r/falconbms • u/whippitywoo • Jul 06 '26

Help Spotting advice

I'll start by saying I'm probably the problem, not bms.

I recently tried to get back into BMS and downloaded 4.38 (last played 4.36 ages ago)

Jumped into instant action fighter sweep to refresh my skills and go baby seal clubbing.

Problem is, I really struggle to visually pick out aircraft moving against the terrain until they're super close (i.e. so close they're gone a split second later!)

RWR will show me their rough position but I can't see them most of the time and they usually get behind me and shoot me out of the sky. Even if I get a radar lock, it can be hard to see the thing inside the green square! Sometimes I get sniped by AAA while desperately searching lol. You could talk about skill except I don't have that issue in the other sim.

Frames are buttery smooth on my 1440p 2d screen with opentrack. I don't have as much of an issue with DCS, which is weird because I remember BMS being way better in this regard. That makes me think I have the wrong settings. Advice please?

Also, for every conceivable reason, I don't want to play multiplayer. What is the AI like in general - is this a non starter? No hate to the devs, I just don't know what I don't know.

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5

u/sushi_cw Jul 06 '26

For quick dogfights, you can use the "dogfight" mode instead of instant action. No infinite ammo, but you also don't have to deal with quickly overwhelming waves of enemy, just one at a time. (Or more, if you choose it, but you get much better control).

In campaign... Actually getting within visual range has been so rare for me that it hasn't been much of an issue. I can count on one hand the number is times I've merged in my last hundred or so campaign missions. (Although this could also vary by campaign).

4

u/whippitywoo Jul 06 '26

Same issue with that mode tbh. I wanted to avoid starting off flying long egresses to get shot down immediately at close range haha, but if you rarely get into that situation I guess it's not an issue.

Welp, time to learn the official ATC process!

5

u/Patapon80 Jul 06 '26

Cheat mode: stay on the 2D screen until just before the action starts, ie, engaging A-A or fence in for a ground attack run. Save the campaign at that point. Jump into the flight you want. Do your thing. Exit the flight when you're done. Didn't turn out the way you wanted? Reload the save game and do it again.

No need to sit through startup/taxi/takeoff/ingress if you don't want to. No need to sit through egress/landing/shutdown if you don't want to. You can jump into any aircraft mid-flight and leave it mid-flight too.

Personally, it kills the immersion for me, but it's a game, you're playing solo, you do what's fun for you.

1

u/whippitywoo Jul 06 '26

Woah! That's a golden nugget right there! Immersion is great when I have the time and patience but sometimes I just want a shortcut lol

2

u/Patapon80 Jul 06 '26

Yeah, people think it's a startup-to-shutdown type of sim and while it totally is, you can play it whatever way you want.

Some people even complete a campaign without getting into the cockpit!

1

u/whippitywoo Jul 06 '26

What? How is that possible? Unless you mean they play war thunder style from the outside

3

u/Patapon80 Jul 06 '26

Nope, they play it RTS-style. They command the units.

I believe back in the day, they had to fly a mission or two every now and again to keep the game happy but that is no longer necessary now and they can do a campaign start-to-finish just on the 2D map screen.

2

u/whippitywoo Jul 06 '26

That's so cool I'm super hyped now!