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December 20th, 2003: The BMS v. 1.0 patch is out. It features may graphic improvements, such as moving clouds which cast appropriate shadows, lightning storms, more realistic missile and flare smoke trails, etc. I've update the Newbies Guide accordingly.

December 6th, 2003: I've updated the Newbies Guide. It now includes Free Falcon 2 and BMS 0.99 and the font is bigger, so it should be more readable now. I've changed font colors, let me know if you find them better or not...

December 2nd, 2003: Benchmarksims' 0.99 patch is out. This is a simple add-on which replaces your SP3 executable. If you've installed the SP3 according to my Newbies Guide, you should download and install it (8,2 Mb), as it's the only source code mod approved by G2Interactive.

October 3rd, 2003: these are big news (official press release), but in my opinion they're basically selling the work the community did for free since Microprose was dismantled (check the copyright statement at the bottom of the homepage). Anyway, that's life, the community was well aware that such a thing would have happened.

London, UK - 01 October, 2003, Get ready to experience the Falcon F-16 like you never have before!
Xicat Interactive has partnered with G2 Interactive to bring the title, Falcon 4.0 Gold: Operation Infinite Resolve (Falcon: OIR) to the PC CD-ROM in October 2003. Falcon OIR takes the award winning Falcon 4.0 and pushes it to the next level.
Fans will be able to enjoy enhanced game play but relive the experience that made the original such a big hit. Xicat will distribute the title worldwide.
Falcon: OIR is a single or multiplayer air combat simulation set in the Korean peninsula. Take the role of a F-16 or A-10 jet pilot and fight your way through a real-time war in progress. Falcon: OIR’s superb 3D photo realistic, texture-mapped graphics and detailed models of F-16 and A-10 avionics, weapons and threats will provide a truly realistic combat flight simulation experience. The ongoing simulation of a complex air/land/sea battle, called the Campaign Manager, will create all of the tension, chaos and adventure that exist in modern air combat.
‘Falcon: OIR is set to be a big hit’ says Brad Flack, US Director of Sales for Xicat Interactive. ‘Falcon OIR’s predecessor sold hundreds of thousands of units. The new missions, user interface, graphics and aircraft combine to take this award winning Flight Sim to another level.’

Special features will include:
-New graphics features that take advanttttage of the latest graphic card technology and higher resolution settings
-New missions and scenarios - bomb targgggets, perform intercept operations, and more
-Brand new flight model for a new aircrrrraft addition - the A10 Warthog
-Newly designed user interface allows ccccustom pilot creation, campaign tracking, stats and more
-Upgraded Physics and flight dynamics oooon all aircraft
-Low level turbulence makes the A-10 reeeealism intense
-Realistic weapons, systems, radar and EEECM modelling

Falcon 4.0 Gold: Operation Infinite Resolve will be available on PC CD-ROM in October 2003. For more
information please visit the official product website at http://www.falcon4gold.com.

October 2nd, 2003: the Free Falcon group has just released a huge patch (more than eighty megabytes) which can be applied over an SP3 installation. To check what's different from the SP3, download this file.

September 22nd, 2003: not the SP4, but a new SP3 executable released by Benchmarksims.com.I suggest you to get it.

September 15th, 2003: click here for a comprehensive interview to Chris "Washout" Carter about the work behind the SP4 patch and its release date. A must read!

August 3rd, 2003: the SP4 has not been released, but I've some news for you: I've put on the site an excellent guide by Swampy about the SP3. You'll find there hints for a better installations, suggested video cards tweakings and a complete list of the best Sp3-related sites which offer skins, cockpits, utilities, etc.

July 15th, 2003: as you've probably noticed, no SP4 yet.

May 4th, 2003: the SP4 will probably be released in a month... hang in there!

March 28th, 2003: I've put a link to Jim G's alternative files for the SP3 patch. You can download it from the "Must-have files" section. Here are the improvements:

a.Fixes for SP3
b.Improved ATO/weapons usage
c.Adjusted weapons/damage values
d.2 Updated campaigns for Korea
e.New air defense units for use in TEs and campaigns
f. More realistic flyable F-16 variants

March 11th, 2003: 100,000 hits! A great result for a no-frills, no-ad site like this. I wish to thank you all for visiting this site and for your emails which are always welcome. There are more and more daily hits, meaning that the popularity of this site is slowly but steadily growing. I'll do my best to constantly improve the site, so... check six. ^__-

January 22nd, 2003: great news from G2Interactive site:

Falcon: OIR will go gold in June 2003. Having overcome the huge obstacles that have fallen in front of us, we are happy to release this schedule.
The feature set will be announced as we get closer to the gold date along with screen shots of our new aircraft, interface, theater and surprise features we think you will love.
We know that you will be pleased with Falcon: OIR. Despite rumors to the contrary, the F4UT efforts are fully supported. The realism that makes Falcon the benchmark of combat flight sims is not diminished one iota and is enhanced in many areas.

January 1st, 2003: happy new year! I hope you like the new, eye-friendly colors. I've updated the Newbies Guide with the instructions to install, as an alternative to the SP3, the Reality Patch 5. This is an older patch but it's great for low-end computers and simpler in the avionics reproduction. In the Falcon 4 community, some claim that the RP5 is still the best (more stability, better AI), while others think the SP3 is much better. I can say: try them and see for yourself.

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December 20th, 2002: Daniel 'BrownSnake' Fahlén has posted this notice on the F4UT homepage:

When SP3 was released we hoped to start releasing patches more frequently. Smaller data updates instead of massive major ones. We were wrong. The activity of the F4UT members have decreased for various reasons, RL being one of them. Also the fact that SP3 is very good has made us fly more and work less, I guess. :-)
SP4 is in the works. SP4 will contain lots of cool stuff. Some of it will be immediately noticed, such as the new 3D-models. Other stuff will be small realism improvements, such as SAM data and weapon modifications.
We're terribly sorry that we have not delivered patches at the pace we would have liked, but SP4 will be out as soon as it is ready. And hopefully, it'll be worth the wait.
For now, enjoy SP3. ;-)

December 11th, 2002: Bob does it again! Now you can download the Falcon Weapon Loader utility directly from my site! The latest version of TlkView is also hosted here.

December 10th, 2002: I've found almost every missing file with the help of Bob "Snowman" Crawford. Thanks Bob! The only utility still missing is Vino's Weapon Loader. If you know where to find this little program, please email me, thanks.

November, 19th, 2002: Terrapin's site has changed its name and domain (the old one still works, however), it's now http://www.flighthangar.net. The most important change is that now you have to pay in order to have acces to the site huge file database; as Terrapin states, "due to the extremely high popularity of the F4Freeware.Net File Library the site network cannot be funded any longer privately". For this reason, I NEED YOUR HELP: many files listed here were links to F4Freeware. Now, I have very little time to search for these fies on other servers, therefore I'm asking you to provide me (via email) working links to those files which aren't linked in the "must-have files"section. Many files are old and it may be difficult to find them but they're valuable tools for enjoying Falcon 4. Your cooperation will help many users of this site and allow me to keep this site up-to-date. Of course, I'll do my best to find the files... thank you very much for your help!

November 6th, 2002: for those wondering... this site is not dead! There are no big news to report and we're all waiting for SP4 to come out.

September 19th, 2002: over the past week, rumors announced that, because of a lack of funding, G2Interactive (the software house responsible for "Falcon: OIR" and "Falcon V") had ceased to operate... now, here's the real story (thanks to SimHq):

Force 12 Studios [the development team nbyMe] was reorganized after suffering an interruption of cash flow. The effects of 9-11 and the stock marked slump required the investors to rearrange financial commitments in order to continue the effort on Falcon. Unfortunately that took longer than anticipated.
The result of this is Operation Infinite Resolve release is delayed until Q2, 2003 and Falcon V until 2004. With a little luck we will beat the Q2 release but as of today, that time frame is firm on the schedule.
Everyone at Force 12 Studios is busy with OIR and Falcon V.
Please send your questions to: [email protected]
Force 12 Studios is owned by G2 Interactive, Inc.

September 10th, 2002: the Balkans theatre for the SP3 is out. You can get this masterpiece by clicking on the link in the "Campaign Theatres" section of the site. Warning: the manual is that of the 1.0 version: DO NOT follow the installation instructions written there. An updated manual will be released after the SP4 patch, currently in development (its release is planned in a few weeks). Just run the Installer and make sure you wait a sufficient amount of time for all the components to finish installing.

I've decided to list a single link wich points to all the theatres available for download made by the PMC TFW. They are mostly beta releases, so they may have bugs. Many fixes are released from time to time by the PMC group, so be sure to check their site often if you intend to install one of their theatres. These are generally not suited for a beginner, as you have to modify several files to make things run smoothly, but the average "falconeer" should have no problems.

August 3rd, 2002: the Desert Storm theatre V. 0.3 is out. It's only for SP3 and there shouldn't be many bugs so... enjoy!

June 17th, 2002: a new version (2.32) of the TacEdit utility is out. You can get it from the "files" section. Moreover, PMC TFW released a "doghfight terrain". Basically, it'a a not-so-realistic map which features deep canyons and strange hills, which is great as the theatre for a dogfight, even in multiplayer.

June 11th, 2002: the "Korea 2005" campaign has been released (and it's only a 1,25 Mb file). You can get it from the appropriate section of this site.

June 5th, 2002: the SuperPak 3 is out! Download this Big Boy (over seventy-six megabytes!!!) from the "must-have files" section and enjoy the best Falcon 4.0 experience so far! Documentation is included.

A sad notice: the Delphi forum, reference point of the whole Community, will be shut down by the end of the week by Infogrames, the owner of the Falcon series copyright. So, the link at the bottom of the page saying "Falcon 4.0 official forum" now points to the new one. However, if you want to remain at Delphi, Mustang created an unofficial Forum called "The Falcon's Nest". All the most impostant community members post there, and the atmosphere is, luckily, still the same...

June 4th, 2002: yes, an update! I'm busy with university, but there are not many news, so there's no need for frequent updates. However, the SP3 is still under development, and many add-ons are underway to be ready once the SP3 is released, such as "Korea 2005", a partial mod of the original Rolling Fire campaign. Another juicy announcement is that Force 12 Sudios, the development team part of the G2 Interactive software house which will create Falcon V, has announced at the E3 the release of "Falcon: Operation Infinite Resolve". Here's what Eric Marlow aka "Snacko" from G2 Interactive says about it in Frugal's World forum:

Falcon: Operation Infinite Resolve (OIR) is NOT Falcon V - I just wanted to be clear about that. OIR IS much more than Falcon 4.0 plus some enhancements - it's actually much more. Some areas have been improved significantly.

- A-10: not just a cockpit, but the fullllllllllll aircraft including HUD, avionics, dual-engine and non-fly-by-wire control. I've flown the A-10's FM - it's much different than than the F-16's FBW controls :-)
- Atmospheric and aircraft turbulance. &&&&&<
- New campaigns and a campaign creationnnnnnnnnn tool.
- Narrated ACMI - play ours our make yooooooooooour own. This feature really improves the assimilation of complex flight instruction.
- Brand new multiplayer interface and ccccccccccconnection scheme: browse available games and game-match; tightly adminster games through host control.
- Oh yeah - improved MP stability ;-) &&aampaampllt<<
- Improved training program written by PPPPPPete and Keith - emphasis on learning things from the ground up.
- Graphics engine improvements; while nnnnnnnnnnnot a new graphics engine, we've off-loaded the rendering code to the GPU - should improve FPS substantially. I've already seen about a 5-10 FPS improvement, and they haven't even gotten into the meat of the transformations yet
- Plus loads more. Maybe even a surprisssssssssse or two!

April 29th, 2002: a new version of the Hawaiian Theatre is available. It's pretty big in size (over 27 megs!), but it sports many enhancements if compared with the previous releases. Speaking of the Super Pak 3, there is not an official release date, but it will be a heavy download: over 80 megabytes! If you are bandwidth-challenged (like me... sigh!), you'll better find a friend who owns an optic fiber connection!

April 11th, 2002: on march 26th the Falcon 4.0 Patches & Updates Guide reached its first 50,000 hits! I wish to thank everybody for supporting my work by visiting this site and sending me appreciation emails throughout nearly 2 years of uninterrupted, dedicated work. I've enjoyed a lot taking care of this little site, and hope to continue to do it until the end of the Falcon 4.0 community (which, luckily, seems to have a great stamina ^__^ )!

Moreover, update your bookmarks for the Swissflight skins site. Check the link at the bottom of the page.

March 22nd, 2002: don't worry, this site is alive! The only problem is that we're all waiting for the SP2a (a.k.a. SP3) patch to come out. An insider said that maybe in one week we could be able to download it... stay tuned!

February 10th, 2002: new versions of TacEdit and F4Browse are available for download. Moreover, if you're using the SP2 (as you SHOULD), download and unzip these files: training mission #29 bugfix and new cockpit options: this file allows to have the wide-view cockpit as the default one.

January 29th, 2002: eventually, the SuperPAK 2 is out! I've updated the Newbies Guide and put up a mirror sites list (only the fastest servers are there), so what are you waiting for? ^__^ Also, read this stability issue information by the F4 UT:

"Any weapon or aircraft that has a * following it's name is not yet operational at this time, but will be at a later date. Although it is in the database if you try and use it or operate it, in most cases you will get a CTD [crash-to-desktop n.byKamox]. So please do not at this time try and use any of the weapons or vehicles with a * following their name".

January 27th, 2002: the SuperPAK 2 "documents" have been released (click here to download, it's a 5344kb file). They are:

- Falcon SuperPAk v2.0 manual
- Falcon SuperPAk v2.0 main checklist - Falcon SuperPAk v2.0 weapons checklissst
- Falcon SuperPAk v2.0 keyboard referennnnnnnnnnce guide
- Falcon SuperPAk v2.0 keyboard map
> > > - Falcon SuperPAk v2.0 Ramp start trainnner

January 23rd, 2002: another article by the F4UT. This interesting preview explains in a very detailed way how the campaign works, and what improvements you will find in the SuperPAK 2. I really suggest you to read this one.

08:15 pm CET: you want up-to-the-minute news? This site is here for this purpose! Here's the latest statement by Kurt Giesselman, F4UT Spokesperson:

"Falcon Pilots, the date for SP2 release is rapidly approaching.  The download is going to be quite large because of the number of files that have been modified.  Expect a download file slightly less than 60 mb (yes, sixty megabytes).  Dial up connections should get a download manager.  We intend to release the manual, start-up guides, key board maps, and multi-location download manager config files for several of the more popular download managers (GetRight, Gozilla, DLA, etc.)on the 24th".

January 18th, 2002: want to know something more about the enhancements SP2 will bring to your Falcon 4 experience? Then read this article about flight models, avionics and theatres...

January 2nd, 2002: happy new year! Here's an official statement by the Falcon 4 Unified Team abouth the release date of the SuperPAK 2:

We recently announced our intention to release SP2 on or around 5th January followed by two patch releases with one at the end of January and the other at the beginning of March. We have had to revise that plan in order to complete and fully test some of the new features. It is now our intention to release SP2 on or around the 26th January. This is not a decision that has been taken lightly but it is one that we felt necessary in order to deliver the best possible experience to Falcon Pilots.

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December 15th, 2001: Terrapin's file library has reopened. And there's another good news: the JetNet server is back online! To connect to it, and enjoy massive multiplayer flights, do as follows:

1) Install the patches as I tell you to do in the Newbies Guide.
2) Open with the Notepad the file called falconsp.cfg found in the main Falcon 4 directory.
3) At the bottom of the file, there's an IP address. Change it to 206.83.117.20
4) Start Falcon 4 and connect!

November 26th, 2001: because of financial problems, Terrapin has closed f4freeware.net file servers. I've updated the links which pointed to them: now every link on this page should work. Only the Weapon Loader utility is unavailable. Should you find a broken link, please mail me. Thanks!

November 23rd, 2001: the SuperPAK 1a has been released. If you've already installed SP1, follows these instructions, otherwise check the "Newbies Guide":

How to upgrade from SP1 to Sp1a.
For this installation you need the following files:
-FalconSP1a_Exe.zip
The upgrade also requires that you already have a working SP1 installation.
1) Unzip the FalconSP1a_Exe.zip to a temporary directory.
2) Copy the file to your Falcon4 directory and make sure it replaces the old FalconSP.exe.
3) Start FalconSP using your old shortcut.

November 19th, 2001: SuperPAK 1a is to be released soon. The Unified Team will be releasing F4SP1a after a period of intense Quality Assurance testing. The main purpose of F4SP1a is to fix the Voodoo 3 issue and improve stability.

November 13th, 2001: the SuperPak 1 patch is out! This first release of the Falcon 4 Unified Team is a simple combination of the in-cockpit realism enhances eFalcon V1.10 offers with the superior artificial intelligence that can be found in Realism Patch 5. Warm up your modems and check the following sections of this site for links and installation help.

November 6th, 2001: Falcon40.net has closed for ever. I wish Dominator the best luck. Thanks for everything you've done, Dom.

I've updated the links accordingly. BTW, the SuperPAK patch will be released within the end of the month.

October 15th, 2001: even though there are not big news, I want to tell you about the Falcon 4 Super PAK project. This patch is under development by the Falcon 4 Unified Team, an equipe of skilled people coming from the eFalcon and the RP experiences who joined their efforts in order to make Falcon 4 a more advanced game. This team has an agreement with G2Interactive (the owner of Falcon 4 copyrights and the developer of Falcon V) and it can continue to enhace our favourite game without legal troubles. Needless to say, this is the most important project in the community. We've never seen so many skilled people in our community working together; the expectations are high, so I wish the best luck to the Team!

October 1st, 2001: not much to report in this period, except that the latest version of TacEdit (2.01) has been released. You can download it from the "Must-have files" section.

September 18th, 2001: two new releases from the PMC Tactical Fighter Wing: the Vietnam theater beta v. 0.7 and the brand-new Operation Desert Storm theater beta v. 0.1; you can download these babies from the "Campaign" section of this site. Here's the official features list or the Desert Storm theatre:

The terrain contains northern Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Western Iran, small parts of Syria and Jordan. Iraq (main focus here) contains terrain up to the Mosul in norhtern part of the country.

- Completely new textures (tiles).
- Terrain 100% tiled.
- Instant action.
- Tactical Engagement.
- Campaign.
- Saudi Arabia and Kuwait airbases levellled/background tiled.
- Most of Iraqi airbases leveled/backgrooound tiled.
- Correct PAK map.
- Bridges.

known "bugs" in this release
- TACAN channels default korean.
- ATC voices default korean.
- some bridge & tile alignment is innncorrect.
- some airbases (all Iranian for exampleee) not leveled.

September 9th, 2001: with a little delay, I've put the link to the Labyrinth mod for the Balkans Theatre. It has been created by Mix, chief of the 155° Gruppo at AMVI (Virtual Italian Air Force). It's a square area west of Sicily. It's 256 square miles big, and it features 16,000 feet high mountains, with valleys as low as 100 feet A.S.L. The valleys are placed in a way they form a labyrinth. It's very funny to fly, especially in dogfights.

September 7th, 2001: not much to report, except for a very good SimHQ.com comparative article between eFalcon 1.10 and the RP5.

August 30th, 2001: hello everybody! I'm back from a long and relaxing holiday period, and ready to support you back. In the past weeks, many important patches have been released: the eFalcon 1.10, the Reality Patch 5 and, consequently, the latest version of the F4Patch program. In the updated "Newbies Guide" you'll find everything you need to know to perfectly update your F4 installation in a much simpler way than in past times. Speaking of other less patch-related news, Kurt 'Froglips' Giesselman announced:

"the launch of the Falcon 4.0 SuperPAK project [...] a SINGLE, ALL INCLUSIVE, COMBINED TEAM that will be allowed to continue Falcon 4 development with the blessings of G2Interactive. [...] The new team will be governed by prominent members of the Falcon community. [...] Planned enhancements include:
- the total merger of all possible and rrreasonable community based modifications within single executable
- all possible and reasonable RPG data aaand exe edits
- all possible and reasonable cockpits, terrains, and artwork
- all possible and reasonable Source Coddde features and functions
- completion of the eFalcon multiplayer client/server code
- DirectX 8.0a compatibility and new graaaphics features [...]"

And much more! This is an excellent project, I'm waiting for the first results from this teamwork.

August 2nd, 2001: I'm going on holiday; consequently, the site won't be updated until September. Bye!

August 1st, 2001: the first Balkan Theater V1.0 update package is out. "It cures the CTD encountered with the Under Siege campaign at around 14:00-14:30 on day 1 and contains 3 user-made TE missions. Furthermore it contains the first 10 of a total of 30 planned training missions, done by HotDogOne. Thanks go out to him for supplying them". You can get it by checking this site "Theatres" section or by clicking here.

July 29th, 2001: a little report on the eFalcon website about the ways EWS works in eFalcon 1.10. Check it out here.

July 13th, 2001: no big news for the moment, except for this RP5 release date clue, seen on the Delphi forum:

"No time estimation, other than soon.We've put a lot of bugs to rest. A few days ago, we managed to fix the wingmen RTB problem, where you'd order them to RTB, they would head home, call inbound, then promptly return to formation. I think that one's been around since time began".

July 7th, 2001: Thomas Wälti released the last version (1.10) of his useful program, F4Weather. Major changes include:

-Edit INSTANT.CAM to change the weather in dogfight and instant action
-New and improved weather patterns, handdd-crafted for best effects with eFalcon 1.10
-"Radar images" of the weatherrr situation Random button to ease your management decisions ;-)
-Theater independent (also works with Baaalkans Terrain)

July 5th, 2001: the Balkans theatre v. 1.0 is out! You can get it from the "theatres" section of this site. Use GetRight, GoZilla! or a similar utility, as this baby weights near 21 Mb! Also, if you find that the server linked from this page is too slow, click here for a list of mirror sites.

June 26th, 2001: the Balkans theatre V1.0 manual has been released. Go download it!

June 20th, 2001: the Balkans V1.0 release has been delayed. The new release date will be the upcoming Sunday, 24th of June. Here's the official update by Schumi:

" [...] we don't want to release a campaign that is not proved to work 100% correctly and free of CTD as full release. The next major update scheduled in Q3 2001 will then (hopefully) include 3 full versions of a dynamic campaign set in 1995/1996. In Q4 2001/Q1 2002 we want to release 3 future versions of campaigns that will also include new aircraft like the Eurofighter and the Su-37. [...] V1.0 will include some TE missions and scripted mini-campaigns. The Balkans is populated with much more objectives than Korea was. [...] The Balkan Theater's objective count total is at the moment 6700. Interestingly, no big FPS hit has been reported so far. You will find the manual of V1.0 release to be released soon before Sunday."

June 18th, 2001: this is definitely a good day for me: I passed my International Law exam with an excellent vote, and the best patches of all times for Falcon 4.0 will be released soon. First of all, new versions of TacEdit and F4Browse are available. Moreover, Falcon 4 HeadQarters is back (thanks Max)! Its staff is updating the database, and I hope it will be a new point of reference for the community. For what concerns the eFalcon 1.10, here's what the eTeam has to say about it:

"1.10 won't be released today, we are finishing up the installation, documentation, and adding finishing touches to the cockpit."

Speaking of RP5, this is a fresh update:

"The EXE editing is supposed to be finished on June 18. Data edits can continue. RP5 has many data edits that are not yet complete. RP5 will be released after June 18. No firm date. The best estimate is, soon."

June 15th, 2001: here's an official update about the Middle East Theatre; it looks very promising:

"[...] a public beta will likely be released sometime in July. Our goal with this project is to provide the Falcon 4.0 community with a new commercial quality terrain that will outclass the Korean terrain in aspects of repetitiveness and square patterns in the terrain. It is our aim to provide you with a commercial quality product. [..] we are proud to call our theater one that utilizes "Second Generation Theater Terrain". [...] We decided to model a desert theater with a great variety of generic tiles for each landscape to get rid of repeating patterns. The square terrain transitions have also been replaced by diagonal rounded transitions. [...] We ensure that this theater will be nothing like any theater addon that you have ever flown in Falcon 4.0. This theater is under construction with the consent and support of Force 12 and G2 Interactive."

June 14th, 2001: I updated some links, and will soon post a direct one to Jagstang's wonderful engine start up guide for the upcoming eFalcon 1.10!

June 13rd, 2001: screenshots of the eFalcon 1.10 patch cockpit are available here. Be prepared to an avalanche of patches coming out on June, 18th, as this is the term the F4 community has been given by G2 Interactive to release source code-hack-based patches, such as the eFalcon one. The RP5 and the Balkan Theatre will be released in that day, also. Warm up your modems!

June 8th, 2001: Dogfighter.com hosted a statement by the Balkans Theatre Group:

"On June 18th, 2001, the F4Terrain Team will release the first all new and complete add-on theater for Falcon 4.0, The Balkan 'Powderkeg' Theater. The Balkan Theater v1.0 release additions includes a completely tiled and populated terrain, an all new and fully dynamic air and ground campaign, proper ATC calls for all the new airbases, and many more exciting additions. This theater has been released with the consent and support of Force 12 and G2 Interactive. The new owners of the world's most recognized flight simulation trademark have encouraged the completion of this theater and will permit continued support and development."

May 31st, 2001: this is definitely a quiet period... the only things which worth a mention in this page is that Thomas Wälti, the creator of F4Weather, made a patch which adds a light cloud pattern to Dogfights and Instant Action; get it here! Also, Julian Onion said in the Forum:

" [eFalcon patch] 1.10 will be mostly MP fixes and minor other stuff, and will be out within 2-3 weeks, else we all turn into pumpkins. There will be no new [graphic] engine in 1.10."

May 22nd, 2001: not much to report today... the LOD editor, which will allow us to alter and include in the game 3D models of the aircrafts, will be released soon. Swissflight and Viperwear continue to draw beautiful skins, and a new release (the final one?) of the Balkans theatre should be on the next weeks.

May 17th, 2001: sorry for the lack of updates! Not many important news in this period: the eRazor 1.10 and the Reality Patch 5 development are underway, Viperwear's site changed URL (now it's www.viperwear.org) ...business as usual ;-).

However, there's a little announcement: FALCON 5.0 WILL FLY IN THE SKIES!!!! Yes, a Texas-based software house, G2Interactive, announced that it secured the rights for the Falcon series. G2 Interactive is led by President/CEO Claude Cavanaugh. Claude has a wealth of development experience and brings with him previous military contractor and aerospace experience, including the Apollo manned space projects and tenure at Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control Systems. In an interview by SimHq, Eric Marlow, chief of the Force 12 Studios, the Falcon V (this will be the name of the game) development group owned by the upsaid software house, revelas his projects for the sim... read the interview to know about the details!

May 3rd, 2001: good news and bad news. The new version of the F4Patch Builder is out. You can now develop new patches for Falcon 4.0 and make them F4Patch compliant.

But the sad notice is that Dominator posted this on the Delphi Forum:

"This is a very difficult message for me to send, but... Due to circumstances beyond my control Falcon40.Com will cease to exist effective May 14th, 2001. This is not a decision made on my part as I would keep them going forever if I could".

Well, let me express my gratitude to a person who really helped the community grow and feel like a "family". Good luck, Dom.

April 28th, 2001: I made a new button for the Flightboard page. It looks nice, doesn't it?

April 27th, 2001: got problems with the eRazor 1.09 Installer? Check the eTeam site for a fix, and download the correct keystrokes.key file.

April 18th, 2001: saw this on F4Community.com. A new utility, F4Weather, allows you to customize, guess, weather in Falcon 4.0: winds, clouds, etc. through an user-friendly interface. Try it!

April 17th, 2001: now it's real: the eFalcon 1.09 and the F4Patch 4 have been released! There are a LOT of improvements over the past versions this time, so read every instruction manual, FAQ page and guide very carefully. You can find the usual Newbies Guide updated and ready to assist you :).

April 9th, 2001: even Falcon40.com has mirrored the eFalcon 1.09 manual, and has been added in the relative mirror list.

April 8th, 2001: the eFalcon (eRazor/eTeam) patch 1.09 manual is out! I listed every mirror available at the moment, so you shouldn't have problems getting it.

April 7th, 2001: it's impossible to retrieve the data...AARRGHH!!!! However, I managed to re-update the site (it was an hard work!), and added the Force Ratio Patch, which allows to fly 2 differently skinned Vipers at the same time. By the way, a juicy eRazor 1.09 status update from the Delphi forum:

"The eTeam is pleased to announce that eFalcon version 1.09 is entering the final beta testing stages. We anticipate public release very soon (we won't quote an exact date so don't ask). This is the first version of eFalcon that we are pleased to label it with a version number higher than 1.08. We have moved far beyond the capabilities of the original program and brought home combat flight simulation one step closer to reality. The cockpit workload is just beginning to approach the level experienced by a real pilot. The avionics and weapons are closer than ever to a modern F-16C. The graphics are still gorgeous and are DirectX 8.0+ compatible. [...] The eFalcon manual will be available after 00:00 GMT Sunday, April 8th. This is approximately a 1.5mb download."

April 6th, 2001: WARNING!!! Geocities' servers apparently went crazy, what you are seeing here, as you have noticed, is an older version of this page. This message is the only (apparent) update, and the news from March are vanished. I'll try to recover the lost data, so check back the site in 2-3 days. Thank you and sorry for the inconvenience!

February 27, 2001: I've listed a new site dedicated to the various theatres currently under development for Falcon 4.0: the Terrain Headqarters.

February 25, 2001: the 1.07991 eTeam Patch has been released. I've updated the Newbies Guide with the new files to install. "It does not contain any new features. The release fixes the following:

- Fixed ApplyDamage CTD. Engine shutdown after getting damaged caused a CTD in certain situations.
- Fixed gun-routine for AI aircraft.
> > - Fixed Maverick FOV
- Fixed Aim-120 DLZ timer.
- Fixed SMS weapon selection. (Not beinggg able to select inner hardpoints in some cases).
- Changed barcap limit from 17.5 nm to 3330 nm
- Additional checks to prevent CTDs. - NNNew crashhandler. Will help us better track where crashes occur".

February 18, 2001: this has been posted today on eTeam homepage:

Because 1.0799 contained some annoying bugs and 1.09 won't be here for a while, eTeam decided to release 1.07991. The release will fix the following (and maybe more):
- Fixed ApplyDamage CTD
- Fixed guns
- Fixed mav fov
- Fixed Aim-120 DLZ timer.
- Fixed SMS weapon selection.
- Changed barcap limit from 17.5 nm to 3330 nm
- New crashhandler.

The upgrade will consist of one executable and one file to place in your Falcon4 directory for the new crashhandler.
1.07991 will hopefully be released on February 24th.

February 15, 2001: as previewed, the Vietnam theatre Beta 4 is out! It "comes in full InstallShield install/uninstall package. Single exe, single click. It uses F4Patch v3.2 or later, which you need to have installed and expanded". You can download it from the usual "theatres" section.

There is also a Sinai theatre which has just been completed. Hopefully it will be released soon.

February 9, 2001: the Vietnam theatre is now 100% tiled, so a new beta should be released soon!

February 8, 2001: I'm now a member of the Falcon 4.0 Flightboard Network. If you want to have a multiplayer session, just click on the picture at the end of the page! For what concerns the news, I added a link to the Balkans Theatre TACAN list file.

January 28, 2001: the mission of this site is to bring you the latest patches which "make Falcon 4.0 a better game". The eFalcon patch does, and does it VERY well. So in the "newbies guide" I decided to guide you through the eFalcon patching process which involves the F4Patch 3.2.2 installation.

January 27, 2001: as promised, the 1.0799 eFalcon patch is available! There are various versions of this patch, so be sure to check the installation guide out.

January 26, 2001: a new host for F4Community, update your bookmarks! And tomorrow the so long awaited eFalcon (or eRazor) patch v. 1.0799 should be out.

January 21, 2001: the Check-Six C6Team Patch v. 4.20us is available. It includes F4Patch v.3.2 and much more!

January 18, 2001: added a link to the new eFalcon Team homepage and to the Official Database for Pilots.

January 14, 2001: two important releases: the F4Patch v. 3.2 (which includes the RP v. 4.1) and the Balkans Theatre beta 6! Run and download them!

January 13, 2001: the Pro Utilities 1.2 is out. An updated list of the upcoming theatres, posted by "ccc" on the PMC TFW forum:

*Balkans(Manfred et al):Italy/Balkans, beta5
*Vietnam(Snake Man et al): Vietnam, beta2
*Desert Storm(Snake Man): hold?
*Falkland(ccc et al): Falklands, beta1
*Middle-East(T-bone et al): Iran/Iraq/Saudi, alpha?
*Israel(Dudi et al): Israel/Syria/Egypt/Cyprus/Jordan/Lebanon/West Iraq, alpha?
*Iceland(Widowmaker):Iceland/part Greenland, pre-alpha
*Nevada(Com_gp): Nevada/Northern Arizona/Soutern Utah/East of California, pre-alfa
*Nordic countrys(87th_striker): Norway/Sweden/Finland/Russia, prealpha/consept
*Cold War Germany-Middle Europe (Tazz): West/East Germany/Poland, pre-alpha
*West Europe(Steely): Netherlands/UK/Belgium/Denmark, pre-alpha
*North Africa(krfrge): Algeria/Morocco/Libya/Tunisia/Egypt, ?
*Hawaii(Crossup): Hawaii, ?
*Carribean sea(Castro et al): Pruto Rico/Cuba, ?
*Agean Sea(?): ? ?
*Giberaltar(Qwerty et al): Spain/Protugal/part of North Africa, ?

January 7, 2001: happy new year! Two new utilities are available in the files section: the Pro Utilities by the French Wildcats Squadron and a classic, the F4 Skin utility. And another theater is underway: Israel!

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November 28, 2000: a new release of the F4Patch! The 3.1 version can be dowloaded below. A bug has been found in the Check-Six Patch 4.00, so a fixed version is underway. The Cockpit Auto Switch utility will be released in a RP4 compliant version in the next few days. I decided to keep the link to the RP3 version, as it seems to work flawlessy even with the RP4.

November 26, 2000: 103 hits yesterday! A new record! Thanks everybody for the support. Moreover, I'm waiting the permission from Skypat of the Check-Six team to put a working link to their C6Patch V. 4.00 released today. Finally, a Hot Fix 2 is planned for the Reality Patch 4...stay tuned!

November 25, 2000: seems like Geocities messed up with my RP4 mirroring... so I put a new, faster link which points to the German "Falcon freeware index". Now you can download the RP4 very quickly. I also renewed the "Newbies guide", as the F4Patch V. 3.0 already contains the RP4, so you just have to download the F4Patch V.3.0 to have also the Hot Fix 1 AND the Reality Patch 4. I eventually removed the link to download the installation guide, as it's included in the RP4 .zip file.

November 23, 2000: WE'VE GOT IT!!!!! The Reality Patch 4 is out! Use the links in this page to download it! I mirrored the patch so if you find that the other servers are too busy, you can use mine (well...geocities' ). I also updated the newbies section and added a link to Joel Bierling's F4Patch 3.0. It includes the Hot Fix 1 for the RP4 concerning AI and AGM-88, so you don't need to download it separately. I also removed the links to Check-six' F4 Patch V. 3.50 (based on the RP3), as the new 4.00 version will be available saturday, with all the benefits from the RP4.

November 22, 2000: you can download the Reality Patch 4 instructions. It's a rather big file (more than 6 megs) so I guess the code gods out there made an incredible step towards the perfect simulation. Use the mirror sites listed below.

November 19, 2000: the Vietnam theatre Beta 2 is out! Go download it!

November 14, 2000: forgive me for the lack of updates! However, the latest preview about the RP4 content was posted on the Combatsim.com forum. Here are the most remarkable features of this long awaited patch:

0) User's Manual with scores and scores of full color photographs and Tactical Reference
1) AAA TRacers that actually fire AT you and TRACK you, rather than just randomly firing. Watch them streak track you right across your canopy.
2) AI aircraft that actually USE their radar and run intercepts on you from 20-30nm away.
3) Ground clutter and beaming modelling that actually WORKS and delays your detection
4) Fully active ECM modelling. MAkes SAMS go ballistic (until burn-through) and enemy aircraft will fly in closer to achieve "burn through" before laucnhing.
5) IRCCM. Throttle position affects you IR signature. Reduce teh throttle and let the egine cool down...deny forqrd quarter IR shots
6) ARH missiles that now have correct TWS warnings. They no longer trip the RWR until they go active (laucnhing plane paint still detected, but no launch warning..this only occurs for SARH missiles in CW mode).
7) More realistic (less effective) Flak AAA at higher altitudes.
8) SAMS at airports can now be killed...but now they can fire too.
9) Chinese J7IIs now carry the Pl7 and Pl8 IR missiles.
10) DPRK MiG21s no longer carry AA8s (now only AA2s) reflecting the proper loadout of the MiG21PFM
11) AI visual detection capabilities now realistically modelled. It is possibel to sneak up at 6 oclock undetected. However, they can still detect you via RWR, radar and when you enter their visual fields.
12) AI now possess better missile evasion capabilitie including beam, drag and "last ditch."
13) Older DPRK aircraft that do not possess chaff and flares in teh real world no longer do in the sim. This includes the MiG19, MiG21, MiG23, and a few others. However, SU25s, MiG29s and SU27s have chaff/flare.
14) ECM coverage is accurately modelled in a conical fashion. Protection occurs in teh front and in the rear, but the sides....not.
15) Flares retain their effectivness right up until the IR missile is very close to teh aircraft (flares used to be ineffective below 1nm!).
16) Different AAA guns are differentially effective. Teh ZSU-23-4 is a real threat wheread the small-arms fire is abysmal.
17) WIngmen now attack ground targets more intelligently.
18) AI aircraft no longer mindlessly abort in the 3D world if there are no targets nearby, and will defend themselved while flying home.
19) AI aircraft no longer waste all their missiles on "dead" targets in the 2D world.
20) A few new Wingman Commands.

November 4, 2000: linked to the latest version of F4Browse (courtesy of F4Community). I've also been asked to distribute the cockpit I designed from the default 1024x768 that comes with Falcon 4. I will let you know about that in a few days.

October 26, 2000: Merlin has posted an update about the RP4 on F4Community.com; you can read it here:

The next version of the Realism Patch is nearly at the end of incubation. Final stability testing is underway with the 185th leading the way for online testing. Here are the highlights:

October 25, 2000: there is a new version of Cockpit Switcher available. The first version did not support cockpit switching in Campaign and Dogfight (only TE and Instant Action). This one now does. Changes are only interior, in EXE and Falcon4.VCD structure. Everything outside the two supplied hack utility programs remains the same. The link in my page is unchanged.

Moreover, T-Bone posted some good-looking screenshots of the upcoming Kuwait/Iraq Desert Theatre. Here's what he says about it (posted yesterday):

Just to recap some things:
1.) this theater will cover a 10 longitude by 10 latitude region of the middle east.
2.) It will be compatible with all F4 versions
3.) Yes, all roads are duplicates of their real life counterparts so yes you can relive the highway of death.
4.) Shut up ***000***
5.) The theater is 1/16th of the way completed
6.) We plan on having at least one campaign scenario.
7.) Terrain will include Western Iran, Iraq, Northern Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait along with a section of the persian Gulf.
8.) This is all being coordinated over the internet. I'd like to give a round of applause to Snakeman who is doing the tile assignment coordination.
9.) We currently don't need too much extra help, although we may integrate about 10 more members at this time. Please head over to our egroups if you're intarested.

If you want to give a look to the rest of the thread, click here.

October 21, 2000: I added a link to the "Automatic Cockpit Switcher" utility by Merlin. It' s a precious program for those who have installed dozens of add-ons cockpits.

Moreover, a NEW SCENERY is going to be released! This time the area is the Caribbean. The tiling process is only 40%, but it looks promising! More info in my "Theatres" section.

October 17, 2000: the new beta of the BALKANS theather is here! It's a bigger file now (more than 10 megs). Go download it from my "Theatres" section" using a download utility (GetRight, etc.) and remember to check the Balkans theater project homepage out!

Secondly, since this page is beginning to be too big to view at once, I introduced a news archive. Clicking on the upper right link will bring you to another page where you' ll be able to choose which "news period" read (for example, the only tranche of news available for now goes from July, 21 to September, 30).

October 14, 2000: yesterday, at 8:52:02 pm, I reached my first 1000 hits! Thanks to everyone who visited and enjoyed this site, I promise to bring you always the latest news in the F4 "patching" world! As for the rest, few but good news today. First of all, eBattlefield.org and OpenSim.org announced their merging. This is an abstract from CombatSim.com:

"eBattlefield.Org and OpenSim.Org are officially merging their efforts. The combined effort was decided on during a conference call by the founders of both groups - Gilman "Chopstick" Louie, Jaume "Primetime" Sabater, Craig "Moose" Ferris, and Mike "Stimpy" Strauss. This brings together a wealth of experience, knowledge, and organization critical to the projects success.

Gilman "Chopstick" Louie, serving in an advisory role, brings with him the lessons he learned during his career in the gaming industry plus a wide range of resources from the gaming and military industries. eBattlefield.Org has almost one hundred developers and designers signed up. They have also been working on an organizing their effort over the past four months. [...] eBattlefield.Org is an open-source project striving to create a mega-multiplayer combat simulation environment that will encompass all areas of military operations including air, land and naval."

then we have news from Julian "Codec" Onions, project chief for the Balkans theatre:

" This week, we have a release candidate for the Balkan theater´s next beta. It still has problems with too many textures, but we're ignoring the problems for now. If you look very closely you might see sea in the far distance where land should be, but mostly it will be hidden by haze. It´s got a bit bigger too, the last release was around 7Mb, this one will probably be close to 11Mb. Part of this is because we moved the theater up a little to include Aviano airbase. This means more land, less sea which doesn't compress as well. "

last, but not least, I added a link to the person who, in my opinion, develops the best non-strictly armed forces skins. Known in the Forum as Ron Nair, you can visit his site by looking in my "reference sites" section or by clicking here.

October 11, 2000: this is what eRazor said about his upcoming patch version 1.0799 and the Reality Patch 4. It sounds REALLY good:

"1.0799 is currently on hold until RP4 is out. The main reason is the need to incorporate several of Sylvain's upcoming hex edits into the exe to ensure full compatability with RP4 and the problem is that those hex edits aren't done yet."

October 9, 2000: some font changements. Regarding the upcoming Reality Patch 4, here are some abstracts from the Combatsim.com forum:

"RP4 is in the final stages of being put together. I estimate about another 2 weeks or sooner, it will be available. [...] we feel the improvements made in RP4 represents a giant step in getting F4 further along to the original dream. [...] We are trying to get the frame rates up or atleast the same as those in RP3. Remember the more features you turn on affects the FPS, but we are hoping that the FPS will be better in the final release."

October 4, 2000: I added a link to the new, complete and graphically-appealing German site of F4 Community. Give it a look!

September 30, 2000: another theatre is out! It's still a beta version, of course. The area is Portugal, and it includes Spain, France, Morocco and Algeria. Go download it on my Theatres section!

September 26, 2000: I've corrected some minor HTML flaws.

September 24, 2000: added a couple of linx in my "Reference Sites" section.

September 23, 2000: After a month of absence, I can finally update my page (you know, constitutional law is a difficult exam in Italy ^__^ ). Now, we REALLY have a lot of news.

August 20, 2000: I'm back from my holiday in Croatia. Let's start with the news:

August 8, 2000: Check-Six published its C6 team patch V. 3.20. Download it from my "files" section!

August 5, 2000: Joel Bierling released F4Patch v. 2.1. You can find it in the "must-have files" section. Many new patches supported and included, plus a lot of new features:


-Added ability for multiple patches to modify variable length text files.
-Added persistent patching ability. Betttter support for developers creating
new patches that modify the same data as existing patches.
-Added hidden patch and filter ability...
-Added Apply Filter option which automaaates the process of unselecting all
patches and then applying all the patches in a filter.
-Added more flexibility for grouping .fff4p files in subfolders.
-Added ability to copy all/selected/unssselected patch names to clipboard.
-Added ability to select/unselect childdd patches.
-Added ability to edit the selected patttch in an editor.
-Added exe launcher capability.
-Added progress indicator for patch loaaading process.
-Added new processing result message booox.

July 27, 2000: eRazor released its "alternative" patch V. 1.079; i DO NOT recommend to install it over a RP3 version on Falcon 4. This patch promises great enhacements in frame rate, but is not a standard patch supported by the F4Patch utility. Give it a try, but be sure to make a back-up. This patch is based on the 1.07 Falcon 4 version so its compatibility is not assured with the other 3rd party patches. I suggest to you to try it, see if it worths the loss of the RP3 "system" then decide to keep it or not. The new features, however, include many upgrades featured in the latest RPs:


- The (new) configuration file falcon4.cfg is now parsed during startup
- Bubble slider setting is now effectivvve
- Airbase relocation works now (Controlllled by g_bEnableABRelocation in falcon4.cfg)
- Added possibility to Fly/task any plaaane in TE and Campaign (requires the changed Validac.act file from IBeta's Realism Patch)
- Fixed alpha blending bug (Clouds wereee rendered incorrectly when the "Transparency" option was turned on)
- Added 2D cockpit support for the 128000x960 and 1600x1200 resolutions
- The cockpit loader now recognizes seppparate 2D cockpits per aircraft. Cockpits for other aircraft than the F16C must be installed in subdirectories below art/ckptart. Refer to the file cockpit.txt for a complete list.
- The CATI/III switch cockpit extensionnn is now supported (Controlled by g_bEnableCATIIIExtension in falcon4.cfg)
- Force feedback is back
- Cowboy callsign no longer assigned tooo all F16 flights
- CAT I/III checks performed after jettttison - also effects the AI because they adhere to cat G limitations. (Controlled by g_bEnableCATIIIExtension in falcon4.cfg)
- A/A missiles are no longer affected bbby emergency jettison
- Changed GLOC effect to start at 5.5 GGGz instead of 3.5
- Nike RWR symbol added
- Datalink is now operational
- Added startup check for proper DirectttX 7 installation
- Added -cockpitverifier command line ssswitch that enables the display of diagnostic messages for cockpit artists
- Added "invulnerability" agaaainst cockpit definition errors. The numsurfaces, numpanels, numcursors, numobjects, numbuttons, numbuttonviews and numbuttonviews tags are now ignored and the real amout of object is used. There are several custom cockpits available that contain numerous bugs in these areas causing random crashes with all previous versions of Falcon 4.0
- ATC waits 90 seconds after landing innnstead of 45 before yelling "Clear the runway ..."
- Added configurable weather realism exxxtensions (Cloud base as low as 100 feet, gusts)
- The size of the padlock box is now cooonfigurable in falcon4.cfg (default 16)
- The advanced graphics option "Fooorce Multi Threaded" was moved to falcon4.cfg
- Command line option "w2kthrottleeefix" was moved to falcon4.cfg

July 23, 2000: as promised, the C6 F4 patch V. 3.0 is out! Go to my files section to download it. To know everything about its new features, go here.

Linked to the new C6 V.3.10 patch.

The F4Patch V. 2.0 is available as a separate download form the RP3 in three versions: with RP 108i2 (not posted here, as not much useful), without RP 108i2 and with a number of custom cockpits. Just go to "must-have files".

July 22, 2000: tomorrow Check-six is going to release its C6 Team F4 patch V. 3.0, with RP3 by iBeta included. Sylvain Gagnon posted a new patch: "with this patch, when the fuel gets to zero in the external tanks, your internal tank won't be feeding at an alarming rate until you jettison your external tanks". You can find it in the "must-have files" section.

July 21, 2000: iBeta has released its new Realism patch V. 3.0! Download the patch by clicking here. The main changes are:

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