With Microsoft Flight Simulator, Microsoft's flight simulator, a user can go anywhere on Earth and after a short loading time , begin the journey. This is possible because the game uses satellite data pulled from Bing Maps to create the world . But you don't just fly over a flat surface. Microsoft Flight Simulator takes the map data and then enriches it with trees, water, buildings and small details, such as traffic on the roads.
Scattered throughout are white dots representing tens of thousands of airports that actually exist in the world. You can, if you wish, start from a specific airport, such as JFK in New York for example, or simply click anywhere on the planet and immediately find yourself in the middle of a flight. It is very interesting to be able to be anywhere you want at any time, while also having full control over the weather. This means that in Flight Simulator you can choose whether you want to travel in amazing sunshine or in the strongest storm. In the event that during the flight you want to change the weather for any reason, Microsoft gives you the ability to do so. If you want, you can make it even more realistic by allowing Flight Simulator to simulate the real weather conditions of the area you are in.
What's amazing is that it gives users a 600km view, meaning that if there's a storm on the horizon you'll be able to see it before you even get close to it. The team seems particularly proud of its clouds, and rightly so. They're colossal, three-dimensional clouds that refract and catch light, swell as rain accumulates, and move around naturally, casting huge shadows wherever they go. The result? Some of the best skies you've ever seen digitally.
Now you might be wondering, how is your computer going to carry the entire world? Microsoft Flight Simulator will rely on your internet connection , with adaptive streaming . The better your connection, the better the visual fidelity you'll experience. There will be an offline mode, though, where you can pay for certain parts of the map to fly without being connected to the internet . But it sounds like the online game will offer the best possible experience and let you enjoy features like finding real planes in the sky using flight tracker data.
