Microsoft Flight Simulator
| Microsoft Flight Simulator | |
|---|---|
_logo.png){kind=logo} |
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| Logo of the current branch of the series, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 | |
| developer | Microsoft |
| Publisher | Microsoft |
| Designer | Bruce Artwick |
| First title | Flight Simulator (1982) |
| Last title | Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020, Windows , Xbox One ) |
| Platform (s) | MS-DOS , Windows, Mac OS , PC-98 , Xbox One |
| Genre (s) | Flight simulation |
| information | Continuation of the SubLOGIC Flight Simulator |
Microsoft Flight Simulator ( MSFS ) is a flight simulator from Microsoft . It is one of the oldest and most successful products in the field of computer entertainment. Microsoft announced the continuation of the series at the E3 2019 game conference . The upcoming offshoot of the series - Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 - is to be released according to the current schedule in 2020 for Windows and Xbox One .
Development history
Bruce Artwick developed the first version of the Flight Simulator for the Apple II . The Flight Simulator was later bought by Microsoft, further developed and from now on appeared for the operating systems Mac OS and MS-DOS , later exclusively for Windows . Microsoft Flight Simulator is a successful simulation application, has a large number of enthusiasts and a large user base that improves it with freeware and commercial add-ons .
On January 22nd, 2009 Microsoft confirmed that the internal development studio of the flight simulator "Aces Game Studio" was closed. PR spokeswoman Kelda Rericha announced that they wanted to continue developing "flying games" in the future, but it was unclear to what extent these would be simulations to be taken seriously.
On July 9, 2014, Dovetail Games announced that Microsoft had granted them the rights to develop the next flight simulator in the series. Dovetail Games also announced the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition for late 2014. Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition was released on December 18, 2014 and is a new edition of the FSX Gold Edition. On August 8, 2019, it was announced that the agreement had ended.
On June 9, 2019, Microsoft announced a new part of the series with the simple title Microsoft Flight Simulator at the E3 press conference. On the same day Microsoft launched a new homepage for the title and opened registration for public alpha and early forum access for members of the Xbox Insider program. The new version offers a close integration of satellite data and Microsoft's own Azure AI into the simulator's engine in order to generate almost photorealistic graphics.
Offshoot
Flight simulator
The first version, published in November 1982, was designed and distributed under the direction of Bruce Artwick and his company subLOGIC. It already offered the standard Cessna cockpit design with eight pointer instruments and a block for setting the frequencies for radio communications and the navigation instruments. Self-contained, rudimentary scenarios for the cities of Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles and New York / Boston were included. The display of clouds and the simulation of turbulence was also possible.
Flight Simulator II
Published: 1984
For licensing reasons (Microsoft had acquired the rights for Flight under MS-DOS), the flight simulator could not appear under this name for non-MS-DOS systems. For this reason, this version was sold by subLOGIC as Flight Simulator II and was available for almost all 8- and 16-bit platforms of the time (1985–1989). The Flight Simulator offered the Learjet as an additional aircraft for the first time, supported multiple windows and multiplayer operation via modem or cable - but not via networks. At that time, the Flight-Teacher software was also available for this version to familiarize people with the control of the simulator.
Flight Simulator 3.0
Published: 1988
In 1984 Microsoft completely took over the "Flusi", as it has now been affectionately known among fans, and launched it as Flight Simulator 3 . It contained a whole range of new functions, which until now were already found in the non-MS-DOS versions of Flight II. This included the window technology and the multiplayer option via modem. The Sopwith Camel military aircraft has been added. There are also scenarios available in which certain tasks have to be fulfilled, namely an air battle (with machine guns and bombs) against computer-controlled opponents, as well as spraying pesticides over a field. Also, the skywriting by smoke was now possible. The FS3 was only available for MS-DOS and the Apple Macintosh.
Flight Simulator 4.0
Published: 1989
Version 4 brought a scenery and an aircraft editor, which made it possible to expand the simulator or to design completely new aircraft. This version is the last to be released for the Apple Macintosh computers. All subsequent versions appeared exclusively for MS-DOS and MS Windows.
Flight Simulator 5.0
Published: 1993
The fifth version was a milestone; it heralded the second generation of the FS. Photo-realistic instrument panels were designed, and the 3D scenery was much more realistic than in the previous versions, as 256 colors were supported for the first time. The most important innovation was the management of the scenery. Up to this version a planar coordinate system was used and the landscape was managed like a map. Flying was only ever possible within a scene, but not beyond its borders. With the FS 5, MS introduced the so-called tile model. Although the landscapes were also still flat, the earth was divided into many small areas, the so-called tiles, like a disco ball . Strange effects could be observed particularly at the transitions between two tiles - the landscape suddenly rose or fell.
Flight Simulator 5.1
Published: 1994
5.1 was the first version to be delivered on CD-ROM . The scenery was considerably more detailed, the number of airports grew from 82 in the FS 5 to over 300 all over the world. In addition, some detail improvements have been made and patches have been incorporated.
Flight Simulator for Windows 95
Published: November 1996
When Windows 95 came on the market and the new system was also to be established as a gaming platform, Microsoft launched Flight Simulator 6 as MS Flight Simulator for Windows 95 as the first entertainment program . However, it was not a new development for Windows 95, but a hastily redesigned DOS version of 5.1. Some cherished features like the multiplayer support were missing completely, others worked badly. The trade press advised buying the old version because it was more stable and more powerful.
Flight Simulator 98
Published: October 1997
The main innovations of the FS 98 were the support of 3D accelerator cards and the conversion to DirectX technology. Furthermore, the number of airports has been increased to 3000 and a number of details have been improved. With the FS 98 the spread of add-on scenes also increased, as the scenery system was structured much more modularly than in the previous version and an SDK was made available by Microsoft . The multiplayer capability via network has also been added again. A helicopter was also new.
Flight Simulator 2000
Published: November 2000
Version 2000 ushered in the third generation, which is still up to date today. The most important innovation again concerned the scenery. The second-generation Tile model had slowly proven itself, but it did not allow the representation of ravines, and the mountains and hills were 3D objects that could not be landed on. With version 2000 the mesh terrain was introduced. The entire earth was covered with a grid, which is provided with elevation points. The mesh size is not fixed and can vary from scene to scene, which enables a very detailed representation of the terrain. The virtual pilot was able to fly to over 20,000 airports around the world with the aircraft, which were expanded to include the Concorde and the Boeing 777 . There was also a more realistic weather display and the option of downloading the real weather conditions from the Internet.
The division into a standard and a professional version was also new. The latter included additional material and two additional aircraft. However, the hardware requirements of the FS 2000 proved to be problematic - compared to the FS 98, a four times faster computer was required for the same performance. Furthermore, with the FS 2000 it was possible to acquire virtual flight licenses and an instrument flight permit, which could be printed out and kept as a souvenir.
Flight Simulator 2002
Published: late autumn 2001 (postponed due to the events of September 11, 2001 )
With the 2002 version, a 3D cockpit view with functional instruments was introduced. For the first time there was the possibility of piloting seaplanes . To increase the degree of reality, virtual air traffic control was implemented so that flights according to VFR or IFR rules could be managed with radio traffic . Furthermore, the pilot was no longer alone in the air - there was now additional air traffic worldwide. The so-called Autogen Scenery was also introduced , which provided the landscape with additional, automatically generated 3D objects, which increased the impression of reality.
Microsoft also improved the performance of the FS 2002: For the same display quality, the computing power required was lower than the FS 2000. Although the Flight Simulator 2002 is only appeared shortly after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the two towers of were World Trade Center from removed from the supplied scenery. At the same time, the general collision detection with buildings was switched off in order to prevent virtual imitation as far as possible.
Flight Simulator 2004
Published: Fall 2003
On the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the Wright brothers' maiden flight, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 bears the subtitle “The Century of Aviation”. This version contains 24 planes and two helicopters. Historic models such as the Ford 5-AT and Douglas DC-3 have been added . The weather can be called up online from real weather stations and refreshed every 15 minutes. Furthermore, the virtual panels in the 3D cockpit can now also be operated directly with the mouse. The scenery has been improved again and a variety of effects have been added. The flight school has also been significantly improved so that even a beginner can basically operate an aircraft after a few hours . For the first time, interactive air traffic control was also installed. This allows airspace releases to be requested and acknowledged, air traffic control warns of other aircraft and requests visual reports. In addition, the air traffic controllers' radio is transmitted to other aircraft. In auto mode the frequencies change automatically; The manual radio frequency control is based on reality.
The FS 2004 (FS 9) only appeared in one version. Relatively unusual for Microsoft, a patch was available for FS 2004 which eliminated some weaknesses in the display and in particular added 160 bridges. Overall, however, this version was less of a milestone than a detail improvement of the predecessor.
Flight Simulator X
Published: October 2006
The tenth version of the Flight Simulator was specially programmed for the new Windows Vista operating system . However, it could also run under Windows XP , although Service Pack 2 was required as a minimum. Microsoft Flight Simulator X also runs, among other things, with the Windows 7 operating system. Windows Vista enabled an improved graphic display through DirectX -10 preview.
Microsoft had completely revised the Flight Simulator X ("FS Ten"), especially in terms of the level of detail, although in some parts of the world it has not improved very much compared to FS 2004, and in some cases has even worsened. However, Flight Simulator X presented the earth as a complete sphere for the first time. In older versions, the "space" around the aircraft was limited to a certain area and the ground (MSL) was linearized. In Flight Simulator X, the aircraft was now flying in a virtual space with the entire globe. So it was z. B. possible with very good visibility and appropriate altitude from southern Germany over the Alps to see the approaches of the Mediterranean Sea. The Flight Simulator X thus offered a new level of realism in the representation of the landscape, which for the first time in the history of the Microsoft Flight Simulator allowed flying according to visual flight conditions ( VFR ), in which you can see the landscape, without having to install additional add-ons, that you could actually recognize. In addition, automatically generated vegetation and buildings (autogenous) that are many times denser as well as the upgrading of the representation of the world through additional moving objects such as cars on highways, ships at sea and herds of animals on the ground were added.
In particular, missions that are available for the first time represent an expansion that clearly stood out from the previous preset flight missions. The missions were divided into different categories, for example the Red Bull Air Race could be followed on a route or you were given the task of flying government employees to Area 51 , whereby mysterious flying objects flew towards the pilot and radio messages could be overheard. Depending on how you had completed the mission, you would receive special awards, medals or memorabilia. For the first time, the total flight hours were also counted and additional awards were distributed.
As usual, the latest version required the highest computing power based on the latest technology at the time of its publication. With the minimum requirement specified by Microsoft, the simulation could not be run sensibly and smoothly. However, numerous tips and tweaks were soon circulating in the relevant forums, with which the operation of the FSX was still reasonably possible on mid-range systems.
The MS Flight Simulator X was available in three versions, as a standard, deluxe and gold edition. The deluxe edition ( called Professional Edition in Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland ) also contained a software development kit (there is no reference to this SDK in the instruction booklet or in the program itself), three aircraft with the Garmin G1000 flight deck and the option to take on the role of an air traffic controller in multiplayer mode. For the first time, it was possible (in both versions) to let tankers, fingers and gateways roll onto the aircraft without add-ons . In addition to the Flight Simulator X Deluxe, the Gold Edition also included the Acceleration Pack , which was an expansion for the simulator. This expansion contained three new aircraft, new missions, a new multiplayer mode and, for the first time, DirectX 10 support.
In radio communications, the module from FS 2004 and FS 2002 was used with slight changes.
In addition, it was possible to use a single cockpit online with another player (one player is a pilot, the other co-pilot). Furthermore, you could fly competitions, patrol flights, etc. at virtual airlines with other FSX pilots and expand the multiplayer mode.
Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition
In December 2014, Dovetail Games published the Gold Edition of Flight Simulator X on the Steam platform under the title Microsoft Flight Simulator X: Steam Edition . The multiplayer mode is now running on Steam instead of the multiplayer service GameSpy , which was discontinued at the end of May 2014.
Flight Simulator (2020)
At E3 2019, Microsoft announced a new part of the flight simulator, which is unofficially called "Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020". It is the first Microsoft flight simulator since Flight Simulator X in 2006 and Microsoft Flight in 2012. It is also the first part of the Microsoft Flight Simulator series that is not exclusively for the PC. It is technically supported by Microsoft Azure cloud technology. The flight simulator recreates the entire planet earth on the basis of Bing satellite photos and altitude data. Details such as buildings and vegetation are generated from the satellite images using artificial intelligence and partially optimized by hand. Since the terrain data is too extensive for local storage, it is streamed to the player's PC, but can also be saved locally in sections. Real-time weather data and the positions of real aircraft can also be integrated into the simulation. Thanks to the multiplayer functionality, many pilots can travel in the same world at the same time. The simulator was released for PC on August 18, 2020. An Xbox version has also been announced for 2020.
Extensions
Hardly any other software product has as many extensions (add-ons) as there are for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The focus of the expansions relates in particular to the areas of aircraft and scenarios. From some manufacturers, such as B. PMDG , products are on offer, which z. B. deal with a type of aircraft and reproduce it particularly accurately - far more precisely than the models supplied. The quality of these add-ons - especially an extension for the FS 2000 - was the reason for discussions about the flight simulator after September 11th. In the Scenarios area, products are available that significantly refine the terrain resolution or overlay the landscape with satellite images and thus convey an extremely realistic aerial image in some cases.
The reason that there are so many extensions, especially for this product, is favored by the modular structure of the simulator and the wide range of intervention options even for a layperson. For example, the flight parameters are stored in a text file that can be changed and adapted as required. Often the simulator itself is only used as a basis, and it is sometimes even referred to as a "simulator operating system". The external interface is open in the form of an SDK, and some versions come with an editor for creating your own objects.
Hardware requirements
Every version of the Flight Simulator has to be weighed up between what is desirable and what is technically feasible with the given hardware. Even the first version used the hardware so intensively that the simulator's ability to run was used as a benchmark for compatibility. In principle, it was the case with every version that the flight simulator could only be operated smoothly in medium levels of detail with the hardware available at the time.
Three versions stand out due to their particularly high power requirement compared to their predecessor: versions 5.0, 2000 and X. In the latter, the manufacturer's specifications for the minimum requirements and the equipment with which a meaningful operation is possible differ very widely. While Microsoft specifies a CPU with 1 GHz and 256 MB RAM under Windows XP , meaningful operation is only achieved with a 2 GHz computer and at least 1.5 GB RAM.
However, if one takes a closer look at these three versions, it remains to be seen that the requirements are not entirely unjustified, despite all the criticism. Textured 3D graphics were introduced with version 5, while the predecessors were content with a pure polygon / vector display. At this point in time (1992), however, there were no 3D graphics cards. Version 2000 introduced the Elevated Mesh Terrain as already mentioned above and no longer viewed the landscape as a level with added polygons, which led to an immense increase in computing power requirements. Flight Simulator X differs significantly from its predecessors, especially in terms of the display quality and the number of scenery objects.
Trivia
- With the first version of the flight simulator, the IBM compatibility of the replicas of IBM's original personal computer was tested. The flight simulator accessed the BIOS so deeply that it could only be used with a 100% compatible BIOS.
- In early versions, the Learjet was named Gates Learjet in the aircraft selection. What sounds like an allusion to a private aircraft owned by Microsoft founder Bill Gates can actually be traced back to the aircraft manufacturer's company name, which was Gates-Learjet Corporation at the time .
- Due to the complexity of the scenery, it is not possible to manually control every stretch of land, which is why the flight simulator is also notorious for its errors. Airfields appear again and again in deep gorges, on high plateaus or in a kind of lake landscape such as the airport of Norfolk Island , or rivers flow over mountains. In FS 2002 z. For example, the two tallest and most striking buildings in Frankfurt am Main are not in this city, but in Mainz . However, many of these inconsistencies were resolved with the FSX. The FSX is the first simulator that can be classified as suitable for visual flight.
- Also in FS 2002, a hundreds of meters wide canal ran around the world at approx. 70 ° north latitude, and flights over the North or South Pole were impossible until FS 2004 due to the scenery architecture - the aircraft flew against an invisible wall.
- Some versions offer an Easter egg , as the buildings of Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond are also textured inside. With the collision control switched off, you can roll into these buildings and look at photos of the developers.
- After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the 2000 version hit the headlines. It has been argued that this program was used to train the pilots. In fact, an add-on was available for this version that simulated the 767 with high quality. Since the 767 and 757 have a similar cockpit, the rainbow press speculated that the aircraft types could have been selected on the basis of this training opportunity.
- The packaging of the FS 3 shows the Learjet as it flies past the World Trade Center.
- Also due to the attacks, the towers of the WTC were removed from FS 2002 and a patch was offered for the predecessor FS 2000, which also removed the twin towers in this version. Curiously, a "counterpatch" was published very quickly by other sites, which reinserted the two towers in the FS 2002. The reason was a discussion as to whether it would make sense to "write off" the buildings so soon after the attacks.
- The 2002 and 2004 versions contained an integrated damage model for most aircraft, which could cause the aircraft's wings to fall off or burst into flames. It was deactivated after the September 11, 2001 attacks, but can still be activated by changing aircraft data. At FSX it was completely removed.
- The USK has released the versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator 5.1 and later without age restrictions.
Alternatives to Microsoft Flight Simulator
In addition to the Microsoft Flight Simulator, there are other civil flight simulations, the most famous of which are Flight Unlimited , FlightGear , Flight Simulator for A320 , Fly! , Pro Pilot and X-Plane .
At the end of the 1990s in particular, there was a tough battle in the field of civil PC flight simulations, which - apart from the niche products X-Plane and FlightGear at the time - Microsoft Flight Simulator won. A competitive advantage here was the wide distribution, establishment in the "Flusi community" as well as extensive maturity.
Especially fly! Microsoft Flight Simulator could have wrested significant market shares from it, as the product was clearly superior in terms of visual quality. However, an extremely unstable version first came onto the market; A patch that was quickly submitted as well as two successor versions could no longer save the image that was lost as a result.
The Pro Pilot from Sierra was also a serious competitor, but required a 3dfx graphics card for graphically appealing operation, which was often not available on the systems of the target group.
Flight Unlimited focused on quality instead of quantity. Instead of displaying the entire earth in medium quality, the individual versions were limited to relatively small regions, but displayed with an extremely high level of detail. However, the areas for flight simulator conditions were very small and some add-ons of the Microsoft Flight Simulator reached Immediately comparable quality, so that the further development of Flight Unlimited was also discontinued.
Compared to the Microsoft Flight Simulator, X-Plane offers far more realistic flight dynamics with a similarly good display quality. With X-Plane one can speak of a real simulator that reproduces the flight model based on physical laws. X-Plane achieves its better flight dynamics through real-time calculations of the complicated flight physics, while the Flight Simulator saves resources for the calculation of the flight physics by largely determining them from finished tables.
Google Earth has included a flight simulator since version 4.2. This can be called up using the key combination Ctrl + Alt + A (alternatively Tools → Start flight simulator). The prerequisite for this, however, is a DSL connection with the recommended 2000 kBit / s. However, this only offers a very limited scope. This means that only a view from a cockpit perspective is possible, whereby the instruments are very sparse. Keyboard control is not recommended.
FlightGear is an open source product and arose out of dissatisfaction with the Microsoft Flight Simulator. The source code of the MS Flight Simulator is closed source , which makes it impossible to change this and thus the core program. FlightGear was released in December 2007 in version 1.0.0.
From a marketing point of view, Microsoft has protected itself the generic name for all flight simulators with the name Flight Simulator , even if it is correctly called MS Flight Simulator . Microsoft did the same with the Train Simulator .
Successor products
At the beginning of January 2009, Microsoft announced that it had terminated the partnership with Aces. Aces was responsible for the main production of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Like many other companies, Microsoft had to cut jobs because of the financial crisis . Many flight simulator pilots were indignant about the closure of the Aces company. In an official statement, Microsoft announced that it will continue to invest in flight simulator products.
Microsoft Flight
Released: February 29, 2012
In August 2010, Microsoft announced a new simulator called Microsoft Flight . A website with videos, screenshots and news (monthly updates) has been set up.
A free basic version has been available since February 29, 2012, in which parts of the game ( Hawaii , Big Island ) can be played for free and additional add-ons such as planes and new missions (only for the remaining Hawaiian islands) can be purchased .
At the end of July 2012, Microsoft announced that it would discontinue the further development of Flight .
Lockheed Martin Prepar3D
Prepar3D is a simulation software from Lockheed Martin and a further development of Microsoft Flight Simulator X . In contrast to earlier versions, Prepar3D is no longer available as a computer game, but only intended for use as training, education and simulation software.
Cold Alley
Released: December 2013
Cold Alley is a flight simulator developed by Microsoft, but it can be classified as a game, as it focuses on air battles.
Dovetail Games
In July 2014 it was announced that the game developer and distributor Dovetail Games is aiming to release a new version of the flight simulator from 2016. For this purpose, a licensing model was chosen with Microsoft that has already been concluded with the Railworks program and allows the use of the Microsoft name. Flight Simulator X was relaunched in 2015 and distributed via the Steam platform . In 2016, Dovetail Games Flight School was released , followed by Dovetail Games Flight Simulator . Microsoft announced on August 8, 2019 that the agreement had ended.
See also
Web links
- Microsoft Flight Simulator series at MobyGames (English)
- subLOGIC / Microsoft Flight Simulator History Website (English / Czech)
- Detailed history of Microsoft Flight Simulator (English)
- Link catalog on Microsoft Flight Simulator at curlie.org (formerly DMOZ )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Microsoft Flight Simulator: Flight simulation for PC and Xbox One announced - 4Players.de. Retrieved June 10, 2019 .
- ↑ https://www.flightsimulator.com/fsx-august-8/
- ↑ T. Byrl Baker (July 28, 2003) "Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight Review for PC"
- ↑ "FlightXPress" magazine
- ↑ [1] News on the date of publication
- ↑ Microsoft Flight Official Website
- ↑ WinFuture Microsoft Flight: Free download from spring 2012
- ↑ Hartmut Gieselmann: Microsoft stops free-to-play simulation "Flight". In: heise online. Heise Zeitschriften Verlag, July 26, 2012, accessed on July 26, 2012 .
- ↑ New MS flight game promises "console quality" news on release date
- ^ Dovetail Games Licensing Deal with Microsoft ( Memento from July 10, 2014 in the Internet Archive ). Press release Dovetail Games. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
- ↑ Microsoft Flight Simulator: New edition coming in 2015 . Chip Online. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
- ↑ DTG Flight School available now! In: flusinews.de. May 24, 2016, accessed on August 21, 2020 (German).
- ↑ https://www.flightsimulator.com/fsx-august-8/