Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Arrives With a 'Full Digital Twin' of Earth (arstechnica.com) 36
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is out today (Xbox/PC, Steam), and it packs in a whole lot of simulation. It's hard to imagine topping the 2020 version, which contained the entire world, at scale, 3D modeled and able to be flown over. It had real-time weather and rather detailed physics. You could theoretically fly a helicopter back to your high school football field and land on it, like 15-year reunion royalty.
What could come next? A lot, including a world simulation that Microsoft repeatedly describes as Earth's "full digital twin." There are few, if any, real "reviews" up yet, given the size of the game and seemingly late access for reviewers. As such, I offer up all the notable things packed into this latest release so that those with flight sticks, patience, and a desire to get way up yonder can decide whether to take off. These are the most "notable things" available in this latest release, as highlighted by Ars' Kevin Purdy:
- The file size is much smaller than the 2020 version, totaling "around 30GB"
- You can expect ~5GB an hour of streaming data (up-close data is streamed on demand; flying high-up in the skies uses pre-loaded data)
- AI learning has allowed for "4,000 times more" detail in textures and terrain meshes
- Aircraft and airports you customized or purchased are carried over from 2020 into 2024
- There's a new Career Mode, with 26 different paths
- Animals have more realistic behavior -- e.g. sheep head inside when it's raining, birds migrate, and elephants will be more aware of your flybys
- Flight Simulator 2020 will continue to get support
What could come next? A lot, including a world simulation that Microsoft repeatedly describes as Earth's "full digital twin." There are few, if any, real "reviews" up yet, given the size of the game and seemingly late access for reviewers. As such, I offer up all the notable things packed into this latest release so that those with flight sticks, patience, and a desire to get way up yonder can decide whether to take off. These are the most "notable things" available in this latest release, as highlighted by Ars' Kevin Purdy:
- The file size is much smaller than the 2020 version, totaling "around 30GB"
- You can expect ~5GB an hour of streaming data (up-close data is streamed on demand; flying high-up in the skies uses pre-loaded data)
- AI learning has allowed for "4,000 times more" detail in textures and terrain meshes
- Aircraft and airports you customized or purchased are carried over from 2020 into 2024
- There's a new Career Mode, with 26 different paths
- Animals have more realistic behavior -- e.g. sheep head inside when it's raining, birds migrate, and elephants will be more aware of your flybys
- Flight Simulator 2020 will continue to get support
streaming 11 Mbps to play the game (Score:2)
Not going to work with my 5 Mbps DSL.
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We're not that high on the list.
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In other words, even after a sizable download and a lot of disk space and client-side computation (beefy GPU required), it's using about as much bandwidth as a simple thin client would need.
microsoft day (Score:2)
Is it Microsoft day on slashdot? This is like the 4th or 5th MS article today.
Re:microsoft day (Score:5, Informative)
Microsoft Ignite 2024, one of the company’s largest annual tech conferences, is going on right now. That's why you're seeing so many Microsoft announcements.
Re:microsoft day (Score:5, Funny)
> Microsoft Ignite
Self-immolation would be the ultimate Microsoft security response.
Re:microsoft day (Score:4, Funny)
> Microsoft Ignite
Self-immolation would be the ultimate Microsoft security response.
There's a pay-per-view worthy event!
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Microsoft Ignite 2024, one of the company’s largest annual tech conferences, is going on right now. That's why you're seeing so many Microsoft announcements.
Huh.
Ask 100 people a week ahead of time if they know when the next Apple event is. Or WWDC.
Now imagine how many, have even heard of this Microsoft event.
Interesting “marketing” strategy.
They've bought practically everything (Score:1)
Re: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Arrives (Score:4, Insightful)
You also can say "fucking," no need for that stupid censoring.
FS 2020 was a struggle (Score:5, Interesting)
Hopefully things are better in 2024. I only use MSFS 2020 occasionally, and it seems invariably every time I start it up it has to download another 10+ GB mandatory update. Not all of us have gigabit, so this takes usually 10-20 minutes. So often I'll fire up the simulator, only to have it update, so nevermind and go do other things instead. So I rarely get a chance to fly it.
Seems like there are lots of other issues that they've never fixed, such as the fact the papa lights are nearly impossible to see on the screen. I realize in real life they can be hard to see sometimes, but I know they are brighter than MSFS shows them. In VR I can't see them at all until I'm about a mile out.
Hopefully 2024 is a step forward. Flight sim is about the only application of VR that I care for.
Re:FS 2020 was a struggle (Score:4, Funny)
Maybe they should rebrand it to "Microsoft Flight Simulator Update".
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This is true.. especially because they forced the updates.
So whenever I had some time to try it, it would take a while to update which was a pain. So I'd have to plan ahead, update now, maybe tomorrow I'll play.
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Not all of us have gigabit
This isn't even the issue. I do have gigabit, but Microsoft's update servers for FS2020 are insanely slow.
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Hopefully 2024 is a step forward. Flight sim is about the only application of VR that I care for.
Anyone happen to know if it will be available via Xbox Cloud Gaming? FWIW, there's support for that on Meta Quest 2&3.
Ah, my new favorite least favorite buzzword (Score:3)
For those not in the know, a "digital twin" is what mid-career engineering managers and associated phbs used to refer to as a "computer model," and before that, as a "digital computer model" to distinguish it from the tried-and-true analogue computer models of yore.
Which is to say, a computer simulation of a real electromechanical object or system that captures the all relevant dynamics to a level of fidelity that would satisfy a later-stage design review. Usually as a prelude to, or substitute for some part of, for example, a wind tunnel test or a scale model test flight of an aircraft.
Not-so-old-time geeks might also refer to this concept as an HWiL or SWiL test of a flight control system, a flat-sat if you work in the space part of aerospace, or similar.
Those still green enough in the ears to be worried about problem sets or exams might recognize it as a gussied-up Spice or Simulink model, depending on your chosen avenue to the glorious end-goal of calling yourself an Engineer.
And all of this is to say, unless you're planning on playing God (in practice mode), a "digital twin" of the Earth is not something you'll ever encounter in your travels.
Microtransactions (Score:1)
Re:Microtransactions (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah, you're mistaken. Searching for "MSFS2024 included aircraft" gets you a list. I'm sure it's on the MS product page too.
https://insider-gaming.com/air... [insider-gaming.com]
Third parties also make planes at various levels of detail that sell for various amounts of money.
So far... (Score:3)
The stupid XBox PC thing keeps blowing me out an error 0xc0000005 and won't launch the thing. And it isn't just that game. After about two hours with Microsoft support (chat, because their phone literally goes to voicemail and hangs up) and escalating it to tier 2 (which took over an hour itself) they said that they would get back to me. Nevermind that the error has been blowing around for over a month.
If anyone knows a solution to that, I and the rest of the community would appreciate it.
Career Paths (Score:2)
I like the idea of Career Mode. Because FS 2020 (and previous versions as well) were well suited for random flying around. But it lacked gamification to help push you to make progress in your flying.
Maybe an additional improvement would be a true fidelity force feedback yoke. FS really doesn't give you the sense of real flying and dealing with the trim and how the plane feels different when you add or remove flaps that is very important in real world flying.
Check the steam reviews (Score:3)
On steam, it is currently rated at "Overwhelmingly Negative". This is because you are forced to be online to play it and it takes an eternity to download the game.
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To get decent scenery you've always had to be online all the time. I didn't even know it could be played offline before with 2020.
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Previously (in 2020) you could download different scenaries - it took forever, but was an option. This new version seems to rely more on a fast constant connection, I think the main reason for the bad reviews so far is a combo of the server load for new users, and then the connection requirement.
I will definitely sit on the fence for this one and wait for things to stabilize and for people to actually clearly communicate exactly what speed of connection is needed to play it ok.
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To get decent scenery you've always had to be online all the time. I didn't even know it could be played offline before with 2020.
MS Flight sim started as a non MS flight sim on the Apple 2. A Sopwith Camel flying over a flat terrain with line art 3D. MS brought it ported it to the PC, and incrementally improved the graphics, planes and terrain over the years. Since it started in the 1970s, the online period of MS Flight sim is rather short compared to the offline-only period.
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Gamers always bitch emotionally about this stuff. FS2020 was overwhelmingly negative for the same reasons at launch.
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It does work. It's a case of gamers being bitchy impatient GenZ psychopaths who expect everything now. Now! NOW!!1!!!11.
Yeah it takes a while to download, welcome to 2024.
Twin? Glad they backed up Earth (Score:2)
...in case the tinted Tribble-top breaks it.
Earthâ(TM)s Twin ⦠? (Score:2)
Earthâ(TM)s Twin ⦠you mean Mondas?
You want Cybermen? Because thatâ(TM)s how you get Cybermen.
Only One? (Score:2)