The new Microsoft Flight Simulator is a breathtaking sandbox for aviation enthusiasts. Whether you're a sim fan or an occasional pilot, you decide the level of difficulty. At 1 pm we will take off in the livestream - together with a real professional pilot.
The world is your playground
HOTAS bright
Build your own adventure
So that we can show you as much of the world as possible, we're doing a longer livestream from 1pm. My mate Tobias Knecht will be our guest. He's a professional pilot and knows how to do it right. You've already told me your dream destinations. I hope to be able to fly to as many of them as possible. And then we have a little surprise for you. Because there's something to win.
The Flight Simulator was made available to us by Microsoft.
When I flew the family nest over 15 years ago, I suddenly had to cook for myself. But it wasn’t long until this necessity became a virtue. Today, rattling those pots and pans is a fundamental part of my life. I’m a true foodie and devour everything from junk food to star-awarded cuisine. Literally. I eat way too fast.
700 feet below me, I recognise the Dubrovnik marina. This is where we were moored on a chartered sailing yacht on 8 October 2011 and the two of us took the bus into the city early in the morning to watch the Rugby World Cup quarter-final between Ireland and Wales. Two hours later, we were labelled "typical German assholes" by an Irish rugby fan. "You can call us anything, but don't call us German" was our reply. Ireland were knocked out of the tournament with a resounding 10-22 defeat against Wales. Why am I telling this anecdote? Because I saw the memory right in front of me again during the approach, the flight simulator brings the harbour of Gruž to the screen in such detail. A marvellous experience in a marvellous game.
The Dubrovnik marina. We were moored at the front of the small bay...
In Flight Simulator, you can explore the whole world in an aeroplane. Other simulators have already done this. What's new, however, is that the software constantly loads high-resolution satellite data in the background. In addition, artificial intelligence draws trees, rivers, roads and houses on the map. Sometimes this works better, sometimes worse. The 400 cities that already have a 3D model stored with Bing look fantastic. However, if too little data is available, the AI has problems with cities in particular. A stadium becomes a Pentagon-like colossus or a church becomes a prefabricated building. Understandable, given the vast amount of data and locations. It's just a shame that cities in the USA and Europe in particular are so polished, while South America, Africa, Asia and Australia have to take a back seat. Developer Asobo promises to improve this over the years.
The model from Zurich...
The highly detailed weather system ensures that even the somewhat bland areas are enchanting. Multiple cloud and wind levels and a realistic day/night progression provide a challenge and breathtaking views that would even take the breath away from SRF weather messiah Thomas Bucheli. The whole thing is even available as live weather. So you can fly towards the impending storm front to know when to bring the flower pots from the balcony to safety. Highly detailed aircraft models and fully functional Cockpits round off the experience. All this makes Flight Simulator the most beautiful game I have ever played.
Sunrise
Looking good is one thing, the simulator also plays damn well. Various control aids can be switched on so that not only professionals can find their way around. For example, you can easily take a spin in an airliner with the gamepad, which is almost impossible in simulation mode without prior knowledge and flight hardware. For the most part, you have to acquire this prior knowledge yourself. There is a flight school in the small propeller aircraft, but it only covers the basics. After that, you're on your own. Because flying in real life works just like flying in a flight simulator, there are endless resources available online. For example, I downloaded a map of Switzerland onto my iPad so that I have the right frequencies and navigation points to hand. However, I can't really judge the level of detail of the simulation here. My last flight simulator escapades were more than 20 years ago.
Flight Simulator is already breathtaking, even if many things are not yet perfect. The 100 GB installation is plagued by problems, the software crashes from time to time. I've been lucky so far, everything has run pretty smoothly for me. Only my HOTAS (hands on throttle-and-stick, a throttle with a joystick and what felt like a thousand buttons) was recognised by the program, but not configured. So I had to programme each axis and each button myself, which took an afternoon. Not everything is perfect graphically either. For example, during the morning flight from Meiringen towards Grimsel, the street lighting was suddenly 100 metres in the air. However, I forgive the developer Asobo for these little mistakes and they will certainly be ironed out over time. The Flight Simulator is to serve as a platform over the next ten years and will be polished both officially and by third-party developers. This is emphasised by the integrated marketplace, where additional airfields, aircraft and scenery can already be purchased. In addition, monthly official updates are intended to beautify the world and improve the presentation.
Who wants to travel to Egypt anyway?
What Flight Simulator offers in terms of scope in its game world, the content is currently meagre. If you are expecting a career mode, I have to disappoint you. In addition to the aforementioned flight school, there are landing tasks in which you receive a rating and can compare yourself with other pilots in a ranking list. There are also three longer routes that you can fly in several stages according to visual flight instructions. These bush flights are great fun and take you to places you would never fly to. The route from Zadar to Santorini took me via Dubrovnik, which reminded me of the aforementioned rendezvous with the Irishman.
Other than that, you're free to make your own adventures. My colleague Phil, for example, flies to places of interest in a fast jet with the joypad in beginner mode, circles them briefly and then hops on the globe to the next place of interest, true to the motto "been there, done that". I, on the other hand, plan entire routes offline with pen and paper and fly them under current weather conditions in the slow propeller box, including enquiries to control towers and correct approaches to landing strips. My goal is the big jets with instrument flight. The Anglo-Saxon would say "whatever floats your boat".
My last flight simulator from Microsoft was in the 90s, since then I've kind of given the genre a miss. But since I received the pre-release version from Microsoft last week, I've been up in the air every free minute and marvelling at how great the earth looks. If you are looking for a flight simulation that is absolutely true to detail, then I would currently go for X-Plane. Flight Simulator isn't that advanced yet. But I'm looking forward to the coming years, in which the platform will flourish and eventually become the reference in virtual flight. The graphics already are.
