Fans of Falcon 4.0 and the follow-on BMS update by Benchmark Sims are probably very happy to hear about the latest update to the venerable sim title that has survived over 2-decades of updates. The headliner feature is a DirectX11 engine update that brings with it some enhanced visuals as well as dozens of system and AI model updates.
Updates to Falcon
Falcon is still the standard for many F-16 simulator pilots and so it is surely with great news that Falcon BMS continues to show plenty of life as the sim presses on, 22-years after it was first released, and it shows no signs of stopping.
The latest patch trailer highlights updated ships and aircraft, SAM’s that are able to attack multiple targets, anti-missile defenses for missile cruisers and destroyers, new sounds for the F-16, new high altitude modeling, and more. Watch the trailer for the rest!
Stormbirds 
I haven’t tried BMS in years but have to admit that good ol’ F4 looks pretty good in the trailer. For anyone who’s more familiar with the current state of the sim, is it really worth giving 4.35 a try if we’re not diehard F-16 fans? Besides the famous dynamic campaigns, I can’t really imagine wanting to go back to F4 after getting accustomed to the beauty and fidelity of DCS.
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It’d be a struggle for me to do that as well. It’s not a major source of my reporting but this seemed like a big enough headline to let people know.
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BMC cannot compete with DCS in terms of GFX/SFX, that’s for sure. But every other aspect (avionics, flight modeling, AI, ATC and so on) is top notch and AI specifically is the best available on the market (including literally every current or past combat flight simulator ever released).
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Well I decided to give it a try last night. I was pretty surprised by how great the cockpit looks, they’ve definitely made some impressive strides since the last time I tried BMS.
But yes, as mentioned, most of the rest of the graphics, terrain in particular, as well as the sound effects, just feel way too outdated for me. I guess I’ll just have to appreciate their achievement on an intellectual level for now!
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is your statement valid also for this new highly improved version 4,35? Or did you try Falcon years ago !
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You should try it. BMS can’t compete with DCS in graphics, but its simulation accuracy of the F-16, AI, ATC, and dynamic campaign are way ahead of DCS. Now that it’s running in DX11, its graphics will improve. Therefore, try it. It’s free!
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Im kind of shocked that the video didnt provide a URL in its end-tag. (and that we didnt provide one for users here i guess, as well) so for reference, you need to register for a forum account at https://www.benchmarksims.org
note: there is a great intro thread with all history and installation instructions at:
https://www.benchmarksims.org/forum/showthread.php?13653-Hot-List
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Conan—I flew quite a bit of F4 back in the eRazor days, then the variants that eventually evolved into BMS. But after that I moved the bulk of my modern combat sim time over to DCS and I’ve generally followed the big BMS releases but not actually tried them in several years now.
And like I said, I do genuinely respect and appreciate the continued amazing work that is being done for F4; but at this point, especially with DCS now having the F-16, F4 feels like too big a step backward for me.
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