Microsoft Will Model the Entire Planet For 'Breathtakingly Lifelike' New Flight Simulator (eaa.org) 84
A senior editor at the Experimental Aircraft Association tells the long and storied history of Microsoft's Flight Simulator, remembering how he'd used version 1.0 of the product "when I was about 12 years old (nearly 40 years ago)" before working on it when he was a Microsoft employee for more than 10 years, until it was cancelled in 2009. But in 2020 Microsoft now plans to release a stunningly-realistic new version for the PC and Xbox.
Long-time Slashdot reader ShoulderOfOrion shared their report: After the shutdown, variations of the product lived on here and there, including the enterprise edition, which Lockheed Martin now develops and publishes as Prepar3D, and a version that was licensed by Dovetail Games in the United Kingdom and sold on the Steam marketplace. Dovetail pursued further development with a product called Flight Sim World, and Microsoft itself briefly returned to the genre in 2012 with a limited product called Flight. But it was the community of hardcore simmers and add-on developers who truly kept the product alive for the past 10 years.
The essay describes the new version as "stunning" and "breathtakingly lifelike," using 2 petabytes of data to virtually model the entire planet, "including something like 40,000 airports... The scenery is built on Bing satellite and aerial imagery, augmented with cool buzzwordy stuff like photogrammetric 3D modeling and multiple other data sources, all of which is streamed via Microsoft's Azure cloud service... Throw in 1.5 trillion trees, individual blades of grass modeled in 3D, and a complete overhaul of lighting and shadows, and the result is an unprecedented level of detail for a flight simulator of any kind."
The simulator also features realistic modelling of the weather, including temperature, air pressure, humidity, dew point, wind direction and speed, and of course, clouds and precipitation. "You'll even see rainbows when conditions are just right... Weather is automatically downloaded from real-world sources, creating accurate conditions that change over time." (Though there's a drop-down menu that finally lets you do something about the weather.) And that's just the beginning...
Microsoft is incorporating a legacy mode that it expects will provide near-complete backward compatibility, so those of us who have huge libraries of old favorites won't be starting entirely from scratch. In addition, Microsoft is committed to providing a software development kit (SDK) with the product at launch that will give developers the tools they need to build add-ons, though they caution that it is something that will be polished and expanded through post-launch updates. In other news for add-on aircraft builders, every parameter is now exposed in plain text, with no more binaries. This means it's going to be easier than ever to create high-quality add-on aircraft, or to tinker with the ones you already have. For those who like emulating glass cockpits, those displays are fully programmable based on straightforward coding instead of a library of animations, and support things like touch screens and synthetic vision. While the team is currently evaluating something like an in-sim store for supplemental content, there will be no requirements to use it, and no restrictions of any kind on downloading freeware or payware add-ons from other sources.
The article includes some fond thoughts from the software's director of technology Jorg Neumann explaining the simulator's significance. "It is in the fiber of the company's being. It is older than Windows.
"I think there is a pride that comes with it, and I think seeing it come back in a meaningful way, I think makes lots of people proud."
Long-time Slashdot reader ShoulderOfOrion shared their report: After the shutdown, variations of the product lived on here and there, including the enterprise edition, which Lockheed Martin now develops and publishes as Prepar3D, and a version that was licensed by Dovetail Games in the United Kingdom and sold on the Steam marketplace. Dovetail pursued further development with a product called Flight Sim World, and Microsoft itself briefly returned to the genre in 2012 with a limited product called Flight. But it was the community of hardcore simmers and add-on developers who truly kept the product alive for the past 10 years.
The essay describes the new version as "stunning" and "breathtakingly lifelike," using 2 petabytes of data to virtually model the entire planet, "including something like 40,000 airports... The scenery is built on Bing satellite and aerial imagery, augmented with cool buzzwordy stuff like photogrammetric 3D modeling and multiple other data sources, all of which is streamed via Microsoft's Azure cloud service... Throw in 1.5 trillion trees, individual blades of grass modeled in 3D, and a complete overhaul of lighting and shadows, and the result is an unprecedented level of detail for a flight simulator of any kind."
The simulator also features realistic modelling of the weather, including temperature, air pressure, humidity, dew point, wind direction and speed, and of course, clouds and precipitation. "You'll even see rainbows when conditions are just right... Weather is automatically downloaded from real-world sources, creating accurate conditions that change over time." (Though there's a drop-down menu that finally lets you do something about the weather.) And that's just the beginning...
Microsoft is incorporating a legacy mode that it expects will provide near-complete backward compatibility, so those of us who have huge libraries of old favorites won't be starting entirely from scratch. In addition, Microsoft is committed to providing a software development kit (SDK) with the product at launch that will give developers the tools they need to build add-ons, though they caution that it is something that will be polished and expanded through post-launch updates. In other news for add-on aircraft builders, every parameter is now exposed in plain text, with no more binaries. This means it's going to be easier than ever to create high-quality add-on aircraft, or to tinker with the ones you already have. For those who like emulating glass cockpits, those displays are fully programmable based on straightforward coding instead of a library of animations, and support things like touch screens and synthetic vision. While the team is currently evaluating something like an in-sim store for supplemental content, there will be no requirements to use it, and no restrictions of any kind on downloading freeware or payware add-ons from other sources.
The article includes some fond thoughts from the software's director of technology Jorg Neumann explaining the simulator's significance. "It is in the fiber of the company's being. It is older than Windows.
"I think there is a pride that comes with it, and I think seeing it come back in a meaningful way, I think makes lots of people proud."
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I’m on the no-fly list, you insensitive clod!
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Yes [wikipedia.org]?
Re: Or you could just go outside (Score:3)
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And jump into my Sopwith Camel and take to the skies to do a canyon run down amongst the skyscrapers of Manhattan? ...Oh.
VR (Score:3)
This would be amazing if done in VR. Wouldnâ(TM)t mind a space simulator too. Probably requires a 64x improvement in GPU power though. So in 30 years maybe? Given we seem to be lacking new algorithm ideas and processor hardware tech (plateau at 2nm?).
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Re: VR (Score:2)
They could claim that the last one is to help combat addictive behaviour among underage users who supposedly have to ask an adult for a cc.
Re: VR (Score:2)
Plus at this current start of graphics you are probably better served with a large array of curved monitors for maximum immersion.
Sure, because content always looks better on a display with different geometry than the type it was formatted for.
Nincompoop.
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FS usually runs on low end hardware with the settings turned down. Will be interesting to see what kind of PC you need for something like the demo videos. It's coming to Xbox which is quite old now so hopefully not too much.
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It is also just MS promises, don't get excited.
It's been done in VR (Score:3)
X-Plane 11 supports a mod (Ortho4XP) which will let you import data from all the major earth mapping providers, to any level of detail your machine can handle.
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Interesting app. It seems to generate tiles and terrain meshes, but not buildings or trees and the like. Impressive but nowhere near what FS2020 is doing.
In this case they use AI to model buildings from satellite imagery. Google have been doing that for years now which is why you see accurate 3D buildings for large parts of the world on Google Maps now. They also used AI to spot trees and replace them in the sim with 3D tree models. Also stuff like properly modelled grass and hedges rather than just flat te
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You can get buildings and trees in X-plane 11 too, if you download the mods to add them as well. Here are some examples, and moving cars can be seen in the video at 1:51:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Google Earth's 3D buildings aren't from satellites, it's from aerial photgraphy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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Thanks, that's fascinating.
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Actually, X-Plane 11 (and 10) does have moving cars, trucks and trains even without mods. Ortho4XP is nice. There are also commercial sceneries of various and often excellent qualities. Plus, of course, add-on planes. X-Plane allows for in depth modelling of the avionics too.
If you are curious, you can find plenty of stunning videos on YouTube, usually made with custom sceneries.
And it is mutliplatform: Linux, Mac OS, Windows.
The M$ trailer look much better than anything i have seen in X-Plane, to be honest
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Unfortunately having looked into this in the past it looks like it won't support VR "at launch" :-(
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You can play the current version of MS FSX right now in VR using a special external plugin. It works fairly well, although it's clear that FS isn't designed for VR. The scale of the cockpit just isn't quite right. But the biggest problem is that it quickly becomes apparently the limitations of VR resolution. while the scenery looks fine, and the sense of depth and motion is real and quite amazing actually, the resolution of the googles is too low, at least on current goggles such as the Vive, to read the
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For flight and driving simulators, three large monitors work well, since they fill the spaces in your visual field that would normally be occupied by the front and side windows anyway
You might be flying too low... (Score:5, Funny)
... if you need to see "individual blades of grass modeled in 3D".
Just sayin'
That's for USMC pilots and USAF A-10 pilots (Score:4, Funny)
:You might be flying too low if you need to see "individual blades of grass modeled in 3D". Just sayin'
That's for USMC pilots and USAF A-10 pilots. They often feel ill above 500 ft. ;-)
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Royal Navy Buccaneer pilots used to get nosebleeds above 100 feet. One clipped a telephone cable with its radome that was measured at 40 feet above the ground. Whilst doing 500 knots. The aircraft's #1 role was to go in very fast and VERY low avoiding a Soviet Ships radar in order to hit it.
There is a strong rumour that a RAF Vulcan ran a strike mission during a Red Flag exercise at 50ft. They repainted it to make it blend in with the desert. This was a nuclear capable 4 engine heavy bomber.
No argument abou
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Its called Take-Uff and Landing
In the real world, the first is compulsory, the second is desirable.
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It's not rendering individual blades of grass at distances you can't see it.
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I fly hang gliders. I've DEFINITELY noticed individual blades of grass. Not just on takeoff and landing either.
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When using grass runways, it might be important to see the grass. Tall grass makes it impossible to land or take off on, and
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In the real world, the first is compulsory, the second is desirable
Actually, it's the other way around. Takeoffs are always optional. Landings are mandatory.
The other set of flying truisms is that there is nothing more useless than runway behind you, altitude above you, and fuel in the truck.
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Depends on the grass - you might be flying far too high too ;-)
Re:You might be flying too low... (in my speeder) (Score:2)
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Funny. :-)
That said, the latest IL-2 series WW2 flight simulators show you moving grass you can see at takeoff. Lots of videos on YouTube.
Flight Sims have come a long way (Score:3)
Since Sub-Logic came out with the first one on the apple ][ nearly 40 years ago.
Re:Flight Sims have come a long way (Score:4, Informative)
Since Sub-Logic came out with the first one on the apple ][ nearly 40 years ago.
The Sub Logic one is the direct predecessor to MS flight sim. Microsoft licensed it in 1982 from which they developed MS flight sim.
For simplicity ... (Score:3)
Re: For simplicity ... (Score:3)
Legacy mode ... (Score:4, Funny)
Microsoft is incorporating a legacy mode ...
They will come to your house with puppets and a slide-projector and put on a show in your basement.
Your posts are a useless nightmare. (Score:1)
Why the fuck do you keep posting that shit in every fucking thread? What are we supposed to do about it? Tell you to get the fuck off of the internet? Tell you to only use the dark web? I mean, what the fuck do you want from us?
Re: Today's Internet is a dystopian nightmare. (Score:1)
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I agree, because the internet, in fact corporate culture as a whole, has been heading in a very bad direction for sometime now.
I'm really dreading the future because of this.
Re: Today's Internet is a dystopian nightmare. (Score:1)
So Plenty Of Fish caught you using obviously fake impossible names and gave you a generic "name already taken " message. Boo boo. You should be happy because incels get lots of rejections, so they're doing you a favour.
So you can't buy bitcoin without giving out info? Sounds like a first world problem to me. Try another cryptocurrency.
The above meets the definition of "critical informa
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"If you don't have any photo ID you're not worth looking at. Even homeless people can get a government issued photo ID."
I'm guessing you were never homeless and lost everything you had, including your wallet while stuck out on the streets,
A huge obstacle for many homeless people trying to get out of their situation is getting that ID that you think they can just walk into the DMV (after losing all of their cards/papers) and get a new one.
I hope you never have to be put to the test li
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That's not impressive. You've been able to "fly" around in Google Earth with similar image quality for 10 years now. The difference is that they've finally mated that (or better) image quality to a full blown flight sim with all the planes, cockpit controls,etc. What would really impress me is if they licensed the actual control software from Airbus, Boeing, etc. and ran that in the sim; but I bet those companies don't want to share that.
About " individual blades of grass model" (Score:2)
Does this mean I need their permission to mow my lawn?
Sorry, no Megis field, don't want (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Sorry, no Megis field, don't want (Score:4, Informative)
Actually, Meigs Field. And you can blame previous Chicago Mayor Daley for destroying that fine airfield. Cost the city a pretty penny in federal fines too.
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I desire to know more, if you have anything beyond googling.
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The whole saga was covered thoroughly in the aviation press at the time; it was a running battle between the aviation groups and Daley for years. However, I don't know anything more than what you can get from the Wikipedia article on Meigs.
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And makes less now as a park than the airport. And that was after the park was renovated in order to let it be used for things that can generate revenue, too. In fact, I think it was renovated so it could at least recoup the cost of maintaining the park (something the airport paid for when it was an airport).
You might debate the value of green space in a
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I don't know how many times I crashed into the Sears Tower.
MSFS vs. X-plane: The Rivalry Continues (Score:4, Informative)
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Will I be able to fly (Score:1)
I was perfectly happy with Falcon 3, problem being I was running OS/2 and voice didn't work.
I have no desire to fly a Cessna around my neighborhood, nor fly a jet into a skyscraper. I'd love an updated Falcon 3 though. Maybe planning missions where I fly F-22's into luzerabstaniskan to knock out their air defense, closely followed by F-whatevers with bombs to take out critical infrastructure.
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Don't you mean Freedom Tower? I didn't read anywhere that they are going 20 years into the past for their skyline models.
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"My 747 into the twin towers? That would be a hell of a realism enhancement. Not holding my breath though"
I think GTA and it's associated modding scene has been doing this sort of thing for some time now.
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https://www.theregister.co.uk/... [theregister.co.uk]
The ability was removed decade and half ago.
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I'd love an updated Falcon 3 though.
Falcon 4 [gog.com] with BMS [benchmarksims.org] might work for you. Failing that, maybe give DCS [digitalcom...ulator.com] a try.
subLogic Flight Sim on my TRS-80 Model III (Score:1)
I ran the subLOGIC flight simulator on my TRS-80 Model III in '81 or '82. That became Microsoft Flight Simulator. I loved cruising around the Sears Tower.
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It helped that I lived in the same town where subLOGIC was. We got it pretty early in their release cycle.
Model the Entire Planet For 'Breathtaking View' (Score:1)
So you generate just a single frame and then slightly revise it depending on your changing height from sea level. As a bonus, you could fly over to the edges of the Earth to wa
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UFOs? (Score:1)
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They should think bigger (Score:2)
The Best Flight Sim (Score:2)
Does it cache scenery locally? (Score:2)
For folks without a fast internet connection, it would be cool if it started downloading scenery the moment you file your flight plan. I'd be happy to throw a few TB of local storage at the thing...
Cancelling the service... (Score:1)
And then.. just as sales start sliding, the online service portion will be "retired".. leaving everyone stuck with a coaster.