Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 function showcase outlines ray tracing, on-foot gameplay, and extra

One thing to look ahead to: When Asobo unveiled Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 final yr, some might need seen it as a reasonable improve over the already technically bold 2020 version. Since then, the developer’s prolonged deep-dive shows have defined how the brand new entry is way extra complicated than its predecessor.

Asobo Studio used this yr’s FlightSim Expo to explore the visible, gameplay, and physics enhancements it plans to introduce in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Launching on November 19, the replace goals so as to add quite a few actions that allow gamers to see the world in better element.

The corporate primarily focused on actions that deliver gamers nearer to the bottom than in earlier flight sim video games, like search and rescue, agriculture, low-altitude coaching, gliding, and extra. Since gamers will see the Earth up shut, Asobo overhauled varied lighting, mesh, and procedural technology techniques to make environments look extra detailed, together with distant areas dealt with totally by machine studying.

One new visible function is ray tracing, which the corporate confirmed utilizing a screenshot of a cockpit with detailed shadows. Though Asobo did not point out ray tracing elsewhere in its presentation, it repeatedly famous improved lighting options, together with oblique lighting all through the world, which suggests using ray tracing.

One other space the showcase touched on is the power to step out of a airplane and stroll round on foot. Sadly, it’s unclear exactly what function on-foot journey will present. Will it simply be for performing pre-flight checks outdoors of an plane, or will it’s extra concerned than that? The studio did not say.

Asobo additionally has some new partnerships that deliver just a few new planes and gameplay options into the combination. FlightControlReplay will deliver detailed replay options to the sport, together with ghosts. In the meantime, World Ship AI Site visitors will present the sport with real-time updates on the positions of seacrafts all around the planet. Moreover, Bought Buddies is designing the techniques underpinning gliders.

Final yr’s FlightSim Expo presentation lined different technical modifications. Asobo is optimizing Flight Simulator 2024’s textures and different parts to lower load instances and storage necessities. It additionally needs to keep up the identical minimal system necessities as Flight Simulator 2020. The brand new model will lean extra on the cloud by solely downloading what it wants for areas gamers are presently viewing. Moreover, extra granular surfaces will give plane makers extra management when constructing new planes.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 launches on November 19 for Xbox Sequence consoles, Steam, Recreation Go, and Xbox Cloud Gaming.