MicroProse’s Falcon series discussed in PC Pilot

2–3 minutes

Numerous outlets and community forums are reporting that an upcoming edition of PC Pilot features discussions on Falcon 5.0 and what MicroProse are planning to do with the longstanding sim. Let’s round up some of the discussions and information.

From PC Pilot to around the community

The front cover of PC Pilot for September/October 2023 simple says “MicroProse Falcon A legend returns home.”

The cover prominently features the F-16 and promises an exclusive interview with MicroProse’s CEO. Inside the cover there’s also a short description of what the article is all about. It says,

We invited MicroProse’s CEO David Lagettie, to talk to us about the company’s reaquisition of the Falcon copyright and also provide us with an update on its other ongoing projects.

From there we get a bit more speculative with website Tally Ho Corner reporting that the article contains information about Falcon 5.0 with word that the sim will be accessible to gamers who just want to fly and also include aircraft like the F-35 Lightning II. B-17 Flying Fortress and an Harrier sim are also discussed.

MicroProse multitask like mad

Discussion and thoughts

Regular and long time simmers will no doubt have lots of questions and comments. Questions spring to mind immediately such as how can you make a high fidelity sim if it features a still highly classified platform like the F-35? Are they taking the sim more casual? Will it still feature the highly acclaimed dynamic campaign or something different?

Unsurprisingly there’s plenty of comments out there and here’s a smattering of them from various Reddit groups including the Falcon BMS group and Hoggit.

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Each one of these comments mirrors what went through my head. At this point we don’t know the full comments of the discussion but I will be looking into some of the news as soon as possible. Is this truly a Falcon 5.0 reveal or is that being inferred? Is the F-35 a confirmed feature or is this more of a “blue sky thinking” kind of thing with MicroProse’s CEO thinking big about the future of the series.

Not every sim has to be extreme high fidelity either and some of the comments both quoted and unquoted also bring up important thoughts. Might this feel a bit more like Strike Fighters 2 or Janes USAF or even some of MicroProse’s earlier sims that bridge the gap between extreme high fidelity and the shooter arcade experience.

Sim-lite, with more fidelity than War Thunder but less fidelity than DCS World, may occupy an interesting and potentially fun middle ground that many sim pilots have hoped to see over the years. Bringing that kind of slightly more casual experience but with an authenticity that more “arcadey” shooters might not have together with a single or multiplayer dynamic campaign experience could be extremely compelling.

More news on this as it develops!

18 responses to “MicroProse’s Falcon series discussed in PC Pilot”

  1. CanadaOne Avatar
    CanadaOne

    Falcon 5? Good lord I’m old.

    Falcon 3 was my first true flightsim. It was on a computer I bought from a friend. A 386 with no speakers and a B&W screen. And it’s been all uphill since then.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. ShamrockOneFive Avatar
      ShamrockOneFive

      Things have sure changed from the Falcon 3 days. I never played Falcon 3 but I was big into F-15 Strike Eagle II and III back then!

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  2. WhereNoLarkFlew Avatar
    WhereNoLarkFlew

    I think by and large the sim community prefers high fidelity modeling. However, sim-lite has its role to push the features that DCS lacks. Put out a modern engine with a dynamic campaign that’s head and shoulders above anything that’s come before and you have a worthwhile product that serves as a benchmark.

    People think DCS needs another high fidelity competitor and I disagree. I think DCS needs an era competitor. A sim-lite that has a dynamic campaign, modern engine, properly done AI and a coherent roster of aircraft on both sides of the conflict would be enough to seriously introduce some competition to this space. Focus on the features that ED has neglected for a decade. ED should be worried, they’ve stagnated for so long that they’re making a bed they’ll potentially have to lay in, so-to-speak.

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    1. SSTO-1979 Avatar
      SSTO-1979

      “People think DCS needs another high fidelity competitor and I disagree.”

      AMEN

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    2. ShamrockOneFive Avatar
      ShamrockOneFive

      A little competition on some gameplay elements may help kickstart ED to finally address some of the things that it desperately needs.

      The more I think about it, the more DCS needs a bit of a UI overhaul. Not so much in the visual department because its fine but in the way that we access certain features.

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  3. Jer Stryker Avatar
    Jer Stryker

    I think if they are making a non-hardcore sim in the vein of the Microprose glory days (even those were considered pretty realistic back then!) they probably shouldn’t call it “Falcon.” I actually hope they make something more accessible – streamers have demonstrated that “mere” FC3-level aircraft can be a lot of fun in DCS.

    As and OCD simmer and pilot who indeed gets a kick out of counting rivets, that’s about all the fun I’m able to have with DCS these days due to the sim’s complexity and my limited ability to sit down and learn it. I’ve stated repeatedly how much I yearn for something that feels just realistic enough but doesn’t require studying a NATOPS manual to get full enjoyment from. Microprose’s old games had a knack for that. In fact, I remember F-19 being one of the best combat flight sims of its day, and I know they definitely didn’t have much data on that plane!

    On the other hand, the Falcon brand has always been associated with the hardest of hard-core combat sims, and if they are going to make a non-hardcore sim and give it that name, I’m worried it would confuse and upset a lot of people.

    What would you call this subgenre? Something not hardcore, but not so gamey sounding as “simcade.” Softcore flight sim? I would put something like IL-2 GB at one end of this subgenre and maybe Tiny Combat Arena in the other. I would not put War Thunder in it.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. ShamrockOneFive Avatar
      ShamrockOneFive

      Something right in the middle, more accessible than DCS’ full fidelity modules and with more variety, and with a bit more of a focus on gameplay experience might just hit the right mark.

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      1. Jer Stryker Avatar
        Jer Stryker

        Isn’t ED supposedly working on such a product? I haven’t heard anything about it in a while.

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      2. ShamrockOneFive Avatar
        ShamrockOneFive

        Modern Air Combat. It was supposed to be some sort of follow up to Flaming Cliffs with a release date set last decade. Since then, things have gone quiet. They even removed the trailer that they had released.

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  4. Simfan Avatar
    Simfan

    IF ever Falcon 5 sees the light of the the headlines will be (not hard to predict) “DOA” – “Fail!” and similar ‘honest’ reviews. They can catch up and surely never outrun DCS.
    By the time Falcon 5 could be out (5+ years ? … unless miracles happen) the world has moved on.
    BTW The same may happen with Jason’s upcoming(?) WWII PTO sim.

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    1. ShamrockOneFive Avatar
      ShamrockOneFive

      Its awfully hard to try and predict whats going on to happen here. The market is shifting around a bit and these new entrants, while a risk, may offer something that customers have been asking for from the other sim providers and not getting.

      I have faith that both Combat Pilot and Falcon 5.0 will get off the ground.

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    2. Drivebye42 Avatar
      Drivebye42

      I’m also wondering about the timelines of both Falcon5 and Combat Pilot, 5+ years away or closer.

      Microprose may have already had a headstart. They were teasing an Apache mid 2022. If so, it’s hard to believe they are building on the original Falcon foundation (didn’t they acquire the rights about a year later?).

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. ShamrockOneFive Avatar
        ShamrockOneFive

        IF they have established technologies then I could see Falcon 5 in 2.5 years maybe?

        Perhaps a similar timeline for the launch of Combat Pilot with the huge caveat that we’re talking about early access with maybe the Wildcat and Zero and a Midway map and not much else to start.

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  5. SSTO-1979 Avatar
    SSTO-1979

    The sweet spot for Falcon 5.0 would be a bunch of FC3 aircrafts and maybe one or two full fidelity aircrafts (F-16, F-15). DCS has gone too far in the full fidelity direction, to the point where nothing is really advancing for core features of the simulators.

    Falcon BMS has proven that the main appeal is the war simulation. When you have that, you don’t need 5000 full fidelity aircrafts.

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  6. CaptainKoloth Avatar
    CaptainKoloth

    The way I read it was almost a more aspirational “we think it would be cool to do this and are serious about putting money towards it” rather than that they have any substantive group of developers working on it yet. Hopefully I’m entirely wrong.

    And we have no indication as of yet that the BMS team, which is the only entity that does any real work on Falcon for the last two decades, has anything to do with it. All we know is the new Microprose entity bought rights to the name. I’m not trying to rain on the parade- I’d be over the moon for a new quality Falcon game- but I do think it’s important we set expectations commensurate with the very little information we actually have – to wit, that a new company that bought rights to the Microprose name, and has no track record of creating flight sims, also bought rights to the Falcon name and has expressed that one day they will do another Falcon game.

    To be sure, I love what the new Microprose is doing and they’ve already picked up some of the games I’m most excited about – Task Force Admiral, Sea Power – but there just isn’t much here for us to go on. I’ve been disappointed enough times in life now that I’ve become old and grumpy and skeptical about everything.

    And hence we have to be careful not to treat this as “FALCON 5 CONFIRMED VR SWITCH-ACCURATE F-35 DCS KILLER 2023!!!!!!!!” Buying rights is cheap. Announcing you’re going to do something amazing with those rights is free. Actually doing something amazing is extremely difficult and rare.

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. ADorante Avatar
    ADorante

    Strike Commander was the game that spark my interest in combat flight simulations. As a full 3D Wing Commander clone in the near future setting of 2011’s Earth it was not very realistic compared to Falcon but wasn’t casual at all. At that time it graphics that were state of the art. And it had lite management of inventories and roster and came with an entertaining story campaign and cool characters. Also, nice printed manuals and a fictional mercenaries magazine.
    So, if Falcon 5 could capture some of SC’s elements this would be a win for me.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. ShamrockOneFive Avatar
      ShamrockOneFive

      Oh good times with Strike Commander! I kind of forgot all about it but that was a really good experience for the time.

      Definitely not casual but it was accessible.

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  8. Snake122 Avatar
    Snake122

    BMS has announced there official agreement with MicroProse to continue development which has some interesting things:

    https://forum.falcon-bms.com/post/379547

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