Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 arrives with a “full digital twin” of Earth

Machine learning generates the closer-up ground in this very big sequel.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is out today (Xbox/PC, Steam), and it packs in a whole lot of simulation. It's hard to imagine topping the 2020 version, which contained the entire world, at scale, 3D modeled and able to be flown over. It had real-time weather and rather detailed physics. You could theoretically fly a helicopter back to your high school football field and land on it, like 15-year reunion royalty. What could come next?

Announcement trailer for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024

A lot, including a world simulation that Microsoft repeatedly describes as Earth's "full digital twin." There are few, if any, real "reviews" up yet, given the size of the game and seemingly late access for reviewers. As such, I offer up all the notable things packed into this latest release so that those with flight sticks, patience, and a desire to get way up yonder can decide whether to take off.

It's a whole lot smaller, at least on first install. The 2020 version would take about 130GB on first grab (or 90GB if you manually loaded in 10 DVDs), but 2024 is "around 30" gigabytes, according to Asobo CEO Sebastian Wloch, who spoke with TechRadar. This should also be a major boon to those playing on Xbox, where space is more constrained.

It streams more data as part of that smaller initial install. Early reports of 81GB per hour were based on an "unoptimized build" on the "most demanding settings," 2024 head Jorg Neumann told Rock Paper Shotgun. If you spend most of your time in the high-up skies, you're using pre-loaded data, but up-close data is streamed on demand. Neumann suggested 5GB an hour for the average player.

You're getting pretty close to the ground there, chief. But the good news is, you're generating terrain for other players.

Credit: Microsoft

AI learning was used for 2024's world mapping. It allowed for a (possibly hyperbolic) "4,000 times more" detail in textures and terrain meshes, Wloch told TechRadar. Players will see this mainly when they're closer to ground, with the terrain generating detail on demand. Machine learning is run against tens of thousands of tiles of Earth terrains, and it does picture analysis to generate, say, wet gravel or nighttime grasslands during winter. Data generated from a player is streamed into other pilots' games, Neumann told Rock Paper Shotgun.

Throw a little engine on that balloon and you've got yourself a Flydoo, a word I learned today.

Credit: Microsoft

You can fly a balloon and a "Flydoo," the latter of which is a balloon with a tiny engine. Aircraft and airports you customized or purchased are carried over from 2020 into 2024. EuroGamer has a list of every aircraft in the game, which includes a Joby VTOL air taxi.

When will hikers learn to stick to the trails in Zoar Valley?

Credit: Microsoft

A new Career Mode, with 26 different paths, adds some structure to the pre-existing challenges and rewards. You can start out as a rookie and work through up to 54 training courses. You then decide exactly what kind of ace you want to be. You can be a regional airline pilot, a global specialist in VIP helicopter rides, a cropduster, a firefighter, or some other kind. You can own a fleet and expand your business or stick to being a jockey for hire.

There are many animals with realistic behavior, ported in from Planet Zoo. Neumann previously worked at Frontier, the company behind Planet Zoo (and Elite: Dangerous). Wanting some of that old "animals doing things" energy, Neumann said he called Frontier's CEO and said, "Can I have your animals?" Neumann told Sports Illustrated. So now sheep head inside when it's raining, birds migrate, and elephants will finally be impressed with your low-level flybys—maybe.

Flight Simulator 2020 will continue to get support, according to a FAQ on the developer's site. It's a valid question of what "support" will look like after 2024 is released and if it matches up with the initial promise of "10 years of support."

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