Using a base mesh and textures, the game uses the Internet connection to stream even higher quality terrain data onto the PC or console through the Azure cloud as the player plays, boosting the game's fidelity and graphical diversity.

Flight Simulator features multiple terabytes of texture and height map data.

An offline procedural generation AI then reads these textures based on their own parameters and properly populates terrain with materials, roads, buildings, bushes, trees and more based on brush set assets the developers have made.Īfterwards, graphic artists can further go in and embellish specific locations with even more detail with photogrammetrically captured materials and textures. The game's engine utilizes satellite imagery or fly-by image scans as the basis for height and terrain texture data. This allows the simulator to depict most parts of the world in 3D photorealism, and other parts in high definition. Microsoft partnered up with Blackshark.ai who developed a solution that uses the Microsoft Azure cloud and artificial intelligence that analyzes map data and photogrammetry to generate photorealistic 3D models of buildings, trees, terrain, and so on. However, criticism also arose for its loading times and some inaccurate rendering of landmarks.įlight Simulator uses Turn 10 Studios's in-house developed game engine, and leverages Microsoft Azure data, containing over two petabytes of data taken from the cloud on demand. Some players received the alpha version as part of the game's Insider program.įlight Simulator was released to critical acclaim, with praise for its graphical fidelity, with it being cited as the 'safest way to travel' during the COVID-19 pandemic. It uses the Azure cloud to render visuals, enhance visual fidelity, and simulate real-world data and effects, as well as calculate physics. It is the first game in the series to also get a console release, expected for the Xbox Series X and Series S in mid 2021.įlight Simulator simulates the entire Earth using textures and data from Bing Maps, whilst three-dimensional representations of Earth's features are generated by Microsoft Azure's AI. It was released on Augfor Microsoft Windows. It is an entry in the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, which was first released in 1982, and preceded by Microsoft Flight Simulator X. Microsoft Flight Simulator (colloquially known as Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020)a is a flight simulator developed by Asobo Studio and published by Xbox Game Studios.

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