Jump to page:
Sponsors:
1.00 12/93 (original release)
1.01 2/94 (bugfixes and compatibility with MiG-29
1.03/ Falcon 3.04)
1.02 10/94 (some more bug fixes and to match Falcon
Gold, Falcon 3.05, and MiG-29 1.04)
Version 1.02 is the latest as of this writing.
Latest copies of stand-alone Falcon made after 8/93 conform to version 3.0e.
There was never a version 3.0b of Falcon, since pirated copies infected with a virus were being passed around as "Falcon 3.0b"
Spectrum decided to rename their next patch after 3.0a to 3.0c.
Whether you have Falcon 3.0, OFT, and/or MiG-29, and/or Hornet make sure you have the latest patch version. In addition to fixing bugs, the patches add game features omitted from previous versions. These changes are documented in README files supplied with the patch files. It's also desirable to run the most recent version if you want to find other players for modem play, since the game must be at the same version on both PC's for the connection to succeed.
The process of upgrading to any version of the game causes all squadrons you've formed and any tapes you've recorded with the
ACMI to be unusable with the new version. You may want to finish any campaigns in progress beforehand.
Upgrade patches to Falcon 3.0D, 3.01.1, and 3.02 can be obtained from Spectrum HoloByte, or downloaded via anonymous FTP from
FTP.K9.COM or its mirrored sites. Refer to section 4.0 of this
FAQ for instructions.
2.1 FALCON 3.01: OPERATION FIGHTING TIGER
Operation Fighting Tiger is a commercially-available campaign disk add-on product for Falcon 3.0. Installation of OFT will upgrade Falcon 3.0 to version D standards, and include its own enhancements, bringing it to version 3.01.
The improvements to Falcon 3.0 made available in OFT, such as new wingman commands, improved TWI codes, landing aids, new radio messages, etc., can be obtained by non-OFT Falcon 3.0 owners by applying the version E or 3.02 patches.
Additions unique to the Falcon 3.01 OFT add-on disk include:
- New campaign theaters: Pakistan, Korea, and the Kurile
Islands
- New plane types: MiG-31 Foxhound, Jaguar, Mirage 2000, J-7
Airguard, Q-5 Fantan, the hypothetical Russian UMF (unmanned fighter), F-5 Tiger, Mistubishi F1, and the FSX, an advanced version of the F-16.
- New missions: Anti-ship, train-busting, and others
To fix bugs found in OFT, Spectrum HoloByte has released a patch file called 3.01.1. Refer to section 4.0 for instructions on how to obtain the patch file from SH or via anonymous FTP from
FTP.K9.COM or its mirrors.
2.2 FALCON VERSION INFORMATION
These is the list of the changes made by the patches, taken directly from the readme.txt distributed with the patch.
2.2.1 Version 3.05 changes
* If your joystick was calibrated incorrectly in version 3.04, you could pull more than 9.9 Gs. This problem is now fixed.
* Sometimes the plane would unexpectedly roll left in version
3.04. This problem is now fixed.
* You will now be assigned to an appropriate air base in the
Bosnia theater. Your wingmen will no longer crash into mountains when taking off and landing.
* Campaigns now last longer than two days in the Bosnia theater.
* Your wingmen will be more aggressive in engaging enemy planes, especially when returning home.
* TM-STICK (developed by Ken "Stinger" Richardson and
ThrustMaster) has been updated in version 2.1 to work with Falcon
3.05. In addition, TM-STICK 2.1 works with earlier versions of
Falcon 3.0. For more information on TM-STICK, please read TM-
STICK.TXT.
2.2.2 Version 3.04 changes
* Some users reported a problem where the views would switch around without any user input. This no longer happens.
* Serious joystick control and calibration problems found in version 1.0 have been fixed. The joystick inputs are now linear, and there is a "null zone" of 20% of the stick's travel. What this means is that the plane will react evenly to gradual increases in stick pressure, and that slight movement of the stick near the center point will not cause the plane to jerk around.
* AMRAAMs are now available in communications play.
* When you press Ctrl-K (to jettison all stores), you will still keep your wingtip missiles, even if they are AMRAAMs.
2.2.3 Version 3.03 changes
* Several users reported a problem where if you create a squadron, take off and return, create another squadron, take off and return, then try to fly another mission with the first squadron, the game would crash with a message saying "Fatal
Error! Cannot Create File!" This was related to the number of planes in a squadron and has been fixed.
2.2.4 Version 3.02.1 changes
* Problems with joystick calibration are now fixed.
* The coolie hat problem when switching between cockpit and scroll lock views has been fixed.
* Some users reported difficulty with rolling right. This problem is now fixed.
* Some users reported problems with pitching upward when in any outside view. The problem was that the plane would not go beyond
30 degrees upward pitch until the player switched back to an inside cockpit view. This problem has been corrected.
2.2.5 Version 3.02 changes
* The blackout/redout model has been upgraded. Blackout and redout conditions are defined by pilot G tolerance, maximum blackout duration and degree of control over the plane during blackout.
Flight Model G tolerance max. duration control
------------- ----------- ------------- -------
Simplified 300% normal 1 second normal
Moderate 200% normal 1 second none
Complex 150% normal 15 seconds none
High Fidelity normal 30 seconds none
To recover from blackout or redout, center the flight stick. If you continue to pull the stick, you will remain blacked out until you release it.
Blackout and redout may seem rather sudden under the new model.
Increasing your G load gradually instead of suddenly will greatly extend this onset time. Your pilot's G tolerance decreases over the course of a mission due to the cumulative strain of repeatedly pulling high Gs. As a pilot's G tolerance decreases, blackout and redout will occur more suddenly and at lower G values.
* In the OPTIONS menu there is a new selection called G ONSET.
There are four settings: No Effect, Moderate, Difficult and
Realistic. These settings refer to the likelihood of blackout due to rapid G onset. G onset defaults to Moderate.
Blackout can be caused either by continuous high Gs or by sudden
G onset (such as going from 1 to 10 Gs instantly).
At the No Effect setting, G onset has no effect on blackout. At the Moderate setting, the effects of G onset on blackout are slight. At the Difficult setting, G onset plays a major part in determining blackout conditions but not as much as in reality. At the Realistic setting, blackout from rapid G loading is as likely as it is in reality.
* The joystick calibration routine now includes coolie hat calibration for the ThrustMaster Flight Control System.
* Version 3.02 supports CH Products' FlightStick Pro. On the
System Setup screen, you can now choose the FlightStick Pro as your control device.
* The "coolie hat" on the ThrustMaster and CH FlightStick Pro control views in Falcon 3.0. The coolie hat view controls are: back=Padlock View, left=Left View, right=Right View, forward=Forward View. If you are already in Forward View, forward=heads-up (Scroll Lock) View. The coolie hat functions built into Falcon 3.0 override any other coolie hat programs (such as F3COOLIE, Pilot's Edge, etc.) you may have installed.
Occasionally, there may be a conflict between Falcon 3.0 and third-party coolie hat programs which can make the game crash. Do not use any TSRs or other programs that read or reprogram the coolie hat when playing Falcon 3.0.
* The Padlock View shows some new information. In the upper left corner window is the target identification, followed by the range to target in nautical miles (NM). The range now shows tenths of miles. Next is your altitude above ground level (AGL) and airspeed in knots. The airspeed shown is in knots true airspeed
(KTAS). Last is the current load factor (in Gs).
In the upper right corner window are three new indicators. As always, the warning "REAR" appears if the target is behind you.
Beneath this, the indication "BRK" now appears if your speed brakes are on. Just below the "BRK" indicator, the indication
"AB" comes on if your afterburner is engaged.
* The ECM model has been changed to be more realistic. Instead of consistently jamming radar or always breaking radar lock, there is now a continuing battle between ECM systems and fire control radars. The result is that a plane using ECM will occasionally still get locked up, but only for a few moments. Likewise, if you are tracking a plane that uses ECM, your radar lock will be broken and re-established over and over again as your fire control systems battle the target's ECM.
* Menu bar selections are now saved.
* All animations have been disabled when in communications mode to prevent timing conflicts.
2.2.6 Version 3.0e and version 3.01.1 changes
The following changes were introduced as part of Operation:
Fighting Tiger (both versions 3.01 and.01.1) and Falcon 3.0e.
Night mode
* The night mode has been darkened to make it more realistic and more exciting for certain types of missions.
* Stars have been added at night and can be seen in actual astronomical positions.
* Visual contact will be made at a shorter distance at night.
Objects
* U.S. insignias have been added to the F-16.
* The F-16 cockpit glass is now a clear gold instead of an opaque blue when looking at an F-16 from the outside.
* Lights have been added to the wingtips of the F-16, and they turn on when the landing gear is down.
1.01 2/94 (bugfixes and compatibility with MiG-29
1.03/ Falcon 3.04)
1.02 10/94 (some more bug fixes and to match Falcon
Gold, Falcon 3.05, and MiG-29 1.04)
Version 1.02 is the latest as of this writing.
Latest copies of stand-alone Falcon made after 8/93 conform to version 3.0e.
There was never a version 3.0b of Falcon, since pirated copies infected with a virus were being passed around as "Falcon 3.0b"
Spectrum decided to rename their next patch after 3.0a to 3.0c.
Whether you have Falcon 3.0, OFT, and/or MiG-29, and/or Hornet make sure you have the latest patch version. In addition to fixing bugs, the patches add game features omitted from previous versions. These changes are documented in README files supplied with the patch files. It's also desirable to run the most recent version if you want to find other players for modem play, since the game must be at the same version on both PC's for the connection to succeed.
The process of upgrading to any version of the game causes all squadrons you've formed and any tapes you've recorded with the
ACMI to be unusable with the new version. You may want to finish any campaigns in progress beforehand.
Upgrade patches to Falcon 3.0D, 3.01.1, and 3.02 can be obtained from Spectrum HoloByte, or downloaded via anonymous FTP from
FTP.K9.COM or its mirrored sites. Refer to section 4.0 of this
FAQ for instructions.
2.1 FALCON 3.01: OPERATION FIGHTING TIGER
Operation Fighting Tiger is a commercially-available campaign disk add-on product for Falcon 3.0. Installation of OFT will upgrade Falcon 3.0 to version D standards, and include its own enhancements, bringing it to version 3.01.
The improvements to Falcon 3.0 made available in OFT, such as new wingman commands, improved TWI codes, landing aids, new radio messages, etc., can be obtained by non-OFT Falcon 3.0 owners by applying the version E or 3.02 patches.
Additions unique to the Falcon 3.01 OFT add-on disk include:
- New campaign theaters: Pakistan, Korea, and the Kurile
Islands
- New plane types: MiG-31 Foxhound, Jaguar, Mirage 2000, J-7
Airguard, Q-5 Fantan, the hypothetical Russian UMF (unmanned fighter), F-5 Tiger, Mistubishi F1, and the FSX, an advanced version of the F-16.
- New missions: Anti-ship, train-busting, and others
To fix bugs found in OFT, Spectrum HoloByte has released a patch file called 3.01.1. Refer to section 4.0 for instructions on how to obtain the patch file from SH or via anonymous FTP from
FTP.K9.COM or its mirrors.
2.2 FALCON VERSION INFORMATION
These is the list of the changes made by the patches, taken directly from the readme.txt distributed with the patch.
2.2.1 Version 3.05 changes
* If your joystick was calibrated incorrectly in version 3.04, you could pull more than 9.9 Gs. This problem is now fixed.
* Sometimes the plane would unexpectedly roll left in version
3.04. This problem is now fixed.
* You will now be assigned to an appropriate air base in the
Bosnia theater. Your wingmen will no longer crash into mountains when taking off and landing.
* Campaigns now last longer than two days in the Bosnia theater.
* Your wingmen will be more aggressive in engaging enemy planes, especially when returning home.
* TM-STICK (developed by Ken "Stinger" Richardson and
ThrustMaster) has been updated in version 2.1 to work with Falcon
3.05. In addition, TM-STICK 2.1 works with earlier versions of
Falcon 3.0. For more information on TM-STICK, please read TM-
STICK.TXT.
2.2.2 Version 3.04 changes
* Some users reported a problem where the views would switch around without any user input. This no longer happens.
* Serious joystick control and calibration problems found in version 1.0 have been fixed. The joystick inputs are now linear, and there is a "null zone" of 20% of the stick's travel. What this means is that the plane will react evenly to gradual increases in stick pressure, and that slight movement of the stick near the center point will not cause the plane to jerk around.
* AMRAAMs are now available in communications play.
* When you press Ctrl-K (to jettison all stores), you will still keep your wingtip missiles, even if they are AMRAAMs.
2.2.3 Version 3.03 changes
* Several users reported a problem where if you create a squadron, take off and return, create another squadron, take off and return, then try to fly another mission with the first squadron, the game would crash with a message saying "Fatal
Error! Cannot Create File!" This was related to the number of planes in a squadron and has been fixed.
2.2.4 Version 3.02.1 changes
* Problems with joystick calibration are now fixed.
* The coolie hat problem when switching between cockpit and scroll lock views has been fixed.
* Some users reported difficulty with rolling right. This problem is now fixed.
* Some users reported problems with pitching upward when in any outside view. The problem was that the plane would not go beyond
30 degrees upward pitch until the player switched back to an inside cockpit view. This problem has been corrected.
2.2.5 Version 3.02 changes
* The blackout/redout model has been upgraded. Blackout and redout conditions are defined by pilot G tolerance, maximum blackout duration and degree of control over the plane during blackout.
Flight Model G tolerance max. duration control
------------- ----------- ------------- -------
Simplified 300% normal 1 second normal
Moderate 200% normal 1 second none
Complex 150% normal 15 seconds none
High Fidelity normal 30 seconds none
To recover from blackout or redout, center the flight stick. If you continue to pull the stick, you will remain blacked out until you release it.
Blackout and redout may seem rather sudden under the new model.
Increasing your G load gradually instead of suddenly will greatly extend this onset time. Your pilot's G tolerance decreases over the course of a mission due to the cumulative strain of repeatedly pulling high Gs. As a pilot's G tolerance decreases, blackout and redout will occur more suddenly and at lower G values.
* In the OPTIONS menu there is a new selection called G ONSET.
There are four settings: No Effect, Moderate, Difficult and
Realistic. These settings refer to the likelihood of blackout due to rapid G onset. G onset defaults to Moderate.
Blackout can be caused either by continuous high Gs or by sudden
G onset (such as going from 1 to 10 Gs instantly).
At the No Effect setting, G onset has no effect on blackout. At the Moderate setting, the effects of G onset on blackout are slight. At the Difficult setting, G onset plays a major part in determining blackout conditions but not as much as in reality. At the Realistic setting, blackout from rapid G loading is as likely as it is in reality.
* The joystick calibration routine now includes coolie hat calibration for the ThrustMaster Flight Control System.
* Version 3.02 supports CH Products' FlightStick Pro. On the
System Setup screen, you can now choose the FlightStick Pro as your control device.
* The "coolie hat" on the ThrustMaster and CH FlightStick Pro control views in Falcon 3.0. The coolie hat view controls are: back=Padlock View, left=Left View, right=Right View, forward=Forward View. If you are already in Forward View, forward=heads-up (Scroll Lock) View. The coolie hat functions built into Falcon 3.0 override any other coolie hat programs (such as F3COOLIE, Pilot's Edge, etc.) you may have installed.
Occasionally, there may be a conflict between Falcon 3.0 and third-party coolie hat programs which can make the game crash. Do not use any TSRs or other programs that read or reprogram the coolie hat when playing Falcon 3.0.
* The Padlock View shows some new information. In the upper left corner window is the target identification, followed by the range to target in nautical miles (NM). The range now shows tenths of miles. Next is your altitude above ground level (AGL) and airspeed in knots. The airspeed shown is in knots true airspeed
(KTAS). Last is the current load factor (in Gs).
In the upper right corner window are three new indicators. As always, the warning "REAR" appears if the target is behind you.
Beneath this, the indication "BRK" now appears if your speed brakes are on. Just below the "BRK" indicator, the indication
"AB" comes on if your afterburner is engaged.
* The ECM model has been changed to be more realistic. Instead of consistently jamming radar or always breaking radar lock, there is now a continuing battle between ECM systems and fire control radars. The result is that a plane using ECM will occasionally still get locked up, but only for a few moments. Likewise, if you are tracking a plane that uses ECM, your radar lock will be broken and re-established over and over again as your fire control systems battle the target's ECM.
* Menu bar selections are now saved.
* All animations have been disabled when in communications mode to prevent timing conflicts.
2.2.6 Version 3.0e and version 3.01.1 changes
The following changes were introduced as part of Operation:
Fighting Tiger (both versions 3.01 and.01.1) and Falcon 3.0e.
Night mode
* The night mode has been darkened to make it more realistic and more exciting for certain types of missions.
* Stars have been added at night and can be seen in actual astronomical positions.
* Visual contact will be made at a shorter distance at night.
Objects
* U.S. insignias have been added to the F-16.
* The F-16 cockpit glass is now a clear gold instead of an opaque blue when looking at an F-16 from the outside.
* Lights have been added to the wingtips of the F-16, and they turn on when the landing gear is down.
Jump to page:
Sponsors:
Other files from this game:
- Falcon FAQ by System on 09/03/2006, 09:50
- Falcon cheats by System on 09/03/2006, 09:50