Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is promising to be a significant expansion and upgrade over its 2020 predecessor, which, given how mind-bogglingly massive that game was, is saying quite a lot. Of course, given the game’s scale and size, it’s not surprising that it’s going to have quite a lot going on, plenty of which we have spoken about in recent features. There are, however, still details that we either haven’t covered in detail, or haven’t gone into at all, so as we mark the days on the calendar until Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024’s imminent release, here, we’re going to cover a few more important details that you should know about it.
WORLD PHOTOGRAPHER MODE
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is adding in a number of new ways for players to interact with its digital twin of our planet, and one in particular that players are likely to be enamoured with is World Photographer Mode. Meant to be a simultaneous test of your piloting abilities and your eye for photography, World Photographer Mode will hand players with different challenges and objectives to track down throughout the globe, each requiring pictures of something, from landscapes and natural vistas to famous landmarks and locations. The virtual tourism aspect is a big part of the Flight Sim experience, to say the very least, so World Photographer Mode sounds like a pretty natural fit for the game.
WILDLIFE, COURTESY OF PLANET ZOO
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is striving to inject as much detail and authenticity into its recreation of our planet as possible, and that’s coming in many different shapes and colours. In past features, we’ve discussed the game’s usage of photogrammetry, the large number of airports and buildings included in the game, the many handcrafted locations, and more. On top of that, you can also expect to see wildlife on your flights throughout the globe. You’ll find different animals and herds with realistic movements, animations, and behaviours, all of it authentic to whatever part of the world you find yourself in. Interestingly enough, all of this is thanks to Microsoft working with Planet Zoo developer Frontier to port in the latter’s animals into its own game.
STRETCH YOUR LEGS
We’re going to be spending hours and hours on end flying different aircraft to different parts of the world as we play Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, and though that is obviously going to be the game’s USP, those who wish to traverse on the ground a little differently will be able to do so. Flight Simulator 2024 is going to allow players to step outside of their aircraft and walk around its world as their avatar character whenever you want, which means you’ll have the full freedom to land anywhere and examine things up close and personal, if you wish to.
FLEET MANAGEMENT ASPECT
One of Flight Sim 2024’s biggest additions its its new Career Mode, which is going to provide a bit more of a structure to the gameplay experience and allow players to make some more regimented progress throughout the course of the game. And though you will start out at the lowest levels, eventually, the game is also going to let you purchase and maintain multiple aircraft. Though it doesn’t look like Flight Sim 2024 is going with this fleet management aspect, it does look like it will be an important part of the gameplay experience nonetheless, with players being asked to contend with each aircraft’s maintenance, repairs, and costs of any other kind.
A VARIETY OF MISSION TYPES
Speaking of the game’s Career Mode, though there’s always the potential danger of repetition setting in once you’ve put enough time into the game, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is promising a variety of different mission types. Not only will these let you fly a variety of different aircraft, they’ll also test your flying skills in different ways and unique situations. Included in the game’s long list of Career Mode mission types are commercial flights, firefighting missions, search and rescue missions, cropdusting challenges, cargo transportation, skydiving runs, experimental aircraft testing, weather recon, and many, many others.
VARIOUS TECH IMPROVEMENTS
Tech advancements are expected of Flight Sim in particular, given the high benchmark the 2020 game set for the entire industry, and sure enough, the upcoming Flight Sim 2024 is touting several. We’ve touched on a number of these in earlier features, from a new and improved lighting system and the aforementioned implementation of photogrammetry to improved physics and aerodynamics systems and more. There’s yet more to talk about in this area, however. Players can also expect improved avionics systems, new and improved failure and wear and tear systems, better performance thanks to improved multithreading, and faster load and install times thanks to cloud streaming. Speaking of which…
CLOUD STREAMING
We’ve touched on this before, but how exactly is the fact that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 going to be much more reliant on cloud streaming than its predecessor going to change things? Well, on one hand, the game will require a persistent and fast internet connection (at least 10 Mbps, and that’s just on minimum specs), but this also means that its install size is going to be much smaller, at around 50 GB. With the bulk of the game’s assets being stored in a cloud server, not only will Microsoft Slight Simulator 2024 being a much smaller and easier install for PC players, it will also benefit from improved world streaming and load times.
HIGH SPEC PC REQUIREMENTS
We’ve covered Flight Sim 2024’s minimum and recommended requirements previously, but what about those who wish to play the game on PC with the best and highest possible settings? That’s where the game’s High spec comes in, and boy does it live up to the name. It will require either a Ryzen 9 7900X or an Intel it-14700K, along with either a Radeon RX 7900 XT or a GeForce RTX 4080, with 12 GB of VRAM. You’ll also need a whopping 64 GB of RAM, 50 GB of free storage, and a 100 Mbps internet connection. So yeah, you’re going to need a pretty beefy rig, if we’re being mild about it.
DLSS 3 SUPPORT CONFIRMED
Flight Sim 2024’s PC version will also launch with support for a number of Nvidia technologies, as recently announced by the company. Prominently and most importantly, that will include DLSS 3, which means players with the right hardware will be able to enjoy better frame rates without having to sacrifice visual fidelity. Support is also confirmed for Nvidia Reflex, which will reduce latency, as well as Nvidia DLAA and ray traced shadows.
FLIGHT SIM 2020 SUPPORT WILL CONTINUE
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 has enjoyed incredible post-launch support in the years since its release, but are we to assume the game will be phased out once its successor releases in a few days’ time? Not according to Microsoft. In addition to all of the previously announced upcoming DLC for the game, the game will continue to receive additional updates even after Flight Sim 2024 is out. Whether the same cadence of and scale of support will be maintained remains to be seen, but at the very least, fans can rest assured that the game is going to stick around for at least some time to come.