Microsoft Brings Helicopters, Gliders and the Spruce Goose To Its Flight Simulator (techcrunch.com) 39
Microsoft is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the venerable Flight Simulator series today with the launch of the aptly named Microsoft Flight Simulator 40th Anniversary update. As the company had teased before, this update to the sim will introduce helicopters and gliders, as well as a few classic aircraft. Gliders and helicopters aren't new to Flight Simulator, but when Microsoft and Asobo resurrected the sim back in 2020, they were still missing from the game. From a report: In total, the update includes 12 new planes (2 helicopters, 2 gliders and 8 fixed-wing aircraft). The highlights here are what Microsoft and Asobo call their first "true-to-life" airliner in the base game -- an Airbus 310-300 -- and the Spruce Goose, the largest seaplane and wooden aircraft ever built. Other new aircraft include classics like the 1903 Wright Flyer, the 1915 Curtiss JN-4 Jenny, the 1927 Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis, the 1935 Douglas DC-3, the 1937 Grumman G-21 Goose and the 1947 Havilland DHC-2 Beaver.
To celebrate the launch, Microsoft and the sim's developer Asobo Studio invited a small group of flight sim influencers and tech media to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Why? It's where the Spruce Goose is on display, so what better place to celebrate the launch of this update (and the Spruce Goose just celebrated the 75th anniversary of its flight on November 2). During the event, I got a bit of hands-on time with the new planes. Just like in real life, flying helicopters is going to be hard -- hard enough that Microsoft added quite a few new assistance settings that simplify the experience. Without those -- and especially if you are playing on a gamepad, for example -- you will crash. Repeatedly. Once you get the hang of it, flying those helicopters (a large Bell and the small two-seat Guimbal Cabri G2 trainer) is good fun, though, and allows you to fly slow and low across Microsoft's impressive virtual model of the earth.
To celebrate the launch, Microsoft and the sim's developer Asobo Studio invited a small group of flight sim influencers and tech media to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Why? It's where the Spruce Goose is on display, so what better place to celebrate the launch of this update (and the Spruce Goose just celebrated the 75th anniversary of its flight on November 2). During the event, I got a bit of hands-on time with the new planes. Just like in real life, flying helicopters is going to be hard -- hard enough that Microsoft added quite a few new assistance settings that simplify the experience. Without those -- and especially if you are playing on a gamepad, for example -- you will crash. Repeatedly. Once you get the hang of it, flying those helicopters (a large Bell and the small two-seat Guimbal Cabri G2 trainer) is good fun, though, and allows you to fly slow and low across Microsoft's impressive virtual model of the earth.
Bring back the Borg icon (Score:4, Informative)
It's the 40th anniversary of Sublogic's Flight Simulator. Microsoft hasn't celebrated quite as many flight simulator anniversaries yet.
Re: Bring back Meigs Field (Score:3)
Meigs Field
How long... (Score:2)
Fuck DirectX.
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You probably still think Microsoft makes most of its money on a desktop computing OS monopoly. (Its actually subsidizing open source linux projects now!) No one at Microsoft developed code for MS FS 2020; they farmed the project out to a software development house (Asobo Studios SAS). Choosing to develop the program using DirectX had more to do with the source code being portable across multiple platforms (Xbox in particular). If the market conditions encourage it, Microsoft could very likely develop a
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Re: How long... (Score:1)
Rest assured I'm well aware of what Microsoft will and will not be likely to do. They won't fully hop onboard Linux unless they've either managed to control and/or compromise it to their satisfaction - or they become so irrelevant that we don't even care anyway
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It's conceivable however that Vulkan will gain so much popularity that eventually Microsoft tires of maintaining Direct3d and adopts it. The whole point of D3D is lock-in. I'm still mad at the 3dfx guys for doing GLIDE instead of MiniGL out of the gate, ha ha only serious.
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They won't fully hop onboard Linux unless they've either managed to control and/or compromise it to their satisfaction
You're all missing my point. Bill Gates doesn't run Microsoft anymore; Satya Nadella does. Microsoft does not actively try to carve monopoly niches anymore. The last attempt may have been when Microsoft tried to create its own game store. (And even that probably wasn't about monopolizing gaming. It probably had to do with game franchises making more money than movie blockbusters.) Microsoft today will provide seed money and developers to open source linux projects and negotiate agreements with sector
Re:I'll stick with X-Plane (Score:4, Interesting)
I'll stick with my real glider. It has very good realism, including occasional death.
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including occasional death.
I guess you got better?
Condor works great in bad weather (Score:2)
Condor is a pretty reasonable gliding simulator. Good way to get your fix in bad weather.
But also good at training. Being able to fly Condor helps you fly the real thing, although no substitute of course.
And Condor has one great feature that real gliders do not. The + 1000 feet panic button!
Boring game (Score:2)
Re:Boring game (Score:5, Insightful)
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It's a lot less boring if you are interested in becoming a pilot, and don't have the $$$ to rent aircraft and instructor-time on actual planes. This way you can get some idea of what it's like, what problems you might encounter, how the instrumentation works, etc, sooner rather than later.
Re:Boring game (Score:4, Informative)
Hate to sound obtuse but the purpose of MS Flight Simulator is flying different kinds of aircraft. Period. If that's boring for you, then this is not the application for you. Although it's called and sold as a game, it's not really a game. It's a simulation. A pretty amazing one at that that can get as complicated as you want it to. Practicing take-offs, landings, navigation, emergencies, etc. Once you set up a few screens for immersion (VR is actually really interesting here), an instrument panel, a yoke and rudder pedals, it gets to a whole new level, as well as still being fun--for someone who finds flying fun. Flight Sim has been popular for decades. It was fun and popular even back on an Apple II with the barest of graphics.
Sorry about the mansplaining here, but DCS is definitely a game not a flight simulator. It's not accurate to the real world. You can't go from DCS to having half a chance of flying a real fighter in any scenario. With MS Flight Simulator (and X-Plane) there is obviously a gap between simulation and reality but the goal is realism, so if you learn a maneuver in MS Flight sim a real airplane will respond in a very similar way. If you need gamification, you're unlikely to find it in MS Flight Sim.
I have a neighbor with a setup in his office that he uses to practice and prepare for trips in his Cirrus Diamond. He happens to use X-Plane, which is also a pretty darn good simulator (more realistic in the flight characteristics than MS's state-driven simulation). X-Plane even has a FAA certified version that can help a pilot accumulate hours and experience for certain parts of their training.
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Microsoft Flight Simulator also helps pilots quality for instrument rating. Some hours spent in MS Flight Sim go towards your qualification.
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For example, I once airport hopped across Canada without using a map.
Or tried landing a variety of planes on an aircraft carrier to see how large/small a plane I could get to land on such a small surface without a hook.
Or trying to land on some of the world's smallest runways.
Try flying under a bridge,
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This ^^^^
I'm never going to fly a plane in real life (I don't even own a car!) but flying the routes I do with my bicycle is just AWESOME!!
The new perspective to the paths, recognizing landmarks, everything!
I just wish I could upload the gpx/tcx/fit file and I would highlight the roads because I sometimes get lost
And then there's the tourism part I wouldn't/couldn't do. Flying Italy, the US, Nepal, etc? It's relaxing and amazing at the same time
This actually looks promising (Score:5, Informative)
I am a glider pilot.
This actually looks like it will be the biggest thing to happen to gliding simulators in years. We've had Condor [condorsoaring.com] for a while, but it remains a niche product that very few people know about. And we struggle as a sport to attract new pilots. This will help with that. MS Flight Simulator is, believe it or not, a very good flight simulator, and accessible to the general public.
I had to check if they included thermal lift (hot air rising, which is how gliders stay aloft most of the time). It does, and it's apparently quite good, although I haven't tried it yet. Without it, it would not be a decent gliding simulator. It's precisely where most flight simulators utterly fail at gliding.
Hopefully this can be used for training purposes as well. Things like kiting a glider on takeoff (where a glider being towed essentially "slingshots" above and over the tow plane, generally killing the tow pilot) and low altitude towrope breaks cannot be safely taught and are very specific to gliding, compared to most flight simulation. This has the potential to change a lot of training, and I'm quite excited about it.
Shameless plug for my sport, but if you've ever been curious about soaring, this might be a really good way to try it out, safely and cheaply.
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Thinking back to that, I wonder how hard it will be to thermal in a sim glider when you can't feel it in your gut or feel the temperature difference in the air.
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If they include an audio variometer (relatively common in gliders these days) it could be very doable. Although you're right, there's no substitude for the seat of your pants and the warmth on your cheeks to tell you you're going up. It's why I love the soaring so much more than powered flight.
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Too bad I'm too old and fat to fit in a Schweizer 1-26.
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One of the more interesting flights I did was my long cross country for my private pilot's license. I had to fly up a valley to overfly an airport (but not land). That airport was known for soaring activity and while it wasn't a narrow valley (there's a whole town in the valley), it's still an interesting flight.
I had to fly near the center of the valley because the walls were full of gliders getting orographic lift (lift from geographic features, like upslope wind).
It is, however, much easier to spot glide
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It looks pretty well done, but not sure about towrope breaks or stuff like that. Wouldn't be surprised if they added it already or in the future. It seems pretty comprehensive, even to the wing runner alongside your glider keeping the wings steady. They also simulate winch launches as well as tows. I'm not a glider pilot, just someone who's tagged along for a few rides in my life. From what I've seen (and the little I know), it looks really good.
I've been considering buying a new set of flight gear, n
Re: This actually looks promising (Score:2)
If Spruce Goose Flies Much, It's Not Accurate (Score:3)
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I think don't think anyone questions whether it would have flown outside the ground effect. X-Plane simulates flight based on physical characteristics of a wing and as such can be used to simulate aircraft that either don't exist or have never flown. Or simulate flight on mars even. Given what we know about the wing shape, engine power and thrust, and weight of the spruce goose, it certainly does fly. It's not fast or agile, but if definitely flies. It's low altitude flight, although within the ground e
Re: If Spruce Goose Flies Much, It's Not Accurate (Score:2)
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That's really cool the MSFS has a proper aerodynamics model compared to the old table-driven simulation it used to have. From what I've read just now, though, including a scientific paper, there's no clear winner between X-Plane and MSFS as far as accuracy goes. They are both pretty darn good. Obviously an aircraft's parameters have to be tweaked to get it closer to the real thing.
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"Game" ? This is a simulator (Score:2)
Now, if you could shoot other planes and they shot back...
Is there a comprehensive list ... (Score:1)
And I just bought Flight Simulator (Score:2)
And I just bought Flight Simulator for the Xbox Series X. After waiting three and a half hours to load from disc, and another 45 minutes downloading a 60 GB update, it's already out of date.