Virtual kiwi pilots can now aerial sight see over many many national landmarks and even visit some of the smaller regional airports in Microsoft’s recent update for Flight Simulator.

While the entire globe had already been meticulously detailed in Flight Simulator, smaller nations, like New Zealand hadn’t quite gotten the love with only primary airports being available.

Having worked with New Zealand (NZ) based developers and topographers, update 1.29.30.0 gives players an additional 7 cities, 62 new points of interest and 9 extra airports.

From the Fjords to Hobbiton in Matamata, visit smaller cities such as Gisborne, circle around Dog Lighthouse, soar over the Beehive (NZ’s Parliamentary building) or simply take a sight seeing tour in a Cessna across the sprawling Auckland city (NZ’s largest metropolis).

All of this has been finely crafted by hand and being a kiwi and familiar with all of these zones and landmarks I looked over with a critical view, but could not ind any thing to be critical about. Flawless digital reproduction.

And if you’re up for a challenge pilot an Airbus and land at NZ’s windiest airport in Wellington city.

In all there has been so much added in for kiwi pilots with accurate mapping, textured detail and additional challenges that make this new update a virtual complete simulation game all of it’s own.

To get your pilot skills within the long white cloudy skies of New Zealand make sure you have downloaded the free update.

The post Microsoft Flight Simulator New Zealand Update Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Microsoft Flight Simulator has announced New Zealand as the latest country to be reimagined in the 12th world update of the hugely popular simulator.

The in-flight view of Aotearoa has been completely remodelled to enable a much more realistic experience for players, who take on the role of a pilot jet-setting around the world. As part of the update, Microsoft has added 7 new cities, 9 handcrafted airports and 62 points of interest, all reproduced in stunning photo realistic quality.

The development teams used a combination of satellite imagery, aerial photography and digital elevation models to replicate New Zealand’s terrains to include never before seen intricacies. So now, when Microsoft Flight Simulator pilots are soaring among the snow-kissed peaks of the Southern Alps, the vertical-walled fjords of the Marlborough Sounds, and modern architectural feats such as the Sky Tower, they can become fully immersed in the breathtaking landscapes.

Jorg Neumann, Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator flew out to New Zealand to announce the update at an exclusive media event with rugby great and licensed pilot, Richie McCaw.

“Microsoft Flight Simulator has a strong fan-base here in New Zealand so we wanted to replicate the country’s diverse landscapes and key sights as accurately as possible for them – and for flight sim pilots around the world who love exploring this beautiful country. We’ve spent a lot of time getting the landmarks as accurate as possible. Every airport and location has been handcrafted using high resolution photogrammetry data and triangulated irregular network (TIN).”

Richie McCaw joined Jorg on stage to talk about how the game helped drive his love of flying growing up in the South Island.

“I played Microsoft Flight Simulator a lot when I was growing up because I’ve always loved flying, and it gave me the opportunity to hone my skills. The graphics have come a long way since then and I’ve been pretty impressed by how realistic the different flight routes are. Now I can jump online and fly my favourite routes, such as through the Southern Alps, and it’s as close to the real thing as you can get.”

Getting local developers working alongside the Microsoft Flight Simulator team on the update was crucial to get the replications right, added Jorg Neuman.

“The teams at NZA Simulations and Orbx did exceptional work on the project in building out some of technical details of the landmarks. They’ve been building incredible add-ons to the simulator for years, so we didn’t hesitate to get them involved for this New Zealand update”.

Microsoft Flight Simulator World Update XII: New Zealand is available FREE to all owners. Pilots simply need to confirm that their simulator is updated to version 1.29.30.0, download World Update XII: New Zealand and take in the natural beauty of New Zealand. The sky is calling!

The post Microsoft Flight Simulator’s Latest World Update XII Features NZ appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

For almost 40 years PC gamers have been taking to the skies courtesy of Microsoft’s Flight Simulator games.

Now Xbox Series X|S gamers get to soar above the clouds with Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Playing Microsoft Flight Simulator on a high-end PC, complete with flight yoke and rudder pedals is one thing, but on a console, with a controller?

I’ve spent the last week doing exactly that, flying everything from the giant 747-8 to the humble Cessna 152 on an Xbox Series X with my gamepad in hand.

Fifteen years ago, Microsoft all but abandoned its long-running Flight Simulator franchise. Although 2006’s Flight Simulator X lived on and is still played by many today, the visuals have long since looked tired, despite the love and attention of a dedicated modding community.

At E3 2019, with very little fanfare, but much surprise, Microsoft teased the next generation of their Flight Simulator games.

Even more surprising than the return of the beloved franchise was that Microsoft Game Studios and French developer, Asobo Studio, would also be bringing the game to the next generation of Xbox consoles.

 Microsoft Flight Simulator launched on PC a year ago.

Since then, the game has been continuously updated and refined. For Xbox Series X|S the game offers players the complete PC fight sim experience.

The Xbox release also includes a new discovery mode and other accessibility features that allow even casual players unfamiliar with flight simulators to easily take flight and enjoy the game.

Unfortunately, the game retains the PC version’s clumsy user interface and menu system, which is made even more cumbersome to navigate using an Xbox controller.

As the game starts for the first time, players are faced with a rather confronting options screen. It’s poorly designed and best ignored.

The home screen allows players to select one of the discovery tours. This gets players straight into the air over iconic locations without having to set the plane type, location, time of day, or weather. Players can take in the sights over Rio de Janeiro, Paris, and Mount Everest, among others.

The above is a handy addition as aside from accessing the game’s instant action modes like discovery, landing challenges, and bush tours, the front end is a bit of a mission to get your head around.

Selecting a departure location, aeroplane, live or custom weather, AI aircraft, actual time or custom time of day is a bit overwhelming at first.

For the first few flights pressing the yellow “Fly” button will get you on the runway and you can take it from there.

Much of this complexity comes from the vast scale of the game and the peerless opportunities it affords players. It’s a credit to the developers that the game experience can be scaled from an arcade-like sightseeing trip, in a prop plane, to an unforgiving, very serious, jumbo jet flight simulation.

Even after playing for many hours on the PC version, the newly invigorated Flight Simulator on Xbox Series X still makes me pinch myself.

It’s a far cry from Flight Simulator 98, one of the first Windows PC games I ever played and it’s incredible to think that Xbox owners can now explore the entire planet Earth in such detail.

Flight Simulator allows players to select almost any airport that exists in the real world. They can take off in one of a number of the included aeroplanes from jumbo jets to single-engine prop planes. Flights plans can be set, with the weather and time of day adjusted to suit.

The developers have done a miraculous job of squeezing the entire planet into the game.

The world’s most amazing landscapes are just a click away. You can marvel at the scale of the Grand Canyon or take in the view of the Pyramids of Giza.

You’ll never run out of places to visit or cities to fly over.

Some cities are generated directly from aerial photography, producing 3D models via a technique called photogrammetry.

Other areas use AI to carefully match similar-looking building and roof types. The same with the extraordinary number of trees that add to the sense of realism. Some areas are a lot better than others.

It’s not always perfect, but considering the scale of this endeavour, it’s still a feat of engineering.

Not all the information needed to create this level of realism is stored locally on the Xbox. Instead, the Xbox streams data from Microsoft’s Azure cloud servers on demand.

This means that Flight Simulator is essentially an online-only game. There is an option to cache data, but only for relatively small areas. Similarly, real-world flights and weather are also downloaded and incorporated into the game.

Even though the game is continuously downloading data from the internet, there’s still a whopping 100 or so gigabytes of data that needs to be installed on the Xbox drive.

Some additional free scenery updates need to be applied separately via the in-game Marketplace that adds around another 30 gigs to the initial download.

These add better resolution terrain and cities across the US, the UK, France, Japan, and the Nordic countries.

The result of all this fancy technology is an absolutely breathtaking game.

The sun shines off aircraft wings showing the imperfection in the metal plates and cockpit windows frost up.

Accurately modelled landscapes disappear over the horizon or into the haze. Clouds have depth and scatter the light.

At night time the world is illuminated, roads lit by strings of lights with cities glowing in the distance. By selecting the time of day, the weather, and the location players can experience spectacular views almost indistinguishable from real life.

There’s no doubt that Flight Simulator looks amazing on Xbox Series X, in some cases even better than its PC counterpart.

There’s a lot to be said for flying around the world with a 4K HDR TV screen running at a solid 60 frames per second.

Whereas I play Flight Simulator on PC using a Logitech Flight Yoke and a few Flight panels, Xbox players don’t have that luxury.

At the moment there’s only one flight stick, the Thrustmaster T.Flight HOTAS One that works with the Xbox Series X. The rest of us will be flying with an Xbox gamepad.

To be fair, Asobo has done a pretty good job mapping the basic flight controls to the gamepad.

The left thumbstick controls the elevators and aileron (to change the aircraft’s pitch and roll) with the triggers controlling the rudder.

The A button increases throttle, whilst B decreases power. X is the brakes. Down on the D-pad drops the flaps (for a bit of extra lift for take-off and landing) and up raises them.

The right D-pad button toggles landing gear and the left D-pad button toggles the parking brakes. That’s the basics that should allow players to taxi, take off, and land all the aircraft in the game.

Nervous flyers will be please to know that there are plenty of assists, to take the stress out of flying, including an AI co-pilot.

Most players should have no problem getting into the air. On the tarmac, at the end of the runway making sure your brakes are off, you first apply full throttle (the A button) and carefully using the (ever so sensitive) triggers for the rudder to keep the plane in the centre of the runway.

Gently pulling back on the left thumbstick raises the nose and you are away. The right stick allows players to look around. Pressing the menu button on the control toggles the external and cockpit views.

It’s only when you start to tinker with the more advanced controls that the Xbox controller starts to over-complicate matters. Many aeroplane controls are not even mapped to the controller.

The game allows virtual pilots pretty much full control of most of the included aircraft’s systems and navigation aids. Radios can be set and flight paths dialled in. Autopilot options can be selected for heading, altitude, etc.

From the cockpit, the game uses a virtual mouse that activates panel switches as you hover over them. The instructions are easy to read and understand, but you are flying a plane, well, actually you are not when fiddling with the switches.

It’s bad enough on PC flicking virtual switches, with an actual mouse (hence the reason I invested in some cockpit panels).

Players wanting to get the maximum out of the game as an actual simulator are going to hit a bit of a learning curve.

The game does have a very accessible flight school for both single-engine and airliners. The lessons offer enough to get you going but do not cover all the aspects of aviation build into the game.

For that, you may find reading real flight training and aviation navigation manuals useful.

Microsoft Flight Simulator provides a true next-gen experience for Xbox Series X owners that up until very recently would have been impossible.

Using Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing tech, Bing maps, and the expertise of 3^rd party developers, Asobo has given Xbox gamers the whole world to explore. I really can’t overstate how amazing this is.

You can fly anywhere and recognise landmarks. You can visit old holiday destinations, the place you grew up, or even the location where you are sitting right now, playing Flight Simulator.

This is going to be a game-changer, I expect to see more and more content added as the months and years roll on.

Helicopters are being added next year, but in the future, we could see trains, boats, and maybe even cars added with the help of AI and cloud computing.

I feel that this is just the start of something very special.

The post Microsoft Flight Simulator (Xbox Series X) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

In September 2020, Microsoft shared their vision for continuously improving Microsoft Flight Simulator by bringing meaningful updates to the simulator on a regular basis.

The virtual world in Microsoft’s Flight Simulator is getting its latest major update, one with a focus on Europe’s Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Renowned for its natural splendour and architectural wonder, this region has been rendered in its most realistic fidelity yet in World Update V: Nordics.

Simmers can take to the northern European sky and explore vast fjords, riveting urban vistas, domineering peaks, and centuries-old iconic castles from within the cockpit. World Update V: Nordics includes improvements in detail of broad swaths of landscapes, enhancements to regional architecture, improved data for 100 airports and 78 carefully selected points of interest.

This update also features five bush trips, one for each of the Nordic countries, that show off some the very best elements of these destinations.

Finally, World Update V: Nordics brings new hand-crafted airports, and five original landing challenges designed to test and hone aviation mettle throughout a range of conditions. Test your landing skills at: Denmark’s Bornholm, Iceland’s Ísafjörður, Sweden’s Stockholm Arlanda, Norway’s Svalbard, and Finland’s Vaasa Airports.

World Update V: Nordics is available FREE to all Microsoft Flight Simulator users. Be sure your simulator is up to date first, then visit the Marketplace to download the latest world update and immerse yourself in this magnificent and expansive corner of the world.  The sky is calling!

Microsoft Flight Simulator is currently available on Xbox Game Pass for PC, Windows 10, and Steam and is coming to Xbox Series X|S on July 27th, 2021.

The post Microsoft Flight Simulator World Update V: Nordics appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is introducing a whole new generation to the wonders of flight.

As with all flight simulators, from Elite: Dangerous to Digital Combat Flight Simulator, having the right controller makes all the difference. The same goes for MSFS.

Logitech’s Flight Yoke System provides flight sim fans with controls similar to that of a light plane and many jet aircraft. It also provides the base for optional modular instrument panels that can be connected to form a complete cockpit experience.

A few years ago, I replaced my trusty 20-year-old Saitek Cyborg Gold 3D joystick with a Logitech X52 Pro. It wasn’t because the ambidextrous Cyborg joystick was broken (it still works). I’d wanted to upgrade to a HOTAS (hands-on throttle and stick) setup for a while, but this meant getting used to using the joystick with my right hand, and being a left-hander, this put me off.

A late-night Twitter discussion with Elite co-creator David Braben (also a lefty), had the legendary developer effectively tell me to suck it up and buy a HOTAS. I took the plunge with the X52 and my experience with the likes of Elite: Dangerous (which models the in-game flight controller after the X52 Pro) and Digital Combat Flight Simulator improved no end.

Microsoft’s latest iteration of their long-running Flight Simulator series mainly features general aviation and some commercial aeroplanes. Whilst you can fly using a keyboard and mouse (good luck with that), Xbox controller, HOTAS, or regular joystick, a decent flight controller makes for a more immersive set-up.

Whilst my X52 Pro did the job, I was acutely aware that except for the Airbus A320, every plane in the game used a flight yoke rather than a joystick. Having flown a Cessna 150 a few times, I know that the sensation of controlling a plane with a yoke is a lot different than that of a joystick.

Having already transitioned from using a twist of the X52 Pro’s joystick for the rudder and getting a set of rudder pedals, I thought it was time to look into a flight yolk.

Logitech’s Flight Yoke System has been around for years. Previously marketed by Saitek, which was bought out by Madcatz, which were then bought out by Logitech, it’s been the go-to flight yolk for many sim flyers. Right now, it’s really one of only two consumer-level flight yolks on the market, the other being from Honeycomb.

I’ve heard good things about the Honeycomb yolk, and so I should as it is twice as much as Logitech’s. Whilst the Honeycomb setup requires the yolk and throttles to be purchased separately, the Logitech kit comes complete. The Honeycomb Yolk does, however, have some extra buttons on the yolk unit for engine start, etc.

Apart from the cheaper price compared to the Honeycomb kit, Logitech’s flight gear is modular. Very modular, in fact.

Flight sim fans can pick up just the Logitech yoke with the throttle quadrant (I’d recommend rudder pedals as well) and head off into the clouds. The more discerning pilot can purchase another throttle quadrant, which can plug into the USB hub built into the yolk, and be all set for multi-engine planes. But it doesn’t stop there. There are enough Logitech flight accessories to build a fully-functioning small aircraft cockpit if you have a big enough wallet.

The Logitech Flight Yolk System comes with a base unit (the yolk i.e. the plane’s “steering wheel”) and a throttle quadrant. The Yolk has a digital clock with a stopwatch in the centre.

On the left handle of the Yolk, there’s a hat switch, a 2-way rocker switch, and a button on the underside. The right handle of the Yolk has a red button and rocker switches aligned vertically and horizontally. The rocker switches are handy for essential actions such as trim controls and landing gear.

There’s a dial on the underside of the right Yolk handle for switching to the three modes that can be used to customise controls for alternative uses. This uses the programming software to set up profiles available from the Logitech website.

The Yolk feels very comfortable in your hands. It’s actually bigger than the Yolk you’d find in a Cessna 152/172!

It is made from plastic and does feel very plasticky. It’s a common criticism of the unit, perhaps because, otherwise it is a very good set-up.

The Yolk has a metal shaft that gives just the right resistance when pushed and pulled to adjust the elevators. This makes manually maintaining an altitude a lot easier than with a joystick. Similarly, turning the Yolk offers a lot more resistance than my joystick, adding precision and the feeling of a bit of weight behind the aircraft handling.

The Yolk does stick a bit if you lean down on it when pulling it back or pushing it forward. By not applying unnecessary force on the metal shaft, it moves smoothly and freely. Better bearings would probably have elevated this minor issue.

The throttle quadrant has three levers, defaulting to throttle, prop speed, and mixture.

The different shapes of the levers make them easy to feel for (especially useful if you are flying in VR). There are also three 2-way rocker switches, perfect for flap control, brake, or landing gear. The sides of the throttle quadrant have circular areas that can be used to mate with additional USB quadrant units, available separately, for controlling the power when flying multi-engine planes.

Setting up the Flight Yoke System was simple and without issue. The throttle quadrant connects to the Yoke unit via a PS/2 socket and the Yoke unit plugs into your PC via a USB cable.

The Yoke base unit has a three-port USB hub for more accessories (more on that later). The Yoke can be screwed into a dedicated cockpit setup or affixed to a desk using the included mount. Similarly, the throttle quadrant can also be directly screwed to a 3rd party cockpit arrangement or attached to the supplied desk mounting bracket.

After installing the drivers downloaded from the Logitech site and connecting the set-up to my PC, Microsoft Flight Simulator recognised the Yoke and assigned the default switches. I customised the setup to add brakes and the external view to the throttle quadrant switches, but other than that the defaults were spot on.

The first flight really bought home just how unrealistic it is flying a prop plane with a joystick.

The Yolk feels so much more positive than a joystick.

Whilst a joystick may be great for performing an Immelmann turn at Mach 1, general aviation passengers expect a smooth ride. A well-trimmed Yolk will give a pilot the ability to gently adjust the plane and keep the passengers’ breakfast down.

The Yolk seemed to realistically simulate the delay between adjusting the control surfaces and the action of the aircraft, which is not so apparent with the small movements of a joystick. The whole flight experience was so much more realistic. But this added realism took some getting used to. Whereas I’d be able to leisurely realign my aircraft on final approach with quick wrist actions via my joystick, guiding my aircraft down the centre-line with the Yoke required more deliberate actions.

The Yoke unit comes with a series of holes, with Allen screws (Allen key not included), along its top for mounting optional panels.

There are three additional panels available: the Flight Switch Panel (which also has the landing gear controls), the Flight Radio Panel (both nav and coms), and the Flight Multi Panel (which has autopilot, flaps, and aileron trim). There’s also an LED Flight Instrument Panel that can be customized to display attitude, vertical speed, etc. Multiple Flight Instrument Panels can be used together to complete the cockpit.

A full cockpit setup isn’t going to be cheap, but as Logitech allows sim fans to purchase the modules separately, the expense of these optional components can be spread.

As well as the Logitech Flight Yoke I also picked up a Flight Switch Panel and, a week later, a Flight Multi Panel.

The Logitech Flight Switch Panel comes with a mounting bracket that can be affixed to the top of the Yoke unit or on your desk with the included sticky-backed velcro. The panel can also be used without the bracket for insertion into a 3rd-party cockpit facia.

I screwed the bracket to the top of the Yoke unit and inserted the Flight Switch Panel. The back of the panel has a USB cable that I connected to the Yolk unit’s hub.

The Yolk unit has quite a low profile, so even with the Flight Switch Panel attached I was still able to see my monitor over the top.

This was also the case with the second panel, attached via the four holes along the top of the panel, but a third panel stacked on top would likely obscure my view. The sides of the Flight Panels have two holes for attaching additional panels, as well, which would get around the height issue.

The Logitech Flight Panels have an additional plugin that needs to be downloaded from the Logitech website for them to work with Microsoft Flight Simulator. On plugging in the Flight Switch Panel and starting the game, I was ready to go.

Interestingly, unlike the Yoke, the panels do not show up in the Flight Simulator control options. This didn’t matter, as all the switches were correctly bound as per the labels.

The Flight Switch Panel has a dial on the left-hand side for left and right engine start and a landing gear level, for raising and lowering the wheels, on the right side. Three lights light up red when the gear is in motion and green when lowered. If your particular plane has fixed gear, the lights will not illuminate.

Between the starter dial and the gear lever are the control switches for the batteries, avionics, fuel pump, de-ice, and pitot heat. There are also switched for your plane’s internal and external lighting. The last switch is for opening and closing the cowl. The switches, although plastic, all feel very positive and robust. The ignition dial and landing gear level don’t feel quite as sturdy.

If you usually start your flight on the runway, most of the switch functions on the panel will be triggered automatically. You’ll still get to use the landing gear lever and switch your taxi and landing lights on and off.

I found that the panel encouraged me to start the flight parked up stationary at the gate and carry out the proper start-up procedure before taxing to the runway. I recommend doing this as it adds a massive amount of realism to the game.

The Logitech Flight Multi Panel is the same size as the Switch Panel. Both panels are angled slightly away from the player for a nice, uniform cockpit design aesthetic.

Interestingly, to set up the Multi Panel I needed to plug it directly into my internal USB hub as the display did not illuminate when plugged into the yolk hub. Likely more to do with the low power supplied via my external USB hub than the fault of the Logitech equipment. Worth noting if you come across a similar problem, though.

The Multi Panel is, effectively, the controls for your plane’s autopilot. The LED display can illuminate two lines of data for the various autopilot settings.

The rotating dial on the left of the display can be used to select desired altitude, vertical speed, indicated airspeed, heading, and course. To the right of the display is a is a dial for adjusting the displayed values. Both dials feel robust and nice to use. The display is also nice and easy to read.

Below the display are the autopilot buttons which, for the most part, mimic the buttons found in the cockpit of the planes in the simulator.

Different models have different layouts, but they all work in essentially the same manner. The HDG, NAV, IAS, ALT, and VS buttons trigger the selected settings as dialled in, with APR for an ILS runway approach and REV for a back course approach. There is also a switch for triggering auto throttle. The final button is the AP button that triggers the autopilot control. The buttons have a positive click to them and all the buttons illuminate when active.

There is additional functionality in the form of a lever for raising and lowering the flaps and a dial for trimming the ailerons. Both are plastic and whilst the trim dial seems robust, the flap level is a bit wobbly. I also found for Microsoft Flight Simulator I really had to turn the trim dial for it to have any effect. Probably better this way than too sensitive, though.

Next on my list will probably be the radio stack, although a flight Instrument Panel would also be nice. Either is cheap at around AU$250 each!

The panels are more like those found in small and medium general aviation aircraft than jets and airliners. Regardless, though, they still give an element of realism, even when flying the bigger machines.

The build quality of the Logitech Flight gear is reasonably good, offering a fair trade-off between price and quality. It may be a little too plasticky for some, but Logitech does use decent parts when they need to be hard-wearing, like the dials and switches.

The Logitech Flight System is still expensive, with a full cockpit setup costing a couple of grand. The modular design allows virtual pilots to build their cockpit as their budget allows from just the excellent yoke and throttle to a fully-fledged cockpit instrumentation set-up.

The ease with which I was able to integrate the Logitech Flight System into my Microsoft Flight Simulator set-up is a credit to both the developers of the simulation, Asobo, and Logitech. To be able to just plug all this stuff in and just have it work is exactly what you want.

Having the switches in front of me made me want to start my plane cold on the ramp, going through the start-up procedures and setting my autopilot before taxiing to the runway and off to my virtual destination. Planes are so much easier to adjust in flight, not only because of the feel of the Yoke but also being able to flip switches and dial in headings, etc. on the fly, as it were.

I really can’t express just how much difference the use of Logitech flight simulation gear makes to the Microsoft Flight Simulator experience. Even going from an X52 Pro HOTAS, controlling the plane with a yoke, flipping switches, and selecting settings adds so much, taking the MSFS from a game to a fully-fledged realistic consumer flight simulator.

The Logitech Flight Yolk, Flight Switch Panel, and Flight Multi Panel were purchased by the reviewer at retail and not supplied by Logitech.

The post Logitech Flight Yoke System, Switch Panel, & Multi Panel MS Flight Simulator Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is Microsoft’s longest running franchise with a history of 38 years, and the team are proud to announce that the latest entry is the fastest to grow to over 2 million pilots.

This was possible thanks to the incredible community of fans, real-world pilots, flight enthusiasts, and virtual travellers who have embraced the new simulation since its arrival on August 18th, 2020 and made it the biggest game launch in Xbox Game Pass for PC history.

The community have piloted more than 50 million flights and have logged more than 3.5 billion miles flown to date – the equivalent of flying 19 times roundtrip from the Earth to the Sun, or around the world over 400 thousand times.

Microsoft are so energized by the community of creators who have already embraced their SDK and developed over 500 airports, aircraft, and other add-ons in the short few months since launch. The quality of work, knowledge and passion on display from creators is an inspiration to the team every day.

Winning “Best Sim / Strategy 2020” at The Game Awards a last week, the team is extremely proud that they have been able to follow the storied history of previous Microsoft Flight Simulator titles that received such accolades, and feel humbled to be selected from the amazing group of games that were nominated for this award. The evening was perfectly rounded out as the team announced that Microsoft Flight Simulator is coming to Xbox Series X|S in Summer of 2021.

As a thank you to all of you – die-hard simmers and newcomers to flight simulation alike – Microsoft are pleased to announce that they are preparing a few surprises alongside the VR update launching on December 22nd, 2020. Everyone will receive a unique Microsoft Flight Simulator themed livery for the entire launch plane fleet and simmers will be able to fly with the same cute dog-themed liveries that Rufus and Sam flew in their Pitts Special. Finally, given the time of year, the update will add real-time snow and true-to-life ice coverage to the entire planet.

As the team have said time and time again, the launch in 2020 was only the beginning of their journey with Microsoft Flight Simulator. They are excited to carry this momentum into 2021 – where the game will launch on Xbox Series X|S in the summer, and already are planning 3 large updates to the simulation, and they will update the world 4-5 times with additional World Updates (as well as a few other surprises they have planned).

From the Microsoft team: “Thank you very much for all your support and see you in the skies! Happy Holidays from the Microsoft Flight Simulator team. Let it snow!”.

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This is Captain Shane speaking. Make sure your tray tables are stowed away, take notice of the safety instructions and fasten your seatbelts as Microsoft’s Flight Simulator is about to take off.

Having had a very long break in the franchise since 2006’s Flight Simulator X Microsoft have not only rebooted the much missed series they have made the ultimate edition with as much realism as, well, the real thing.

Releasing in mid August, Flight Simulator 2020 is not a game. It is a simulator. A real world, real physics training tool of sorts for aviator germs and enthusiasts who can once again sit in their home based cockpit taking command of a varied selection of commercial planes, smaller aircraft and more.

From the Boeing 747 through to smaller Cessna’s, Flight Simulator 2020 not only offers up the true mechanics of flying an actual plane it also pits environmental pressures in to the mix such as weather, differing International Airports with their varied and not always so flat and clear runways aswell as the potential hazards an aircraft itself can have.

If you prefer to keep the training wheels on for weather, or want to add an extra challenge, tweak the weather. Add more snowfall to make flight blinding, or extreme wind for a tricky landing.

Playing through Microsoft’s Flight Simulator 2020 is both exhilarating and an adrenaline jolt. To gain the fullest experience possible the likes of Honeycomb, Thrustmaster and Logitech have stepped up too with a range of peripherals to plug in to your PC.

Logitech’s Flight Yorke System is a full sized USB plug-in steering controller with builtin LCD screen with a full suite of buttons and sliders necessary to fly a real aircraft. A full complete kit for the elite players.

Honeycomb also released a steering controller – Alpha flight Controls. A variation of the Logitech one, the Honeycomb does not have the bells and whistles (or real world toggles) of Logi’s. Still it is ample when it comes to a successful flight simulating session.

Combine either one of these with Thrustmaster’s TPR real world-like Pendular Rudders, which are complex built for simple use.

I also recommend using a quality gaming headset to complete the experience, if anything for the social aspect to the simulator.

Developers Asobo Studio and Microsoft Studio have painstakingly detailed out and mapped to the very last bit of tarmac grit all global runways aswell as the entire globe itself. Given current events in 2020 Microsoft’s Flight Simulator is as close to international flight as we will get for sometime while being a whole lot more – and HTC Vive or Oculus Rift compatible.

Microsoft’s Flight Simulator 2020 is designed and built for almost everyone, with Microsoft’s Azure cloud taking the heavy lifting of what is a massive game – thus you will not need a high spec PC to run and it releases on PC and Xbox on the 18th of August 2020 as will our full review of the simulator.

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