Microsoft Flight Simulator is a once-in-a-generation wow moment | Eurogamer

Eurogamer: Taking to the skies with the most striking looking game of the year.

Of course, the first thing I do in the new Microsoft Flight Simulator is fly over my house. Heading out from London City Airport in the nimble, aerobatic Extra 330LT, and up into the late evening sky to see the sun melt into the horizon. Skimming The O2, then grazing the tips of Canary Wharf's mob of skyscrapers before banking left over the Isle of Dogs, buzzing the Royal Naval College as we head up over Greenwich Park and then Blackheath as London blooms into parkland south of the Thames.

[Obscure_Observer]

The hype is real!

[LoveSpuds]

On PC

[RazzerRedux]

@Rashford

The time frame for an Xbox release hasn't been announced at all. This is being built for PC first and foremost.

[Babadook7]

Looks truly next gen!

[GunHoCharlieA1]

who cares, the hype is actually real

[Master of Unlocking]

It's supposed to come out on the Xbox One, too, but I really don't know how they plan on making this game run on the Xbox One. We're talking even the HW that came out in late 2013, which was less powerful than even the original PS4, for crying out loud...

[Fantangoooo]

Beautiful game

[LoveSpuds]

It does like insanely detailed, blows my mind what is possible in the current era of gaming....when I look back on the thousands upon thousands of hours I spent in FS2004 and FSX and all the thousands spent on AddOns I would never dream we"d get something like this.

Visually, it looks better than the proper flight simulators used in the training of pilots...bonkers!!

[crazyCoconuts]

I remember playing early flight Sims as a kid and all you saw were lines and colors when you looked down lol. It's come a long way.

[LoveSpuds]

I'll be fascinated to see what this looks like on console. It's coming on x10 double sided Blurays if you want a physical PC version and it still has downloadable content even then.

I just dont see the console version looking anything like its PC counterpart.

[Ausbo]

The series X will be close to PC. It’s the second most powerful gpu on the market to date.

If this somehow comes to Xbox one, then yeah it won’t look good

[RazzerRedux]

"The series X will be close to PC. It’s the second most powerful gpu on the market to date."

What information is that based on? We haven't seen any benchmarks on XSX and it is doubtful we have even seen a game running on the hardware.

"If this somehow comes to Xbox one, then yeah it won’t look good"

Pretty sure it is already slated to come to Xbox One.

[Obscure_Observer]

@RazzerRedux

"What information is that based on? We haven't seen any benchmarks on XSX and it is doubtful we have even seen a game running on the hardware."

Indeed. Which only opens speculations for two scenarios. Games will either run and look better on the SX or worse in comparison with those games running on PC.

The good news for you is, as you already mentioned, you already know what to expect from your PC ports.

And yes, we already know that The Ascent will look and run better on the SX in comparison with that PC footage from the SX´s third party games showcase. ;)

https://www.gamereactor.eu/...

[RazzerRedux]

@Obscure_Observer

"Games will either run and look better on the SX or worse in comparison with those games running on PC."

That's true of any console as it is such a broad statement.

"And yes, we already know that The Ascent will look and run better on the SX in comparison with that PC footage from the SX´s third party games showcase. ;)"

Where are the benchmarks for The Ascent on PC running at 4K then? I must have missed that.

[DOMination-]

There's a lot of cloud computing in the game so if you're connected it should look great on Xbox One S

[ChunkyHD]

It's 10 double sided DVDs, not blu-ray

[darthv72]

dual layer, not double sided. There will be a label on one side of each disc.

[ChunkyHD]

@darthv72, yes my bad; dual layer. I honestly forgot that double sided DVDs existed (so i equated Double sided with dual layer), it's been so long since I've seen one.

[crazyCoconuts]

I'm not sure the console market is really the target audience for a flight Sim? Not that it can't our won't be released there, it's just such a niche thing. Like, people get sticks and pedals and control panels and hook them up to the PC - maybe people will do that on console, dunno. I'm sure lots of people wouldvgive it a go on GamePass I guess, but it takes a special kind of love for aviation to really spend time learning and enjoying a flight Sim I think

[RazzerRedux]

It would really have to require keyboard support in order to get the full simulator experience. I've played flight simulators in the past and translating it to a gamepad seems impossible.

Example. Microsoft's Flight Simulator X keyboard mapping:
https://flyawaysimulation.c...

[ABizzel1]

It'll find a niche audience on console for those who want a graphics showcase, and if it comes to GamePass which is likely, then millions will try it out just for the graphics.

[darthv72]

10 dual layer DVD discs (for PC) or 2 dual layer BD discs (for XBO) or 1 quad layer UHD disc (for SX).

That last part is just a guess but UHD media (ultra high density) is said to be compatible with the SX drive. Most people only know UHD as ultra high definition (aka 4k+) and that too is also true.

[IRetrouk]

Where are you getting the ultra high density info from? I honestly cant find anything related to xbox at all, where did you hear this?

As far as I can see the xbox drive supports uhd blurays, (100gb tripple layer) and that's it, cant find any info about any ultra high density media support at all.

Looking into it, ulta high density stuff concentrate more on magnetic discs as storage, even the ultra density optical discs (udo) are magnetic based cartridges and offer less space than the uhd triple layer blu-ray, what would be the point?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/...

[darthv72]

It was stated years ago that triple layer (75gb) and quad layer (100gb) media would be supported on existing drives with a firmware update. Im not sure where the cutoff is for drives that could be fw updated but then you also have revised media with 33gb per layer (hence the 100gb triple layer discs) which are akin to the days of fitting 700mb per CDR after there was already 650mb discs and even CDR media that had 800mb+.

It comes down to the density of the data layer and how far into the center they can go and if drives could even move that close to the center. Some could but many could not. UHD was used to describe higher capacity bluray discs long before it was used to refer to resolution above HD.

[East76lands]

This game seems to by flying under the radar a bit.....

[crazyCoconuts]

I think your comment is really taking off. Some people need to come down to earth and get their head out of the clouds.

[Silly Mammo]

MS roll out of this has been quite turbulent. If they think this title is going to take off with the general console population, they're in for a hard landing. My feeling is it will be stuck at the gate and eventually be grounded... Just jokes folks!

[crazyCoconuts]

....and stop calling me Shirley

[Bathyj]

Not knocking it because I really know nothing about the game, just saying I wish we got Crimson Skies instead.

[RaiderNation]

Agreed. It's beautiful, no doubt about it. But for me, they may as well have named it "Paint Drying Simulator" because I find these so boring. The hardcore audience that is truly into aviation will love it. They're the ones with flight yokes, rudder pedals, etc set up in their house. However the vast majority that buy it will do so because it's pretty, play around with it for a week or so, and then never touch it again unless somebody comes to their house to show it off to.

[LoveSpuds]

This is the reality of flight simulation, it really is exceeding niche. I find it hilarious that some Xbox gamers are stating their excitment for a flight simulator....that is how badly they need something to hold up as an example of Xbox's offerings.....a flight simulator, you know, where you fly straight and level from point a to point b.

I am with Bathy, a Crimson Skies reboot would be more exciting and I say this as someone who until 4 or 5 years ago was a hardcore flightsimmer on PC.

[Petebloodyonion]

@LoveSpuds

"that is how badly they need something to hold up as an example of Xbox's offerings.....a flight simulator"
1) The game for the moment will only be release on PC
2) Before bashing the game do some research on the series
https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...
Perhaps there's a reason why this been around for so long.

[LoveSpuds]

@PetesOnion
Duder, please, I really dont need an education on Flight Sim from you, I would be willing to bet I played more and spent more on Flight Sim than the vast majority of people on N4G over the last 20 years.

I was a subscriber to sim pilot magazine for years and built my PC's specifically configured for FS.

In all that time I have barely ever seen discussions here on FS until this most recent releas where now, the usual suspects are holding it up as some mighty exclusive, it's a joke!!

[Petebloodyonion]

@LoveSpuds
Sorry I thought you were bashing the PC game like it was crap.
As for your initial comment I agree with you regarding this as a super exciting game and like a MS answer to a game like Tlou2 (reminds me a bit of the initial reaction Shemnue 3 got).
And ill be honest to say that I have tried it in the 90 and it wasn't my cup of tea.

[Yodasfavoritesoda]

How about both?

[Rocosaurus]

Can't wait

[FlavorLav01]

They need it! This should have been at their last show if this is some of the best of what MS has at the moment, it’s beautiful, and it’s one Xbox fans will actually get to play relatively soon.

[Rocosaurus]

I think it transcends the realm of xbox fans. There are a lot of enthusiasts out there, and there has not been anything like this for many years, especially on this scale. It will probably attract a sizeable number of ps and nintendo fans as well.

[Rocosaurus]

I suspect it selling quite well.

[waverider]

Another Word for this is boring. Except for pilots and wanabe pilots that need to train taking off and landind from diferent airports

[Minute Man 721]

LOL 😂😂😂

[Rocosaurus]

There are many who find the challenge of mastering the mechanics of flying planes immensely exiting. A successful first takoff or landing is very satisfying. FS always had that sense of accomplishment that is rarely found in orher games. Here you actually learn something. After many hours spent in zombieinfested postapocslyptic settings i am more than ready for something more realistic and complex.

[waverider]

Dude, yeah, this is game at best for 5% of gamers. A very small niche of gamers, almost all on pc, that like to take off and land planes.

[Dezmond]

Some here doesn't like flight sim games.

[Father__Merrin]

Will be an excellent game supported many years to come but I don't think it will pull me away from DCS world yet anyhow..

[Rocosaurus]

DCS is great.

[whitbyfox]

Said it many times, game of the year.

[ABizzel1]

GOTY, highly unlikely. Technical achievement, Guaranteed nominee.

[ForwardDude]

For one second you say wow, then fall asleep of boredom? Did I read the title right?

[tate]

I already cant wait for VR !

[subzero1992]

Amazing that Microsoft has possibly the best looking game of all time.

[waverider]

😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂

[RamRod88]

Never played a Flight sim game before. I'll check it out once it's on Series X.

[Tedakin]

It's currently the second best selling game on Steam right now, only behind Grounded, and it's not even out for 3 more weeks.

[2ndhandcorn]

Stunning congrats MS .

[jhpadilla]

As a kid that grew up with subLOGIC's Flight Simulator II for the Apple ][e, I'm extremely looking forward to this.

[Pyrofire95]

MSs recent show could of used a trailer from this. It's a mighty impressive looking game but there was probably a reason.

[airshiraz]

this game is the first real next gen game and a vr killer app. awesome move by microsoft ,no body expected this graphics and vr support.just wow

[xenz]

While I do agree on the next gen part, I disagree with this being the first VR killer app. Half-Life: Alyx is that :)

[JonTheGod]

What? That MS made a decent first party title?