Asobo Studios is putting together something very special in Microsoft Flight Simulator, which is one of the most visual appealing experiences coming out in 2020. That's not just because Microsoft Flight Simulator features impressive visual technology, but because of the authenticity with which the airplanes and environments are rendered. The latest example of this is shown in the latest "Feature Discovery" series of introductory YouTube videos released by Asobo, which details the game's airports.
In Microsoft Flight Simulator, every airport on Earth will reportedly be included in the game. During the video, Asobo's lead game designer for Microsoft Flight Simulator, Sven Mestas, details the work that's gone into the game's airports. He explains that the previous version of the game featured more than 24,000 simulated airports. The new game features all of the world's airports, with approximately 37,000 of them manually edited for simulation.
The simulated airports include big and large, active and inactive airports across the world. One example shown is the Szombathely Airfield strip in Hungary, which is literally just a mowed strip of grass in the middle of a large field. It's unclear just how many airports there are in total in Microsoft Flight Simulator. 37,000 is simply the number that has been edited to support Microsoft Flight Simulator gameplay and simulated activity. There could be thousands more beyond that.
In order to create lifelike and authentic representations of the world's airports, Asobo used satellite photos. The studio developed a toolset that allowed it to map these satellite photos straight into the game. Then, the team would map each airport including its runways, parking positions for unused airplanes, and taxiways for the computer AI to follow. After that, the team mapped identifiable markings from each airport as well as the materials of the ground itself. For example, a dirt runway simulates plane landings differently than a grass runway.
Airports are understandably a very important part of a flight simulator. To support worldwide airports to the degree that Microsoft Flight Simulator has is an effort few would have ever predicted, let along encouraged, though. It had to have been a staggering amount of work. Still, having those airports will provide a high level of authentic simulation. Players will be able to fly exactly where they want to, regardless of how big or small the destination. It's an unprecedented effort that Asobo deserves to be recognized for.
Microsoft Flight Simulator releases in 2020 on PC.