Flight Simulator X preview

Microsoft has announced the latest in its series of flight simulators for PC. The tenth in the series, known as Flight Simulator X, is set for release towards the end of 2006. So far details released about the sim are fairly minimal, with only a brief press release and Q&A providing details of the next-generation of MS Flight Sim. Below you'll find the press release and Q&A, I'll look at the game in more detail following these and you can enjoy the 31 screenshots we have from the sim.

Press Release

Note how via the new weather effects the wet tarmac becomes reflective.

“Flight Simulator X” is the culmination of nearly 25 years of the landmark “Flight Simulator” franchise and the most significant addition to date. “Flight Simulator X” will be fully optimized for Windows Vista. “Flight Simulator X” will set the standard for technological innovation, incredible graphics and realism for the genre. “Flight Simulator X” will also present players with a wide array of new aircraft to fly in a beautifully rich and believable world which will contain greater detail than past entries in the franchise.

Players will be able to experience what it is like to be a pilot and have real distractions, to shade their eyes from the glare of reflective paint and the glint from glass and chrome. Players will enjoy the opportunity to fly their dream aircraft, from classic seaplanes like the de Havilland Beaver and Grumman Goose to the Cessna 172 there is a plane for every terrain and every player.

Official Q&A

Planes with skis

Q: When will “Microsoft Flight Simulator X” be available?
A: We are working hard to deliver “Flight Simulator X” in the holiday 2006 timeframe.

Q: What’s new in “Microsoft Flight Simulator X”?
A: Many of the new features in “Flight Simulator X” are based on requests from our loyal community who have provided creative input into our decision process. Therefore, we are excited to bring our fans the most revolutionary addition to the “Flight Simulator” franchise yet. We take full advantage of Windows Vista and the latest Windows gaming hardware to create a beautifully rich and immersive 3D world for aviation fans, young and old, to explore and experience. The new enhancements extend beyond the look and feel of the planet.

The advances in graphics will benefit the aircraft as well, and fans will be amazed at the new level of detail in the models and the realistic effects like sun glint off the glass and chrome, reflective paint, and even shaded rivets on the fuselage. For the more game play minded, we are adding a new mission-based element to give fans a more objective driven experience with a sense of progression and skill development. We are also improving the multiplayer technology to allow the community to connect in new ways. This is just the beginning and, in the coming months, we look forward to sharing more information about “Flight Simulator X” as we lead up to launch at the end of the year.

The autogen scenery is now more detailed

Q: Will “Flight Simulator X” require Windows Vista?
A: No. While “Flight Simulator X” will not require Windows Vista, it will be optimized for the latest in Windows gaming hardware and fans will get the best experience by running on Windows Vista.

Q: What type of computer hardware will I need to run “Flight Simulator X”?
A: While we are still determining exact hardware requirements, we do know that it will run on a wide range of configurations because we want to make “Flight Simulator X” accessible to a wide range of fans.

Q: Will “Flight Simulator X” ship on DVD only?
A: Yes, for the first time “Flight Simulator” will ship on DVD only in order to provide the highest level of detail and realism for the product and we do not plan to offer a CD-based version.

Improved wave and water effects

Q: Will aircraft from FS2004 be compatible with “Flight Simulator X”?
A: Backward compatibly with existing 3rd party content is and has always been a priority for us, and we attempt to test as many add-ons as possible in order to provide the greatest level of compatibility.

Q: What are the types of aircraft featured in “Flight Simulator X”?
A: We will offer a range of aircraft to support a wide variety of flying experiences and many of the aircraft will be tied to specific mission-based experiences. Our basic fleet is merely the starting point because we are going to make it easier to download additional aircraft created by the many accomplished add-on developers in the community.

Impressive level of detail

Q: How many airports are included in “Flight Simulator X?”
A: We have included more than 24,000 airports in “Flight Simulator X” and the coverage extends to every continent. We also focused a select number of high-detail airports and added a new level of “interactivity” that the add-on community will certainly expand upon.

Q: What new partners or endorsements will “Flight Simulator X” carry?
A: We are not quite ready to shine the spotlight on our new partners and endorsements, but they will be taking center stage in the months leading up to our launch.

Autogen

See how well the autogen lines up now

As you can see the from the screenshots there are some new aircraft featured among the default selections including the Grumman Goose, DeHavilland Beaver, Airbus A321, Boing 737-800, ultralights and sailplanes. Of course, the most apparent details we can glean from the release are about the graphics.

The FS series uses a layered method of creating its global scenery. The shape of the terrain is governed by a 3d mesh. Landclass data tells the sim what surface type of landuse is required for each area, so for example a particular patch of ground is described as residential or desert.

With FS2002, and refined in FS2004, Microsoft added an extra level of detail to these textures with a system called Autogen. This system automatically added 3D objects such as trees, buildings and electricity pylons depending on the land class data. As you can see in these screenshots the Autogen system has been further refined. The autogen textures and details join together beautifully creating a very convincing recreation of terrain, the roads seem to blend in more successfully than previous versions. It's also worth nothing that the forests now look realistically dense rather than featuring a mere sprinkling of trees.

Weather

If the whole world is this detailed, it's no suprise FSX is DVD only

New graphical effects are on show in the screenshots too. Note the way the tarmac looks wet in the picture of the 747 higher up the page. The water and wave effects are more detailed too, and whimsical yet realistic environmental features such as birds have been added.

One graphical feature not revealed in these screenshots is the way FSX will display cockpits. In FS2004, the last version of the sim, the aircraft featured both 2D and 3D panels. Recent payware addon aircraft have featured 3D clickable panels so detailed that a 2D panel wasn't required, so it may be that MS may take this path with FSX.

A surprising aspect from the screens is that the weather looks no better in FSX. It could well be this is one area of the sim that hasn't actually been worked on so we will most likely see improvements in the next round of screens, FSX is, after all, some way off yet. But addon weather generators such as Active Sky certainly feature better looking weather and clouds than we see in these screens.

Runways

Great lighting effects

One aspect that many Flight Sim users have wanted to see implemented in the next version, and one I hope is featured in FSX, is uneven runways. Now this doesn't sound like much, but it really makes a difference.

Until now, airports in FS are big flat slabs, no matter what the surround scenery looks like. So many airports seem to appear to be placed on plateaus risen from the surrounding scenery because they cannot follow the contours of the terrain mesh. If MS fixes this issue in FSX it will a very major improvement.

Microsoft promises more details are forthcoming, and it will certainly be interesting to hear how ATC and traffic has been improved in FSX. The AI air traffic controllers aren't very convincing and tend to pester the player with annoying finicky commands such as to turn a few degrees left, then a few minutes later turn a few degrees right. FS2004 featured huge improvements in ATC over FS2002 so I expect we will see great gains in this area.

FSX certainly looks very promising, the graphics do have a wow factor that makes waiting for the new sim rather difficult. However, it's the real details such as weather, ATC, flight dynamics, airports and the like that will really make FSX a success and it will be very interesting to hear about the developments in these areas. We'll keep you posted.