Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, first impressions of flying in optimal conditions

A few days ago, thanks to an invitation from Microsoft, we had the opportunity to go to the Grand Canyon in the state of Arizona to see firsthand all the news that will have Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.

The event was divided into several presentations and discussions with Jörg Neumann, Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator, Sebastian Wloch, CEO and Co-Founder of Asobo Studio, David Dedeine, CCO of Asobo Studio, Christopher Burnett, Co-Founder of Working Title Simulations and Brandon Yaeger, Founder and Project Leader of Got Friends.

Realism through sky and earth

To understand some of the new changes, the development team took us on a ground and air tour of the Grand Canyon, one of the locations that will be in the game.

By land, we toured some of the most photogenic spots, and by air, we had the opportunity to board a 7-seat Cirrus jet with technology worthy of a video game. Not only does it have Bluetooth connectivity to play your music, it has global connectivity to get weather information, Wi-Fi, an automatic emergency parachute system, stabilization and electronic security, as well as a safe return function where if something happens to the pilot, the plane is able to land itself, which is really something incredible.

Changes based on everyone’s feedback

One of the things that was emphasized during the presentation is that this game has undergone changes thanks to feedback from pilots, avid fans, casuals, media, and even streamers and modders to better manage updates.

This ambitious project integrates mainly Microsoft Flight Simulator as the core of the game and partners like Got Friends with a focus more on planes, others more on details of the world, animals, fauna etc. This is one of the most complex multi-team developments in the world to date.

Airports

This is one of the first changes based on what the community told the developers. Because they mentioned that the flight experience was amazing, but at the time of landing it was not so much. So now we will see substantial changes between how they looked before and how they will be in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.

Another thing that has changed is the air traffic with the increase of aircraft brands.

Core architecture

This is undoubtedly one of the most important changes. The installation time has been significantly reduced because they have reduced the amount of information that is hosted on both the computer and the console. This is thanks to the new infrastructure that transmits on demand in real time only what we need from the game, although here there is a greater dependence on an Internet connection.

In figures, the download of the previous version was more than 100 GB and the complete installation was more than 2 TB. Now, in order to manage the 2 petabytes of information they have about the game, the kernel structure only downloads what you need. On a technical level, they explained to us that the way the content will be downloaded is when we are about to fly over the place.

Changes in air simulation

Now, in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, air currents will directly affect the aircraft and the atmosphere will also affect it. This was undoubtedly one of the most surprising demonstrations, because they showed us with images how the gusts of wind will affect the aircraft. In other words, in the previous version, there was only a wind system on the surface, and now the external wind will affect the flow over the aircraft, so the turbulence will be more realistic and assertive.

This new system will help the helicopter section (a new additional vehicle) to be more realistic.

The world

Now realism has been taken to the extreme, as you will be able to see how the tires of the plane or the helicopter itself affect the environment, the runways, and so on. If you are skilled, this will allow you to land on a grass field that is not too rough, or even on water, since this has also been improved at the simulation level.

They also emphasized that the simulation has been taken to the point where if we try to land in a semi-rugged field, it will be reflected in the cockpit.

Another addition to bring the world to life is that we will now be able to see animals. Depending on where we are flying over, we will be able to see wildlife such as giraffes, cattle, kangaroos, zebras and others.

To fly

The flight plans have also been reworked to offer a more complete experience to the most enthusiastic pilots, so the systems will be a little more complex and will include elements as close to real life as possible, such as altitude, alternate routes, fuel, and these can be transferred to more modern systems in the aircraft, such as Garmin’s Perspective Touch+, which we saw in the Cirrus jet with which we flew over the Grand Canyon.

Challenge Mode

This is one of the main additions and there will be different missions throughout the week, for example in our session we tried the rally race with an FA28E SuperHornet over the Grand Canyon and it was really spectacular. There will also be low-altitude and precision landing challenges.

Career Mode

This mode has been pushed to the limit because even in the creation of the avatar, they relied on the United Nations and other organizations to scan as many racial profiles as possible to have as much diversity as possible. They also tried to make sure that the names that appear in the game correspond to the areas where we are.

We will be able to start our career wherever we want, for example in a small village in France.

Something they emphasized a lot is that passing the exams does not entitle us to fly a real plane, but they are trying to make the experience as close to reality as possible while preserving the spirit of the tests.

One of the things that surprised us the most are the variables for the missions, since many of these places can be affected by the weather or the season, but in round numbers Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will have more than 3,000,000 missions for the number of permutations that can exist and the best thing is that as we progress, earning money in the game, we can buy our own planes to build our own fleet.

Photo Mode

And for those who like a more relaxed experience, it also has a photography mode that includes different challenges that can range from photographing a specific point to being able to do it with additional elements, which means you have to profile the plane in a certain way. In addition, some of these challenges can be at different times and with different light conditions, which will give you a greater challenge.

Visuals

Of course this section has not been neglected, the light and shadow effects have been improved, we will even have ray tracing in the cockpit. These effects will be shown in the way the light even affects the clouds.

One of the most surprising effects is that you will be able to see how light reflects off the worn glass of the planes. This ray tracing struck us as something out of the ordinary because it looks as if the glass has been damaged by time.

On the polygonal level, the game has increased the scale, and this can be seen in the details of the floor, which looks even more realistic. The textures have 4,000 times more detail than in the previous version, so visually it is even more accurate.

All of this has been possible thanks to the support of Bing around the world, as they have people collecting images, maps, etc. to make it as realistic as possible. The areas that could not be scanned or photographed are rendered using generative artificial intelligence.

In the case of cities or areas such as the Grand Canyon, special aircraft were used to scan the entire area.

They used satellite imagery to supplement the game for areas that could not be collected, either because of lack of access or because of local governments. Some of the numbers they shared with us is that they modeled over 12,000 buildings to try and make this experience something unique.

First impressions

During our sessions, we obviously tried to see as many modes and zones as possible. The first thing we noticed were the loading times and that it is very noticeable that a lot of the visual work is done via streaming, although it does not affect the visual aspects at all. On the other hand, the ray tracing effects are very well done, especially on the terrain, vegetation and sky level, which makes it extremely realistic.

The game itself can be as casual or as challenging as we want it to be, but the reality is that the new technologies used are setting a new standard and a precedent for what future developments in “open worlds” could be, because the ability to draw on 2 petabytes of information for a game, thanks to the cloud, opens the door to something more than a metaverse or alternate reality. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is the preamble to a world of endless possibilities.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will be available on November 19 on Xbox Series X|S and PC, both for Xbox Game Pass subscribers or for those who want to purchase it via Steam and there will be 3 versions: Premium Deluxe, Deluxe, and Standard.

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