Falcon 4.0
Released: December 1998
Published by: Hasbro Interactive
Developed by: MicroProse
Author(s): Kevin Klemmick, Stephen Blankenship, Vincent Finley, Edward Joseph Goldman, Robin Heydon, David Adams, James Michael Gutierrez, Christian Ingle, David Power, Scott Randolph, Greg Smith, Christopher Wren, Leon Rosenshein, Joe Ward, Eric Grotke, Paul Mogg, Scott Peterson, J. White
System Requirements
System Requirements | Intel Pentium 166 CPU (PII-450 recommended). 32 MB RAM (128 MB recommended), 4x CD-ROM drive, Windows 95, DirectX 5.0 Graphics support: SVGA only (8 MB video memory recommended) Audio support: DirectSound-compatible sound card. Peripheral support: Analogue joystick |
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Original Media | One CD-ROM |
Installed Size | 175 MB for minimal installation, 569 MB for full installation. |
Introduction
Falcon 4.0 is a large and highly capable flight simulation developed by MicroProse and published by Hasbro Interactive in 1998. It featured full 3D objects with multitexturing, an accurate physics model, and a variety of ways to play.
While development of Falcon 4.0 began in 1994, it would be 4 more years before its actual release. By this time, MicroProse had already been acquired by Spectrum Holobyte, who then later sold the brand to Hasbro Interactive. A combination of development delays, the 3D graphics card revolution, and commercial buyouts caused the game's development to take much longer than originally planned.
The game is a full-fledged flight simulation, taking place in the Korean Peninsula. With the south at war with the north, you take part in the campaign as a fighter pilot of the F-16 Falcon. You can also play the game in Dogfight mode where you can take part in individual missions not tied to the broader campaign - these are called Tactical Engagements, and you can build your own in Falcon 4.0.
Like some other more modern flight sims, Falcon 4.0's briefing room allows you not only to identify and plan out the mission objectives, but also issue instructions to ground units in order to achieve a successful outcome.
Due to a source code leak in April 2000, development of the game continued by a large active community. Benchmark Sims (BMS) was one such group who eventually released a complete conversion of the original title, called Falcon BMS 4.32. This required the original game, so is officially a 'mod'. It continues being updated to this day with almost photo-realistic graphics and support for DirectX 11 as well as VR.
The game is not to be confused with Falcon 4.0: Allied Force, which was based on the Falcon 4.0 game engine, but released in 2005.
From where can it be run?
The game must be installed to a hard disk. For installation to your hard disk, run SETUP.EXE from the CD-ROM.
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Copy Protection
How to Setup
Problems
Symptom:
Cause:
Resolution:
Multiplayer
To Quit the Game
Supporting Documents
Here are the original documents that came with the game:
- User Manual (Second edition, PDF)
- Communication Book (for multiplayer, PDF)
- Map
Save Games
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Versions of the game known to exist
Note: All patches are cumulative, so you don't need to install each individual patch release to bring an old version up to the latest.
Version | Date | Falcon 3.0 |
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1.04 | 12th December 1998 | First public release. |
1.06 Patch | 19th March 1999 | |
1.07 Patch | 31st August 1999 | |
1.08 Patch | 7th December 1999 |
Screenshots
Box Contents