Notes:

• Click here for Wine/Lutris installation instructions (e.g. for the GOG version of Falcon 4.0)
• Replace home/x/ with your home directory in the instructions below

Falcon 4 BMS on Linux with Steam (tested with BMS 4.37)

Install required software

• Steam
• wine-staging (recommended as this is the latest wine version)
• winetricks
• optional: opentrack

Installation

• Install Falcon 4.0 on Steam
• In Steam, right click on Falcon 4.0 > Properties > Compatibility > enable "Force use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool" > select Proton 7.0-6 (older/newer Proton versions should work too)
• Run Falcon 4.0 once, then exit the game (this creates the folder /home/x/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/429530)

Install required libraries

• Install winetricks (don't use protontricks as it has issues with dotnet installation)
• Sidenote: should winetricks be out of date, run: sudo winetricks --self-update
  • check the updated winetricks version with: winetricks --version
  • if you need to rollback winetricks to the old version from your repository, run: sudo winetricks --update-rollback
• Install libraries with winetricks:

WINEPREFIX="/home/x/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/429530/pfx" winetricks -q dotnet48 vcrun2015 dxvk

• After the installation has finished, check that at least the following libraries were installed: dotnet40, dotnet48, vcrun2015, dxvk (there will be a few other libraries as well) - Note: if you see a rundll32.exe error pop-up, just click on "No" to proceed

WINEPREFIX="/home/x/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/429530/pfx" winetricks list-installed

• The following steps in this chapter are only required if not all of the above libraries were installed (dotnet40, dotnet48, vcrun2015, dxvk). If so, follow these instructions:

WINEPREFIX="/home/x/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/429530/pfx" winetricks -q

• In winetricks > select the default wineprefix > Install a Windows DLL or component > select the following (if they're missing)
  • dotnet48 (this will automatically install dotnet40 too)
  • vcrun2015
  • dxvk
• Ignore any pop-up notifications during installation (they are automatically skipped after a few seconds; no need to press "OK")
• Once the installation is finished you can close the winetricks window(s)

Install Falcon BMS

• Download BMS installer and updates from https://www.falcon-bms.com/downloads/ (ideally use qBittorrent as other torrent apps have had issues with the download in the past)
• Install BMS from your ~/Download folder; Run in terminal:

WINEPREFIX="/home/x/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/429530/pfx" wine "/home/x/Downloads/Falcon BMS_4.37_Full_Setup.exe"

• Wait for the installation to finish
• Optional: make a backup of the game folder if something breaks in the future: /home/x/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/429530

Run BMS

• Find the path to the Proton executable you want to use, e.g.: /home/x/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Proton 7.0/proton

• Run BMS with included Alternative Launcher:

STEAM_COMPAT_DATA_PATH="/home/x/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/429530/" STEAM_COMPAT_CLIENT_INSTALL_PATH="/home/x/.local/share/Steam/" "/home/x/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Proton 7.0/proton" run "/home/x/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/429530/pfx/drive_c/Falcon BMS 4.37/Launcher/FalconBMS_Alternative_Launcher.exe"

• Run BMS with standard launcher:

STEAM_COMPAT_DATA_PATH="/home/x/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/429530/" STEAM_COMPAT_CLIENT_INSTALL_PATH="/home/x/.local/share/Steam/" "/home/x/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Proton 7.0/proton" run "/home/x/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/429530/pfx/drive_c/Falcon BMS 4.37/Launcher.exe"

• Tip: copy-paste either command in a file like falconbmslauncher.sh and set it to be an executable file (usually right-click on file > Permissions > enable "Allow this file to run as a program"). Move the file to your Desktop and you can doubleclick it to start BMS.

Opentrack Headtracking

• Install opentrack
• Add user to input group (x = yourusername)

sudo usermod -a -G input x

• Restart computer (or logout and then login again)
• In Opentrack:
  • Input: PointTracker
  • Output: Wine
    • Wine variant: Proton (select Proton version that Falcon 4.0 is using in Steam, e.g. Proton 7.0)
    • select FSYNC (not ESYNC)
    • Protocol: Both
    • Steam application id: 429530
    • confirm with "OK"
  • Filter: Accela
  • Options > Game Detection:
    • Executable: Falcon BMS.exe
    • Profile: select your opentrack profile for BMS
• In BMS > Setup > Controllers > Advanced:
  • Enable Natural Head: yes
  • Enable 3d Cockpit TrackIR: yes
  • Enable TrackIR Vector: yes
  • TrackIR Vector Z Axis Mode: FOV Control
• Start Opentrack first, and then BMS
• Alt + c, t = restarts TrackIR BMS module (usually not needed, just FYI)

Weapon Delivery Planner and other tools

• This app can be started from the Alternative Launcher
• Download WDP from http://www.weapondeliveryplanner.nl/download/index.html
• Unpack archive and copy folder to /home/x/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/429530/pfx/drive_c/Tools/
• The path may look something like this: /home/x/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/429530/pfx/drive_c/Tools/Weapon_Delivery_Planner_3.7.24.232/
• Start the Alternative Launcher and select the folder above; WDP will be automatically started
• If see a rundll32.exe error message popup you can ignore it, just click cancel or no (it should only show once)
• WDP starts with a popup that reads "Theatre 'Aegean' not found in your BMS install" - which you can also ignore, click "OK" - once WDP opens you can select "Korea" from the drop down menu in the upper left (under "File")
• While using WDP it may happen that you see an error message popup that shows "Unhandled exception has occured in your application" - just click on "Continue" to dismiss
• Repeat the steps above to download and install additional tools (e.g. Mission Commander, Weather Commander, etc.)

Avionics Configurator

• This app can be started from the Alternative Launcher
• This program only shows a black window. To show it properly run the following command in your terminal:

WINEPREFIX="/home/x/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/429530/pfx" wine reg add "HKCU\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Avalon.Graphics" /v DisableHWAcceleration /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

FIREWALL CONFIGURATION

• The following ports have to be opened in your computers firewall if you want to play online
• Ports 2934, 2935 are required for BMS
• Ports 9987, 9988, 9989 are required for IVC

sudo ufw allow 2934/udp

sudo ufw allow 2935/udp

sudo ufw allow 9987/udp

sudo ufw allow 9988/udp

sudo ufw allow 9989/udp

• Also enable port forwarding to your computer for these UDP ports

---

Falcon 4 BMS on Linux with Wine and Lutris (tested with BMS 4.37)

Install required software

• Lutris
• wine-staging (recommended as this is the latest wine version)
• winetricks
• optional: opentrack

Lutris: Create wine prefix and install Falcon 4.0

• Start Lutris and click on + sign in upper left ("Add Game") > "Install a Windows game from media"
• Game name: "Falcon 4.0" > click "Continue"
• Select setup file: click on "Install" > specify installation directory (e.g. /home/x/Games/FalconBMS)
• Click "Install" > click on "Browse" and select your Falcon 4.0 installer (e.g. from GOG)
• Click on "Continue" and follow the instructions in the Falcon 4.0 installer
• Once the Falcon 4.0 installation is complete, Lutris will create a launcher with the name we used earlier ("Falcon 4.0")
• Right click on the launcher > Configure > Runner options > Wine version > select "System (8.5 Staging))" > Save (this requires wine-staging to be installed on your computer - older/newer system wine versions should work too)

Install required libraries into Falcon wine prefix

• Install winetricks
• Sidenote: should winetricks be out of date, run: sudo winetricks --self-update
  • check the updated winetricks version with: winetricks --version
  • if you need to rollback winetricks to the old version from your repository, run: sudo winetricks --update-rollback
• Install libraries with winetricks:

WINEPREFIX="/home/x/Games/FalconBMS" winetricks -q dotnet48 vcrun2015 dxvk

• After the installation has finished, check that at least the following libraries were installed: dotnet40, dotnet48, vcrun2015, dxvk (there will be a few other libraries as well) - Note: if you see a rundll32.exe error pop-up, just click on "No" to proceed

WINEPREFIX="/home/x/Games/FalconBMS" winetricks list-installed

• The following steps in this chapter are only required if not all of the above libraries were installed (dotnet40, dotnet48, vcrun2015, dxvk). If so, follow these instructions:

WINEPREFIX="/home/x/Games/FalconBMS" winetricks -q

• In winetricks > select the default wineprefix > Install a Windows DLL or component > select the following (if they're missing)
  • dotnet48 (this will automatically install dotnet40 too)
  • vcrun2015
  • dxvk
• Ignore any pop-up notifications during installation (they are automatically skipped after a few seconds; no need to press "OK")
• Once the installation is finished you can close the winetricks window(s)

Lutris: Install Falcon BMS

• Now we're going to install Falcon BMS into the same prefix
• In Lutris > right click on "Falcon 4.0" launcher > duplicate
• Right click on the new launcher (should have a "2" at the end of its name) > Configure > Game info > set name to: "Falcon BMS"
• In the same window go to "Game options" > "Executable" > "Browse" and select Falcon BMS installer .exe file > click on "Save"
• Start "Falcon BMS" launcher (or right click > "Play") > follow BMS installer instructions (install DirectX too)
• Wait for the BMS installation to finish
• Right click the "Falcon BMS" launcher > "Configure" > "Game options" > Executable > select Falcon BMS Alternative Launcher.exe which should be under "/home/x/Games/FalconBMS/drive_c/Falcon BMS 4.37/Launcher/FalconBMS_Alternative_Launcher.exe"
• Optional: You can set an FPS limit in Lutris, which can help your GPU to run less hot and consume less power. It can also sometimes help to run a game smoother without micro stutters. In Lutris right-click on the BMS launcher > Configure > System options > FPS limit - I usually set 60 FPS which is sufficient in most games, but obviously you can set any value.
• Double-click the "Falcon BMS" launcher to start Falcon BMS

Opentrack Headtracking

• Add user to input group (x = your username)

sudo usermod -a -G input x

• Restart computer (or logout and login again)
• In Opentrack:
  • Input: PointTracker
  • Output: Wine
    • Wine variant: Wine (system): /home/x/Games/FalconBMS/
    • select ESYNC (not FSYNC)
    • Protocol: Both
    • confirm with "OK"
  • Filter: Accela
  • Options > Game Detection:
    • Executable: Falcon BMS.exe
    • Profile: select your opentrack profile for BMS
• In BMS > Setup > Controllers > Advanced:
  • Enable Natural Head: yes
  • Enable 3d Cockpit TrackIR: yes
  • Enable TrackIR Vector: yes
  • TrackIR Vector Z Axis Mode: FOV Control
• Always start Opentrack first, and then BMS
• Alt + c, t = restarts TrackIR BMS module (usually not needed, just FYI)

Weapon Delivery Planner and other tools

• This app can be started from the Alternative Launcher
• Download WDP from http://www.weapondeliveryplanner.nl/download/index.html
• Unpack archive and copy unzipped folder to /home/x/Games/FalconBMS/drive_c/Tools/
• The path should look like: /home/x/Games/FalconBMS/drive_c/Tools/Weapon_Delivery_Planner_3.7.24.232/
• Start the Alternative Launcher and select the folder above; WDP will be automatically started
• If see a rundll32.exe error message popup you can ignore it, just click cancel or no (it should only show once)
• WDP starts with a popup that reads "Theatre 'Aegean' not found in your BMS install" - which you can also ignore, click "OK" - once WDP opens you can select "Korea" from the drop down menu in the upper left (under "File")
• While using WDP it may happen that you see an error message popup that shows "Unhandled exception has occured in your application" - just click on "Continue" to dismiss
• Repeat the steps above to download and install additional tools (e.g. Mission Commander, Weather Commander, etc.)

Avionics Configurator - Prevent black window

• This app can be started from the Alternative Launcher
• This program only shows a black window. To show it properly run the following command in your terminal:

WINEPREFIX="/home/x/Games/FalconBMS" wine reg add "HKCU\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Avalon.Graphics" /v DisableHWAcceleration /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

FIREWALL CONFIGURATION

• The following ports have to be opened in your computers firewall if you want to play online
• Ports 2934, 2935 are required for BMS
• Ports 9987, 9988, 9989 are required for IVC

sudo ufw allow 2934/udp

sudo ufw allow 2935/udp

sudo ufw allow 9987/udp

sudo ufw allow 9988/udp

sudo ufw allow 9989/udp

• Also enable port forwarding to your computer for these UDP ports