Microsoft’s Flight Simulator provides a realistic virtual recreation of Earth. The game is a thrilling adventure in aviation, and it promises endless exploration. I’ll never forgot Christmas 1982. The IBM PC Jr was our new computer and I was hoping desperately that the new Flight Simulator from Microsoft would be one of these ornately packaged packages. My father said to me, with a smile, “hey why don’t show me this new program that you have been talking about?”. As I started the computer, the insides began to whirr. I saw a floppy disc in the drive. Many players had issues logging in or getting stuck at 97% loading.
Many players had issues with logging in or getting stuck at 97% loading.
Flash forward 42 years, and on launch day for Flight Simulator 2024 I waited about eight hours at what might as well have been a virtual airport
.
Once I was finally in a cockpit, though, this latest installment presents a breathtaking digital twin of Earth. This is made possible because of the cloud-based software that caused many delays in getting the game to launch. As with Asobo’s
release, this game features real-time traffic, weather, land and air. Microsoft Flight Simulator, 2024 is more realistic with this data. During a recent flight over New York City, rain spattered across my cockpit window as UploadVR’s Ian Hamilton confirmed that it was indeed pouring out there.waiting to connect to Microsoft’s servershttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUKXl0T1yAE
Exploring the game’s Free Flight mode, I took a couple of test flights over the iconic skylines of New York, the shimmering lights of Las Vegas, and the familiar streets of my hometown. The simulator allows for endless exploration, with a high level of realism. It is a joy to watch from the sky. I’m still unable to access the career mode, since the game starts into it but doesn’t allow me to choose a start airport. Red Bull Air Racing, which is included in the game and offers challenges even experienced pilots may find challenging, also features. While I frequently met with failure in this part of the game, the excitement of flying low and fast drove me to improve with each crash I suffered through.
Beyond the game’s familiar focus on aerial navigation, the 2024 release of Flight Simulator allows players to land and explore on foot, enhancing the game’s depth. The mapping is still not perfect at the street level but with the improvements in 3D mapping technology, we can dream of the future when Flight Simulator will allow us to walk through more detailed streets of any city around the world. The level of realism will take a long time to reach, however, so do not hold your breath for this level of realism in any games. This game can be a heavy load on high-end PCs, especially when you’re flying through densely populated cities. A powerful computer is required to get the best visual quality and frame rate. My PC specs for testing the game are an Intel I9-13900k at 5.8GHz with 64GB of DDR5 memory, a Zotac Gaming 4000 Amp Extreme Airo graphics card, and ASUS Maximus Z790 Hero motherboard. All of my gameplay thus far has been done using a Meta Quest 3 with a Link cable connected to this system.Flight Simulator 2020Captured at the VR ultra setting with DLSS set to auto
Ultimately, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is more than just a game, it’s an invitation for new generations of virtual pilots to chase their childhood dreams across an ever-expanding virtual world.