'Microsoft Flight Simulator' is finally out for the Xbox Series X and Series S, meaning that almost every gamer in the world with a capable system (except PlayStation players) can now visit literally any place on Earth, whenever they want.
All Of The World--In A Game
The BBC explains it in a simple but accurate way. To recreate the world, the developers of "Flight Simulator 2020" used machine learning to fill out most of the map by training it on tons upon tons of satellite photos of the Earth. The AI then drew much of the world from that data, though the devs also guided it on selecting airports and runways. As for roads, trees, and 3D buildings placed on top of the flat, 2D images, the AI did much of that work as well.
It resulted in a game world that not only looks as accurate as can be but is detailed enough to look almost photorealistic at the highest graphical settings. If you don't believe that, here is "Microsoft Flight Simulator" on an RTX 3090 (the most powerful graphics card in the world to date) running at the highest possible settings:
Aside from machine learning, the developers also used photogrammetry technology to recreate several of the world's most recognizable cities. Photogrammetry involves using real-world photographs of assets such as textures, then translating them into game-ready ones. As a result, "Microsoft Flight Simulator" has a total of 341 major cities rendered in almost photorealistic detail, reports RockPaperShotgun.
A Bright Future
For now, there's no telling where a game like "Microsoft Flight Simulator" will go in the future. If a game already looks as good as modern hardware, imagine what faster, more powerful consoles and PCs can do down the line. If "Flight Simulator 2020" can run smoothly enough on a console like the Xbox Series X, then the future is very bright for next-gen systems.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by RJ Pierce
