files and paste them back into the original folders, overwriting the modified files.

Revision Notes
Rev 1.0 (11/18/2021)

1. Modified falcon.tlk with over 1200 new .wav files which were produced using Real Time Voice Cloning Toolbox/Source Voice to Text-To-Speech (RTVCT/SV2TTS) and my own proprietary single voice trained synthesizers and vocoders made specifically to clone Falcon BMS voices. Slavic airbase name .wavs were made by justonce01 using the same tool and my trained synthesizers/vocoders. See this link for details.
2. Added 157 new Frags in fragfile.xml and corresponding frag additions in F4Talk95v1-0-0.csv.
3. Minor corrections in F4Talk95v1-0-0.csv to mismatches noted between voice and text (including changes to Frags 2792, 2848, 2851, 2852, 2860, 2875 and 2876) to match spoken words.
4. Modified/added airbase names in Line 24 of TTSEval.dat to allow for correct ATIS airbase names to be spoken and subtitled.
5. Modified all entries for Tower, Ground and Approach frags and ATIS IDs in stations+ils.dat to make proper calls to airbase name frags and ATIS. No other items (frequencies, TACAN etc.) were altered in stations+ils.dat

Many thanks to Benchmark Sims and the Falcon 4 Community for keeping this outstanding flight simulator alive and kicking over 23 years of sim aviation history. Also credit is due to Corentin Jermaine for creating and granting open license to use the RTVCT/SV2TTS toolbox and to @blue-fish at the RTVCT GitHub site for helping me with developing the proprietary single-voice-trained synthesizers and vocoders for Falcon BMS voice cloning. Also great thanks and mad props to @justonce01 for learning how to use the RTVCT/SV2TTS and my single-voice-trained synthesizers and vocoders to produce accurately-pronounced names for Bosnian, Croatian, Slovenian and Yugoslavian airbase names, and to @Cougar56th for developing and maintaining the Balkans Theater effort.

Regards,
Tomcattwo
(VoiceClone)

Hello Pilots!
NEW 69th TFS Skins

!

Below are new, 4.37U4 Physically Based Rendering (PBR) skins for F-16CM Block 40, 69th Tactical Fighter Squadron in MIdeast128 Theater by @SpbGoro (though the skins will work in any 4.37U4 or above Theater). These were made with my F-16CM40 Paintkit V1.02.

This Falcon BMS F-16 CM40 Aircraft Skin is the livery worn by the 69th Tactical Fighter Squadron (“Werewolves”) of the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing, representing a timeframe of around 1990-1991, during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. The 69th was an activated reserve unit based at Moody AFB Georgia USA in 1990, deployed to the UAE and there was attached to the 388th TFW (Provisional).

“In order to bolster the capability of the 388th TFW§, another LANTIRN capable squadron, the 69th TFS from Moody AFB was deployed to Al Minhad and attached to the 388th on January 8, 1991. After the threat from SCUD missiles became a priority for the planners, the 69th was relocated from Al Minhad to King Fahd IAP in Saudi Arabia a week after the start of the war, and tasked with hunting fixed and mobile SCUD launchers in Iraq.” (quoted from Bullseye Modeling Aviation’s “Desert Storm Vipers 388th TFW Al Minhad” Decal Kit, Part# 48004 https://reviews.ipmsusa.org/review/f-16c-falcon-desert-storm-vipers-388tfw-al-minhad-ab)

The skins in this skinset represent four unique aircraft actually flown during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in combat missions, with proper historical tail numbers, and labeling (though due to model restrictions, all fuselage labelling is the same on all 4 aircraft). The four included aircraft are:

#1: 88-0531 Capt Marc Stalnaker
#2: 88-0515 Lt Col Dan Alton
#3: 88-0523 Capt Karl [Williams] Flew 70 missions
#4: 88-0525 Capt Slam Amland

The historical aircraft I used for the 10th TFS model is F-16 CG Block 40 Serial No. 88-0531. Here is a picture of the real aircraft:

And the BMS screenshot of the Lead aircraft, 88-0531:

The 69th TFS CM40 skins were updated to match the photos as closely as possible and include:

• Various marking changes on fuselage, pilot and crew chief names on canopy frame

• 69th TFS decals on the sides of the pilot helmet, 69th TFS shoulder patch (left) and 347th TFW patch (right)

• 69th TFS decal on port air intake and 347th TFW decal on Starboard air intake (they never attached the 388th decal and stuck with their pre-deployment TFW decal)

• “Seven Camels” mission markings on side of Nose Wheel Door

• Proper tail markings and “Have Glass” paint on aft stabilizer hump

69th TFS Werewolves Group Picture:

The 69th TFS Skins V1.00 are included in a new Skins release: “388th TFW Add Skins 4.37U4.zip” which will include the entire set of CM40 skins: 4th TFS, 421st TFS (Desert Shield/Storm markings and post-war markings) and the new 69th TFS skins all in one single .zip package. You can download the 388th TFW Add Skins 4.37U4.zip package here.

Regards,
Tomcattwo
(VoiceClone)

Hello Pilots!
Below are new 4.37U4 Physically Based Rendering (PBR) skins for F-16CM25, 17th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Al Dhafra UAE, circa 1990, in MIdeast128 Theater. These were made with my new [F-16CM25 Paintkit] (to be released shortly).

“Blue skies and my beautiful F-16 CM25…”

Cockpit Details

The pilot is a USAF Major. The arm patches are 363rd Tactical Fighter Wing on the pilot’s right shoulder, and 17th TFS “Hooters” on the pilot’s left shoulder. New: Added 17th TFS decals to the pilot’s helmet, and gave the pilot blue eyes

All USAF Rank insignia are provided in the Paintkit and can be easily switched. Patch background layers are also provided to make it easy to insert your own patch artwork.

The model is F-16 # 84-1261, “Blood Storm”. This aircraft flew 40 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm with the 17th TFS, out of Al Dhafra airbase, UAE. 84-1241 “Hooters Standards” flew 46 Combat Missions.

Here is a picture of the real aircraft (Courtesy of www.aviationphotocompany.com)

And the model (Pilot removed through the magic of Photoshop):

“Blood Storm” nose art (Picture courtesy of F-16.net and Maj Mike “Shark” Steadman):

And the model:

The blue skin in the model is darker due to position of the sun and overlaying of dirt/grime.

The CM25 skins accounted for many differences between the F-16CM50 and CM42 models (original CM 50 Paint Kit provided by @Manos1981). The new F-16CM25 Paintkit includes:

• Based on the CM42 Paintkit…
• Many changes to the fuselage (model differences)
• New paint job to match the actual aircraft
• Various marking changes on fuselage
• Recolored nose cone
• Added Wing stiffener plates; deleted unused fuselage stiffener plates
• Added Blood Storm decal stbd side, 363rd TFW and 17th TFS decals on the intake, 17th TFS decals on the sides of the pilot helmet (option in the paintkit for putting them on the top L/R of the helmet).
• Blue eyes for the pilot
• Actual pilot and crew chief names on canopy frame(Courtesy of F-16.net)

The F-16CM25 Paintkit also contains a Readme word doc with a complete workflow for making a new F-16CM25 skin using the Paintkit.

• The 17th TFS Skins are also included in the F-16CM25 Paintkit but they are also provided in separate download files to add the 17th TFS skinset to the models for those that do not wish to download the Paintkit. (coming soon).

Regards,
Tomcattwo
(VoiceClone)

All,
After a quite a bit of work, I have found a free public tool to clone the Falcon Four voices (12 pilot voices, 2 ATC voices, 3 LSO voices) called “Real Time Voice Cloning Tool” (RTVCT) or alternatively called, “Source Voice to Text-To-Speech” (SV2TTS), available here:

CorentinJ/Real Time Voice Cloning Tool by Corentin Jermaine.

This tool runs in Python , using PyTorch for its AI for training, and, while it doesn’t provide an unmistakable clone, it is certainly close enough for what we might want to do with it in Falcon 4 BMS.
I have found that this RTVCT tool, after training the synthesizer and vocoder using the voice wavs extracted from Falcon 4 for each voice, can then reproduce those voices by typing what you want them to say in the tool (it’s a GUI based tool), and then it will save the output file as a .wav file (16 bit PCM Mono 16Khz sampling rate .wav).

It may take a couple of tries and require a bit of “phonetic spelling” to get a good output .wav, but once you get it, the sound is easily close enough to be used in game with very little loss of immersion. You still need to reprocess the output wav by resampling the 16bit PCM Mono wav file from 16KHz down to 8Khz, which is what Falcon uses, but there are any number of tools (Audacity, Goldwave, etc.) that will do that for you quickly and easily. You can then use Falcon 4 TlkTool to insert the new .wavs into Falcon.tlk to make them work properly, and update the F4Talk95v1-0-0.csv and TTSEval.dat files to get proper subtitle text, airbase names etc.

Here are some examples:

Falcon 4 BMS Female Air Traffic Controller (Voice 12F):
Glenda1.wav

Glenda2.wav

Glenda3.wav

Glenda4.wav

Glenda5.wav

Glenda Ground Truth Falcon 4 .wav file

Falcon 4 BMS Male Air Traffic Controller (Voice 13M):
Don1.wav

Don2.wav

Don3.wav

Don Ground Truth Falcon 4 .wav file

These are not “spliced” words - I typed them into the SV2TTS (Real Time Voice Cloning) Toolbox (sometimes with a little phonetic spelling to help the vocoder), and this is the output file that the tool produced. It sounds pretty close to the real Falcon voice set to me, and works well in game.

Samples of all 14 primary Falcon Voice Clones and Ground Truth .wavs are available here: Falcon 4 Voice Files

I have already used this method to clone all Falcon 4 voices and then did the renaming and “re-voicing” of airbase names for all Coalition, Kuwaiti, Saudi, Bahraini, and Emirates airbases and airstrips (generic for the airstrips) of the Mideast 128 Theater airbases for SpbGoro’s outstanding theater. All necessary sound files are included in SpbGoro’s latest updates (v7 and up). Independently, I have also changed over 30 callsigns in my installation of Mideast128 Theater, but I have not published those yet (they will become available with a very large TE project I am working on for the Theater). I’ll publish some “how to’s” for airbase renaming and callsign renaming in new threads in the Sounds forum at a later time.

See this VERY useful thread by MeuMestre on the methodology used to change a callsign, for example. Another very useful tool for this work is Khronik’s outstanding TlkTool GUI.

The SV2TTS RTVCT isn’t necessarily easy to get installed and running, and runs best when you have an Nvidia GPU where it can use the CUDA cores to do the necessary computations (CPU can be used but it is slower). Instructions on how I got RTVCT installed and running on my Win10 PC with an NVIDIA RTX2070 Super GPU are available here: SV2TTC Installation and Operation for F4 Voice Cloning .pdf. You can pull me up in chat (@Tomcattwo) if you have issues with the installation.

Warning: this is not for the faint of heart, but it IS do-able. Also, you use this installation procedure AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Note: I do not have or know LINUX, Ubuntu or Mac operating systems, so I can be of no help on those if that is where you intend to try to do your installs. Sufficient information is available in the Github to get you going on those systems.

Also, it takes quite a bit of disk space (~up to 20G GB+ without any additional speech libraries other than what you need to clone Falcon 4 voices) for the files and speech libraries necessary to do this work, so make sure you have enough space!

It takes a fair amount of work to “train” the synthesizer to recognize a particular specific voice pattern, but I have already done this work and the necessary synthesizer and vocoder files for all Falcon 4 BMS voices for use in RTVCT are available here. There are three files you will need: F4 synthesizer pretrained files.zip, F4 vocoder pretrained files.zip, and F4 Speaker Files.zip.

Instructions on where to put these are included in the Installation and Operating Procedure .pdf

Caution – these are BIG files (6.1GB for the synthesizer pretrained files, zipped, another 0.93 GB for the Vocoder pretrained files, zipped, another 0.7 GB for theF4 Falcon Voice files, zipped).

I really hope some of you may want to try this to update other theaters with appropriate voice updates etc. Feel free to contact me if you have questions on this.
Regards,
Tomcattwo

Hello Pilots!
Below are new 4.37U4 Physically Based Rendering (PBR) skins for F-16CM42, 33rd (“FALCONS”) Tactical Fighter Squadron, Al Dhafra UAE, circa 1990, in MIdeast128 Theater. The 33rd was one of the few (maybe the only) F-16 CM42 Squadron flying in Desert Shield/Storm. Together with the 17th TFS “Hooters”, the 33rd flew missions throughout Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

This skinset replaces the 421st TFS (“Black Widows”) skins I originally made for the CM42, and which have been moved to the correct F-16 Block 40 model. Hat tip to @Tomcatter31 for pointing out my error.

“Let’s get this show on the road!” The pilot is a USAF Captain. The arm patches are 363rd Tactical Fighter Wing on the pilot’s right shoulder, and 33rd TFS “FALCONS” on the pilot’s left shoulder and helmet.

Here’s the historical picture I used as the guide for the skins (courtesy of F-16.net

And screenshot from BMS (pilot removed through the magic of Photoshop):

The CM42 skins account for differences between the F-16CM50 model (The original Paint Kit provided by @Manos1981), the F-16CM40 model, and the CM42 Model (in the new CM42 Paintkit ).

The 33rd TFS Skins are included in the F-16CM42 Paintkit but they are also provided in separate download files to either replace an existing skinset or ADD the 33rd skinset to the models (2 separate downloads). You can download the skinsets shortly when I put them up in the Skins & Textures section of the Falcon BMS Forums.
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The F-16CM42 Paintkit V2.00 is available in the Skins & Textures section of the forum.

Regards,
Tomcattwo
(VoiceClone)

Hello Pilots!
NEW Pakistani Air Force (PAF) No. 5 Squadron F-16CM Block 52 Skins!!!

Below are new, 4.37U4 Physically Based Rendering (PBR) skins for F-16CM Block 52, PAF No. 5 Sqdn in Mideast128 Theater by @SpbGoro (though the skins will work in any 4.37U4 or above Theater). These were made with my F-16CM52 Paintkit (not released yet).

This Falcon BMS F-16 CM52 Aircraft Skin is the livery worn by No. 5 Squadron, Pakistani Air Force (PAF). Please note that the skin is built for a standard F-16CM Block 52 aircraft model, although the PAF has upgraded their Block 52 aircraft to a Block 52+ configuration with conformal fuel tanks (CFT). At a later time, I may try to make the skin for a Block 52+ with CFT, though that is a much more difficult endeavor, since there is currently no base paintkit for the CFT version.

History: Quoted from F-16.net : "In 2010 deliveries of the brand-new block 52 F-16s to the Pakistani Air Force started. As part of the Peace Drive program a total of 18 airframes was delivered. The squadron was moved to the newly constructed Shahbaz AB and started training on the new type immediately. The squadron was equipped with the venerable Mirage aircraft of which a number of different types were flown including some single seat fighter, fighter-bombers and also dedicated reconnaissance aircraft. With the introduction of the F-16 the squadron becomes fully multirole.

Although the PAF has experience operating the F-16 (block 15 versions have been flown by the force since 1983), the introduction of these block 52 airframes means a serious change in performance and possibilities. Most probably these airframes will be equipped to perform a wide variety of tasks since it’s the most modern aircraft type in service with the PAF. It will rely heavily on the type to cope with the ‘Indian’ thread (sic)."

The lead aircraft is modeled from PAF Tail Number 10904, the aircraft flown by Group Captain Ali Naeem. The pilot is Flight Lieutenant Okayasug. The shoulder patches are for the PAF No. 5 Sqdn on the left shoulder, and the PAF “Fighting Falcon” on the right shoulder. Helmet decals are No. 5 Sqdn.

Known issues: 1) The model used is the F-16CM Block 52 rather than the actual F-16CM Block 52+ with conformal fuel tanks. 2) The nose numbers on the actual PAF aircraft are located above the small radomes on the nose. The skin has them located below the radomes. This is a model texture limitation.

The skins in this skinset represent four unique aircraft with proper historical tail numbers, and labeling (though due to model restrictions, all fuselage labelling is the same on all 4 aircraft). The four included aircraft are:

#1: 10904 (USA Tail # 07-0004)
#2: 10908 (USA Tail # 07-0008)
#3: 10910 (USA Tail # 07-0010)
#4: 10911 (USA Tail # 07-0011)

The historical aircraft I used for the model is F-16 CM Block 52+ Local Serial No. 10904. Here is a picture of the real aircraft (courtesy of Planespotters.net

And the BMS screenshot of the lead aircraft, 10904:

(Above) The above screenshot of the starboard side of the aircraft shows a rather darker skin color but that is due to the positioning of the aircraft in relation to the sun.

(Below) Here’s a screenshot from the port side, and what it looks like when the sun is shining on it…gotta love PBR!!!

The PAF No. 5 Sqdn skins were updated to match the photos as closely as possible and include:

• Various marking changes on fuselage, Group Captain Ali Naeem 's name on canopy frame

• Recolorization of the entire aircraft (much different paint scheme than the US F-16 Block 52’s)

• PAF No. 5 Sqdn decals on the sides of the pilot helmet, PAF No. 5 Sqdn shoulder patch (left) and 347th TFWPAF “Fighting Falcon” patch (right)

• Proper tail markings

• Many, many minor parts coloration changes to match the PAF paint scheme

The PAF No. 5 Sqdn Skins V1.00 are included in a new Skins release: “PAF No. 5 Sqdn Skinset Add Files_4.37U4.zip” You can download the PAF No. 5 Sqdn Skinset Add Files_4.37U4.zip package here.

Regards,
Tomcattwo
(VoiceClone)

@Kiwi
In order to have your (new to WDP) theater included in WDP. you will need to add some files to the …\Weapon_Delivery_Planner_3.7.24.232\Database Folder. For Gibraltar, you will need to:

1. Make a “Gibraltar” (no quotes) folder in …\Weapon_Delivery_Planner_3.7.24.232\Database
2. Inside your new Gibraltar folder, you will need to make 4 new files:

a) Theater.xml - each Theater has to have a unique “Id”, and “Base” identifier, to differentiate it from other Theaters. Use the next number after the largest Id/Base # for all existing theaters. To find that, you’ll have to look at each Theater.xml file in that database folder. The Id and Base for Gibraltar can be the same value. Look at any other Theater.xml file for the other parameters you will need to add. Most you can get from Mission Commander (using your Gibraltar te_new.txt file in MC). See this thread for how to obtain all the map parameters.

b) Areas.xml copy what is written in one of the other theaters’ Areas.xml but make them specific to Gibraltar:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Areas_Gibraltar />

Note the space after the Theater name and before the />

c) Countries.xml List all your countries in the same order you have them in your theater. Each country gets a Country Num starting with “0” and an Id starting with “1” See another Theater’s Countries.xml file for format and examples

d) Airports.xml This one is a PITA to do. For each Airport/airbase in your theater, you will need to include all the data for the airport. Each airport gets an Airport Num starting with “0” and an Airport Id starting with “1” See an example form another theater. I had a huge spreadsheet I used for doing Mideast128’s airport.xml, but it became too painful to keep it up to date.

You can get away with not adding much to this file, but of course the airport info will not be correct. Whatever info you don’t provide, WDP will attempt to get it from your BMS install information but it isn’t likely to be “correct”.

e) GibraltarMap.png color picture for WDP

f) GibraltarWhite.png White map for WDP.

Wish it were easier

Regards,

@Yassy
Yep, yours is the best profile I have found for TIR. I ues it whenever I am not flying VR, often for testing.
Regards,

See the last post in this thread.

User there claims that, even if Win11 24H2 is installed, you can still download a Windows WMR app and restore WMR functionality.

Have not tried this myself.
Hope this helps.
Regards,

@Lger
What version of BMS are you using? If you don’t know, you can look on the opening BMS splash screen for the version and block #.
Regards,

@MudDog
In your reply, in one place you say you are getting ALL proper responses, but in another place you say that you are NOT getting a “Kick” response. Kick (acknowledgement of MPO engaged) is a part of the test sequence. If you are not receiving the “kick” response, then the test sequence is incomplete, waiting for that action. That is the likely reason why you have had to use standby command to stop VCC for checking for more test commands.

Try this: outside of VCC, look at the MPO switch in your cockpit, and press the “O” key and see if the switch position changes. If it functions using the O key, then its callback is properly assigned in the key commands.

From the VCC instructions: “The shared memory also does not indicate whether manual pitch override (MPO) is enabled or not. This means the kick can only be checked by using the keyboard input for the MPO switch. The default key is O and it needs to be held down for a second. Do not forget to reset the switch to NORM afterwards.”

Note that the O key has to be held down while the pitch is held fully down.

The VCC response for “Kick” (MPO engaged) works like this:

The “Kick” response will only occur when the pitch is full down.

So try this: when going through Big Movements and DBU movements:
a) Do pitch UP, get VCC Response “Nose Up”,
b) then do pitch down and hold it there (full down), get VCC response “Nose Down”,
c) wait for VCC response to stop completely, then
d) press and hold O key (or your assigned button for O keypress) for about .5 to 1 sec, get VCC response “Kick”.
e) Let go of O key and then press O key again (this disengages MPO - verify when you get back in the cockpit)
f) then continue on with roll and yaw testing.

Please give this a try and please let me know how it goes.

For brakes testing, here are the VCC instructions:

/ 18. Brake Channels
Now waits for brake movement before confirming. Then waits for movement to stop before continuing. If there is no movement within a few seconds after starting the command, the crew chief reports no movement.
Again, the shared memory does not offer information on the position of the brakes, so VoiceAttack is reading the position of your toe brakes.
Keyboard is also supported, using the default key for wheel brakes: K.

So, try using the “k” key for testing brakes. Follow the instructions and please let me know how it goes.
Regards,

@MudDog said in Virtual Crew Chief for BMS:

@Tomcattwo thank you for the response. i have assigned the HOTAS and Rudders.
I may have led you wrong. Big movements works, its right afterwards when I say DBU Clear.

Okay, so when you do big movements, are you getting proper responses after every control surface test? (Nose Up, Nose Down, Kick, Roll Left, Roll Right, Yaw Left, Yaw Right)?

I noticed in your VA picture that between Big Movements and DBU Clear, you said, “Chief, Standby” Why did you say that? I suspect you had to in order to get out of an incomplete Big Movements test cycle. Was that the case?

@Ricky, can you please check to see if there is an issue with continuing VCC script after an interrupted (standby) command for Big Movements?

I will try everything again tonight. I’m assuming since you didn’t mention my setup(the clips), it is fine?

Your VA setup looks OK, and if you were able to get correct VCC outputs in game for ALL big movements (Nose Up, Nose Down, Kick, Roll Left, Roll Right, Yaw Left, Yaw Right), then your control devices are properly registered in VCC.

Question: The very first time you ran VCC, do you remember if you got requests from VCC to register your joystick/rudder by moving them in the requested directions?

If you did NOT get proper responses for ALL big movements, then you might want to try re-registering your controls again with VCC (see VCC instructions for the voice command to register joysticks, which is “Configure Joysticks”).

Also, the voice command for DBU is “DBU, Still Clear?” not “DBU, clear?” Are you using the correct voice command? I think you are, since your printout showed the command as recognized.

Please try it again and report results.
Thanks,

@MudDog
The most likely cause of this is that you haven’t properly “registered” your joystick pitch/roll and rudder axes with VA and/or VCC.

1. Are you getting a response from VCC when you make pitch/roll or rudder movements after initiating the “Ready for Big Movements?” command? From your images above, it appears VA recognized the Big Movements command but remained in “awaiting inputs” while executing on that command", so VA & VCC are not sensing your joystick and/or rudder inputs.

Carefully follow the VCC installation instructions to make sure you have properly registered your joystick and rudder with VA and with VCC. See the instructions in the first thread.

Here are the specific instructions to register your joystick and rudder with VA and VCC:

If you have not already done so, assign your controllers (stick, throttle, rudder pedals) in VoiceAttack. Click the “Options” wrench icon, then click the button “Joystick Options”. Use the “Assign” buttons to assign your controllers to Joysticks 1/2/3/4, however many you need. Make sure the corresponding “Enable Joystick 1/2/3/4” checkboxes are checked.

The first time you run the profile, it will attempt to detect your joysticks and their axes. Just follow the instructions in VoiceAttack. If you do not have a certain controller (such as rudder pedals or toe brakes), hold S to skip configuring it. You can always rerun the configuration by saying the command “Configure joysticks”.

Regards,

@kmaultsby
For my personal preference, for AAR you will be needing to make minute throttle adjustments throughout the evolution, a little bump up, followed by an almost immediate pull back and vice versa. AAR is a dynamic evolution. As you take on fuel, the flight dynamics slooooowwwly change, so there is not a single “sweet spot” for the throttle that stays throughout the evolution.

For that, I generally like to keep mine pretty stiff but has to be smooth, with no significant force needed to move it back or forward. The TQS is pretty smooth to begin with and pretty easy to set to your preference. I just make sure that it doesn’t “stick” when I go from no motion to a minute increase or decrease. Given that it uses a smooth piston/cylinder arrangement, that isn’t a problem unless you set it extremely tight. I have not adjusted my throttle tension since I found my sweet spot the day I installed it.

It really is a very personal preference. Set it, test it, see how it feels…adjust, test until you get it where it feels perfect for you. Then practice, practice, practice!
Regards,

@RetroPilot
Really pretty, Retro! Those look like paintings/lithographs one might see in a military history tabletop book. We’ll done!
Regards,

@Ricky
I can kludge together a "Say again, ma’am " reply if you want it (in BogeyDope’s voice. If you want that, let me know, and then you can program a male pilot and a female pilot response. Also, consider that, unless programming is put in place, VCC will answer throughout the entire flight if a command is not recognized.
Regards,