Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has already given me a greater appreciation of the planet

For me, one of the most memorable scenes from Final Fantasy VII, my all-time favourite game, comes after the party leaves a rocket in Earth’s atmosphere via an escape pod. Cid, the cantankerous pilot whose lifelong mission was to reach outer space, is left practically speechless by the experience, only later revealing that it caused him to have a greater appreciation for the planet and the party’s desperate mission to save it. It’s always stuck with me as a remarkably effective way of contextualizing the game’s environmentalist themes through the lens of someone seemingly so selfish and abrasive.

I thought about this scene last week as I was sitting in the cockpit of the roughly $3 million Cirrus Vision Jet some 13,000 feet above the Grand Canyon. That, coupled with a jeep tour of the iconic landmark that morning, proved to be deeply humbling, reminding my sometimes jaded self of how much we regularly take this beautiful planet for granted.

The Cirrus Vision Jet is one of many new aircraft in the 2024 game.

And while I’m keenly aware of how fortunate I was to get to go on this experience, I am happy that Xbox will soon have the next best thing for the average person: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. In fact, the game is the whole reason I was given both land and aerial tours of the Canyon; the company wanted media and content creators to see how the sim compares to the real deal. And after all that, I have to say — it’s remarkably close.

Above all else, it comes down to the sheer photorealism of the whole thing. Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) was already incredibly impressive, thanks to its complex technological mix of Bing Maps data, Microsoft Azure cloud computing and real-world weather and effects. But for the 2024 iteration, one of the biggest focuses for Microsoft and lead developer Asobo Studio was to improve the sim’s data management. Instead of loading all textures like the previous entry, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 renders only what’s in your line of vision, meaning it can significantly improve moment-to-moment image quality this time around.

The real Grand Canyon (captured from the jet) vs. the one found in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.

In practice, this resulted in a shockingly lifelike recreation of the Grand Canyon. As I flew around in my in-game jet, I was in awe of all of the minute details, from miscellaneous cliffside scuff marks and the popping greens of the surrounding forestry to the jagged rocks protruding in all directions and the calming blues of the luminous still lakes. A few hours later, I would recognize all of this in Cirrus’ real Vision Jet (which is also in the game) and marvel at the similarities. I was also taken aback at the game’s version of the little town we were in called Tusayan, replete with the hotel resort, trading outpost, IMAX Theatre and steakhouse.

But of course, this high fidelity isn’t limited to the Grand Canyon area, and I was impressed at how it carries over throughout Flight Simulator 2024‘s staggering array of locales. Since I spent far longer at Calgary International Airport than I would have liked travelling to and from PAX West last month, I figured I’d fly around good ol’ YYC in a helicopter, taking note of the striking yellow cabs (which are now much crisper instead of somewhat blurry thanks to the new rendering technique), realistic black plane wheel tracks on the tarmac and surrounding long stretches of fields and distant buildings. Altogether, the development team says the level of detail in the world has been multiplied by 4,000 times, which even includes realistic animals using data from Zoo Tycoon and Planet Zoo.

Roar.

One of the other major improvements of Flight Simulator 2024 is how the developers are deepening the ways in which you interact with this world. In a pre-demo presentation, Microsoft Flight Simulator head Jorg Neumann unpacked several of the key pieces of feedback players gave coming out of the 2020 version. One of those was improved fidelity and physics, and another was more activities.

This includes adding a Career Mode, which provides both a natural onboarding process for new players (on top of the 64 in-depth tutorials already featured elsewhere in the game) and a progression path with experience and acquiring different pilot licences. It’s a smart way to deepen your immersion, especially considering you can create your own pilot using an impressively varied character creator and pick your starting city. The game will also ensure that you’ll see the right kinds of people and languages in given locations, like African people speaking Swahili in Nairobi. “We really tried to represent the planet as best we can,” said Neumann during the panel, noting that the team feels particularly responsible for this given how Flight Simulator is a truly global experience.

There are quite a few character options in the new Flight Sim.

And on the subject of characters, Flight Simulator 2024 actually lets you walk around with your pilot outside of the flight. “We already have characters — we might as well move them and actually do the [plane] pre-checks, as you should. Those come from aviation — that’s how they got invented. So it feels completely natural,” Neumann tells MobileSyrup of the decision to add this surprising feature.

He adds that it also gives people the chance to get a more intimate look at locations, especially ones that might be close to home. “I walked up the mountain path where I grew up [in Germany], because you can, and it’s cool. It really is cool.”

But on top of that, he’s well aware that players will go well beyond all of this.

“Now, [if] we take this further, of course — or people will, I have no doubt — and you fly to Mount Everest and run around, climb the peak and stuff like that… There’s nothing we can do, and that’s a good thing. To be honest, is it a fully-fledged character, like [Asobo’s] Plague Tale, where you have your inventory and stuff? No. But we’re thinking about doing this at some point in the future.”

In response, I joke that this is surely confirmation that an RPG version of Flight Simulator is on the way.

“We will listen carefully to what the audience wants,” responds Neumann, laughing. “We feel like we are basically a vessel. We hear, we listen, and we try to fulfill people’s wishes. And if that’s what they want, all right, let’s go!”

Microsoft Human Simulator 2024.

But even if you don’t want to get into the weeds of any of this, Flight Simulator 2024 has a far greater variety of objective-based activities this time around. This includes search and rescue missions with helicopters, crop dusting with little planes, a blimp tour and aerial firefighting. But my favourite in what I got try during the demo was ‘World Photography Tour,’ which challenges you to explore various locales and snap specific photos. For instance, one playlist was a Collection of Bridges that included San Francisco’s Golden Gate, and you were challenged to take a photo of a distant tower, with optional bonus objectives of doing this at night and capturing the moon in frame.

On top of showcasing the game’s stunning on-the-fly weather and day-night cycling feature, this is just a clever way to game-ify the Flight Sim experience and give you more to do besides just flying around. But best of all, it’s especially compelling when you go outside of more familiar U.S. landmarks and take a tour of further international locations. In my demo, I wanted to see a gorgeous snowy region, and so I took on a photography mission in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. I didn’t know anything about this place to begin with, and so I particularly appreciated how the game not only spotlighted this, but offered an intriguing little bio about how it served as inspiration for Rivendell in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series. That’s to say nothing of the challenges that had me flying low in the map, which, in turn, allowed me to admire the meticulously detailed little village.

What a view.

I’ve written about how games are a powerful educational tool, and so I adore that Flight Sim is playing its part in that. The game even gave me a chance to do something I missed out on during my latest Japan vacation: check out the towering Himeji Castle. With my good friend and MobileSyrup contributor Andrew Mohan having gotten to see it with our other buddy when he visited last year, I’ve had a particular inclination to get to do it myself. Thankfully, Flight Sim‘s photography mode gave me a relaxing helicopter tour of the majestic castle and its grounds while even allowing me to go on foot in one of the gardens. One of Flight Sim‘s greatest strengths is its accessible and affordable form of (virtual) tourism, and this was a perfect example of that.

Another winning quality of the series has been the developer’s admirable willingness to address feedback. On top of the several examples I already provided, Neumann says the team already has tons of plans for post-launch content, including consistent improvements to existing locations. When I mention if that includes more Canadian updates, given the 2020 version’s sizeable Canuck-themed expansion in 2022, Neumann first notes that the team has improved all of our country’s airports in 2024, which includes Ontario’s Toronto Pearson and B.C.’s West Kootenay Regional Airport. (All of this, as well as almost all of the 2020 Flight Simulator content, will carry over.) But it doesn’t stop there.

Coronation Mountain in Banff National Park, Alberta.

“I would say there is a ‘World Update Canada’ coming at some point,” he teases. Part of the challenge, he explains, is that the team is still trying to collect sufficient flight and mapping data from some Canadian locations.

“Honestly, the thing that I struggle with is the planes don’t fly north; for the Northern Territories, there’s almost nothing [in terms of data]. I’m trying to get better data. It’s really hard!” He says the developers are constantly trying to work with governments and other organizations to secure more of this information. On top of that, he says he wants to improve the in-game topography of the Rockies in B.C. and Alberta.

Looking ahead, Neumann also talked about potential collaborations in the vein of the 2020 game’s crossovers with Top Gun and Dune. On top of having film companies approach Microsoft for such partnerships, Neumann says he and his teams will browse forums to see what are the most-requested aircraft. The titular attack helicopter from the ’80s show Airwolf actually topped one list, while the likes of the Blue Thunder helicopter from the eponymous 1983 film and the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier from The Avengers also made the cut.

Expect more crossovers like Dune‘s Ornithopter in the 2020 game.

While he stopped short of confirming any of these, in particular, would fly into the game, he did tease at least some crossovers for Flight Simulator 2024.

“We love [these] things. That’s really how this is. There’s more coming like that.”

All in all, I was blown away by the experience. While I dabbled with 2020’s Flight Simulator, I did admittedly fall off, which Neumann acknowledges a lot of players did in part due to a lack of direction. I certainly felt that. But with Flight Simulator 2024, I loved all of the improvements that eased me into the game and its breathtaking world, from the improved fidelity and tutorials to the genuinely enriching photography tours.

I’m looking forward to trying more when Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 launches on Xbox Series X/S and PC (plus Xbox Game Pass) on November 19th.

Image credit: Xbox