User manual

F4-BMS 2.0 Technical Manual
2 INSTALLATION
2.1
GENERAL INSTALLATION
The instructions provided below do not cover the installation of patches from the F4UT or
FreeFalcon groups. BMS 2.0 requires Falcon SP3, SP4, or FreeFalcon 2 or FreeFalcon 3.
2.1.1.1 Back up your log book (callsign.lbk) (and any other files you may wish to retain, but
NOT callsign.pop, or display.dsp!).
2.1.1.2 Install a fresh copy of Falcon 4 from your CD, followed by the 1.08US patch, then
either SP3/SP4, or SP3+FreeFalcon2. Install any additional cockpit, skins, terrain
tiles, or models before installing F4-BMS.
DO NOT INSTALL ANY NEW THEATERS AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
2.1.1.3 Run the F4-BMS 2.0 installer and install the patch. Following file extraction, two tools
will automatically run:
LxFixer and TexCompress. Do not interrupt them, they will
automatically close upon completion and are vital to a successful install. Finally, the
installer will launch the F4-BMS Config Editor program.
NOTE:
With the exception of 2D cockpit textures, F4-BMS no longer supports paletted textures
(BMP object textures or PCX terrain tiles) in-sim. However, compatibility with all existing
skin addons and terrain tiles is guaranteed with the new TexCompress and
SeasonSwitcher tools.
The TexCompress and SeasonSwitcher tools replace the in-game texture compression
features found in F4-BMS 1.03. TexCompress extracts and converts Falcon’s paletted BMP
textures to compressed DXTn DDS textures, and need only be used with first-time installs, or
after adding BMP textures via F4Patch or LOD Editor. SeasonSwitcher offers the ability to
extract terrain tiles, applying one of 4 seasons. To switch to a different season, or after installing
new tiles, you must re-run SeasonSwitcher to compress the paletted PCX terrain tiles
(texture.zip).
9