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Microsoft Flight Simulator Doesn't Need Ray Tracing To Look Beautiful
New screenshots for Microsoft Flight Simulator have been released online, showing off one of the most graphically gorgeous games ever made. The decades-old flying sim franchise hasn't had a new entry since 2006's Flight Simulator X (which was later released on Steam in 2014), and the new title represents a true generational leap for the series.
The new game, simply titled Microsoft Flight Simulator, promises to be one of the most realistic games ever made. In the Asobo Studio-developed simulator, players will fly over an accurately-mapped version of Earth, courtesy of Bing Maps, and the game features 40,000 real life airports across the globe to visit. The game makes use of real-time weather tracking, so if it's raining anywhere in the world, it will be reflected in the game. Simply put, Microsoft Flight Simulator is shaping up to be the ultimate experience for genre fans.
To promote the upcoming release of Microsoft Flight Simulator, publisher Microsoft has released a slew of screenshots from the game, and they are jaw-dropping. Back when the Xbox One was first announced, a big selling point for the then next-gen console was its cutting-edge use of cloud-computing technology. Only a select few games ever took advantage of the feature, but Microsoft Flight Simulator will make use of Microsoft Azure cloud service - at least on the PC version. It's unclear if the Xbox One version will take advantage of the feature, but time will tell. The images can be seen on Dark Side of Gaming.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is still scheduled for release in 2020, but is currently without a more specific release date. Likewise, the marketing thus far has focused squarely on the PC version and its incredible visuals. It will be interesting to see how the Xbox One port compares to the PC version, especially since the "Ideal Requirements" for the PC version will push even high-end PC rigs to their limits.
Despite its high graphical output, Microsoft Flight Simulator lacks ray tracing, an advanced graphical technique that is expected to come standard on the next-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles. Only a few games make use of ray tracing, since the technique has a reputation for being severely performance intensive. However, games like Control have shown the potential of ray tracing to have transformative effects on a game's visual presentation. It's possible that ray tracing could come to Microsoft Flight Simulator later, but even without it, the game is still shaping up to be one of the best looking games ever made.
