Falcon 4.0 is a Windows 95, multiplayer air-combat simulator set in the Korean peninsula, with a real-time war in progress in which you take the role of a single pilot in an F-16C Block 52. Even Andy Hollis will have to scramble to top F4! Look for it in Q1, 1998.

With a dynamic campaign, a fully integrated ground war, and sporting the latest technology in radar (APG 68) and avionics, F4 will simulate the newer Block 52 model F16. Naturally, F4 will run under Direct3d as well as Glide.

Recently I had a chance to interview one of the key team members who participated in the first outside focus group looking at an early alpha. Jeff Babineau of the Deltahawks answered most of my questions with regard to his experience.

Csim: When the demo was released some months back many fans were greatly disappointed. You and the Deltahawks have been involved in testing Falcon 4 for some months now. What are some of the most recent advances?

Jeff: More recently there has been a huge jump in frame rates. Instant action will now give frame rates as high as 90 on a P166 with a 3d card. They have LOWERED their minimum spec machine to a 133 with 3DFX and 32 megs ram.

Csim: Jeff, the Alpha demo left a bad taste in many mouths. Combat was too limited and the frame rate was terrible. How far beyond the Alpha demo have we come?

Jeff: Considering that the alpha demo had only Instant Action could we say about a globe of difference? If I just consider the instant action scenario, then the virtual cockpit has had some improvements in graphics and the frame rate has been improved. They eliminated the hand in the cockpit and now there is a little dial that disappears when its not used. I couldn't understand why everyone got so twisted about the hand. I mean so what? Wouldn't it have been better to have discussions about views, weapons, frame rates, weight modeling etc? Big changes in blackout to.

Csim: We've been reading about F4 for the better part of a year now. Were you in any way prepared for the experience of F4 itself? (Aside from general knowledge of sims and F3 that is...)

Jeff: That's funny. I don't think you could describe my feeling when Marisa called to say, we were getting an alpha by Friday. Later when "Falcon 4.0" came up on my screen, it was such a relief. Finally! It's great to see many of the same features installed with reference to F3. Padlock, Instant action, squadron records, campaign, and of coarse, multiplayer. I'll be they didn't call "Tactical Engagement," "Red Flag" because "Red Flag is in Nevada. The attention to detail IS there.

Csim: Give us an overview. What is the heart of F4 and why is this sim SO big?

Jeff: The biggest reason is F3's legacy. The second is that this will be the first sim to give us everything we want. No one is left out. Arcade? Realistic? Campaign? Multiplayer? Mission editing and creating? Squadron management? It's all there and it is ALL integrated in to the whole game. They don't do something silly like "Only H2H play for multiplayer." I've heard it said at MPS that if a game doesn't have multiplayer now, it'll die. That's the mindset.

Csim: What kind of hardware are you working with?

Jeff: At MICROPROSE I fly whatever I get. At home I fly a P233, 64, 3DFX. My frame rates are in the high 20's. Thrustmaster gear all around and now that Quickshot has allowed a programmable cartridge in the Masterpilot, I'm using one right now. I see myself going to 2 just to get the "look " right. F4 is set up to take advantage of this as well as each MFD button has its own keyboard command.

Csim: Yeh, that is one COOL unit and its changed my own setup permanently. Now lets get into the nitty-gritty. What do you think of F4s graphics?

Jeff: I like them but it's not my most observed feature. They are doing more work on them all the time so it's hard to say. Clouds have changed a bunch and they are really starting to look good when flying below the cloud layer, especially with the overcast clouds.

Csim: Does F4 use a "hierarchical" engine? Were the visuals down low as detailed as up high?

Jeff: I spend way to much time lining up a gun shot to notice. They look good. Better than ADF? Not really but in some respects, yes. Frame rates higher so I'm happy with that.

Csim: Well, I know you aren't into eye candy, but what were your impressions of terrain, objects, sky etc?

Jeff: Enough already. ;) Objects? You mean an 8 mile maverick shot? The tank looked real good right up to the point where I made it burn. The sky was blue. Will wants the rivers to be more brown because he's been to Korea, as have I, and he's right. But I'll bet someone will complain that water is blue. The roads and buildings look much better. I'd compare the roads to LBII. In other words, worked into the terrain instead of laid on top like EF2000.

Csim: I understand lighting is dynamic and includes moonlight effects etc. Janes has really pushed the limits on lighting effects in LBII and F15. What did you think of the lighting in F4?

Jeff: Again, I haven't spent much time looking at it, especially at night. I'm much more concerned about the views, weapons and avionics modeling.

Csim: What about special effects. Any surprises there? What are the explosions like?

Jeff: OK you got me on that one. I love the flame effects. In some cases it actually looks like the aircraft is spewing fuel and it's igniting. The more fuel, the more fire. Tankers burn good. HIPS blow up quick. I did want them to make the smoke effects fill the sky but they reminded me that I wanted 30fps all the time too.

Csim: What were your impressions of physics modelling, ballistics etc.

Jeff: I'm seeing pretty good effects on landings but more work is being done in this area. I'm hoping that ground turbulence will be played but more importantly, weather.

Csim: In early versions damage modelling was somewhat more general than the state of the art as in A10 Cuba. Has this changed?

Jeff: Can't comment yet.

Csim: Janes F15 feels completely different to me than anything I've flown before, especially at low speed where nose high authority disappears and its VERY easy to lose control. The next nearest example of this level of realism might be Su27. How is flight in F4?

Jeff: The flight model has changed very little from the demo. The reality is that many F-16 pilots are flying the game and making recommendations.

Csim: What weapons are available to you? What are your impressions of weapons modelling, blast effects etc.

Jeff: When I entered the campaign and went to edit my loadout, I was stunned. I instantly grabbed the flight manual to see what they all were. It looked like every weapon in the flight manual is in the game. Effects are even better aside from the normal, "I drop bomb, it blows up." In the campaign you can drop an anti runway bomb on a runway. the repair time might be 4 hours. If you drop mines on that location, the repair time might be 6 hours. Do you want air burst or ground impact? Very different effects.

Csim: What is your impression of enemy AI, and is the AI fully developed?

Jeff: Can't comment yet. Nice thing is that different aircraft will use different AI.

Csim: Give us an overview of the avionics as you experienced them.

Jeff: I've been given a look at the -1 manual on the F-16C blk 34. I needed it. It is so cool that I can look at F4 and use the REAL flight manual as a reference. This is the first sim I've played that will use NCTR for IFF instead of the old system. NCTR measures how sure the bandit is based on a number of criteria. It is not a on/off switch. I was hoping for a few more master modes but the sub mode implementation is very good. They are even having a few modes that "no self respecting fighter pilot would use" Again I've overheard someone say at MPS, if it's in the T.O. it should be in the game. Mindset. I 100% agree.

Csim: Were there any avionics features that surprised you?

Jeff: HTS, NCTR and the lack of a zoom mode for the maverick. I don't know if it's going to be in place. With the HTS, so little is known about it that not much can be done. With airforces all over the world flying F-16's, you can get a lot of information on most of the radar modes. With the HARM, it's very classified. The TEWS will be done differently than any other sim. Each radar type will give a different audible sound.

Csim: How have you found the radar modelling?

Jeff: Uh....perfect? I know how to use it. I can engage well with it. My Thrustmaster files are set up like the real F-16. But really, I must defer to the F-16 guys and I'll bet they can't even talk about it.

Csim: I understand that there has been considerable discussion regarding views, especially the padlock. What is in place now and what are the range of possibilities?

Jeff: There is talk of adding more static views with more of an "up" perspective. F4 will set a precedent in padlock views by having multiple options. Realistic padlock will only allow you to padlock in your FOV and within visual range and blocked by the cockpit. Simple mode will see everything everywhere and start on closest threat first. Then they have another view which they call "Extended FOV." We all know it as Hawkeye because it is similar to B2B's view. I would say that MPS is flexible in this area based of input they receive from testers and the users of the demo. I'm hoping that the F3 style window on the left 20% of the screen can be modified.

Csim: What is the virtual cockpit like in F4 so far?

Jeff: The graphics got a bit of a facelift and more will be done. Again the demo does not show that the TWI and DED will work and that weapons will be seen on the wings. Gladly they are not superimposing MFD's on the virtual screen. They are leaving the MFD's in the MFD.

Csim: Janes F15 offers some options we haven't seen for a while, including a very logical hierarchy of command of WING, ELEMENT and FLIGHT. Is F4 modelled this way for your AI comrades?

Jeff: Can't comment yet.

Csim: What about other kinds of sound modelling. What were your impressions of voices, AWACS, engines, weapons etc.

Jeff: The sounds are the best I've ever heard in a game. External sound volume is controlled separately so if you want arcade style explosions and flybys you can add it. If you want to fly realistically and not hear your wingman's engine or an AIM9m burst at two miles you can. Remember that there are two things that MPS is doing in this area. 1. Make you feel like you are in a real f-16 as part of a campaign and 2. They have F-16 pilots making recommendations. Nothing is made up. No fancy "what might it sound like" or worse, "wouldn't it be cool if it sounded like this." If that's the sound the F-16 makes, it's in the game. OK so I've never flown an F-16, I'm being very trusting on this. There might be some player concessions like airbrake and such but the rest is really accurate. Will says so and he's been in an F-16.

Csim: Tell us about the modelling of blackout and redout.

Jeff: I'm guessing that this has been changed due to response from the flight sim community. It is now more circular shaped when it collapses. I really like it. The guys at MPS were surprised that the Delta Hawks never flew without blackout OFF. so that meant that we spent a lot of time staring at a little pinpoint of a graphic in dogfights. The really nice thing is that you WILL lose control of the aircraft when you black out. so guess what? Blackout is something to be avoided. duh.

Csim: I assume that you were flying connected to real pilots most of the time. How did the networking go?

Jeff: It's getting better all the time. The plan is NO limits except bandwidth. I've asked how much bandwidth is needed per player but so far I don't have an answer. It's getting silly to talk about "just" the networking because everything you do in F4 has multiplayer built in. I know this is kind of confusing becasue we are so used to "The most dynamic, most realistic, blah blah blah, multiplayer H2H only." But F4 makes no distinction between what a solo guy can do and what multiplayer can do. Precedent setting stuff. And I'm sorry to say, no one else is doing that.

Csim: How much of the campaign is working and did you get to try it out? What were your impressions?

Jeff: The campaign is really beyond words. There is so much going on. It feels like a fully interactive world. Except ON the runway. It would be nice to have more ground interaction i.e. where do I taxi to after landing? But in the mission, I know I am not against the world. I know that I am a part of a big event.. I know I have to accomplish my mission or the war changes if only slightly. I also know that bandits can jump me from anywhere. You remember in EF2000 how the blood clot would exist at the IP and that was it? Or in F3 and LBII where you really flew just a tree of missions. That's' all over with. I mean I guess I could take out a target of opportunity but my main concern is making my steerepoints on time and putting my payload on target.

Csim: Tell us about intel modelling for the campaign.

Jeff: I'll defer to the designer notes. But I've discovered something else. It looks like we may be able to actually command or issue orders to the ground units in the campaign.

Csim: I understand that we will be able to jump into a game in progress or even jump in and fly a mission in progress. Is this working?

Jeff: Yes. But I prefer to look at and maybe edit my loadout and adjust my flight plan before I jump into the aircraft. I have to admit that I have not seen a stupid loadout yet. It's all from the manual and based on logistics concerns. I just prefer to carry a few more 120's in a SEAD mission.

Csim: What is your biggest beef with F4? Do you still have a personal wish list or is F4 covering all of it?

Jeff: You had to ask. Without a doubt it's the padlock view. I'm fanatical about this. I feel that this view alone is where most everyone will be in so it requires the most attention. Admittedly, padlock is the "holy war" of issues. Other than the padlock, maverick zoom and more ground activity, F4 is just about my "holy grail." I mean they are even adding adversary aircraft in about 6 months. What else is there?

Csim: Once this is released, will life continue as normal or will all other sims go on permanent hold? ;-D

Jeff: The internet won't be the same. Everyone will have so much to do in solo play and if they want, they'll be able to add any of their internet flying buddies into whatever they are doing. It's going to be that easy. No limits on multiplayer, can you understand why I'm excited?

Jeffery "Rhino" Babineau CO, 209th VFS Delta Hawks Stockton, CA